Tag: Giveaway
Sister of the Chosen One Release Day Blitz: Excerpt and Giveaway
HOW TO LIVE LIFE ON THE EDGE Blog Tour: Excerpt & Giveaway
I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the HOW TO LIVE LIFE ON THE
EDGE by Sarah Lynn Scheerger Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About the Book:
Title: HOW TO LIVE LIFE ON
THE EDGE
Author: Sarah Lynn Scheerger
Pub. Date: August 4, 2020
Publisher: Lerner/Carolrhoda
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: 312
Eighteen-year-old Cayenne barely
remembers her mother, who died of breast cancer when Cayenne was four. The
women in her family have a history of dying young. Cayenne figures she’ll meet
the same fate, so she might as well enjoy life now, engaging in death-defying
risks like dodging trains and jumping off cliffs with her boyfriend.
When Cayenne receives a series of video
messages her mother made for her before dying, she isn’t sure she wants them.
Her aunt Tee has been her true mother figure. But then Aunt Tee tests positive
for a BRCA gene mutation–the one that doomed Cayenne’s mom–and decides to get
a mastectomy to reduce her chances of developing cancer. As Cayenne helps her
aunt prepare for the surgery, she finds herself drawn to her mother’s messages,
with their musings on life, love, and perseverance. For the first time, Cayenne
starts to question what it truly means to live life to the fullest, even when
death might be written into her DNA.
How to Live on the Edge_Sample Chapter by Jaime Arnold on Scribd
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About Sarah:
Sarah Lynn (Scheerger) works as a clinical social worker with
at-risk youth, helping them figure out who they are and who they want to be.
She also provides counseling to adults and couples. She lives in southern
California with her husband and children. Sarah started out writing under her
first and middle name (Sarah Lynn) because she thought having a pen name seemed
mysterious and cool. However, over time she’s transitioned to writing under her
real name as well (both Sarah Scheerger and Sarah Lynn Scheerger). Sarah loves
reading, watching movies, and spending time with her family and friends.
Giveaway
Details:
3
winners will receive a finished copy of HOW TO LIVE LIFE ON THE EDGE, US Only.
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
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7/27/2020
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Review
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7/28/2020
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Review
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7/29/2020
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Review
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7/30/2020
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Review
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7/31/2020
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Interview
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Week Two:
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8/3/2020
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Review
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8/4/2020
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Review
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8/5/2020
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Review
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8/6/2020
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Review
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8/7/2020
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Interview
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Week Three:
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8/10/2020
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Review
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8/11/2020
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Review
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8/12/2020
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Excerpt
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8/13/2020
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Review
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8/14/2020
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Excerpt
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Week Four:
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8/17/2020
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Excerpt
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8/18/2020
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Review
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8/19/2020
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Review
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8/20/2020
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Review
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8/21/2020
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Excerpt
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Week Five:
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8/24/2020
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Review
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8/25/2020
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Excerpt
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8/26/2020
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Excerpt
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8/27/2020
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Review
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8/28/2020
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Review
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THIS IS MY AMERICA Blog Tour: Excerpt & Giveaway
I am
thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THIS IS MY AMERICA by Kim Johnson Blog
Tour hosted by Rockstar Book
Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About the
Book:
Title: THIS
IS MY AMERICA
Author: Kim
Johnson
Pub.
Date: July 28, 2020
Publisher: Random
House Books for Young Readers
Formats: Hardcover,
eBook, audiobook
Pages: 416
Dear
Martin meets Just Mercy in this unflinching yet uplifting YA novel
that explores the racist injustices in the American justice system.
Every week,
seventeen-year-old Tracy Beaumont writes letters to Innocence X, asking the
organization to help her father, an innocent Black man on death row. After
seven years, Tracy is running out of time–her dad has only 267 days left. Then
the unthinkable happens. The police arrive in the night, and Tracy’s older
brother, Jamal, goes from being a bright, promising track star to a
“thug” on the run, accused of killing a white girl. Determined to
save her brother, Tracy investigates what really happened between Jamal and
Angela down at the Pike. But will Tracy and her family survive the uncovering
of the skeletons of their Texas town’s racist history that still haunt the
present?
Fans of Nic
Stone, Tiffany D. Jackson, and Jason Reynolds won’t want to miss this
provocative and gripping debut.
The Fast and the Furious
I’m jolted awake by the shuffle of someone in the hallway. I rub my eyes, then realize what it is. Our upstairs toilet runs, especially at night when someone doesn’t give it a good flush. The sound won’t stop, so I force myself up.
I can’t help but run my fingers along the grooves of the walls, knowing Daddy’s the one that put them up. Every ding or repair is unchanged, like he left it. The only thing different in the house is my room. I’ve painted my walls a rotation of colors, hoping one of them would soothe away my bad dreams. Shake up the house enough to look different, but in the dark, I can see it like it was before.
“Hurry up,” I whisper at the bathroom door, so I don’t wake Mama.
Corinne doesn’t answer. When I notice the door is open a sliver, I push it, blink with the bright light blinding me for a second.
Jamal’s splashing water on his face. His eyes are shut as he wrings his hands together over the sink. I rub my eyes because it looks like red water swirling down the drain.
“Damn, Jamal. What happened to you?”
“Shit.” Jamal jumps back, grabbing a towel. His hands are all jittery as cleans up his face, then bunches the towel into a ball.
I watch the last bit of pink-colored water disappear down the drain.
“Why you always in my business?” Jamal pushes past me, and I’m taken aback at his response. He sounds like he got caught, but I’d already known he’d be in late.
