Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Ashes and Ice by Rochelle Maya Callen


This book is awesome. I even got to do a character interview a while back. Click here to read it. Don't miss the Giveaway and the great sale on this book, 99cents!

 
Title: Ashes & Ice
Author: Rochelle Maya Callen          
Release Day: February 4th, 2013
Genre: Young Adult
Blitz Host: Lady Amber's Tours
 

 

Synopsis:

She is desperate to remember.
He is aching to forget.
Together, they are not broken.
But together, one may not survive.

​Jade wakes up with no memory of her past and blood on her hands.

Plagued by wicked thoughts, she searches for answers. Instead, she finds a boy who doesn't offer her answers, but hope. But sometimes, when nightmares turn into reality and death follows you everywhere, hope is not enough.

LUST. LOVE. LOSS. Sometimes, all that is left are Ashes and Ice
 


Author Bio:

Rochelle grew up dreaming up stories. When she entered high school, she tucked away her creative side and jumped head-first into academics, work, and service projects. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Political Science and Communication when she was twenty years old. After years away from her writing, Rochelle picked up a pen and started fleshing out a character sketch that she outlined when she was twelve. That sketch was the start of the Ashes and Ice story. Rochelle lives in the DC metro area with her husband and daughter. By day she works as a behavioral therapist. By night, she is a dreamer and is busy tapping out new stories on her keyboard.

 

Links:


Twitter: rockyiswriting



Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Rochelle-Maya-Callen/e/B00C3YE28C/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

 

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ashes-Ice-Rochelle-Maya-Callen/dp/0988204215/ref=la_B00C3YE28C_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366718898&sr=1-1

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ashes-and-ice-rochelle-maya-callen/1114308388?ean=2940016192550

 

 

 

Excerpt #1


Jade


            The girl’s glassy, dead eyes stare into me, through me, pierce me with a fierce urgency, with a wicked accusation. The blood is still on my hands.

            Red hair, blue eyes, a constellation of freckles on pale skin. She was fragile and innocent, a lovely thing. That is what I think until I see the gashes on her wrists and throat. With her blood spilling out, she looks delicious. She’s mine. Possessiveness shocks me, stabs into me. I run, tearing away from a craving I don't understand.

            Breathless, I grit my teeth and run harder, faster.

             

            My feet pound against the earth, away from the lifeless body and toward the lights of the city lingering on the horizon. Rot and death linger in my nostrils. Unscarred skin stretches taut over my freezing bones. Echoes of an empty memory reverberate in my mind, taunting me. The ice chases me, clutches me, and bites at my heels, sending shivers up my spine. The ice wants me back, but I run forward, toward the lights, toward the heat, toward a world that burns me, because I have no other choice.

            The lights are so close. Heat scalds my skin.

            Images race through my mind, paralyzing me. I skid to a stop, my boots digging into the mud. The vision’s blurred edges materialize into solid shapes.

             I gasp.

            A new horror rakes my insides. Desperation propels me forward; the pictures nagging at my seams threaten to tear me apart.

            Scorching fire licks over my skin. In my vision, I contort like a vile, ugly creature, eyes as black as decay. My frame hunches over the small, dead girl, like a demon looming over a defenseless child. Her blood drips from my mouth.

            I lick my lips and taste only salty sweat.

            I run, desperate to trample the vision under my feet, to crush it deep into the ground.

            I refuse to believe the image, refuse to acknowledge the monster within me demanding to be unleashed—and the possibility it has already been unbound. An unrelenting tide of fear washes over me. Past the denial, the fear, and the hope, I think I can still taste her.

            The cold stillness inside me cracks open just as the lights of the city slam into me.

 

Excerpt #2

 

Connor


            Tears burn. I never realized it before, but they do. Tears reach down my throat and settle in my gut until the pain cripples me. I clutch my stomach as I look into the casket. His face doesn’t even look the same. Bloated like a Mardi Gras float, discolored like a mannequin. This isn’t my father.

            But it is.

            If I have learned anything in my short life, it is this: funerals are bullshit. People dress in carefully pressed black suits. Parents give me “meaningful” nods as if that could ease the grief. It doesn’t.

