Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Friday, December 23, 2016
Series Blitz: Midnight Fire by Kaitlyn Davis
The Complete Midnight Fire Series
Kaitlyn Davis
(Midnight Fire #1-4)
Publication date: October 31st 2013
Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
**Over 200,000 Copies of the Midnight Fire Series Sold!**
**Over 5000 5-Star Reviews on Goodreads!**
LIMITED TIME OFFER: Get the entire five book series for only 99cents!
Kira Dawson has the power to burn vampires to a crisp. The problem is, she doesn’t know it yet. The even bigger problem is, she’s dating one.
When Kira Dawson moves to South Carolina, she meets Luke, a blond goofball who quickly becomes her best friend, and Tristan, a mysterious bad boy who sends shivers down her spine. Kira knows they’re keeping secrets, but when she discovers Tristan’s lust for blood and her own dormant mystical powers, Kira is forced to fight for her life and make the heartbreaking decision between the familiar comfort of friendship and the fiery passion of love.
From bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis comes a paranormal romance perfect for fans of Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, and Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
Books included in this bundle:
Ignite – Book One
Simmer – Book Two
Blaze – Book Three
Scorch – Book Four
Burn – An Anniversary Novella
Only 99¢ for a limited time!
—
EXCERPT:
Ignite (Midnight Fire Book One)
Tristan finished reading his lines. “Hey, Juliet, it’s your turn.” He smirked.
“Oh, right.” She looked down at her book. “‘O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art though Romeo.'” She tried to copy his apathetic style of reading and was secretly overjoyed when he laughed at her.“I get it, I sounded like an idiot.” She just continued giving him the same silent treatment he had given her. “Okay, here’s the truth, Kira. We can’t talk here, and we shouldn’t even be talking now, or maybe ever.”
“You told me that already.” She stopped reading.
“Yet, you seem to have trouble understanding it. English is your first language, right?” She rolled her eyes at the joke. “Like I said before, we just can’t ever be.”
“I understand what you’re saying, but I also know you don’t mean it.” She leaned closer to him to prevent from being overheard.
“I do,” he said, forcing the point.
“Oh really?” she tried to push him now. “It didn’t seem that way when you kissed me.”
“Kira, forget that ever happened, okay?”
“Or what? You don’t scare me.”
“I should,” he said and shot Kira a lethal look.
His eyes changed color to the lightest blue she could imagine, and they held her captive. Not in the romantic way, but as though she were a prisoner held paralyzed. His eyes were ice cold, making her shiver as though she had been dropped in an arctic pool, and slowly his pupils began to expand, overtaking his irises.
Kira was scared, but more than that, she felt like he knew it and didn’t care. Try as she might, she couldn’t look away—completely stuck. Slowly, a feeling of warmth spread to her hands, burning hot, a sense of power that fought the fear tightening her stomach in knots.
Whipping her gaze to the floor, Kira breathed heavy as she finally broke his stare. Her fingertips still tingled with the heat that had coursed through her, allowing her to break his gaze. Kira leaned back against her chair, away from him, and touched her fingers to her cheek.
They burned into her skin.
“What the hell was that?” she asked unsteadily, still not looking up. The heat emanating from her hand absorbed all of Kira’s thoughts.
“Me,” he said with the venom gone from his voice. She looked at him again and caught the unbearably sad expression in his eyes before he looked away.
Or me? she thought, feeling the warmth finally ebb.
Author Bio:
Bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis writes young adult fantasy novels under the name Kaitlyn Davis and contemporary romance novels under the name Kay Marie.
Always blessed with an overactive imagination, Kaitlyn has been writing ever since she picked up her first crayon and is overjoyed to share her work with the world. When she's not daydreaming, typing stories, or getting lost in fictional worlds, Kaitlyn can be found indulging in some puppy videos, watching a little too much television, or spending time with her family. If you have any questions for her--about her books, about scheduling an event, or just in general--you may contact her at: KaitlynDavisBooks@gmail.com
To stay up-to-date with all of Kaitlyn's new releases, sign up for her new release newsletter here: TinyLetter.com/KaitlynDavisBooks
Thursday, December 22, 2016
Book Blitz: Seasons Within by Lele Iturrioz
Seasons Within
Lele Iturrioz
(Acorn Publishing)
Publication date: December 15th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Most teenage girls know their name, where they came from, who they are. Not G, a beautiful redhead with unusual markings on her wrist. She gets her name from a silver locket she keeps around her neck, unaware the engraved letter “G” on its front holds the secret to her past.