“What’d I catch you doing?” I hit his shoulder playing around, and he flinches. He’s scared. But of what?
“Jamal. You okay?”
I touch his neck to get the rest of what’s on him off, then I make a face when I realize it’s blood. There’s a long scratch across his neck.
“What happened?” I flick the water on and wash up. “You okay?”
I watch him hard because nothing about this fits his late-night routine. I can’t tell if he’s coming or going. I move to ask another question, but Jamal’s already heading off to his room. He gives me a look like I better keep my promise and not dare wake Mama, then shuts his door.
I lie down and listen for movement. The air is thick and hot. There’s heaviness in the atmosphere, like so many nights when the past takes over the present. I try and tell my brain it’s just the wave of an old smell, a phrase someone says that can put me on high alert. I’ve never been able to get over what happened enough to live fully in the now, always rush back to the night Daddy was taken from us. A moment that won’t erase.
My sense of déjà vu is heightened by the sound of a vehicle riding down our quarter-mile gravel driveway. I listen more closely, and my heartbeat picks up, throbbing when I recognize there must be two or three cars driving way too fast for our road. A minute later, a knock at the door jolts me.
I run down the hallway to the stairs.
“Get back to your room.” Mama’s already at the front door. She waves me away.
“Who is it?” I mean to whisper, but I’m yelling.
She looks through the peephole and rests her face on the door. I see the lights flash blue and red before she confirms it.
“Police,” Mama whispers.
She doesn’t need to say more. Something awful has happened.
Corinne meets me at the stairs in her rainbow pajamas. She clutches her thin arms around me.
“What is it, Tracy?”
“Everything is fine. Go back to bed,” I say, although I’m holding her as tight as she is me.
I want to let her go, but I’m frozen. My heart is beating in my throat, pounding, thrumming out through my ears.
Over my shoulder, I glance at Jamal’s room. There’s no way he’s asleep so fast.
Inside I’m tangled up, searching for a reason why they’re here. If I was standing by Jamal, we could look at each other without saying a word. Just know it’s them that’s wrong, not us. But something went down with Jamal, and whatever it was, I sense I should let him be.
I leave Corinne and make my way downstairs. My Know Your Rights training kicking in.
Mama waves me back, but I don’t stop. I’m concerned it’s gotta be about Daddy.
He’s hurt.
Worse.
“What’s happening?” Corinne calls from the stairs. Her eyes scrunch up like if she thinks real hard, she’ll figure what’s going on all by herself without having to ask.
I look up one more time at Jamal’s door, but it stays shut. Doubt hits me. He must’ve been on his way out when I saw him. He’s going to trip when he gets home.
“Things are fine,” I say. “I’m sure of it.”
I take deep breaths, swallowing up the panic that’s racing to my brain. I try and push down the memories of the time they came for Daddy. Thank God Corinne wasn’t born yet. She didn’t have to see him dragged by his neck through the house by police. I screamed nonstop when Jamal opened the door and the cops pushed him aside. They rushed Daddy, threw him on the ground, and shoved a knee in his back.
Daddy told me he wanted to lie still, but your body does the opposite. Survival. Someone’s holding you down, you want to ask why, yell out in pain. They beat his head down, expecting with each punch he was supposed to take it in silence. Each cry he made, they hit him harder until he shut his mouth and they cuffed him.
Mama was stuck between fighting for Daddy, holding on to her pregnant belly, and keeping me calm. My scream ricocheted in the background as they read his rights, accusing him of murdering Mr. and Mrs. Davidson.
Corinne never held that memory, but I know she feels it in everything we breathe. It’s in the polite nods across the street we have to make, the way our family turns down our music when there are others around. Say yes ma’am and no sir. Leave our jackets and backpacks in the car when we go shopping.
It’s in the way I carry myself that tells our story now. I can’t risk being accused of anything. Because if something goes wrong or missing, I know it’s in the back of someone’s mind that maybe I had something to do with it. And it’s in the way that the voice of the strongest woman I know stumbles when saying, “Hello, Officer” as she walks through the visitation gates to see Daddy.
Only recently has it been cemented in my mind and made clear, that acting civil, being deferential, doesn’t matter. It’s like Mama has always said, Black lives don’t matter enough to them. That evidence is live and in color, on every news channel in America.
I’m snapped back to the present as they yell, “Police. Open up.”
Mama goes for the door.
“Mama, no,” I say. “Not until we see they have a warrant.”
“Baby, no. This ain’t a workshop. This is real life. Look at Corinne.”
Corinne is shaking, terrified on the steps.
Mama pushes me behind her, then cinches her robe’s belt and loosens the chain lock, before cracking the door open. A flood of blue-and-red lights stream through the house, and then a bright white flashes in Mama’s face. She steps back and blocks the light with her hand. When she does this, she’s shoved back by the sheriff, John Brighton, pushing the door open more, gun drawn. His face is stern, red-fleshed around his neck, and his steel-colored hair flicking over his eyes. If I didn’t know better, he’s frightened.
We should be the ones afraid, not him.
“We’re here to take in Jamal Beaumont, ma’am.” He flashes a warrant up.
I suck in my teeth. All my training to review the warrant slips my mind as fear snakes up my legs and freezes me from moving. I look up to Jamal’s room. Behind my shoulder, his door slowly opens to a crack. I’m reminded of his odd behavior. Jamal must’ve got into a fight. I look to Corinne, praying she won’t cry out for Jamal on the stairs.