            Then there are the kids from school, the ones dragged along by their parents. People drag their kids along as if filling the church was a necessary thing. As if the more pews filled somehow expedite the dead’s trip to heaven. I doubt it does. Maybe some of the girls went shopping to buy just the right outfit so their cleavage to respectability ratio was just right, or  their ass to waist ratio was cinched properly.

            People sit in the pews dressed in their finest let’s-go-pay-our-respects-to-the-dead-guy-we-never-knew wear, smacking the gum in their mouths, cupping cellphones so they can LOL any comment  buzzing in, and drumming their fingers because the pastor is going on too long.  All they want to do is go home, sneak in a make-out session with their girlfriends, eat their dinners, and maybe catch a 7 o’clock movie.

            I hate these kids. The ones who stare at me, roll their eyes, and yawn. The ones who trip me at school and slam me into lockers. The ones who sit in a pew, contributing to the headcount, while I sit up here in front, holding back the tears fighting to make their appearance. I swallow them down. I won’t cry. Not here. Not with these people.

            Dad’s funeral should be an empty church with mom, his three brothers, and me. It should be the five of us having a messy, sloppy, sobbing affair where we cling to each other because we are all we have left. The marble floors should be slick with our tears. It isn’t. We sit here, straight backed, completely composed as if death is just a passing expiration date and our small, insignificant world has not been split open and left gaping.

***

            I’m in my room, staring at the ceiling. The funeral service was hours ago.

            The house feels empty and cold. I hear a stifled whimper from down the hall.

            Mom.

            Probably crying into a pillow so the house can’t hear, but it can. It seems unfair she can’t wail aloud, so loud  the house’s hundred-year-old studs tremble.

            She doesn’t. I don’t either. We cry in our own rooms, remembering a man who will never be here again.

            The house creaks. Maybe it feels the weight of our grief, maybe the floorboards are buckling because the burden is too heavy.

            I ache, desperate to forget the long battle with cancer, the blood sputtering out of his mouth with his last words—what where they? I can’t remember because the fear in his eyes overshadowed anything he said. Now the loss. I don’t want to feel this loss. Some divine entity has taken dull scissors and cut out a piece of my life and now I have jagged scars to remind me I lost too much. Too much.

            I want to forget, because it hurts to remember.

            I bury my head in the pillow, hoping to suffocate the memories, to choke out the pain.

 

Excerpt #3


 

“Have you ever been in love?”

            I spill my popcorn on my lap. “I, uh, what?” I say, swiping off the kernels. The question catches me off guard.

            “You know, in love.”

            “No. No, I haven’t.” I shift on the couch, needing more space between us. “What about you?”

            “Nah.” She flicks her hand toward me as if she is brushing away nonsense, but the hard look in her eyes says something different.

            “Why?”

            She points to the TV screen and the couple making out there. “Figured if you had been, then you could explain that to me.”

            The guy sweeps the girl up and carries her into bed before they… you know. “Uh, sex?”

            She bursts out laughing. “That too. But I was talking about what  it feels like to be, you know, in love. Totally, without question. Like, does that,” she points to the screen again, “exist?”

            “Yeah, I think it exists.” I think of mom and dad—the way they kissed every morning, hugged a few moments longer than anyone else, laughed so hard they cried, and cuddled, shutting out the world, looking more content than these fakers on the screen. “It exists. And in real life, it’s better than that crap.” I say, suddenly uncomfortable by the moaning coming from the TV.

            “I thought you said you’ve never been in love?”

            “I haven’t. But I’ve seen it. And I haven’t ever seen anything come close to that in the movies.”

            She opens her mouth as if about to ask a question, but then closes it and smiles, accepting my answer. “Well, it’s good that there may be something in life to look forward to.” She drops a kernel of popcorn in her mouth.

            “May be?”

            “Well nothing is guaranteed. Who knows, I may die an old spinster.” She’s smiling, but her eyes aren’t.

            I think about the movie store guy’s possessive eyes, Jesse’s chair fiasco, and Dominic’s leering, my heart. “I doubt that.”

