Saturday 29 June 2013

Promotion: The Dance Of The Red Death by Bethany Griffin

The Dance Of The Red Death
By Bethany Griffin

The Dance Of The Red Death is the second book in the Red Death Saga.

Araby’s world is in shambles - betrayal, death, disease, and evil forces surround her. She has no one to trust. But she finds herself and discovers that she will fight for the people she loves, and for her city.

Her revenge will take place at the menacing masked ball, though it could destroy her and everyone she loves…or it could turn her into a hero.


Available at Amazon.co.uk.

Soundtrack: The Masque Of The Red Death by Bethany Griffin

As part of the #RedDeathSaga blog tour, I get to share this great guest post by Bethany Griffin about the soundtrack to the first book in the series, The Masque Of The Red Death!


When I’m actually sitting at the keyboard and typing I rarely listen to music and even if it’s playing I tend to tune it out, but I really enjoy walking and thinking about my story and my characters—that’s when I work out any kinks or plot issues that are bothering me, and that’s typically when I use soundtracks. Most of the time I’ll focus on a few lines from a song that make it seem (to me) about the character or world I’m writing in. In other cases, it’s more the feeling of the music that evokes the world.

Plain Song by the Cure is one of my favorites for a sense of hopelessness and I think the very brief lyrics are perfect. It’s the first song on the Disintegration album which I could listen to on repeat for hours.

The Beginning is the End is the Beginning by The Smashing Pumpkins – I love the feeling of this (probably doesn’t hurt that it was used for the trailers for the Watchmen movie), it just feels so dark, and yet sort of epic and adventurous?

Another Smashing Pumpkins song that I’d use in a Red Death Saga soundtrack is Eye, which also has a certain hopelessness that I like, also the is it any wonder I can’t sleep, line reminds me of Araby.

Nine Inch Nails is probably my favorite band for evoking the emotions of my characters. I love this pared down version of Something I Can Never Have http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEW8riKU_tE
I’d honestly make this the soundtrack for everything I ever write, I love it so much.

I also love NIN’s the Day the World Went Away for the world of Masque and Dance

I also really love everything by Portishead. Roads is a great song for the Red Death Saga, I love the feel of it, and the emotion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52bAsZI9xm8

Machine Gun by Portishead is also a song that I listened to a lot as I was working on the books http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00PdHIPjaWQ

For the Debauchery Club I always think of Under the Milkyway by Church, and We are Young by Fun. Both are great Debauchery Club songs, and of course the Debauchery Club also makes me think of Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd.

And last, here’s a song from Bjork, Play Dead, which also evokes the world of Masque.


Check out the other posts on the #RedDeathSaga blog tour below!


Promotion: The Masque Of The Red Death by Bethany Griffin

The Masque Of The Red Death 
By Bethany Griffin

The Masque Of The Red Death is the first book in the Red Death Saga.

Everything is in ruins.

A devastating plague has decimated the population, and those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles around them.

So what does Araby Worth have to live for?

Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery makeup . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.

But in the depths of the club - in the depths of her own despair - Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club, and Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.

And Araby may find not just something to live for, but something to fight for - no matter what it costs her.


Available at Amazon.co.uk.

Tuesday 18 June 2013

Promotion: The Children And The Blood by Megan Joel Peterson

The Children And The Blood
By Megan Joel Peterson

A forgotten life.

A secret war.

Eight years ago, an exploding gas main killed Ashley’s family and left her with a childhood she can’t remember. Eight years later, the forgotten past is behind her and life on her isolated farm is all she knows.

Until that past comes looking for her.

Until men with superhuman powers hunt her down in the night, determined to take everything she loves away from her again.


Available at Amazon.co.uk.

Author Interview: Megan Joel Peterson

Megan Joel Peterson has written The Children And The Blood.