With my arms folded, I finally settle my list of what I should be doing as I make eye contact with Jamal. I only see a sliver of him, but it’s like I can read his mind. That thing that siblings always have ingrained in their DNA—never rat on each other—lips sealed. The blood I saw tonight will never be mentioned. They wouldn’t wait for his side of the story.
I step in front of Mama, making sure to only keep the door ajar. Mama digs her nails into my skin accidently. It helps me focus on staying silent. If I’m calm, Mama will be also.
“Let me review the warrant, please.” I take the warrant from the Sheriff Brighton’s hand, but I’m not fully reading it. I’m stalling.
The house creaks as Jamal scuffles around in his room. The rusty glide of his bedroom window opening sends prickles down my spine. Mostly sounds I’ve gotten used to when he comes home by curfew, only to scoot out the window to stay out later. I’m not sure if I’m thinking it, but I swear there’s another thump outside.
In my head, I imagine seeing Jamal jumping off the roof and sprinting away. I keep my face stone-cold. Because no matter what my brother might’ve done, I’m not gonna let them take him away from us.
With each delayed moment, it’s another second for Jamal to escape. I will him to get to the river trail and up through the hills, running the route he takes every day to train during track season. He knows every nook and cranny in the dark because we’ve played hide-and-seek in the woods for years, and my brother is a master at it. I pray the sheriff doesn’t have tracking dogs and Jamal can cut through the woods to the other side of the highway and catch a bus.
“It’s late, Sheriff,” Mama says behind me. “Come back tomorrow.”
“Get your boy.” Sheriff Brighton looks like an older version of his son, Chris, a white man with strawberry-blond hair, just shorter but matching body type with more fluff than muscle. His voice has the same sharp bite to it.
Behind the sheriff, a squad full of cars are parked outside our house. Some cops posted by the cars, others putting protective gear on.
“What the hell,” I whisper under my breath.
Mama’s back is as rigid as a board as Corinne joins us in the entryway. I don’t know what to do, because the warrant looks legit. I want to run to Corinne, to be by her side and block them from Jamal, but I know it won’t make a difference. Corinne’s weight pulls on me. I know it’s more important to keep her away. Keep her safe.
“I said, get your boy,” the sheriff says.
A few more officers draw in closer to the door, like they’re about to rush our entryway.
“Almost done,” I say. “It’s our right to verify a warrant.”
I wonder what it’s like to be someone who’d feel safe in their presence. I try to trick my mind, pretend we called them. It helps me settle more, and I give Mama a squeeze hoping I can do the same for her. But it doesn’t last long, because the word boy keeps running in my head. A bitter taste flushes in my mouth, the way that it drawls out like just another slur in coded language.
The officers, guns drawn, spread to each entrance of the house.
Mama’s struck with fear, with grief, and it’s like she gave them permission from that moment and it didn’t matter I was planning on reading this warrant over a thousand times. Mama removes the chain lock and opens the door wider. They flood past us, scattering through the house and up the stairs before she can say she’ll bring him down.
As they make their way upstairs, I pray that God led him into the woods and Jamal is doing what he knows best, using his God-given legs to run.
About Kim:
KIM JOHNSON held leadership positions in social
justice organizations as a teen and in college. She’s now a college
administrator who maintains civic engagement throughout the community while
also mentoring Black student activists and leaders. She is also the graduate
advisor and member of an historically Black sorority. This Is My America is her
debut novel and explores racial injustice against innocent Black men who are
criminally sentenced and the families left behind to pick up the pieces. She
holds degrees from the University of Oregon and the University of Maryland,
College Park.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Goodreads
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Goodreads
Giveaway Details:
3 winners will receive a finished copy
of THIS IS MY AMERICA, US Only.
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
|
7/13/2020
|
Excerpt
|
|
|
7/14/2020
|
Review
|
|
|
7/15/2020
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Excerpt
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7/16/2020
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Review
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7/17/2020
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Review
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Week Two:
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7/20/2020
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Review
|
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7/21/2020
|
Review
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7/22/2020
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Review
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7/23/2020
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Review
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7/24/2020
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Review
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Week Three:
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7/27/2020
|
Review
|
|
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7/28/2020
|
Excerpt
|
|
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7/29/2020
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Review
|
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7/30/2020
|
Review
|
|
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7/31/2020
|
Review
|
Week Four:
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8/3/2020
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Review
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8/4/2020
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Excerpt
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8/5/2020
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Excerpt
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8/6/2020
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Review
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8/7/2020
|
Review
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NO WAY BACK TODAY Blog Tour: Guest Post and Giveaway
I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the NO WAY BACK
TODAY by Eric Shoars Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About the Book:
Title: NO WAY BACK TODAY
Authors: Eric Shoars
Pub. Date: November 22, 2019
Publisher: BookBaby
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 336
Field of Dreams + This Is Spinal Tap =
No Way Back Today. Midlife demands some reckoning and Eric realizes he can wait
no longer. As Eric hurtles headlong toward the big 5-0, he realizes there is
unfinished business and is determined to find his childhood friends, convince
them to form their own rock and roll band, and to go on tour! He searches out
Todd, Laurel, and Lorelei so he can fulfill that dream. The story of four
Midwestern grown-ups and their childhood desires to create No Way Back Today in
the face of improbable odds and middle age will have you both laughing and
cheering as you recognize your own unfulfilled dreams. No Way Back Today is the
incredible story of the improbable journey of a reunion tour for a band that
never was!
Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers’ Favorite
No Way Back Today by Eric Shoars is a hilarious, bittersweet tale
of childhooddreams and middle-age. It isn’t just a novel, it’s about not
letting go of yourdreams, of taking second chances when you get them and of
never lettingyourself down. The friendships between the four main characters
were amazinglydeveloped, an inspiration to us all, and real people that we can
all relate toin some way. This story will make you laugh and it will give you
hope as itsteadily marches towards the end; you will be cheering them on, you
will beholding your breath but, most of all, you will be compelled to read to
the veryend and you will find yourself thinking back on your own dreams,
especially theones that you never realized. Anything is possible if you just
put your mind to it. A fun read!
Reviewed By Sherri Fulmer Moorer forReaders’ Favorite
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a compelling novel not only
about secondchances and pursuing your dreams but about friendship and
self-worth as youmove through different stages of life. I’m a bit younger than
the protagonistsbut so much of what they felt resonated with me as I found
myself wondering ifthere are any dreams from my youth that might be worth
pursuing as I entermid-life myself. The evolution of the relationships with
Eric, Todd, Laurel, andLorelei was amazing and inspiring and shows that
friendship can remain nomatter how much life changes. It also seemed to me that
they “bonded”and their relationships matured as they shared their
experiences and as newopportunities arose for each of them as a result of
pursuing this dream. No WayBack Today is an excellent novel of inspiring
redemption and shows thatmid-life doesn’t have to be a crisis at all – in fact,
it can rock! Great work,Eric Shoars! I loved this novel!
Book Trailer:
A deleted scene or a scene from another character’s POV.
The scene from another character’s point of view would be in Chapter Seven. The four friends are relaxing between shows – they’re playing two shows this night – and Laurel starts to pick Eric’s brain about something very personal for her that really doesn’t have anything to do with the band yet does. That picks up a conversation string with the other three and they begin to share their personal issues and Eric is a spectator at this point. Through this journey Eric has been the instigator, he’s had the vision of getting the group together and being the band that he never got to form. So, for him, we know what he gets out of this reunion tour. In the Chapter Seven scene, the three others really dive into the key question: “What do I get out of this journey?” It’s not the money or notoriety but what is the lesson, what is the big revelation about their lives as they enter middle age and a new stage of life. My goal with the scene is not only to provide a moment where we get to know the other band members on an even more personal level but for readers to ask themselves what they are getting out of this journey they’ve been on as they’ve read about the Onions.
The scene from another character’s point of view would be in Chapter Seven. The four friends are relaxing between shows – they’re playing two shows this night – and Laurel starts to pick Eric’s brain about something very personal for her that really doesn’t have anything to do with the band yet does. That picks up a conversation string with the other three and they begin to share their personal issues and Eric is a spectator at this point. Through this journey Eric has been the instigator, he’s had the vision of getting the group together and being the band that he never got to form. So, for him, we know what he gets out of this reunion tour. In the Chapter Seven scene, the three others really dive into the key question: “What do I get out of this journey?” It’s not the money or notoriety but what is the lesson, what is the big revelation about their lives as they enter middle age and a new stage of life. My goal with the scene is not only to provide a moment where we get to know the other band members on an even more personal level but for readers to ask themselves what they are getting out of this journey they’ve been on as they’ve read about the Onions.
About Eric:
Eric Shoars is a serial
storyteller who considers the English language his playground and who never met
a pun he didn’t like. Eric is a modern day Walter Mitty with a serious twist.
His writing style is best described as “fly on the wall” putting the reader in
the shoes of the lead character experiencing what he does as he does. His
heart’s desire is to have a personal narrator for his daily life. It works in
comic books so why not in the real world?
No Way Back Today is Shoars’
first foray into fiction. His non-fiction works include Women Under Glass: The
Secret Nature of Glass Ceilings and The Steps to Overcome Them and Evil Does
Not Have The Last Word.
Giveaway
Details:
3
winners will receive a personalized, signed finished copy of NO WAY BACK TODAY,
US Only.
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
6/29/2020
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Interview
|
|
6/29/2020
|
Excerpt
|
|
6/30/2020
|
Interview
|
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6/30/2020
|
Excerpt
|
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7/1/2020
|
Guest Post
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7/1/2020
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Guest Post
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7/2/2020
|
Excerpt
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7/2/2020
|
Guest Post
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7/3/2020
|
Instagram Post
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7/3/2020
|
Guest Post
|
Week Two:
7/6/2020
|
Review
|
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7/6/2020
|
Guest Post
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7/7/2020
|
Review
|
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7/7/2020
|
Review
|
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7/8/2020
|
Review
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7/8/2020
|
Review
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7/9/2020
|
Review
|
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7/9/2020
|
Review
|
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7/10/2020
|
Review
|
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7/10/2020
|
Instagram Post
|
BAIT by BATTLE OF THE WOLVES by Caryn Mahan Cover Reveal and Giveaway
Today Caryn Mahan and Rockstar Book Tours are revealing
the cover and an exclusive content for BATTLE OF THE WOLVES, her Urban Fantasy
Book which releases June 26, 2020! Check out the awesome cover and enter the
giveaway!
On to the reveal!
Title: BATTLE
OF THE WOLVES
Author: Caryn Mahan
Pub. Date: June 26, 2020
Publisher: Caryn Mahan
Formats: Paperback,
eBook
Pages: 239
Patience has lived a hard and lonely
life on the Reservation in the Upper Northwest. Her father’s a drunk and
abusive, and her mother tolerates it. Patience does not. Her best friend is now
married to a college professor with a son their age, Saul Reardon. He could be
her ticket to a new life. Ifan is a young man, her friend, with plans of being
a doctor and returning to his people providing the care they need. He also
loves Patience. Patience is tugged between the two men. Until Little Sister, a
wolf, bonds with her, an ancient rite, narrowing her choices. Now bound to her
people and to the land, she must come to terms with it. Add in her father’s
recovery from alcoholism, his need for her forgiveness, and his desire for
reconciliation, her life has tumbled into chaos. Unknown to her and her
friends, an ancient evil is on its way. It must be stopped. Who will survive
the deadly creature bearing down on them?