 

Excerpt #4

 

He smiles a bit wider and hands out the pin.

            As, I reach to pluck it from his palm, he snatches my wrist with one hand, my bicep with the other and crushes me against his chest.

            His grip is tight—too tight, it hurts—and the bend of him hovers over me, leaning in. I try to shake him off, but he doesn’t let go. I squirm as I feel his thumb trace circles on the inside of my wrist. The touch sends a skitter of sensation over me. Something tinges the air; a sweet, cool feeling brushes over my skin, making my knees want to buckle. He smells like mint, his breath tickles my face. I pull back, hating the sensations that please my skin and curdle my insides. Bile surges in my throat. I tear myself away from him, glaring.

            “What?” He says coolly as if he hadn’t just bruised my arms with his clutching fingertips.

            “That. Hurt.” I say. I don’t say he smells sweet or his breath is refreshing on my skin or his touch sends chills up my spine, delicious chills. I step away.

            His smile is unnerving. “Don’t worry, Jade.” He winks at me. Damn that wink of his. “One day, you’ll like it.”
 
 

Monday, April 22, 2013

Lyrid Meteor Shower Tonight!!!

Right now you can watch the Lyrid Meteor Shower and remember the scene from Curse of the Beast where Tayla and Beast watch it!!! I love that scene and am very excited that the meteor shower is happening right now!! :-) Thought I would geek out for a moment:-) Here is the link if you missed it: http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2013/0422/Meteor-shower-webcast-Watch-outside-or-onscreen

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Big April Book Giveaway!

 
 
Happy April! What better way to bring in Spring than by having a book giveaway! My book is one on the list to be given away. So Good Luck!

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Dangerous GIVEAWAY!

 DANGEROUS by Suzannah Daniels has a giveaway, too!  So don't miss entering.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dangerous by Suzannah Daniels


Title: DANGEROUS

Author: Suzannah Daniels     

Release Day: April 9th, 2013

Genre: Young Adult Contemprary Romance

Blitz Host: Lady Amber's Tours


Book Description:
Stone Hamilton had never known fear...until the accident.  Since then, his life has spiraled out of control.  He's been kicked out of private school, deemed a disappointment by his father, and forced to endure his own guilt, anger, and grief.  The last thing he wants is a relationship with someone who will have expectations of him.  But once he's enticed by the shimmering-pink lips of the oh-so-popular, academically-excelling, straitlaced hottie from his new school, he knows he's in trouble.

Seventeen-year-old Dara Golding has one goal for the summer:  make enough money to buy a car, so that she can drive to school her senior year.  After starting a new job, she realizes that she'll be working with the brooding, motorcycle-riding, bad boy who started attending Quail Mountain High last year.  With his less than stellar reputation, he's everything she's afraid of...and that makes him dangerous.

Their undeniable attraction has Stone struggling with his inner demons.  As Dara slowly allows Stone to claim her heart, a little white lie to cover an ugly truth could determine whether she's his savior or the final straw that will break his sanity.


Author Bio:
Suzannah Daniels has had an affinity for words for as long as she can remember.  She grew up in North Georgia with four brothers, so she learned at an early age to admire snakes and motorcycles.  When she wasn't pestering her brothers, she could usually be found reading or writing.

She is the author of Viking's Embrace, a historical romance, Ghostly Encounter, Book One of her Ghostly series (young adult paranormal romance), and Dangerous, a young adult contemporary romance.

Currently, she lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee with her husband and her teenage daughter.  Her son lives nearby.  The family pets include a Lab mix, a Basset Hound, a Shih Tzu, and a sweet, little kitty.

Author links

www.SuzannahDaniels.com

www.facebook.com/pages/Suzannah-Daniels/366971616695887

https://twitter.com/SuzannahDaniels

http://pinterest.com/suzannahdaniels/

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6434142.Suzannah_Daniels


Buy Links

http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-ebook/dp/B00C0EJC7Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1364397763&sr=8-3&keywords=suzannah+daniels

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dangerous-suzannah-daniels/1114910571?ean=2940016275888

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/299091

 

Excerpt:

Stone
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered frantically. “Are you okay?”