G’s life before the age of six has been a mystery to her. Each night for the last twelve years she’s been haunted by the same nightmare—a war. Horrendous beasts, warriors able to wield the four elements, and a boy who saves her by means of blue fire taunt her memory. But on her eighteenth birthday, G’s life begins to unravel. When she meets her new Chemistry professor, a man with an uncanny resemblance to the boy who saves her, she knows there must be more to her dreams.
It’s dangerous not knowing who you are, what you’re capable of, and what future awaits you. Especially when the darkness that slaughtered your entire world, just found you.
—
EXCERPT:
DUST. Everything was covered in dust and ashes.
Nádúr Noc, the main city of Terra was once beautiful and full of life. Not like that night, the night the darkness descended from the far land of Ifreann.Now, the round city of Nádúr Noc was dark, burned, and destroyed.
Trees were no longer big and full of different green and golden, bright colors. The river Enosi, a river that surrounded the city with its peaceful crystalline water was now a rapid of blood and death. As for the sky, once bright and blue, it was now filled with dark smoke so thick, it made it nearly impossible to see the remains of the Zansèt Palace; a magnificent castle in the middle of the city made of pearls, flowers, rocks, and vines.
On that night, there was no music and laughter. The only thing anybody could hear were screams and the desolate pleas of the in-habitants. Fear, pain, and unimaginable loss.
This city wasn’t the ruins of any ordinary war, it was the ruins between the light side of nature and the darkest of evils. Beasts and other horrendous creatures destroyed everything that they came across. Killed everyone in their sight. Soulless creatures who lived to torture. Answering to no one, no one except Him, the one who owned the darkness. The one who hell itself was afraid of.
Author Bio:
Major geek by day, hermit writer by night! Love books, sugar gliders and everything that comes in a delicious taco.
I’m the author of the YA fantasy series, Seasons Within
I spend my time writing, planning on writing, reading, drinking coffee like there was no tomorrow, MMA and chilling with my friends and loved ones.
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Cover Reveal! Kasper Mutzenmacher's Cursed Hat
Curiosity Quills is excited to reveal the
cover for KASPER MÜTZENMACHER’S CURSED HAT, by Keith R. Fentonmiller, and
announce that it’s now available for pre-order, guaranteeing delivery to your
device on March 20, 2017.
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Curiosity Quills
Press
Date of Release: March 20, 2017
Description:
Kasper
Mützenmacher keeps a divine “wishing hat”—a thought-operated teleportation
device—locked in the wall safe of his Berlin hat shop. According to an old
prophecy, after Kasper’s Greek ancestor stole the wishing hat from Hermes, Fate
cursed his progeny to sell hats, on pain of mayhem or death. Kasper, however,
doesn’t mind making hats, and he loves Berlin’s cabaret scene even more. But
his carefree life of jazz and booze comes to a screeching halt when he must use
the wishing hat to rescue his flapper girlfriend Isana from the shadowy Klaus,
a veil-wearing Nazi who brainwashes his victims until they can’t see their own faces.
Isana
and Kasper’s happiness proves fleeting. Years after her mysterious death,
Kasper struggles as a lonely, single father of two until he meets Rosamund Lux,
recently released from a political prison where Klaus took her face. Kasper
soon suspects that Rosamund is no ordinary woman. According to the prophecy,
certain Lux women descend from the water nymph Daphne, who, during Olympian
times, transformed into a laurel tree to avoid Apollo’s sexual advances; they,
too, suffer from an intergenerational curse connected to Hermes’ stolen hat. As
Kasper falls deeper in love, Rosamund’s mental health deteriorates. She has
nightmares and delusions about Klaus, and warns that he will launch a night of
terror once he’s collected enough faces.
Kasper
dismisses the growing Nazi threat until the government reclassifies him as a
Jew in 1938. His plan to emigrate unravels when anti-Jewish riots erupt and the
Nazis start loading Jews on boxcars to Dachau. Then Rosamund goes missing, and
Klaus steals the wishing hat, the family’s only means of escape.
Kasper,
however, will face his most difficult battle in America. He must convince his
wayward son and indifferent grandson to break the curse that has trapped the
family in the hat business for sixteen centuries. Their lives will depend on
it.
Book
One of the Life Indigo series, Kasper Mützenmacher’s Cursed Hat is a
fantastical family saga about tradition, faith, and identity, set during the
Jazz Age, Nazi Germany, and the Detroit race riots of 1943. Comparable works
include: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Everything Is
Illuminated, and Underground Airlines.