Exclusive Excerpt!
He was monstrous. His mom—a Polar bear driven south looking for a mate—his sire a Grizzly. The color of his thick coat was a mottled cream, tipped in reddish-brown. Small dark eyes gleamed as he gripped the log with long thick claws, rocking it back and forth before flipping it over. Fat white worms, crickets, and other various bugs fell to his greedy tongue. Winter had been long. The bushes rustled behind him. Snuffles and low growls raised the hair on the man’s neck. A large, bulky shadow moved on the outermost edge of his vision. A bear. The man crept slowly toward his rifle, leaning against the arm of a chair; his breath held tight in his chest. All might have been well but for the bellowing fear-filled shout from the river. The air shifted as the bear charged, almost as if the powerful thrust of the bear’s legs on the earth tore through the fabric of space and time.
About Caryn:
I wrote my first story in third grade.
It was about an Oriole family.
I have a love for the written word and have devoured books by great authors over a reading lifetime of sixty years. I firmly believe in the notion that a writer must also be a reader. I also firmly believe I gained a veritable treasure trove of writing skills through my reading. Writers such as James Michener, JR Tolkein, Leon Uris, Robert Jordan, Carol O’Connell, Albert Payson Terhune, Anna Sewell, Edgar Allen Poe, and so many more I could list.
I sincerely hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I have enjoyed writing them.
Giveaway Details:
One lucky winner will receive a $10 Amazon
gift card & an eBook of BATTLE OF THE WOLVES, International.
VAN HELSING ACADEMY Blog Tour: Excerpt and Giveaway
I am thrilled to be hosting
a spot on the VAN HELSING ACADEMY by Stacey O’Neale Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours.
Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About the Book:
Title: VAN HELSING ACADEMY (Supernatural Rehab #1)
Author: Stacey O’Neale
Pub. Date: April 28, 2020
Publisher: Phoenix Reign Publishing
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 264
Welcome to the Van
Helsing Academy: a rehabilitation center for vampires, shifters, and witches
who don’t like to follow the rules.
Mina can’t remember anything about the night she was
attacked. All she knows is what she’s been told: she got separated from her
team during a mission and turned up two months later covered in cuts and
bruises alongside two dead vampires.
After being blamed for their deaths, she is sentenced
to three years at the supernatural rehabilitation center, the Van Helsing
Academy.
As Mina searches for answers, lies are slowly
unraveled and alliances forged. Soon she will uncover a secret plot that
threatens to destroy her family legacy and ignite a war between the
supernatural factions.
Van Helsing Academy is
the first book in a new YA paranormal romance series. No harem. Perfect for
fans of Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins, and
Mythos Academy by Jennifer Estep.
INSERT YOUR POST HERE!
About Stacey:
Award-winning author, Stacey
O’Neale, lives in Annapolis, Maryland. When she’s not writing, she spends her
time fangirling over books, blogging, watching fantasy television shows,
cheering for the Baltimore Ravens, and hanging out with her husband and
daughter.
Her career in publishing started as
a blogger-turned-publicist for Entangled Publishing. Stacey writes young adult
fantasy and adult paranormal romance. Her books always include swoon-worthy
heroes, snarky heroines, and lots of kissing.
Stacey loves hearing from readers.
Follow her on Twitter @StaceyONeale, look for her on Facebook, Instagram,
Pinterest, and Tumblr. You can also visit her blog at staceyoneale.com/.
Website | Twitter
| Facebook
| Instagram | Tumblr | Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page
| Book Bub
Giveaway Details:
1
winner will win a $10 Amazon Gift Card, INTERNATIONAL.
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
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4/27/2020
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Excerpt
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4/28/2020
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Excerpt
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4/29/2020
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Review
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4/30/2020
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Excerpt
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5/1/2020
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Review
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Week Two:
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5/4/2020
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Review
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5/5/2020
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Review
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5/6/2020
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Review
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5/7/2020
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Review
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5/8/2020
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Review
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Week Three:
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5/11/2020
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Review
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5/12/2020
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Review
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5/13/2020
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Excerpt
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5/14/2020
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Review
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5/15/2020
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Review
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Week Four:
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5/18/2020
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Excerpt
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5/19/2020
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Excerpt
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5/20/2020
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Review
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5/21/2020
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Review
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5/22/2020
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Review
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Week Five:
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5/25/2020
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Excerpt
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5/26/2020
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Excerpt
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5/27/2020
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Excerpt
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5/28/2020
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Excerpt
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5/29/2020
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Review
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Excerpt:
As he turned to leave, he paused and glanced over his shoulder. “There was one more thing I wanted to tell you.”
“What?”
He closed the distance between us and spoke low enough that only I could hear him. “Alphas can smell emotions too.”
With my hands on my hips, I replied, “Please don’t say you can smell guilt on me because we both know that’s bullshit.”
“It’s not guilt,” he corrected. “Since the moment I approached you, all I can smell is lust. It wraps around you like a second skin.”
My cheeks burned, and I prayed it was too dark for anyone to notice. “You think I’m attracted to you,” I scoffed. “Not a chance.”
