[Book Blitz] Excerpt & Giveaway: Raven (Chronicles of Steele #1) by Pauline Creeden

Raven (Chronicles of Steele #1)

by Pauline Creeden 

Released Date: 10/2014

Summary from Goodreads:

This is the complete Steampunk Fantasy novel - all four parts of the serial in one volume!

Human life has value.
The poor living in the gutter is as valuable as the rich living in a manor.
The scoundrel is no less valuable than the saint.
Because of this, every life a reaper takes must be redeemed.

Raven has lived by this first tenet since she was trained by her father to become a reaper. But since his death, she’s been spending years redeeming the lives she’s taken. By her count, she’s even and it’s time for that life to end. If she settles down and becomes a wife, she might just feel human again. But on the way to the life she thinks she wants, the baron of New Haven asks her to complete a task which she cannot ignore… Just when Raven decides to give up on her life as an assassin, she’s pulled right back in.

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EXCERPT  

Two sets of footsteps clipped across on the cobblestone. Before they rounded the bend to the stable door, Raven’s fingers twitched over her knife. When she saw Gorman and the younger baron, she relaxed and continued attaching her weapons.

“Can I trust you?” Baron Darius’s voice rose hesitantly as he approached.

She smiled. “I’ve saved your life once and promise to do it as many times as necessary.”

“Why?”

“It’s the reaper’s way. A life for a life.”

“How many have you killed?”

Raven clinched her jaw. “Too many.” Her gaze met the butler’s. “Will he have his own horse?”

“No. The young master’s condition makes him subject to untimely fits. He would be in danger of falling.” His ice blue eyes held a fire unmatched by his frozen features.

“Right. I expected as much.” She placed her boot in the stirrup and mounted. “Hand him to me then.

The butler lifted him to the front of her saddle. She knew it would be an uncomfortable place to ride for a long period of time, but he’d only have to make it to Gregory’s house. On a horse, it should only be about four hours if they took it slow, less than three if needed.

A horn sounded, and the butler paled. “It’s him. The duke approaches.”

“Father is early.” The boy sounded happy but tentative.

Gorman gripped the horse’s rein and turned it toward the other stable exit. “We must leave by the north gate. The duke approaches from the south. You may have as much as an hour’s head start before he commands a pursuit.”

Raven swallowed hard. “That’s not enough time.”

“Follow me.” He released the rein and jogged forward.

The horse trotted in response. Even in the jarring up and down motion of the trot, the young baron remained silent. He gripped the chestnut mare’s mane with both hands. His knuckles glowed white under the lamps. Raven pulled gently on the reins to slow the horse to a more tolerable speed but followed the butler closely.

“Guards!” Gorman reached the gates, speaking in breathless tones. “Baron Solomon orders passage for this woman and the young baron.”

Raven recognized Grant’s red band before he turned around. He narrowed his eyes at her and barked the order to open the gate. Before she could urge her horse forward, Grant gripped the bridle by the cheek piece. He called back toward the butler, “Will she need guard?”

“That will not be necessary. She is capable of caring for the young baron on his errand.”

Even in the half-light, Raven could see the guard’s jaw tighten and nostrils flare in indecision. “Baron Solomon trusts this woman?”

The butler frowned and stiffened in disapproval. Still he answered softly, “Yes, with his brother’s life.”

About the Author

In simple language, Pauline Creeden creates worlds that are both familiar and strange, often pulling the veil between dimensions. She becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long.

Pauline is a horse trainer from Virginia, but writing is her therapy.

Armored Hearts, her joint effort with author Melissa Turner Lee, has been a #1 Bestseller in Christian Fantasy and been awarded the Crowned Heart for Excellence by InDtale Magazine. Her debut novel, Sanctuary is scheduled for release September 30, 2013, and has already been nominated for two awards in YA Science Fiction.

One of Pauline's short stories has won the CCW Short Story contest. Other short stories have been published in Fear & Trembling Magazine, Obsidian River and Avenir Eclectia. An urban fantasy short will appear in The Book of Sylvari: An Anthology of Elves from Port Yonder Press, and a vampire short will appear in Monsters! from Diminished Media Group. 