1. What is your name and where do you call home?
My name is Megan Joel Peterson and I live in central Illinois.

2. What is the name of your most recent book and if you had to sum it up in 20 or less words, what would you say?
The Children and The Blood is the name of my most recent book. And to sum it up, I would say: The Children and The Blood is a fast-paced urban fantasy adventure filled with twists and turns till the very end.

3. Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?
The Children and The Blood is the first book of a trilogy. Beyond that, I have plans for other fantasy books as well.

4. What or who inspired you to start writing? And how long have you been writing?
I have loved to read since I was a child, and told stories to my friends long before I ever put anything to paper. But the first time I considered that writing could be my passion and my career was eighth grade. I’ve been writing off and on ever since.

5. How did you come up with the cover? Who designed the cover of your book?
My husband and I designed the cover of this book. We came up with the idea through brainstorming sessions over the course of a few months.

6. Did you listen to any particular songs whilst writing your books?
Oh my goodness, I’ve listened to so many great songs over the course of planning and writing this book! Even with just my ‘favorites’, it’s hard to know where to begin. Linkin Park’s songs and albums would have to be on the list, though, including their A Thousand Suns album, “What I’ve Done” from Minutes to Midnight, “New Divide” from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and “Numb” from Meteora. Other songs would have to be “Injection” by Hans Zimmer from the Mission Impossible II soundtrack, “Comptine D'un Autre Été: L'après Midi” by Yann Tiersen from Amelie, and “Song for Bob” and “What Must Be Done” from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’ soundtrack to The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

7. Would you have different book covers for different countries?
I haven’t really considered this, honestly. At the moment, I don’t and unless there was a good reason, I’m not sure I would. But then, I haven’t heard arguments for or against doing so, and thus I’m not really sure!

8. How did you come up with the title for your book?
I was in the process of planning the book, and the title just popped into my head one day. I considered it over the course of many months, but nothing ever seemed to sum up the story the way this title did.

9. Are you a self-published / Indie author?
I’m self-published, yes.

10. Have you ever read a book more than once? And if so what was it?
I’ve read many of the books I own more than once. As a child, I read Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card so many times that the cover fell off the paperback! I love to reread books, because I’ve often found scenes and descriptions that are so powerful to me on the second or third or tenth reread of a book that didn’t quite hit me the same way the first time through.

11. Have you ever read a book just based on its cover?
I may pick up a book because of the cover, but I don’t read it unless the description of the book catches me too. And sometimes, I couldn’t care less about the cover (or even the description) if the book comes recommended by a friend. A combination of these factors leads me to a book, usually.

12. What book are you reading at the moment? And in what format?
I’m reading The City and the City by China Mieville and also A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens on my e-reader. I seem to be on a ‘city’ theme right now, for some reason!

13. Do you have any advice for other writers? And what’s the best advice that you have been given when it comes to writing?
Don’t give up. If writing is your dream and your passion, then it was given to you for a reason. Believe in that, and not in what anyone else might say.

One of the best things I’ve read, though it doesn’t necessarily relate solely to writing, was a quote by Carl G. Graves, founder of Black Enterprise Magazine. It got me through many of the ups and downs on the road to publication. He said: “We keep going back, stronger, not weaker, because we will not allow rejection to beat us down. It will only strengthen our resolve. To be successful there is no other way.” I love that quote.

14. Where can your readers follow you?




Goodreads author page: www.goodreads.com/meganjoelpeterson





Thankyou so much for taking the time to do this interview and allowing us a glimpse into your writing world!

Sunday 16 June 2013

Promotion: One by Leigh Ann Kopans

One 
By Leigh Ann Kopans

When having two powers makes you a Super and having none makes you a Normal, having only one makes you a sad half-superpowered freak.

It makes you a One.

Sixteen-year-old Merrin Grey would love to be able to fly – too bad all she can do is hover.

If she could just land an internship at the Biotech Hub, she might finally figure out how to fix herself. She busts her butt in AP Chem and salivates over the Hub’s research on the manifestation of superpowers, all in hopes of boosting her chances.