I rubbed the side of my temple, trying to determine the answer to her question. I felt a lump rising, and I closed my eyes for just a moment and breathed deeply.

“Let me see,” she said.

I held my palm up toward her. “I’m fine.” I dropped my palm to my knee, not yet rising from my stooped position.

Before I knew what she was doing, her fingers were in my hair, her gentle touch skimming over the spot where our heads bumped. She was so close that I could smell the delicate fragrance on her skin, and I found myself enticed by her.

“Oh, my gosh!” she exclaimed. “A knot. Great. My first day of work, and I’ve already given someone a concussion.”

I laughed, but I didn’t move. I didn’t know why I found her comment so amusing or why I didn’t want her to move her hands. Slowly, I rose, catching her slender wrists in my grasp. “I’m fine,” I said, feeling the pulse in her wrist quicken against my fingertips. Her brilliant green eyes widened, and her full, shimmering-pink lips parted in surprise. “What about you?” I asked.

I wasn’t sure if she heard my question. She stared at me in shock as if she had just been caught making out behind the bleachers by the principal.

“Dara?” I asked, starting to wonder if she was the one with the concussion.

“I’m…fine,” she said breathlessly.

I’d been around enough girls to know when I had an effect on them. And she was definitely affected.

Dara wasn’t the type of female I usually hung out with, but it was nice to know I had the same effect on the goody-two-shoes that I did on the bad girls.

My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out of my pocket, glancing at the caller’s name. Speaking of bad girls, Jessie was calling.

Dara
I thought my heart was going to pound out of my chest. If I hadn’t still been freezing from the cold rain that soaked my hair and clothes, sweat would’ve been trickling down my temples. The warmth from his hands was like heaven against my icy skin, but his close proximity was dangerous to my hammering heart. In fact, if I had to describe Stone Hamilton in one word, it would be dangerous.

 

 

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Allusive Aftershock by Susan Griscom 4 stars



Title: Allusive Aftershock
Author: Susan Griscom
Genre: YA
Publisher: Amber Glow Books
Release Date: December 18 2012
Editions/Formats Available In: Print and Amazon Kindle

Synopsis:
What happens when a major earthquake changes life as you know it and the boy you thought you hated ends up saving you? Three times!
Courtland Reese is the guy everyone hates and makes fun of because … well, he is weird. He communicates with animals. Strange or interesting, seventeen-year-old Adela Castielle can’t quite figure out, but when he saves her from being trampled by her own horse, she begins to understand him a little better and wants to learn more about him. But, Max--her best friend/dream guy/someday-to-be-her-husband-only-he-doesn’t-know-it-yet--hates Courtland with a passion. Adela wants to know why, except neither boy is talking. When Max leaves her stranded in his parents' wine cave with his worst enemy, Courtland, after what the experts are calling a “megathrust” earthquake, Adela starts to question her loyalty to Max as steamy kisses in a dark damp cellar only fuel her emotions with more conflict. But does she really have time to worry about that when fire, destruction and mayhem surround her?

Purchase Links

 Four Star Review


Isn’t the cover awesome?! I really enjoyed this book. The characters had to go through so much to survive. The love story was awesome. I think that a man that can survive out in the wild is so hot, hence the reason why Court gets my vote hands down! Adela was really a sweet person. I liked how Max grow in character through this story. He started off kind rough and unlikable. I felt like the author really did her research with earthcracks (yes, I spelled it that way on purpose, read the book and find out why! So cute) and forest fires.

Note: Four Stars. For readers 16+. There was a petting scene.