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Cover Reveal: Eleventh Elementum (The Primortus Chronicles, #1) by J.L. Bond and Val Richards

Eleventh Elementum (The Primortus Chronicles, #1)

by J.L. Bond and Val Richards 

Summary from Goodreads:

It has begun! Fourteen years after a catastrophic disaster, the world has regained its balance with the help of the Primortus. They have secretly walked amongst us since the beginning of time, protecting the earth with the power of the elements. When a fourteen-year-old girl is given two mysterious gifts from a father she never knew, she is drawn into their dangerous world of magic.

She must learn to wield the power of the Eleventh Elementum to survive. With the help of Will (her best friend), his cousin and her new stepsister, she seeks out the evil that threatens New Zealand. But a black-eyed stranger is watching their every move. Now, two powerful beings will battle one another and the outcome will determine our way of life.

About the Author
J.L. Bond and Val Richards met in college in Clarksville Tennessee, where Val excelled in Math and J.L excelled in creative ways to talk Val out of going to class. A few years later…okay, more than a few, they found themselves living about an hour away from one another in Florida and joined forces to write the Primortus Chronicles, YA fantasy- adventure series.  Nowadays, J.L. likes to remind Val that Math isn’t necessary for writing.

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[Book Blitz] Excerpt & Giveaway: Bad Blood by Nicky Peacock

Bad Blood

by Nicky Peacock 

Release Date: 09/04/14

Evernight Teen

Summary from Goodreads:
“I am Britannia. I am your protector. I will fend off the hungry hordes of undead hands that reach toward you. I am your steadfast defender. I will stand between you and the zombie masses as they try to taste your flesh. I am strong, unyielding, and dedicated to your survival. All I ask from you… is your blood.” 

A 500 year bloody game of vengeance will need to be put on hold if vampires are to survive the zombie uprising. Bitter enemies, Britannia and Nicholas must work together to save un-infected humans, delivering them to a stronghold in Scotland.

Unable to drink the zombie blood, vampires need humans to stay alive. But will they tell the survivors who they are, and what they want from them? Will Britannia be able to hold back her vengeance? Is survivor Josh the reincarnation of Britannia’s murdered true love? And can she bring herself to deliver him to the safe hold?

Survival instincts run deep, but bad blood can run deeper.

Buy Links:

Amazon UK   | Amazon US  | Evernight Teen

EXCERPT

We ran to the hospital. On the way, we encountered hardly anyone, alive or dead. Where were they all? When we arrived at the hospital car park, I understood. Zombies were pack animals. A massive crowd of them were crammed in and around the main building like they were waiting for a concert to start, all barely paying attention to their surroundings and seemingly swaying against the force of gravity. The other thing was the smell. When watching horror films filled with shuffling zombies, the horror came from their ghastly looks—the reminder that death has a tight grip on us all, well, most of us. But what the filmmakers should focus on—if they could—was the acidic rank odor zombies gave off. They had been dead barely twenty-four hours. It took a normal human body at least thirty-six hours to really start to smell, and that was with a vampire’s heightened senses. These guys smelled like they’d been out in the sun for three weeks covered in rubbish and besieged by wily maggots. They were mostly intact, though. Maybe this hospital had been Zombie Ground Zero. Most had turned so quickly their comrades hadn’t had time to feed.

“Maybe we should try a less populated target.” Nicholas twitched his nose and turned away from me to dry retch.

“Maybe you should grow a pair.”

“Maybe you should act like a lady.” He now had his hands on his hips, squaring up for yet another argument.

“Acting like a lady isn’t going to help now, is it? What do you want me to do? Drop my handkerchief in front of the zombies and watch them fight one another to scoop it up for me? Moron!”

“Always to the ‘nth degree with you, isn’t it?”

“Shut up. Look, the doors are holding, and they’re outside, not inside, which means there must be some people left in there alive to have barricaded this place so tight.”

“Or maybe there are just more zombies in there.”

“Well, there’s definitely a blood bank in there, and that’ll help matters no end!”

Nicholas looked thoughtful then nodded. He of course didn’t want to actually say aloud that I’d had a good idea. “So, how do we get past them?”

I assumed it was a rhetorical question, so I started down to the car park entrance, where most of the zombies were mobbing. I opened the outer door as quietly as possible.

“Ladies first,” Nicholas whispered in my ear.