A couple of the pack members chuckled, and I sneered at them. “I never said you were attracted specifically to me,” Sacha smirked. “But, I do find it interesting that you came to that conclusion on your own.”
THE MISTS OF STONE LAKE by Mary Cook Book Blitz
I am so
excited that THE MISTS OF STONE LAKE by
Mary Cook is available now and that I get to share the news!
If you
haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author Mary Cook, be sure to
check out all the details below.
This blitz
also includes a giveaway for a $10 Amazon GC courtesy of Rockstar Book Tours & Mary. So if you’d like a chance to win, check out the
giveaway info below.
About The Book:
Title: THE
MISTS OF STONE LAKE
Author: Mary Cook
Pub. Date: December
15, 2019
Publisher: Mary Cook
Formats: Paperback,
eBook, audiobook
Pages: 169
Inspired by
actual events.
A dark
mystery surrounds Stone Lake. A restless soul seeks revenge.
Five
friends have made a tragic mistake, that mistake may very well cost them their
lives.
Damon
Ronald knows he screwed up, but finally, he’s getting his life together. But
will it be too late?
LGBTQ
Contains
graphic violence
Contains
violent sex situations.
What reviewers are saying:
“Gut-wrenching, tear-jerking,
heartbreaking story.” – Amazon Review
“It’s dark, brutal, and horrific, yet
it still contains a tender strand of redemption.” – Amazon Review
“I couldn’t stop reading it. It’s
very captivating. This book had me hooked and I loved it.” – Amazon Review
“Echoes of Stephen King and I Know
What You Did Last Summer.” – Amazon Review
Excerpt:
The first thing Marie noticed when she walked into the house was the
smell, the second thing she noticed was the water. It smelled like the lake,
and there were puddles of murky water all over the house. She followed a trail
down the foyer and was blocked from going any further by the many men and women
going in and out of the bedroom at the end of the hall.
“You didn’t find his body here, did you?”
“I’m not at liberty to discuss that with you.”
She walked back down the hall and into the living room, everything was
exactly where it had been left after he had gone to bed. She looked around,
then started toward the sliding glass door. She looked down at the floor and
realized she had just stepped off the plastic, and onto the rug. There, on the
dirty beige carpet was the outline of a foot. She could clearly see each and
every indentation of the toes. Toes that clearly belonged to a woman. She could
even see the shape of a ring on the second toe. She stared at the footprint for
a long moment before his voice penetrated her thoughts.
“That’s as far as you go. Okay, I let you come in here and look around.
Now it’s time to tell me what you know.”
She turned and walked out of the house, down the pavement, then ducked
under the tape and stood by her car, shaking.
Daniel Morris followed her, then put a hand on her shoulder, “You said
you had information for me.”
Her tear-stained face looked up, “He killed my daughter. If he didn’t, he
helped.”
He ran his hand through his hair, “You told me you knew who killed him.”
“My daughter did, of course.” She turned and got into her car, then drove
away without another word.
About Mary:
Mary Cook is
a retired police detective that lives in a small town right outside a ring of
fire, just on the other side of…no wait, that’s a different character.
Actually
retired, with hours and hours to write the next great novel, oh wait…nope
that’s me. Yes, totally retired. Worlds come alive in my head, characters stand
over my shoulder, and sometimes they wake me up at night. All of them want to
come alive, to have their stories written. No matter how I think the story
should go, it goes according to how the character decides it should. An evil
character finds redemption. A beloved character is massacred for no good
reason. They all write their own stories.
The ideas
come to me, the character develops a personality, and the result is a book. I
sincerely hope that everyone will love my books, but what I write isn’t for
everyone, and that’s okay. (Is it Mary? You sure you don’t want me to take care
of it?) (Get back in the book, Ann!) I love to write stories that make you
think, maybe make you a little uncomfortable. I am actually a pretty boring
person. Retired, live in a dungeon (my office), two birds and a dog. Every now
and then my husband expects me to come out and interact with the world, and I
do (begrudgingly). Writing is my hobby, I used to do other things with my
hands, crochet, knit…but then I got old(er), and they just don’t work as good
as they used to.
On a more
personal note, I do have children. I have three grown children, and lots and
lots of grandchildren, with a few great-grandchildren. It’s like they’re in a
competition on who can produce the most. If any of you read the back of the
book, you’ll know that there’s more. But, outside of that, nothing. Boring. So,
I bring life and color into the world through the pages of my books. Every time
someone buys a book, or gives a review, I’m delightfully surprised. My eternal
gratitude to all of you, for reading what I have written, and allowing me to
become a small part of your life.
Giveaway Details:
1 winner will receive a $10 Amazon GC, International.
Ends May 26, 2020. Midnight EST.
QUEEN TO ASHES: Excerpt and Giveaway
I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the QUEEN
TO ASHES by Mallory McCartney Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my
post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About the book:
Title: QUEEN
TO ASHES (Black Dawn #2)
Author: Mallory McCartney
Pub. Date: April 21, 2020
Publisher: MM Books
Formats: Hardcover,
Paperback, eBook
Pages: 350
Read for FREE with KU!
“You lived your entire life feeling like
half of you was missing. Fight for the missing part. Fight for this.”
Emory Fae has abandoned everything she thought
she knew about her previous life on Earth. Stepping up to her role as Queen of
Kiero she makes a startling sacrifice- feigning her allegiances to Adair
Stratton, the man who murdered her parents and casted Kiero into ruin. Emory’s
memories slowly piece together, and she soon realizes the Mad King may not be
all he seems– and the man who was once best friend, may be fighting beneath
the surface.