Then she meets Elias VanDyne, another One, and all her carefully crafted plans fly out the window. Literally. When the two of them touch, their Ones combine to make them fly, and when they’re not soaring over the Nebraska cornfields, they’re busy falling for each other.

Merrin's mad chemistry skills land her a spot on the Hub's internship short list, but as she gets closer to the life she always wanted, she discovers that the Hub’s purpose is more sinister than it has always seemed. Now it’s up to her to decide if it's more important to fly solo, or to save everything - and everyone - she loves.


Available at Amazon.co.uk.

Thursday 13 June 2013

Promotion: The Island by Jen Minkman

The Island 
By Jen Minkman

Our world is small. We are on our own, and we only have ourselves to depend on. We rely on the Force deep within us, as taught to us by our forefathers. 

If I were to walk westward from here, I would come across a barrier – the Wall. Behind it, there are Fools. At least, that’s what everyone says.

I have never seen one.’

Leia lives on the Island, a world in which children leave their parents to take care of themselves when they are ten years old. Across this Island runs a wall that no one has ever crossed. The Fools living behind it are not amenable to reason – they believe in illusions. That’s what The Book says, the only thing left to the Eastern Islanders by their ancestors. 
But when a strange man washes ashore and Leia meets a Fool face to face, her life will never be the same. Is what she and her friends believe about the Island really true?

Or is everyone in their world, in fact, a Fool?


Available at Amazon.co.uk.

Tuesday 11 June 2013

Promotion: Hunted by Sophie Davis

Hunted
By Sophie Davis

Hunted is the third book in the Talented series.

In need of a distraction from her best friend's betrayal, Talia agrees to serve as an administrator for the annual Talent Aptitude Tests. She soon learns it isn't the children who are tested she needs to worry about, it’s the ones who aren't. Life altering choices will be made. Loyalties will be tested. When the war begins, which side will Talia choose?

Available at Amazon.co.uk.

Promotion: Caged by Sophie Davis

Caged
By Sophie Davis

Caged is the second book in the Talented series.

After her brush with death at Ian Crane’s compound, Talia Lyons feels like a prisoner, confined in her childhood home. Plagued with seizures- the result of an unidentified drug injected in her neck by Crane’s men - Talia must put her dream of becoming a Hunter on hold. So when Agency Director McDonough asks Talia to go undercover at the School for the Talented, to find the spy who set the trap for her in Nevada, Talia jumps at the opportunity. 

Soon she learns that her new found freedom comes with a price - working with Donavon on a daily basis. As if that isn’t awkward enough, her former teammate, Erik, also shows up at the School. But at least Talia has the unexpected company of her best friend Penny; to not only assist her in uncovering the spy, but also to deal with the complications that the guys create.


Available at Amazon.co.uk.

Promotion: Talented by Sophie Davis

Talented 
By Sophie Davis

Talented is the first book in the Talented series.

When Talia Lyons was just a child, her parents were murdered before her eyes. Offered a choice between accepting their fate and exacting revenge, Talia trains to become one of the country’s deadliest assassins in order to kill the man responsible for their deaths: Ian Crane. Luckily, Talia was born with a gift - the ability to read and influence the minds of others. At sixteen, Talia is poised to graduate from the McDonough School for the Talented, where she learned to control her abilities. Now there is only one obstacle standing between her and the retribution she craves... Talia herself.

Her greatest asset may also be her undoing; while a formidable weapon in the field, Talia’s talents prevent her from both shutting off the mental connection she shares with her questionable boyfriend and blocking out the thoughts of a beguiling fellow recruit. But Talia can’t afford to have the feelings and distractions of a normal teenage girl, when her life is far from normal.


Available at Amazon.co.uk.

Author Interview: Sophie Davis

Sophie Davis has written Talented, Caged, Hunted and Captivated.