“I thought we’d agreed I wasn’t a lady.” And with that, I shoved him as hard as I could into the throbbing throng of zombies.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I guess I’ve always been a storyteller, not in a ‘liar liar pants on fire’ kind of way, although I do work in advertising! When I was little, kids would crowd around me in the playground and I’d tell them tales of blood soaked horror filled with vampires, werewolves, ghosts and more. Yes, most would consider me a disturbed child, but my playmates couldn’t help themselves, they’d huddle around me every break time like an ancient tribe feeding off the fear; and that’s how I learned that horror stories hold a certain power, no matter what some might say, everyone is addicted to a good scare, especially if it is somewhat rooted safely in unrealistic beings… or are they unrealistic?

Writing was really a natural progression. Right now I’m obsessed with writing: a YA Urban Fantasy novel, a Paranormal Romance novella series, and several short horror stories! So I’m currently living in a functional fiction coma – and loving it!

I’ve so far been published in 5 countries: USA, UK, Australia, Ireland and Canada and had short stories included in 40 anthologies with over 17 publishers.

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GIVEAWAY:

One lucky winner will receive eBook copies of all 28 books! That's a lot of supernatural Halloween reading featuring: vampires, mermaids, reapers, werewolves, demons, gods, dragons, ghosts, witches, a phoenix and much more! Books included are:

Soul Taken/ Soul Possessed/ Soul Betrayed by Kaitlyn Duncan

Crown of Ice by Vicki L Weavil

Tangled Tides/ Dangerous Depths by Karen Amanda Hooper

Shadows of Fate by Angela Dennis

Divinity by Michelle L Johnson

Call Me Grim by Elizabeth Holloway

Darkness  / Darkness Reigns by L M Justus 

The Guardian of Bastet by Jacqueline M Battisti

My Sisters Reaper/ My Tethered Soul by Dorothy Dreyer

Soul Bound/ Soul Deep by Anne Hope

Daughter of Chaos by Jenn McConnel

Wicked Hunger by Delsheree Gladden

Shadow soul/ Shadow Heir by Kaitlyn Davis

Into the Fire by Asheynn Drake

Predator by Janice Gable Bashman

Whispers in the Darkness by Vanessa Barger

A Murder of Magpies by Sarah Bromley

Prayer for the Dead/ Aeonian Kiss by Nicki Scalise

Keeper of the Lost Souls/ Keeper of the Innocent by Kristy Centeno

Thank you to all the authors who contributed copies of their books. And a special thank you to http://month9booksblog.com/productscat/young-adult/ for their contributions. 

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Special Character Giveaway:

Would you like to be a character in the Battle of the Undead books? Well here's your opportunity! Nicky Peacock is giving away the chance for you to create a character of your very own to star alongside: Britannia, Nicholas, Josh, Jack and all the others in the next novels. You could be immortalized forever in a YA book! All you have to do is send an email entitled 'Bad Blood Character Giveaway' with your character on to:  battleoftheundead (at) hotmail (dot) com  Please include their name, gender, description, and whether they are a vampire, zombie, Vambie or human - and don't forget to say whether they are good or bad. Nicky will choose the best character and get in touch with the winner directly. Deadline for entries is the 30th November 2014.

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Cover Reveal: Reason and Romance by Jenn Young

Reason and Romance

by Jenn Young

Release Date: 12/09/14

Book Summary:

Being stuck in the godforsaken desert is Adrian Blake’s worst nightmare come true. Senior year is all about making fun memories. It’s not about starting over at a new school and navigating a new Brady Bunch family. It’s really not about living with a sexy, arrogant would-be stepbrother who knows how to push her buttons.

Alex Montgomery is the very definition of a player. The only thing he commits to is a one night stand. He’s exactly the kind of guy she hates­. When she sleeps with him, it’s the biggest mistake of her life. Now she can’t stop thinking about him. Not at school. Not at home.

Sometimes the best mistakes are the ones that you make over and over again…

About the Author

Jenn Young writes primarily Young Adult and New Adult. She used to write contemporary teen drama and romance under the pen name Myrika at Fictionpress. She also used to write under the pen name Moreta. Jenn is an unabashed lover of romance, soap operas, and paranormal/supernatural stories.

When Jenn's not working at her day job, she drinks too much coffee and buys too many books. She loves to hear from readers. Contact her via her website, jennyoung.com, or follow her on Twitter at myrikami. She can be found on Facebook too. 

