10/28/2013 5 Comments Spell Fire by Ariella MoonSpell Fire, Book 3: The Teen Wytche Saga By Ariella Moon Blurb New school. New friends. New reputation. High school sophomore Ainslie Avalon-Bennett works hard to hide her Crazy Girl past. But as long as her best friend’s disappearance remains unsolved, she can’t shake the depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder that once landed her in a mental ward. Ainslie’s tenuous control over her life shatters when her warring parents ditch her at Christmas. While they take a cruise to “work things out,” Ainslie must spend the holiday in Palm Springs with her aunt and uncle, owners of a struggling Mystery School and occult store. Plunged into the world of fire fortunes, dragons, entity eaters, and an ailing spell book, Ainslie is well beyond her comfort zone. Then she meets a boy who spikes her pulse and calms her OCD. But will she lose him once he discovers her past? Or will his deadly secret, hidden in plain view, be their undoing? Excerpt My body elongated, and I swore I grew six inches. Inside the cafe, there was no line. Another miracle. I paused beneath the fern‑painted ceiling fan and scanned the wall menu. I wasn't sure what I was looking for, but a weird craving fueled my search. The dragon exerted pressure between my shoulder blades, prompting me. "A Scorpion's Nest smoothie." Morningstar leaned over the high counter and gave me a once‐over. "You feeling okay?" I licked my lips. "Absolutely." I had never tasted an orange juice, vanilla ice cream, and peanut butter combo, but I slapped the countertop and said, "I'm fine. Hit me." Morningstar tilted her head to one side and studied me. Oh — crap. Maybe I'm dragon drunk. I wiped the drool from the corner of my mouth stood straighter. I could do this. I could act normal and in control. Behind me, the dragon blew on my hair. I clawed back the stray locks. "Strong ceiling fan." Morningstar glanced up. I held my gaze steady on her face and tried to remember if the fan was actually on. I couldn't hear the whir of its motor or feel the stir of cool air. I can't feel anything. I went for distraction and slipped a ten across the counter. Morningstar leveled her gaze, then handed me my change. "I'll bring the smoothie to your table." "Cool." My eyes crossed. I pivoted and fell out of my right flip‐‑flop. Fortunately, the place was almost empty, and I didn't think anyone saw me stumble. Still, my face heated as I chose a table with plenty of space behind it for the dragon and my invisible wings. "Mind if I join you for a minute?" Morningstar asked when she brought my drink. "Please." I giggled, giddy with dragon energy. I was a bright, beneficent angel among earthlings. I was — as crazy as my parents feared. Purchase Links Amazon Barnes and Noble Author Bio Ariella Moon writes about magic, friendship, secrets, and love in her Young Adult novels, Spell Check, Spell Struck, and Spell Fire, Books 1, 2, & 3 in The Teen Wytche Saga. Ariella spent her childhood searching for a magical wardrobe that would transport her to Narnia. Extreme math anxiety, and taller students who mistook her for a leaning post, marred Ariella’s teen years. Despite these horrors, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of California at Davis. An author and shaman, she now lives a nearly normal life with her extraordinary daughter, shamelessly spoiled dog, and an enormous dragon. Connect With Ariella Moon http://www.ariellamoon.com http://ariellamoon.blogspot.com http://www.facebook.com/ariellamoon.author http://www.goodreads.com/AuthorAriellaMoon http://www.pinterest.com/ariellamoon/
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10/21/2013 0 Comments Blue Ridge Setup by Kimberly RaeAmazon bestselling author Kimberly Rae usually writes suspense about human trafficking. Her brand new book, Blue Ridge Setup, however, is a fun, lighthearted read set in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina. Let’s find out more! What is Blue Ridge Setup about? At its heart, Blue Ridge Setup is a fun read about a young woman getting set up who doesn’t want to get set up. Kayla Madison moves in with her eccentric romance-novelist great aunt, who is determined she and Ryan Cummings would make great characters for her next novel, if only she can get them together! Poor Ryan has no idea what he’s getting into when he agrees to do a landscaping project for the great aunt, who intends to keep coming up with jobs for him to do until her plan works! And of course I love that it’s set in the Blue Ridge mountains, in my own town in fact! Is the eccentric great aunt based on someone you know? No, but I wish she was. She’s a riot—kind of what I’d imagine Anne of Green Gables would be like as a senior citizen. =) Your main character starts having health problems and that plays a big part in your story. Why did you do that? Most novels don’t have heroines with chronic health conditions. If there is a medical crisis in a book, it gets resolved so the main character can get back to her life as a healthy, productive individual. As nice as that is, for many it is just not a reality. I was shocked to find out that nearly 1 out of every 2 people in our country has some type of chronic illness, and 96% of those are “invisible illnesses,” meaning the phrase I and others often hear, “But you don’t look sick!” As a person with chronic illness myself, I wanted to read a book with a character who didn’t get magically better, but who learned to live well despite and through her limitations. I wanted a book that said you don’t