Catherine
Bell, author of Rush of Shadows (winner of the Washington Writers’ Publishing
House 2014 Fiction Prize), calls the Cursed Hat “highly creative and
imaginative, brimming with invention, mythology, psychology, secrets,
characters, generations, cleverness and wisdom. Incredible, overwhelming,
compelling.
About The Author:
Keith is a consumer protection attorney for the Federal Trade
Commission in Washington, D.C. Before graduating from the University of
Michigan Law School, he toured with a professional comedy troupe, writing and
performing sketch comedy at colleges in the Mid-Atlantic States. His short
story, Non Compos Mentis, was recently published in The Stonecoast Review and
nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Another story, Exodus, will be published in
Running Wild Press’s forthcoming fiction anthology.
Find Keith Online:
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Review of Maggie Elizabeth Harrington by David Swykert
Title: Maggie Elizabeth Harrington
Author: David Swykert
Publisher: Cambridge Books
Publication Date: May 19, 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
Rating: 4/5 "I liked it."
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Description
Maggie Elizabeth Harrington is a voice driven novel about a thirteen year old girl in an isolated 1890's northern Michigan mining town trying to save a pack of wolves from a bounty hunter.
Central Mine is now a ghost town on the remote Keweenaw Peninsula in western upper Michigan, but when Maggie Harrington and Tommie Stetter roamed its nameless streets it was a thriving Cornish mining community with the Central Mine Methodist Church at the center of its social fabric. Young Maggie is a free spirited young woman whose idealism often brings her into conflict with the strict teachings of Reverend White and her stern father as she looks for answers to feeling unwanted and unloved. This historical story of a young woman's struggle with environmental and moral issues concerning the slaughter of wolves, and the churches condemnation of her love for a young man, are as real in today's global world as they were for young Maggie over a century ago.
Author: David Swykert
Publisher: Cambridge Books
Publication Date: May 19, 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
Rating: 4/5 "I liked it."
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Description
Maggie Elizabeth Harrington is a voice driven novel about a thirteen year old girl in an isolated 1890's northern Michigan mining town trying to save a pack of wolves from a bounty hunter.
Central Mine is now a ghost town on the remote Keweenaw Peninsula in western upper Michigan, but when Maggie Harrington and Tommie Stetter roamed its nameless streets it was a thriving Cornish mining community with the Central Mine Methodist Church at the center of its social fabric. Young Maggie is a free spirited young woman whose idealism often brings her into conflict with the strict teachings of Reverend White and her stern father as she looks for answers to feeling unwanted and unloved. This historical story of a young woman's struggle with environmental and moral issues concerning the slaughter of wolves, and the churches condemnation of her love for a young man, are as real in today's global world as they were for young Maggie over a century ago.
My Thoughts
As a native Minnesotan, I felt that there were several things I could relate to in this book even though it is set in Michigan. This was especially true each time Lake Superior was mentioned and I felt like I was reading about my home. It may seem cheesy, but I loved that I was able to connect with this book that deeply.
I felt that Maggie Elizabeth is a very well developed character. Although she is thirteen, she thinks quite deeply and always gives a reason for thinking the way that she does. Swykert does a wonderful job with language as he develops her character. Although she is thinking beyond her age, Swykert writes them the way that a thirteen year old would actually think them. I'm a high school teacher. I have read umpteen student papers and have had countless conversations with thirteen year olds to KNOW that Swykert is definitely hitting his mark. Despite her deep thinking, Maggie Elizabethembodies the moon eyed habits of a teenager in love.
Perhaps my favorite part of this novel was that Swykert spent quite a bit of time developing his themes and solidifying them in his readers' heads. There is no doubt that he is talking about love and about thinking for yourself. It is so blatantly obvious that he wants readers to think about these things and they are presented in a way that does not allow the audience to escape without considering them. This was such an amazing thing to see! I would love to use this book to demonstrate theme and universal topics to my students.
However, this piece did lose a point from me because there were several distracting typos. I'm not sure if the copy that I received was an uncorrected proof, but I felt that this book should have been edited much better than it was.
This was definitely a literary journey that I will be taking again.