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Release Day Blitz: Aphrodite's Charms by Julie Kenner

APHRODITE'S CHARMS by Julie Kenner releases today and we couldn't be more thrilled for everyone to get their hands on The Protector Series!

About APHRODITE'S CHARMS

From New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author Julie Kenner (aka J. Kenner) -- Aphrodite's Charms contains all four full-length novels in the bestselling Protector (Superhero) series of paranormal romances.

This bundle contains the full text of Aphrodite's Kiss, Aphrodite's Passion, Aphrodite's Secret, Aphrodite's Flame (each book is available for purchase individually as well as in this bundle)

Aphrodite's Kiss:

Zoe Smith might look like your average, ordinary elementary school librarian, but she’s about as far from normal as a girl can get. Because Zoe is descended from a line of superheroes … and as her twenty-fifth birthday approaches, she has to decide if she’s going to embrace her heritage (including the X-ray vision and her extraordinary senses) or submit herself for mortalization and be that average, ordinary girl.

Considering how lousy she’s done so far on all the Council-imposed tests, chucking the whole superhero thing might be very best thing … especially when she realizes that sexy, private investigator George Bailey Taylor is convinced that Zoe is one-hundred percent “the girl next-door”.

An ex-cop turned PI, George Bailey Taylor’s had one hell of a life being bounced around from foster home to foster home. All he wants now is a normal life with a normal wife in a normal neighborhood. And when he meets Zoe Smith, he’s certain she’s the typical American girl.

Except she does have an overprotective brother who seems able to appear and disappear at will. And a creepy cousin who’s always lurking about. And why does everyone in her family pretend to actually talk to the pet ferret? With her super powers, Zoe can do just about anything … except make Taylor fall in love with her.

For that, they’re both going to need a different kind of magic …

Aphrodite's Passion:

Mortal Tracy Tannin has always felt like the most ordinary girl in the world, especially since she’s lived her whole life in the shadow of her Hollywood superstar grandmother. But when she finds an antique belt in her grandmother’s attic, everything changes. Suddenly everyone wants Tracy—or maybe they just want the belt.

Superhero Hale is more than happy to do his job protecting mortals. But get emotionally close to one? Absolutely no way. Which is why he’s thrown a bit off his game when he suddenly finds himself craving the mortal woman he’s been assigned to protect. But that must just be the effect of the magical belt he’s supposed to retrieve, right?

Because there’s no way that a guy like Hale can fall for a girl like Tracy.
Or is there?

Aphrodite's Secret:

Shapeshifter Jason Murphy spent six years captive to the most notorious Outcast in the Protector world—Hieronymous Black, who also happens to be Jason’s father. Worse than his is the distrust that his absence put between him and the love of his life, Lane.

Lane knows only that the father of her child disappeared just moments after she told him she was pregnant, and she’s spent the last few years struggling as a single mom. Now Jason’s determined to win back his family.

But to do that, he’s going to have to face his father one last time. And he’s going to have to tell Lane the truth—and hope that this time she’ll see him as a hero.

Aphrodite's Flame:

Mordichai grew up under the shadow of the baddest bad guy out there—Hieronymous Black—and he’s used his power to conjure fire to help Daddy Dearest in numerous nefarious plots. But he’s reformed now—and just in time to meet the woman of his dreams.

Isole Frost believes Mordichai when he says he’s truly reformed. Trouble is, she also believes that Hieronymous truly wants to give up his dark ways and join the good guys.

He may be the man of her dreams, but she’s sure that he’s wrong.And when they’re forced to work together, they’re either going to prove that fire won’t mesh with ice—or that the inevitable result is a whole lotta steam!

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About Julie Kenner

Julie Kenner (aka J. Kenner and J.K. Beck) is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over forty novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of genres. Praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a “flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations,” J.K. writes a range of stories including super sexy romances, paranormal romance, chick lit suspense and paranormal mommy lit. Her foray into the latter, Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner, is in development as a feature film with 1492 Pictures. Her most recent trilogy of erotic romances, The Stark Trilogy (as J. Kenner), reached as high as #2 on the New York Times list and is published in over twenty countries. J.K. lives in Central Texas, with her husband, two daughters, and several cats.  