Author Bio

I daydream often. If I didn't write, I think my mind would explode from an overload of fantasy and weirdness. To the annoyance of my friends and family, my characters sometimes become a part of my world. During my childhood, I would frequently get in trouble in school for daydreaming. Eventually, my vivid imagination paid off and I had the privilege of writing and co-directing my sixth-grade class play--a dreadful disaster; though not from my writing, of course, I must blame it on the acting.
The craft of writing, although dormant for years, never really left me. Many years later, and with the help of technology, I let my imagination run wild again.
Born in a small town in Pennsylvania, I enjoy writing about characters living in small quaint towns. I tend to lean toward the unusual and spooky. I read all genres but I love reading paranormal romance and like writing in that genre.
My paranormal playing field delves into a different milieu, abandoning vampires and werewolves, but not discounting them. Someday I might like to write a novel about vamps and those furry creatures. But for now I like the bizarre mixed with romance. A strong hero or heroine confronted with extraordinary forces of nature, powers and capabilities gets my blood running.
I live in Northern California with my very romantic husband, my small yippy dog, Riley, and my humungous black cat, SakƩ. My family consists of his and her children; four wonderful sons, one beautiful daughter, and seven grandchildren. My greatest love in life is my family and those large and ever growing holiday dinners.
I enjoy traveling. I hate running, but do it once in a while. Reading and writing are my favorite pastimes.

Author Links
Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/SMGriscom

Excerpts

Excerpt 1:
As Courtland stood, the legs of his chair scraped along the floor and the back of his knees pushed it out of the way of his tall frame. His dark green hoodie hung loose and unzipped, his jeans sat low on his waist. His hair was slicked back away from his face, different from the normal way it usually fell over his forehead, giving him the appearance of an ancient Native American warrior. If I wasn’t already in love with Max and Court hadn’t been so mean to me the other day, I might actually think he was hot, the way he walked up to get the book without saying a word, his gait easy but cautious as he sauntered past Max’s desk. One never knew what Max might do and Courtland had been the brunt of his antics more than once.
“Stop by the library on your way back and pick up a couple of the books they have on earthquake preparedness. There should be a good selection on the subject. Ask Mrs. Snow to help you; she’ll steer you in the right direction.”
Courtland strolled out of the room while Mr. Montgomery continued his talk about earthquakes.
Sometimes I felt sorry for Courtland, the way some of the kids made fun of his keen intuition with animals. This morning, I was still too mad at him to care much about that, though. My mind wandered back to Big Blue. I really wanted to ride him—maybe today would be a good time to do it. If Max rode with me, Courtland might stay clear. I scribbled a quick note in my binder, ripped the page out, folded it into a little square and handed it to Max while Mr. Montgomery wrote something on the board. He read it and folded it back up before sticking it under his history book. After flashing a smile at me, he nodded.
I sat doodling on the paper in front of me, making little swirling designs I thought might look good on a book cover, half listening to Mr. Montgomery when I felt a brush of material glide over my arm. I looked up to see Courtland as he strolled past me, back from his trip to the office.
 All of a sudden, my desk jolted

Excerpt 2:
With no electricity, I could barely make out the two figures standing by the door to the cellar. If not for the half moon, I would not have been able to see them at all. I stepped up to them and realized they were staring up at the sky and my eyes naturally followed their gaze. I had never seen such an awesome sight. Without any city lights for miles and miles, the stars in the sky were unusually bright and plentiful. A truly beautiful sight.
“Wow,” I whispered, standing between Max and Court. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Court’s focus change and he stared down at me. There was something strange about the way his eyes bored into me, as if he could see into my soul. I waited for him to look away but he held his gaze on me while I pretended to marvel at the sky. I’d never seen him stare at me that way before and I got nervous. My fingers fidgeted with each other and I clamped two of them in my other hand to steady them. If I hadn’t known better, I never would have guessed in a million years he had injuries. His eyes stayed fixed on me with an intense tenderness I had never seen from a boy before. Maybe Courtland Reese wasn’t so bad after all. Standing between the two of them in all their glorious hotness had my stomach doing flip-flops. I knew it was wrong to think these things under the circumstances, but maybe my mind just needed the distraction … or confusion. I loved Max, but I was beginning to like Courtland too. Man, I was in so much trouble.