About the Author
DJ Swykert is a former 911 operator writing fiction in the Cincinnati area. His work has appeared in The Tampa Review, Detroit News, Coe Review, Monarch Review, the Newer York, Lunch Ticket, Gravel, Zodiac Review, Barbaric Yawp and Bull. His books include Children of the Enemy, Alpha Wolves, The Pool Boy’s Beatitude, Justice in the Street, Sweat Street and The Death of Anyone. He is also a wolf expert.
Monday, December 19, 2016
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Book Blitz: Silverwitch by Tamara Grantham
Silverwitch
Tamara Grantham
(M.D. Series, The Olive Kennedy)
Published by: Crimson Tree Publishing
Publication date: December 19th 2016
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
It’s Faythander’s legend of King Arthur. And it’s not for the faint of heart.
Olive Kennedy, Fairy World MD, isn’t ready to go back to work. But when her dragon stepfather shows up on her doorstep with bad news of the world-ending variety, that’s exactly what she’ll have to do. He wants her to stop the elven queen from obtaining seven weapons of King Arthur fame, and he wants her to break into a dragon’s vault to do it.
One problem. Silvestra, the silverwitch of Dragon Spine Mountain, guards the weapons. And she’s not willing to give them up. With the help of Kull, her newly reunited, half-crazed Viking boyfriend, she’s hopeful they’ll stand up against the dragon. Plus, she’ll have the help from Kull’s warrior princess sister and a professional thief.
But Olive has never had great luck. What starts as a routine quest quickly turns into a life or death fight. And one of her companions won’t make it out alive…
—
EXCERPT:
“I fail to see how we’re lucky. We’re trapped in an unfamiliar world with no way of returning home. The staff is gone, and I have a suspicion that if we find it, we will not live long enough to return it to the sky king.”
Maveryck gave me a condescending smile. “Perhaps you will not live long enough,” he said as he stood, and without further explanation, he limped away from me and down a narrow hallway. I hesitated before following him. Navigating alone through a tomb like this would be suicide, so I reluctantly trailed him, barely keeping my temper in check.“Where are you going?” I demanded.
“To find a way out of here.”
“What then?” I asked. “Where will we go? How will we find the staff? How will we return home? Have you the magic to create portals?”
He rounded on me, his jaw clenched. “First, and listen very clearly, I’m not in the habit of answering questions—not from you or anyone else. Second, I’m not your friend, nor am I trying to help you. For the time being, we share the same goal, so I will work with you in order to bring the staff back. After that, our partnership will be dissolved. I’ve never lost an object before, and it won’t happen now. If you impede me in any way, I will aid you no more.”
“Have you forgotten who my brother is? Should you return to Faythander without me, what do you think the king will do to you?”
“I don’t care.”
“You might care when you’re rotting in the Wult dungeons.”
“I doubt he would throw me in the dungeons for leaving you. In all honesty, I believe he would reward me.”
Now he’d pushed too far. I’d had an ill feeling about this man from the moment I’d met him, and I would tolerate his superior attitude no more. I shoved him against the wall, pressing the weight of my body against him, making the stacks of skeletal remains rattle behind us.
“Enough,” I hissed. “I will not tolerate being spoken to in such a manner.”
Instead of shying away as I expected, he clamped my wrists in his hands. He used no magic, but the calculated look he gave me sent shivers down my spine. “And I,” he said, “will also not tolerate being spoken to in such a manner.”
Fear made my heart beat wildly. Who is this man? It was at that moment I realized how very little I knew about him. Where did he come from? Where did he live? Who were his kin? His gaze locked with mine, and sparks of purple danced in the gray of his irises. I knew he possessed magic, but he’d led me to believe his powers were limited. Had he lied?
Author Bio:
Tamara Grantham is the award-winning author of more than half a dozen books and novellas, including the Olive Kennedy: Fairy World MD series and the Shine novellas. Dreamthief, the first book of her Fairy World MD series, won first place for fantasy in INDIEFAB’S Book of the Year Awards, a RONE award for best New Adult Romance of 2016, and is a #1 bestseller on Amazon in both the Mythology and Fairy Tales categories with over 100 reviews.
Tamara holds a Bachelor’s degree in English. She has been a featured speaker at the Rose State Writing Conference and has been a panelist at Comic Con Wizard World speaking on the topic of female leads. For her first published project, she collaborated with New York-Times bestselling author, William Bernhardt, in writing the Shine series.
Born and raised in Texas, Tamara now lives with her husband and five children in Wichita, Kansas. She rarely has any free time, but when the stars align and she gets a moment to relax, she enjoys reading fantasy novels, taking nature walks, which fuel her inspiration for creating fantastical worlds, and watching every Star Wars or Star Trek movie ever made. You can find her online at www.TamaraGranthamBooks.com.