have to be healthy to have a happy ending. Kayla’s disease is very rare. Did you have to do a lot of research? None at all, well, not for her anyway. I have Addison’s disease myself. I thought about giving her something different but they say you should write what you know, so… Did you embellish a little with the health crisis to make it more dramatic? The opposite, actually. That crisis in the book is from memory, not imagination, including the doctor asking, “Do you give permission for this surgery?” And me responding, “What happens if I don’t?” “You die,” he says. Cracked me up! Oh, and her joking with Ryan about the doctor saying sometimes a Central IV goes up instead of down actually happened to me, and the doctor told me he’d fix it tomorrow. Tomorrow! That was an interesting night. =) Goodness, that makes my life sounds interesting. So did the falling-down-the-mountain-needing-a-shot incident happen to you as well? Thankfully, no. That’s fiction. However, I have needed my husband to give me those shots on several occasions (poor man, he hates needles), once even on an airplane, which made a passing stewardess quite nervous! Are any other parts of the story personal to you? Like Kayla, health problems brought me home from the mission field and took away my sense of identity and significance. And it was one of the best things God ever did for me. I hated it, but I had to learn to stop looking for my worth in what I did. Now, I get to share with others that it is God who gives us worth, and it is not based at all on our level of activity or achievement. What do you hope readers get out of Blue Ridge Setup? First, I hope they just enjoy the story. After that, I hope it blesses readers with the reminder that God loves them deeply. If they are in a place where it feels like He has taken away their biggest dreams, they should not despair. His dreams for them are better than anything they could dream for themselves. Where can readers get Blue Ridge Setup? You can find it on amazon: http://goo.gl/yLD3zQ . Right now it only has a few reviews. I’d love some more! Find out more about Kimberly’s bestselling suspense series or her books on living joyfully with chronic illness, or contact her at www.kimberlyrae.com. 10/14/2013 0 Comments Three Tiers for Win by Kathy BosmanThree Tiers for Win is a story of adventure, romance, and family passion that unfolds with the backdrop of the 2012 London Olympics. Elaine said she would never date an athlete as they’re too driven. That’s until she meets kind, yet intensely focused and ambitious South African Olympic swimmer, Winston Harper. He stands for everything she’d chosen not to go for. Win also has a bad family history which keeps him from opening his heart to her. When intense attraction and affection breaks through some of their barriers, family secrets and conflicts pull them apart again. Only Elaine’s support and Win’s brokenness can draw them back together, but will that be strong enough to wipe away the past? Excerpt: Her hands shook as she spooned the mixture back into the food processor and he came closer to peer into the bowl. Electricity seemed to ooze out of his pores instead of sweat. She had a strong desire to rub the raised hairs on her arms. “What are you doing?” he asked. “I’ll mix the baking powder into a paste and add it in.” Wish he would go away so I can do this in peace. “Good idea.” “Aren’t the guys missing you?” she asked. “Trying to get rid of me?” Her cheeks throbbed, and she steadied the dish she was holding with all the willpower left inside of her. “I’ll only go if you let me make myself some coffee. The other guys are drinking sports and fruit drinks. I feel like coffee.” She laughed. “Are you eating right for your training?” “Not really.” “Okay.” She couldn’t help smiling. This guy was becoming more and more appealing with each minute. “Ooh, there’s biltong.” “It’s Mick’s. But I have some chocolate if you’re in the mood for being naughty.” Why did she say that? Now her face must be as red as a tomato because of the thoughts running through her head. “Do you think he’ll mind if I grab some?” She considered offering to buy Mick some more. The poor guy was starved. “What exactly did my brother buy for you all tonight?” “Chicken salad.” The face he pulled forced a strange squeaky giggle out of her. She would have given her usual trill laugh if she didn’t feel so embarrassed and overwhelmed with strange feelings for the guy. “I wish I had something else to offer you.” “Come out to dinner with me. Then I can order a man-sized steak.” Flustered was not a strong enough word for Elaine at that moment. She could swear the temperature in the kitchen was as hot as the oven and that the room was about to explode. “I have to bake a cake.” “That can wait, can’t it? Tomorrow’s another day. If you want, I’ll help you with it.” The guy was probably aiming to get into the Olympics team. They had two months left before the trials. He couldn’t be serious about giving up a training day to help some silly girl bake a wedding cake? That idea didn’t match the solid, oozing-with-masculinity man with piercing steel blue eyes, standing a mere two feet from her. She must be dreaming. Maybe she’d fallen asleep next to Peggy on the sofa, and she would wake up to find this all a crazy dream. “I think a cup of coffee will have to do then.” He turned around and pushed the kettle button on. She hadn’t said ‘no,’ and now he was giving up. Her heart plummeted to zero in two seconds. She’d just missed the opportunity of her life to go on a date with the hunkiest piece of male on the planet. What was she thinking? Of course it wasn’t a good idea. She wasn’t setting herself up for disappointment going with someone smooth and driven like him who would hurt her as soon as the athletic or model type woman came along. About the author:
Kathy loves reading and writing even more. She homeschools her three children, one a teenager, so in between unsuccessfully explaining the difference between subject and predicate or how to divide fractions, she enters an imaginary world of troubled and passionate characters whose stories take over the page. Kathy lives in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa, where the summers are hot, the winters cool, and bugs thrive. Her first published novel, Wedding Gown Girl, came out in 2012 with Astraea Press. She belongs to the Romance Writers of South Africa Group (ROSA) which has been her greatest support and inspiration the last few years. Connect with Kathy Bosman online: Website and blog: http://www.kathybosman.com Facebook author page: http://www.facebook.com/KathleenBosman Twitter: https://twitter.com/KathleenLBosman 10/10/2013 3 Comments The Transformation of Anna For centuries, Cole Shilo has harvested the homeless, wiped their memories, and delivered them as servants to the nobles of Cornerstone Deep. When Cole is sent to harvest a second-class woman who has broken curfew, he expects no different. But Anna Sinclair’s soul calls out to him. Soul mates aren’t possible on Cornerstone Deep… Are they? “My life is a mirage of endless time. But you engulf me, rivet my mind, encompass my soul.” Buy links: Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FIX9SUW Smashwords-https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/362646 Author site (signed paperback) - http://charleneawilson.com/books/order/ What they’re saying: “The Transformation of Anna is first-rate fantasy, with a healthy dose of romance added in. Wilson has created a plausible, multi-dimensional world complete with gods, mythologies, and engaging characters. The world Wilson has created in The Transformation of Anna is complex, but infinitely and easily accessible to the reader. It's quite an amazing and impressive work with lots of action and adventure, heroic characters, and an elegant and satisfying romance.”—Jack Mangus, Readers’ Favorite "The Transformation of Anna by Charlene A. Wilson is a beautifully stunning and deeply touching story of the darkest of treachery, the rebirth of lost love, and the discovery of hidden secrets. Being left absolutely breathless and deeply astonished after reading such an extraordinary story is a new experience for me. I am anything but disappointed in this superbly enchanting and endearingly exhilarating tale of deeply true and lasting love. My heart was captured and lost to this spellbinding journey!"—Amber McCallister, The Wonderings of One Person. EXCERPT: Anna weakened beneath Cole’s touch. Her mouth relaxed, face stilled. He rose from the tender moment startled by his actions. They were entirely uncalled for, unexpected, yet he couldn’t deny the pleasure it brought. He stared at her as she wavered with the effects of empty thought. This girl had indeed sought refuge from her life’s experiences. By her complete surrender, he had no doubt she’d wished for the chance to forget many times—a common occurrence among the homeless. He allowed the spell’s sparkling enchantment to fade. No further need for it with this one. This harvest was complete. As she opened her eyes, he gazed deeply into them to offer hope and set the desire to take pride in her service. “Your life will find meaning.” Her gaze wandered amongst them. James, his strong stature evident beneath his cloak, would intimidate many without the effects of the charm. Though distinction trimmed his features, she seemed to be taken by his dimple-kissed cheeks and brushed her own. Leaning her head a little, she studied Vincent. Smaller in build, he still radiated strength. His deep onyx eyes held his defined brow low. Square jaw set, he looked as if vengeance ruled his core. His untamed locks fell in loose waves past his cheeks. A radiant glow encircled his clenched fists as they clutched his cape. Cole watched as her gaze returned to him. His lips tightened together as his jaw tensed. She scanned his long hair as if to see how far it fell down his back. When her gaze met his, he had to touch that angelic face. He raised his hand, but caught himself and straightened to his full height, squaring his shoulders. What was that pull to touch? It was unsettling. He clasped the edge of his cloak and turned. Leading the way back down the alley, James and Vincent fell into step behind Cole. Anna gasped, then followed. The litter on the street scurried from their path. Night birds sang from high on their perches, a melody odd in the darkness of the empty streets. A vagabond sat beside the center fountain. Cole pulled Anna to him and wrapped an arm around her waist. He lifted his cloak with a furl and took on the Smoke of Night before the man could catch their approach. Giggles and thrills flew through his senses as the young woman’s emotions reacted to the disembodiment. He smiled to himself. Most accompanied him with calm acceptance. This girl seemed to embrace the experience. As they reached the wide steps to the Grand Marshal’s estate, Cole pulled at their elements to solidify. Anna held to him, her arms wrapped around his neck. Her warm breath puffed against his ear as he grabbed her waist so she wouldn’t fall. Was she holding me the