1. What is your name and where do you call home?
Sophie Davis.  Washington, D.C.

2. What is the name of your most recent book and if you had to sum it up in 20 or less words, what would you say?
My most recent book is Captivated.  It is a novella for my Talented Series.  Captivated chronicles what happens between the books, and shows more of the romance between my main character, Talia, and her love interest.  Like all the books in the Talented series, there is a lot of superpowers and supernatural elements.


3. Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?
I do!  My next book will be See You In My Nightmares.  It is the first book in a new teen paranormal trilogy.

4. Do you gift books to readers for book reviews?
I most certainly do!

5. How did you come up with the cover? Who designed the cover of your book?
The book covers for the Talented Series came about after A LOT of thought and deliberation.  In the end they were inspired by stock photography that really jumped out at me.  Robin Ludwig Designs has done the series covers for me!

6. Which is your favourite cover of all the books you have written?
My favorite cover is the one for Created, the final book in the Talented Series.  It hasn't been released yet, and I am dying to put the cover up for people to see!!

7. Do you have a playlist in mind for any of your books?  
I do.  Each book/series I write has a playlist associated with it.

8. Do you have a book trailer? And what are your thoughts on book trailers?
I don’t yet.  This is something I have been working on.  In general, I love book trailers, as long as they are done right!

9. Do you prefer e-books, paperbacks, hardcovers or audiobooks?
I prefer paperbacks, but I read mostly e-books and audiobooks these days.

10. Are you a self-published / Indie author?
I am.

11. Have you ever read a book more than once? And if so what was it?
Just about any book that I own in paperback I have read more than once!

12. Have you ever read a book just based on it’s cover?
All the time.

13. What is your favourite book genre at the moment?
Right now, dystopian.  But in general, I am big into mystery/thrillers.  I also read just about anything about the Tudors!

14. What book are you reading at the moment? And in what format?
When She Woke by Hillary Jordan.  I am listening to this one on my Ipod.

15. Do you have any advice for other writers? And what’s the best advice that you have been given when it comes to writing?
Write down everything.  Write every day.  Keep all of your drafts, just in case you decided it really was better the first time around!

16. Do you have any hobbies that aren’t related to reading & writing?
Running and traveling.  I love to visit new places.

17. Where can your readers follow you?




Twitter:  @SophieDavisBook


Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/SophieDavisBooks



Thankyou so much for taking the time to do this interview and allowing us a glimpse into your writing world!

Monday 10 June 2013

Cover Reveal: Vitality by M.A. George

Vitality is the third book in the Proximity series and will be released on the 16th of July 2013.
Palta learned long ago not to expect a “normal” life.  She’d settle for one free of close encounters with supernaturally-gifted homicidal maniacs.

Apparently that’s too much to ask.

Join your favorite Onontian royal family, as they settle into life at the palace...only don’t get too comfortable, because things are about to take a hair-raising turn.

My Opinion:
Although, I really like the cover of Vitality because of the beautiful, watery graphic above the title, having not read the previous two books, I don't see how the cover and the blurb are connected, or how the cover represents the story within. If I saw Vitality on the shelf at my local bookstore, (alongside the previous two books, Proximity & Relativity), the whole series would probably catch my eye, but I would probably waver over actually buying the whole series.

Like the sound of Vitality? Add it to your wishlist on Goodreads!

Promotion: Relativity by M.A. George

Relativity
By M.A. George

Relativity is the second book in the Proximity series.

No matter the planet, Palta Capal is an alien. 

She’s lived a lifetime where she never belonged…but relocating to the “home world” she’s never seen has her feeling more like an outsider than ever.

Teetering between the thrill of newfound love and the despair of family loss - not to mention the looming threat of global war - Palta doesn’t need any more excitement in her life. 

But what she needs and what she gets are two entirely different things.


Available at Amazon.co.uk.

Promotion: Proximity by M.A. George

Proximity
By M.A. George

Proximity is the first book in the Proximity series.

Dr. Palta Capal would be a typical American career woman…if only she were human.