Saturday, December 17, 2016
Cover Reveal: Nelumbo Nucifera by Cristina Slough
Nelumbo Nucifera
Cristina Slough
Publication date: January 24th 2017
Genres: Adult, Psychological Thriller
On the surface, Gaby Parker has it all; however, behind closed doors, is a woman who lives in constant fear of the man who was supposed to love her: her husband, Kyle. Beaten, desperate, and broken, Gaby realizes the only way to escape from her violent husband is to kill herself — on paper. Gaby is dead, and Riley Locklin is born, residing in the tranquil coastal town of Chesswick Bay Montauk where she hopes to start over and meets a man who shows her bruises aren’t kisses.
Meanwhile, back home, Kyle is doing everything in his power to prove Gaby isn’t dead.
But…police find her burnt-out car and remains?
Kyle isn’t buying it; he knows she’s still alive. He launches his own full investigation to find his wife — and he’ll stop at nothing to claim her back. A female Detective assigned to his wife’s case doesn’t like him very much after discovering a domestic violence report – scorned by the history of her mother’s domestic abuse, she’s determined to send Kyle down for his wife’s murder.
And then he finds her. Will Gaby finally take a stand?
Author Bio:
Novelist, movie addict, and animal lover, Cristina Slough is the author of:
Nelumbo Nucifera and Till Death Us Do Part.
Cristina has always been a bookworm, rarely seen without a pen and paper in her hand, she loves delving into a literacy fictional world of her own.
Although Cristina loves pink and fluffy, her writing isn’t. She loves to focus on raw human emotion and gritty story lines; she’s very fond of messing with her readers heads by weaving twists into her books.
Cristina is married to Adam, who runs a successful business; together they share their Bedfordshire home with their son, and several spoiled pets. As a family, they love to travel frequently, the United States being a firm favorite.
Book Blitz: Acca by Christina Bauer
Acca
Christina Bauer
(Angelbound Origins, #3)
Published by: Monster House Books
Publication date: December 13th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
In just one week, supernatural warrior Myla Lewis must discover enough evidence to send the evil House of Acca to prison… or she’ll end up in jail herself, along with her fiancé, Prince Lincoln. No pressure.
To gather proof, Myla and Lincoln go undercover at an all-girl’s high school on Earth. Lincoln acts as the new gym teacher; Myla becomes the school’s least popular transfer student ever. To stop them from getting the goods, Acca releases Hell on Earth. Literally. Good thing Myla and Lincoln aren’t afraid of a tough fight. This one promises to be the hardest yet. After all, who ever said high school wasn’t hell?
—
Interview with Myla Lewis and Prince Lincoln:
Good Morning, PurgatoryDecember 13, 2016
Susan Smiley: Welcome back. We’re very excited here at Good Morning, Purgatory. Today we have with us Myla Lewis, the Great Scala, and her fiancée Prince Lincoln.
Myla: He’s not my fiancée. We’re married.
Lincoln: (Smirks) We talked about this, Myla.
Myla: (Makes innocent face) We talked about what?
Lincoln: This is a book tour for ACCA. Christina Bauer wrote our story and we’re here to help her sell more novels. You’re not supposed to give away anything that happens in the books. It’s counter-productive.
Myla: (Taps chin.) There’s a loophole, but my brain is fudge right now.
Lincoln: There is indeed. You can say whatever you want as long as you start off by saying SPOILER ALERT.
Myla: (Snaps fingers.) That’s right. (Clears throat). Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye! This is a SPOILER ALERT! Now, are we all good? (Glares at Susan, eyes glowing red)
Susan: (Blood drains from face) Sure. We’re, uh, fine.
Myla: Okay, everybody. The book happened in the past and as of today, Lincoln and I have already gotten married. Also, he knocked me up and I’m super grouchy. That’s more fair warning than spoiler alert, though.
Lincoln: (Raises his hand) I’ll vouch for that.
Myla: In fact, someone better bring me some crackers like, now. I have the munchies.
Susan: (Calls to stage left.) Can someone get her crackers?
Myla: And I want a diet coke.
Lincoln: (Clears throat.) We talked about that, too.
Myla: Right. The baby. No diet coke.
(Terrified intern runs up and hands Myla a box of saltines.)