whole time? He eased her down his chest until her toes touched the ground and arms left his shoulders. Running his palm down his shirt to regain his dignity, he strode past the border hedge onto the grounds. He glanced over his shoulder and she drew her hands to her bosom, innocence echoing from her heart. Luminescent bobbles peaked from beneath bulbous shrubs, lighting the footpath with a radiant glow. Cole looked at the frontage of the imposing mansion. Three stories of white brick stretched out on both sides of a montage of stained glass that arched around the receiving hall doors. He’d never appreciated the over-indulgence of this Grand Marshal, known for his eccentric views and tastes. He seemed more eager to flaunt his position than most. As they neared the gaudy threshold, he reached ahead and knocked twice with a heavy drive. The left panel opened and a lanky man peered out. His basset hound visage immediately woke at their presence. “Good evening, sirs.” The servant quickly stepped back and opened the door wide. “I’ll fetch the sire.” “Yes.” Anna’s gaze bore into Cole at the word. Heat flushed his cheeks and he stepped inside before his brothers noticed. A screen of sparkling crystals adorned the left wall, neighbored by onyx pillars. To the right, a rash of brass hair lines cascaded the pane between two doors like a million squirming worms looking to invade the upper rooms. Sculptures of oversized silver swans stood at each side of the wide staircases, reflecting the multitude of embedded lights in the domed ceiling. Black veins in the white marble floor continued up the divided staircases leading to the enormous stained-glass window at the center of the back wall. The sire’s deep voice rang from the left wing hallway. Cole straightened as he neared. “Sir Cole. It’s good to see the three of you here.” His gaze gravitated to Anna and a wash of satisfaction covered his face. “The addition, I see.” “As per your bid, she will comply completely. The harvest was a solid take.” He looked back at the lawmaker. “I see she pleases you.” Dressen smiled and withdrew an envelope from his vest. “Oh, yes.” Holding up his hand, Cole shook his head. “I believe the fee is double for this one. Your requirements were very specific. Far beyond that of a Grand Marshal’s standard order. So much so, a special spell was created to ensure satisfaction.” The sire chuckled and his smile tilted as he pocketed the payment. “Very well. I’ll have the funds delivered in the morn. The Wizards of Shilo Manor continue to exceed their reputation. You are true Reapers.” The nickname wedged in Cole’s gut. It screamed mockery to their position as Sentinels in this realm. Noblemen had always known they could manipulate the elements purely by their nature and advanced heritage. Yet this generation insisted on labeling them as a demon child at play. Reapers. Wizards. It knotted his stomach. Intent on making the visit as short as possible, Cole turned his attention to Anna. “Lord Dressen is now your keeper.” Her regard shifted from him to the Grand Marshal and with it the adoration that had poured from her. To Cole’s surprise, he regretted the release to Dressen’s care. Countless subjects had been harvested for service to the lords. The assignment of a keeper was an essential step. Why, then, would one more be any different? He reminded himself they had just completed another task, fully satisfying the order. Dressen waved away the hound-faced servant and dismissed them himself. “Thank you, Sir Cole. It’s rare to find such dedication to quality. You have never failed to produce astounding results.” He grasped the handle and his gray eyes sparkled. “I must admit, I find your natures very compelling. Meridian must be an amazing dimension.” Underlying meaning seeped through Cole and he straightened to temper a scowl. “Thank you, Lord Dressen. We’re pleased you find our work satisfactory.” Dressen shook his head. “Silent on the matter as ever.” He chuckled. “Well, do watch for an invitation to my forthcoming celebration. I would be honored to have you present.” “Of course.” Cole turned and crossed the threshold to avoid further remark. As the door closed behind them, Vincent’s chiseled features contorted into rage. Cole furled his cloak and took on the Smoke of Night before a confrontation could erupt. The last thing he needed was the runt’s temperamental tantrums. Vincent billowed like the crest of a storm as they flew over the dark city. His brothers’ emotions melded to his; James’ concern and confusion, and Vincent’s pure fury. Small jets of lightning darted through their mass and Cole knew it was directed solely on him. AUTHOR INFORMATION Charlene A. Wilson is an author of tales that take you to other dimensions. She weaves magic, lasting love, and intrigue to immerse you into the lives of her characters. She began writing in her early teens when her vivid dreams stayed with her long after she had them. The characters and worlds were so amazing, she brought them to life through her books. Charlene resides in a small community in Arkansas, USA, with her two beautiful daughters, husband, and a very chatty cockatiel named Todder. Author Links Author site: http://CharleneAWilson.com Blog: http://bit.ly/CharBlogs Facebook: http://bit.ly/CharleneAWilsonFan Twitter: http://twitter.com/AuthorCAWilson Goodreads: http://bit.ly/CharleneAWilsonGR LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/CharleneAWilsonLI For media interviews, visit CharleneAWilson.com ~ Giveaway ~
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