Excerpt 3:
“I’m so sorry, Adela. I’m so sorry.” His soft voice barely registered in my ear while he stroked his hand over my head, trying to comfort me. I didn’t want comfort. I wanted to find my mom. I wanted her arms around me, rocking me the way she did whenever I became upset or sick. My legs buckled under me, and I collapsed to the ground. Max held on and sank down with me. We sat on the pile of my broken home. “I’m pretty sure she’s not here.” He continued, “I think she went to Sacramento with your dad.”
I sniffled, hoping Max was right. I knew we couldn’t search through this on our own. I just wanted to try.
I don’t know how long we sat there while I leaned against Max’s chest—could have been a few seconds, could have been a few minutes. It felt like hours. I dried my cheeks with the sleeve of my sweater but couldn’t lift my head from the comfort of Max’s embrace.
I thought about how I’d just used my sweater to wipe my tears and nose and sighed as I sniffled. Speaking softly into Max’s shirt, I said, “My mom would cringe if she saw me do that. She’d say, ‘Adela, stop, get a tissue. You’re going to ruin your sweater.’”
“Ah, you’re right, she would. Are you going to be okay?”
“No, but what choice do I have? I can only pray she’s with my dad and they’re okay—and hope Ambrosia and Aaron survived. We need to find them.”
“Right. First let’s find something for your hand.”
“My hand?”
“Yeah, look.” He placed his fingers around my wrist, turning my hand over; blood covered my entire palm. I stared at my blood-soaked hand as if it belonged to someone else. “When did I do this?”
“You fell when you were running toward the sweater.”
“Oh yeah, right, I fell.” I shrugged. “There’s a lot of blood, but it doesn’t hurt.”
“It will once the shock wears off.” He found a small dishtowel under the ramshackle pile of debris in the kitchen area and wrapped the soft cloth around my hand, tying a knot at the backside. “That should be tight enough to stop the bleeding. Let’s go to my house. My folks can help us.”

Excerpt 4:
An explosion burst through the air and I almost jumped out of my skin. I turned toward the noise and stared in horror at the sight of the Arco gas station completely engulfed in flames. The fire immediately spread into a clump of trees between the station and the half-demolished grocery store about six feet from where Max stood.
“Max!” I screamed and leaped up forgetting about the clenching in my stomach.
Max hurried back and grabbed my hand again. We ran, hopping over broken brick, concrete, glass, and wood from collapsed buildings, swerving between and around abandoned cars stopped or smashed along the road. Max never let go of my hand. Trees and buildings consumed in flames glowered around us, the heat almost too much to bear. The scent of gas permeated the air along with the muck of smoke and debris. Water spewed up from a broken fire hydrant, knocked on its side by the delivery truck now perched on top of it and I gasped at the sight of a bloodied man’s head hanging out the window.
I wanted to be home more than anything now. Did we even have a home? Were my mom and dad okay? The twins? What about Big Blue? I fought back tears, trying to convince myself they were all fine and probably wondering where I was. I squeezed my eyes shut to picture my mom pacing the living room, worrying and telling my dad they needed to find me.
All of a sudden, we stopped running. I glanced up to see why and gaped with horror at the road in front of us. The broken asphalt had buckled into a pile about twelve feet high, obstructing our way. The crumbled debris from the buildings on both sides blocked the entire area. With the newly formed abyss in front of us and the out-of-control inferno behind us closing in fast, we were trapped.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Ageless Sea by M.R. Polish is LIVE!!!

Oh my gosh! I am excited to announce that Ageless Sea is live on! I can't believe the day has come. No, it is not an April fools joke, it is real!


Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com
Barnes and Noble Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com
Add to your Goodreads Shelf: http://www.goodreads.com

Get your Authorgraph here: 




Life. Love. Death.

Banished for a crime she didn’t commit, Karis must learn to live her life alone – and in a world that’s not her own. Cursed on an island of loneliness, forced to endure nearly a century without a friend, the woman once destined to be Queen must find a way to return to her world and save her people from an evil influence.

After many years, one man is strong enough to survive the cursed barrier that keeps her from leaving the island. She needs him so she can return to her world; he needs her to put together the pieces of his broken memory. Side by side, Brady and Karis feel their loneliness slip away.

Every day their love grows stronger, but will their bond survive the battle between worlds? In Book One of The Ageless Series, M.R. Polish takes readers into a world where myths are real, deception lurks in the shadows, and destiny brings two lost souls together to fight as one.