Myla: Thanks, kid. (Opens box, stuffs face, and talks through mouth full of crackers.) What’s up, Susan?
Susan: Well, you’re the Great Scala, the only being who can send souls to Heaven or Hell. Our viewers want to know… what’s it like to wield so much power?
Myla: It’s a pain in the ass, mostly. Except I can park wherever I want. That’s pretty much the big perk.
Susan: And what about you, Lincoln? (Blushes.) I can call you Lincoln, can’t I?
Lincoln: Of course.
Susan: You’re the High Prince of the Thrax, a race of demon fighters from Earth. Most of our viewers have never left Purgatory. We see some recordings of Earth on television reruns, but everyone wants to know… what’s it really like?
Lincoln: (Purses lips.) Filled with demons, mostly. Only humans can’t see them. Trust me, Purgatory is a nicer place to live.
Susan: (Blushes.) Thank you, Lincoln. I must say, you’re a… (Giggles.) Very fit man.
Myla: Back off. That’s my baby daddy.
Lincoln: Ever since Myla became pregnant, her demonic side is a little high-strung.
Myla: True that. I tried to fight a broom the other day. Long story.
Susan: How fascinating. Your mother is the President of Purgatory and your father is first consort as well, isn’t he?.
Myla: Yup. He’s also an archangel.
Susan: What’s that like?
Myla: It’s like any girl living in her parent’s basement while being pregnant. Not too great. Lincoln and I are looking into getting our own place in Purgatory, but it isn’t easy.
Lincoln: We need a rooftop where her father can land safely. He’s a big fan of flying around.
Myla: What a pain. (Tips cracker box upside down, nothing comes out.) Well, I’m all out of crackers, which means I need to get some juice and a back rub. (Chucks box aside and turns to Lincoln.) You up for that?
Lincoln: (Leans in and whispers something in Myla’s ear. Her eyes glow red.)
Myla: (Hops to her feet.) We’re leaving RIGHT now, thank you very much. (Waves to camera.) Buy Christina’s book and write a review for crying out loud. These books won’t sell themselves.
Lincoln: (Takes Myla’s hand,) And keep an eye out for the next installment, THRAX, which is due out in the Fall of 2017.
Susan: Thank you both for visiting us here today. (Turns to camera.) I’m Susan Smiley, and this was Good Morning, Purgatory.
Author Bio:
Christina graduated from Syracuse University's Newhouse School with BA's in English as well as Television, Radio, and Film Production. Her day job is in marketing for companies like Microsoft, Cisco, and Zerto. Back in the go-go 90′s, she founded her own software start-up, Mindful Technologies. Christina believes that, upon close examination of Tolkien's text, it's entirely possible that the Balrog was wearing fuzzy bunny slippers.
Friday, December 16, 2016
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Excerpt: The Whizbang Machine by Danielle A. Vann
Author: Danielle A. Vann
Genre: YA
After years of running from his tragic past, Jack Yale books a flight
home. With him is a typewriter that is intended to be a gift for his
granddaughter, Elizabeth. The minute Elizabeth's fingers cradle the large black
and cream keys the machine responses: popping, sizzling, and roaring to life
with a Whiz-Whiz-BANG!
Elizabeth quickly discovers the typewriter has powers beyond anything she has ever seen. The more she types, the more the machine spells out guarded secrets. Each secret leads them deeper into a haunted past. Each secret must be revealed in order to set history straight and remove a curse that has been on their family for centuries.
To solve the mystery, Elizabeth Yale, alongside Jack, will have to crack the code of the Whizbang Machine. What they find challenges their most basic assumptions of their family, the history of the typewriter, and even Elizabeth's father's death. The ultimate goal is to remove the curse.
Elizabeth quickly discovers the typewriter has powers beyond anything she has ever seen. The more she types, the more the machine spells out guarded secrets. Each secret leads them deeper into a haunted past. Each secret must be revealed in order to set history straight and remove a curse that has been on their family for centuries.
To solve the mystery, Elizabeth Yale, alongside Jack, will have to crack the code of the Whizbang Machine. What they find challenges their most basic assumptions of their family, the history of the typewriter, and even Elizabeth's father's death. The ultimate goal is to remove the curse.
The question is: will Jack and Elizabeth be able to carry out their
mission?
Book
Opener
E
|
verything changed the
sweltering summer of 2007. Literally everything. I was eight; up until then
life on Downhill Lane, on the outskirts of New York City, was well,
exceptionally normal. The inner workings of our little house were about as
predictable as the golden sunrise peeking its head over the eastern sky. That
is until death struck.