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[Release Day Blitz] Giveaway: Written in the Sand by T.A. Foster & Mary-Kathryn Craft

Today is the release day for WRITTEN IN THE SAND by T.A. Foster and Mary-Kathryn Craft! Be sure to check out the contest and teasers below. 

 

WRITTEN IN THE SAND 

WRITTEN IN THE SAND BLURB:

Blair is determined to stay on course. Her reporting career is waiting for her if she can just make it through summer on the island. Justyn knows not to get attached to tourist girls breezing through town for only a season. Maggie wants to cherish her last few months of summer freedom. So what if she has to keep a tiny secret to make sure everyone around her stays happy? Reid doesn’t have time for romance. His new business must succeed, no matter the cost. This summer everything is about to change. All those carefully laid plans might shift faster than the tides. When these four start spending time together, the island nights get hotter than the sun-drenched days. Trying to stay untangled and unattached is easier said than done when the one thing you want is standing right in front of you.

WRITTEN IN THE SAND BUY LINKS:

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AUTHOR INFORMATION:

T.A. Foster is Southern girl whose heart and spirit are connected to the beach. She grew up catching rays and chasing waves along the North Carolina Outer Banks and now resides in the state with her adventurous pilot husband, two children, and two canine kiddos. She has an undergraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a graduate degree in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University. Author Links: Blog: http://www.tafosterauthor.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/tafosterwriter Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TAFosterauthor Author Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7164289.T_A_Foster


Mary-Kathryn Craft spent her childhood summers vacationing on Harkers Island, North Carolina. There she fell in love with the Cape Lookout beaches and learned about the power of a good story from the island old-timers. With degrees in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of South Carolina, she now works in public relations in Columbia, South Carolina with her husband, daughter, and shiba inu. Twitter Link: https://twitter.com/MKCraft  

Written in the Sand is more than fifteen years in the making. Tucked away in boxes and buried deep on hard drives, pieces of Maggie and Blair’s story sat untouched for years before the authors rediscovered the work in progress. They knew it was time to revisit the island and give Maggie, Blair, Justyn, and Reid a summer to remember.  

   

[Book Blitz] The Land Uncharted by Keely Brooke Keith

Title: The Land Uncharted

Author: Keely Brooke Keith

Release Date: October 21, 2014

Publisher: Edenbrooke Press

Summary:

Lydia Colburn is a young physician dedicated to serving her village in the Land. Day and night, she rushes by horseback to treat the ill and injured, establishing a heroic reputation as the village’s new doctor.

Naval Aviator Connor Bradshaw is flying over the South Atlantic Ocean on a mission to secure any remaining sources of fresh water in a 2025 world torn apart by war. A malfunction activates his aircraft’s ejection system, parachuting his unconscious body to the shore of a hidden land. 

Lydia risks her safety to help the injured outsider despite the shock of his mysterious arrival and the disastrous implications his presence could have for her peaceful society, which has gone undetected for seven generations.

Connor searches for a way to return to his squadron, but his fascination with life in the Land makes him protective of Lydia and her peaceful homeland. And while Lydia’s attraction to Connor stirs desires she never anticipated, it also pushes an unwanted admirer to stage a dangerous attempt to win her affection.

As Connor tries to keep the Land off the radar, he learns the biggest threat to Lydia lurks in her village. But when Lydia’s greatest passion and darkest fear collide, will she look to the past or the future to find the strength to survive?

Add The Land Uncharted to your shelf on Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing, or FictFact

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Pre-order today!

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 Have your ebook of The Land Uncharted signed via Authorgraph!

Advance Praise for The Land Uncharted:

"Not only is Keely's writing beautiful and full of vivid detail, but the story and characters are incredible! I love the way she crosses genres and how well it all blends together.” -Christina Yother, author of Reverie

“The Land Uncharted captured my interest from the opening lines. Keely Brooke Keith skillfully weaves an engaging story that explores the possibilities of a simple, peaceful existence in a society set apart from a world ravaged by conflict. Equal parts suspense and romance, this debut novel is a compelling read.” -Heidi McCahan, author of Unraveled

About the Author

Keely is a bass guitarist and lives on a hilltop south of Nashville. When she isn’t writing stories or playing bass, Keely enjoys dancing, having coffee with friends, and sifting through vintage books at antique stores. 

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