With the King’s attention on her, can she buy
Black Dawn Rebellion enough time to recuperate their forces? And when the times
comes, will she be able to kill Adair, ending his tyranny and rising herself as
the rightful Queen? Fighting to hide her secret, Emory navigates the brutal
trials of the Mad King, trying not to lose herself in the process.
Sequel to Heir of Lies, now a bestselling
series, the sparks are ignited, as Emory learns the cost of freedom, and her
heritage. Will the rebels unite in time? A sinister force has spread across the
land, stripping everyone bare- their betrayals, their secrets, their
intentions. But above all, what will their decisions cost? By refusing to give
in to the darkness, will Emory rise as Queen?
About Book 1:
Title: HEIR OF LIES (Black Dawn #1)
Author: Mallory McCartney
Pub. Date: April 21, 2020
Publisher: MM Books
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook
Pages: 397
Find it: Goodreads,
Amazon, Kindle, Amazon
Canada, B&N,
TBD,
Bookshop.org
Read for FREE with KU!
“Hope was a dangerous
thing. It could consume every dream and make them take flight, becoming wild
daydreams in one’s heart and mind. Or hope could incinerate everything you
thought you knew, burning you down to your core, leaving you raw and exposed
for the world.”
Emory Fae has only
known one thing—life at The Academy, a school for those who have special
abilities. Following in her parents’ footsteps, the pressure to uphold their
dream falls on her and one of her best friends—Adair Stratton. An outcast and
feared by most, Adair longs to break away from the expectations dictating his
future. With whispers of dark magic spreading across Kiero, Adair starts to
doubt The Academy is all it seems.
An unexpected visit
ignites new tensions as the roguish king from across the Black Sea, Tadeas
Maher of the Shattered Isles, and his heir, Marquis Maher, sail to Kiero.
Notorious for their pirating and wrath, for the first time in years, they
demand the Faes listen to their proposition for a new treaty. Caught in the
middle of politics, Adair and Emory, with the help of their best friends Brokk
and Memphis, search for the one thing that matters the most—the truth.
Their world is tipped
upside down as unlikely alliances are made, and war ravages Kiero. Through the
throes of betrayal, lies, hidden magic, and love, Adair is faced with a life
changing decision. Will he fight or bow to the darkness within?
But, Adair’s decision
will change the course of Kiero forever, setting in motion irreversible
destinies for everyone at The Academy as Emory Fae rises as heir.
Heir of Lies is the
first book in the bestselling Black Dawn series.
The Black Dawn series is re- releasing and “Heir
of Lies” (book one) is coming April 21 2020! This edition will have an
exclusive map and bonus content!
INSERT YOUR POST HERE!
About Mallory:
Mallory McCartney
currently lives in Sarnia, Ontario with her husband and their three dachshunds
Link, Lola and Leonard. When she isn’t working on her next novel or reading,
she can be found day dreaming about fantasy worlds and hiking. Other favorite
pastimes involve reorganizing perpetually overflowing bookshelves and seeking
out new coffee and dessert shops.
Giveaway Details:
One lucky winner will receive a $10
Amazon Gift Card, International.
Tour
Schedule:
Week
One:
|
4/20/2020
|
Excerpt
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4/21/2020
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Excerpt
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4/22/2020
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Excerpt
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4/23/2020
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Excerpt
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4/24/2020
|
Excerpt
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Week
Two:
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4/27/2020
|
Excerpt
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4/28/2020
|
Excerpt
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4/28/2020
|
Review
|
|
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4/29/2020
|
Review
|
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4/30/2020
|
Review
|
|
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5/1/2020
|
Excerpt
|
Week
Three:
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5/4/2020
|
Excerpt
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5/5/2020
|
Review
|
|
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5/6/2020
|
Excerpt
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5/7/2020
|
Excerpt
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5/8/2020
|
Excerpt
|
Week
Four:
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5/11/2020
|
Review
|
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5/12/2020
|
Excerpt
|
|
|
5/13/2020
|
Excerpt
|
|
|
5/14/2020
|
Review
|
|
|
5/15/2020
|
Review
|
EXCERPT
Adair Stratton tugged his button-down jacket tighter around him, trying to block the wind from his lookout post. The vastness of the sky was consuming, a strange energy clinging on the night air. The churning dark clouds cast a purplish hue, bleeding with the softness created from the moon. The stars shone between the pockets, obscuring the scene and making it beautiful. Far below him, the Ruined City lay in its grave, quiet and still, the broken buildings reminding him of splintered bones. The once thriving capital of Kiero—Sarthaven—was nothing more than a whispered memory to him now. His gaze wandered to the edge of the Draken Mountain range, the wildness of the Noctis woods flourishing, the purple hues of the trees pulsing like gems. It had taken years to build his kingdom, shackling Kiero in fear. The people that now lived in the Draken Mountains valued their lives and were loyal to him. Sighing, the darkness in his veins was smothered ever so slightly as he breathed in the crisp air. In this brief and flickering moment of clarity, his mind wandered to the girl who was locked in the cells of his kingdom, waiting for him: Emory Fae, the Princess of Kiero. Popping his collar up, he scowled. Under the blanket of night, he could trace back to the man he used to be when Emory had known him-an echo of his humanity. Thinking of her, he could see the splaying of memories come back to life all around him, of his friends, of the Academy. And it was in these sparse moments of lucidity, he allowed himself to remember, relishing it, pushing back that yearning for destruction, pushing back the voices, trying to lock them away. And like every other night, he lost. The wind howled, making the edges of his coat and pants tug upward, his hair standing on end from the sudden chill. His heart raced as the smooth voices filled his consciousness. “Adair, this kingdom is yours. Make her bow, make her bleed… make her pay for what she has done.” He closed his eyes for a beat, digging his fingernails into his palms. “Why do you wait? You know what you want. What you have always wanted.” Images were thrown at him; so quick and enthralling, they swept his breath away: The inky crown, embedded with roses and thorns, lay delicately on top of Emory’s ebony hair. Memphis Carter, the once commander of the Black Dawn Rebellion, bowed, pleading for his life as Adair smirked above him. His darkness had whisked away any trace of rebellion and Emory was by his side as they watched the world continue to burn until it was only them. Always for them. Adair snarled, then said, “Leave me alone.” Their snickers bounced around him, their whispers tugging at his heart. “Do not falter now, our Mad King. You have come so far, achieved so much. The binds your father tried to keep you in, you broke. The ones the Academy kept you in, you turned to ash.