“Elizabeth, sweetie?” my mom, Laurel, called from downstairs. “It’s
almost five o’clock.”
I suppose you could say
that is when my mundane, little life took an unusual twist.
Black ink smeared across the pristine white page with each push of the
space bar. I closed my eyes and listened to the hum of the light blue electric
typewriter and the chatter turning over in my mind. There was still so much
left to type. I listened for a minute longer and then pressed my
fingers down to cradle the keys.
“Lizzy?” Mom called again, “Your grandfather will be here any minute.
Are you coming downstairs or not?”
“Yes, Mom, I’m coming,” I shouted back.
Click, clack.
This is the story of my
family eight years later.
“Elizabeth! Take your fingers off that typewriter right now! Jack will
be here any minute. Please come downstairs,” Mom whined in a panic.
“Okay, okay, I’m coming.”
The machine sighed to sleep with the flip of the red off button. I drew
in a deep breath, stuffed Jack’s last postcard in my front jean pocket and
stood eerily still. Jack, I thought. After all this time, he would
finally be standing inside my house. The place he used to treasure before the
bomb went off in both of our lives. It didn’t seem like today would ever come.
The lump that has sat in my throat for more than two days somehow grew bigger
when I allowed my mind to utter his name.
“E-l-i-z-a-b-e-t-h!”
My mother’s tone shook away the heaviness of my memories and propelled
me forward. “Okay, okay! I’m coming—relax,” I called, thundering down the
stairs, “I was working on my English paper I’ve got to finish before school
lets out. Oh, and by the way, my typewriter is smudging the page again. Maybe
we can take it to Mr. Sherry’s shop tomorrow.”
“Or you could use the laptop instead of fighting that archaic heap of
junk,” she countered.
“It isn’t a heap of junk. Besides, there is something romantic about
writing on an old typewriter.”
“You’re fifteen,” Mom laughed.
“I’ll be sixteen in less than a month,” I interjected.
“Still, what do you know about romance? I love that you have an
appreciation for old things, particularly typewriters, but I’m tired of
spending my hard-earned money to repair that thing. So, maybe, just maybe, it’s
time to step into the modern age, dear. Now, before Jack arrives, look around.
How does the house look, Lizzy?”
Author Bio
Danielle A. Vann lives to write. When she was small, she spent endless days writing and crafting wild characters out of thin air. As Danielle grew, that love for writing sparked a career in journalism. She began her career as a scriptwriter and then moved into a flourishing career as a news reporter, food reporter, and morning/evening news anchor. That career earned her an Associate Press Award.
After becoming a mother, she was inspired to write children's books for her three adorable children. While she holds children fiction especially close to her heart, she also loves to write books for all ages. These genres include Young-Adult Fiction, Adult Fiction, Young Reader Fiction, and Non-Fiction.
When she isn't writing you can find her doing "mom" things, digging in her organic vegetable gardens, running, finding her Zen in yoga, or playing chef in the kitchen. She currently lives in Mansfield, Texas.
Danielle is also the author of Gracie Lou and The Bad Dream Eater, November 2016 release The Whizbang Machine, and September 2016 release The Very Tall Tale of Ranger, the Great Pyrenees, and his Adorable Friend, Miss Keys, and October 2016 release Building Faith Through A Carpenter's Hands. To learn more, visit www.authordanielleavann.com.
After becoming a mother, she was inspired to write children's books for her three adorable children. While she holds children fiction especially close to her heart, she also loves to write books for all ages. These genres include Young-Adult Fiction, Adult Fiction, Young Reader Fiction, and Non-Fiction.
When she isn't writing you can find her doing "mom" things, digging in her organic vegetable gardens, running, finding her Zen in yoga, or playing chef in the kitchen. She currently lives in Mansfield, Texas.
Danielle is also the author of Gracie Lou and The Bad Dream Eater, November 2016 release The Whizbang Machine, and September 2016 release The Very Tall Tale of Ranger, the Great Pyrenees, and his Adorable Friend, Miss Keys, and October 2016 release Building Faith Through A Carpenter's Hands. To learn more, visit www.authordanielleavann.com.
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Cover Reveal: The Dragonian Series
Welcome to The Dragonian Series Cover Revamp Reveal
Old New
UNIVERSAL LINKS
TO PURCHASE
Firebolt
The
Dragonian Series
Book
One
Adrienne
Woods
Genre: YA
Fantasy
Publisher: Fire
Quill Publishing
Dragons. Right.
Teenage girls don't believe in fairy tales, and sixteen-year old Elena Watkins
was no different.
Until the night
a fairy tale killed her father.
Now Elena's in a
new world, and a new school. The cutest guy around may be an evil dragon, a
Prince wants Elena's heart, and a long dead sorcerer may be waking up to kill
her. Oh. And the only way Elena's going to graduate is on the back of a dragon
of her own.
Teenage girls
don't believe in fairy tales. Now it's time for Elena to believe - in herself.
The
Dragonian Series
Book
Two
Adrienne
Woods
Vibrant, scale
swathed wings… Abilities that can be harnessed by a chosen few… Dragons…
All this may
seem like old news, but for seventeen year-old Elena Watkins the world of
Paegeia is not finished revealing all its secrets. During a summer break
intended for relaxation, she discovers that her harrowing adventure to retrieve
the King of Lion sword wasn’t the destiny foretold by the cryptic Viden, a
dragon with the ability to see a person’s true fate. The words inked onto the
page of the mysterious Book of Shadows remains black and Elena must return to
Dragonia Academy to discover their true meaning.
Upon her return
to the magnificent castle she has to face a challenge of a different kind,
keeping her boyfriend Lucian McKenzie, the Prince of Tith and love of her life,
away from the dangerous new student, Paul Sutton. As a Wyvern, Paul has made it
his mission to claim Elena as his rider but he is proving to be more perilous
than at first glance.
Everyone knew
that Wyverns were bad news, and just as evil as the darkness that lurked inside
Blake Leaf, the Rubicon forced to fight against his inner nature every day. But
Elena can see a small light lurking in the darkness, a destiny still
unfulfilled; to prove that Wyverns can be claimed.
Will Lucian’s
dark secret about Wyverns and Elena’s need to prove their true nature cause
their love to be torn apart? And which of Elena’s friends will be sacrificed
this time if she is wrong?
Frostbite
The
Dragonian Series
Book
Three
Adrienne
Woods
Losing Lucian
McKenzie, the Prince of her heart and discovering her true identity has made
Elena Watkins' life almost unbearable. However, new trials will test the 17
year-old's strength and push her to limits she didn’t think were possible.
Only a
mysterious offer from Blake Leaf, the Rubicon and a dragon predestined for
evil, reveals there may be a light at the end of Elena’s dark tunnel.
With the life
she thought she knew crashing down around her, Elena will have to face a
monumental decision about the fate of Paegeia. She can either make peace with
Blake’s demands or try once again to unravel the Queen’s secrets that lie deep
within her dragon, Tanya La Frey’s, heart.
The third heart
pounding novel in The Dragonian Series by Adrienne Woods
Moonbreeze
The
Dragonian Series
Book
Four
Adrienne
Woods
The life or a
star-studded royal has not been kind to eighteen-year-old Elena Watkins. With a
Council breathing down her neck and a dragon that refuses to accept her as his
rider, she must convince everyone that she is ready to rule Paegeia like her
parents before her. But she has made a promise to her father, King Albert, that
she will not go looking for him and free the people of Etan. Elena has promised
to never truly fulfill her destiny. However, situations out of her control will
soon force her to confront herself and the evil that seeks to destroy her.
Elena must look inside of herself to discover if she can defeat the approaching
darkness, be accepted by the people of Paegeia, bring her dragon back to light
and fulfill the destiny written in their stars.
Starlight
The
Dragonian Series
Book
Five
Adrienne
Woods
In the Fifth and
final part of the Dragonian Series, eighteen-year-old Elena Watkins and her
dragon, the Rubicon, need to find the missing ingredients in order to free her
father from Etan.
But what could
the missing ingredient be?
And will she be
willing to sacrifice her life if they don't find it before time runs out?
UNIVERSAL LINKS
TO PURCHASE
About
the Author:
I live in South
Africa with my husband and two beautiful daughters where I write full time. The
Dragonian series is my debut novels and Dream Casters is my second series with
book two getting ready for release.
I love life, cherish every special second of it and live my dream.
Website: http://www.authoradriennewoods.com
Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/AdrienneIsa
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ericb3
Website: http://www.thedragonianseries.com
Facebook Page: https://web.facebook.com/thedragonianseries/
Facebook group: https://web.facebook.com/groups/1667227356885178/
Instagram: The
Dragonian Series
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