“We are a team. We know the desires of your soul, how you revel in watching the world shudder in your reign. You have always been more. A reckoning force that no one can stop. Can never stop.” He became still, his muscles taut. Opening his eyes, his gaze fell a thousand miles away, to where the Academy had stood. Where a boy that once wanted to explore the world and not shackle it had lived. He knew both were dead. Ice coursed through his body, spreading through his core faster than he could register. His pulse slowed, the roaring emotions he felt slowing as well. Darkness encased him, pulling him down, down, down: Locking him away, roaring, snarling, and clawing at him. A slow exhale escaped from between his dry lips, and as he stood, every movement was precise, a predatory grace. Flicking his gaze below him once more, instead of the dark beauty that he was met with earlier, the world around him was bleeding. Dark, black blood gushed from the mountainside, thickly caking the field and the Ruined City. Echoes of screams filled the air, and Adair was reminded of his bloodshed, of his control and power. “Do not disappoint us, our King.” The corners of his lips tugged upward as he whispered to the wind, “I won’t.”
ATTRACTION Blog Tour – Excerpt and Giveaway
Today we have the blog tour for Attraction by Ruby Porter! Check out this fantastic new women’s fiction and be sure to grab your copy today!
Title: Attraction
Author: Ruby Porter
Genre: Women’s Fiction
About Attraction:
The present reckons with the past in Attraction, Ruby Porter’s atmospheric debut novel. Three women are on a road trip, navigating the motorways of the North Island, their relationships with one another and New Zealand’s colonial history. Our narrator doesn’t know where she stands with Ilana, her not-quite girlfriend. She has a complex history with her best friend, Ashi. She’s haunted by the memory of her emotionally abusive ex-boyfriend. And her period’s now weeks late. Attraction is a meditative novel of connection, inheritance and the stories we tell ourselves. In lyrical fragments, Porter explores what it means to be and to belong, to create and to destroy. ‘[Porter’s] writing has the intensity of Sally Rooney, the rawness of Andrew McGahan’s Praise and 1988 but is also distinctly original…[A]n utterly amazing debut.’ Jon PageGet Your Copy Today:
Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Text Publishing | Mightyape | The Nile | Fishpond | Book Depository | Booktopia
About Ruby Porter:
Ruby Porter is a prose-writer, poet and artist. She tutors creative writing at universities and high schools. Ruby was the winner of the Wallace Foundation Short Fiction Award in 2017, and the inaugural winner of the Michael Gifkins Prize in 2018, with her debut novel Attraction. Attraction was written during her Masters of Creative Writing at the University of Auckland under supervisor Paula Morris, and published in May by Melbourne-based Text Publishing. It is distributed throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Connect with Ruby:
Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram
EXCERPT
That kind of drowning feeling. The air is all around your face, if you could only breathe it. Ilana said, —The first breath you take again always hurts.
She is an experienced drowner and I am just starting out.
—This wave, she says. Yelling, —Come, no, here by me.
She gets it right. Knows exactly where to stand for the wave to pick her up and throw her. Carry her. She can surf some right back to the shallows. I keep getting hurled below. See the Gisborne sun rippling through all that green. And I’m not sure whether I’ve opened my eyes underwater, or if I never had a chance to shut them.
Ilana grabs my arm but I duck when the wave comes.
Then she tells me about the first time, when she was seven.
Her mum’s dinghy capsized and whenever she came up for breath she hit the hull instead. She says the sea was holding her down, not ready to let her go. And then it turned and it pushed her up, shot her face first, full of air. She’s the one who keeps pulling me up today.
When I look at her, I think: the ocean will never again be so in place. It shudders and slurps and turns—no two molecules will be together for long. No two molecules will find each other again. Or at least, it’s unlikely.
Then Ashi joins us.
Ashi doesn’t catch as many waves as Ilana, but she catches some. I keep surfacing to see them tumbling into the spray together. Sometimes, Ilana puts her hand on Ashi’s arm as they wade back out deep.
—What is it? Ilana says to me.
Water is furling itself on the horizon, creeping forward.
—Stay here, she says. —It’s a big one.
I’m sucked in before it’s even broken. This time I can hardly see. The ocean floor has been tossed into the wave—I blend with the sand and the seaweed and the dappled sun. Then I feel the break, and know I’m being pushed deeper.
For me it isn’t slowed down, like Ilana said, but sped up. A flash of light, greeny brown, something above the surface. The whir. The spin. The sea gasping, in and out, one giant lung that expands and compresses. When you’re beneath it, the ocean is the only thing that breathes.
A Gingerly Review 