She has found her calling in this world as a physician. It’s an ideal outlet for her compassionate spirit...and unearthly healing powers.

Palta may spend her nights rereading Jane Austen novels, but she deliberately avoids pursuing her own love story. Human men - attractive as they may be - inevitably grow old and wither, leaving her to grieve in solitude. Frankly, no one has seemed worth the torment.

Enter Eric Moran, the intensely attractive and enigmatic new coworker on the scene. With his quiet confidence and warm smile, he manages to draw Palta’s attention. Little does she know that he, too, holds a secret…one that will propel them both into an escalating collision of two worlds.


Available at Amazon.co.uk.

Friday 7 June 2013

Promotion: Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Life As We Knew It 
By Susan Beth Pfeffer

Life As We Knew It is the first book in The Last Survivors series.

Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.

Available at Amazon.co.uk.

Thursday 6 June 2013

June 2013's New Releases!

Myself and my mum (from JeanzBookReadNReview) have decided to use this feature each month to spotlight some books, whether they be "Mainstream" or "Indie", that have caught our eye!

Siege & Storm
By Leigh Bardugo 

Siege & Storm, the second book in The Grisha series, will be released on the 4th of June.

Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka.

Crushed 
By Sara Shepard

Crushed, the thirteenth book in the Pretty Little Liars series, will be released on the 4th of June.

It's springtime in suburban Rosewood, which means iced soy lattes, fresh manicures in shimmering pastels and prom. But while everyone else is flipping through the racks at Saks in search of the perfect dress, Hanna, Spencer, Emily, and Aria are on a different kind of hunt: They're looking for A. . . .

Hanna puts her campaign for prom queen on the back burner to volunteer at the burn clinic, where one of A's victims is recovering. Emily digs into Ali's past at the mental hospital with some very crazy consequences. Spencer contacts a private eye to help her stalk her stalker. But when their sessions get a little too private, they may forget to keep their eyes on A. . . . And Aria's worried that A is even closer than she thought. When her dark secret from Iceland finally comes to light, she discovers that maybe, just maybe, the one person she's been trying to hide the truth from has known all along.

The liars are finally taking the fight to A. But no matter what they do, A's always one step ahead, ready to crush the girls completely.

PODs
By Michelle K. Pickett

PODs will be released on the 4th of June.

Seventeen-year-old Eva is a chosen one. Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of symptoms emerging. In the POD system, a series of underground habitats built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, it's in the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all, it's a balm for the broken soul. 

After a year, scientists believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the virus. That's the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened, survivors find the surface holds a vicious secret. The virus mutated, infecting those left top-side and creating... monsters. 

Tidal
By Amanda Hocking

Tidal, the third book in the Watersong series, will be released on the 6th of June.

Her only hope lies with her greatest enemies.

Gemma is facing the fight of her life. Cursed by beautiful but deadly sirens, her extraordinary powers have a terrifyingly dark side, and becoming human once more is proving her greatest challenge yet. As she struggles to break the curse, the sirens, Penn Lexi and Thea are determined to kill her before she can set herself free.

Gemini Rising
By Eleanor Wood

Gemini Rising will be released on the 7th of June.

How far would you go to fit in? Sorana Salem is ok with being not quite bottom of the pile at her exclusive private school. Until the mysterious Johansson twins arrive unexpectedly mid-term. 

Hypnotically beautiful and immensely cool, magnetic Elyse and mute Melanie aren’t like the school’s usual identikit mean girls.Soon Sorana’s sharing sleepovers and Saturday nights out with the twins. 

But their new world of Ouidja boards and older boys might not be as simple as it seems. And the dark secrets that they share could be about to take Sorana down a path that’s impossible to turn back from…

Dare You To
By Katie McGarry

Dare You To, the second book in the Pushing The Limits series, will be released on the 7th of June.

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does.... 

Linked
By Imogen Howson

Linked will be released on the 11th of June.

Elissa used to have it all: looks, popularity, and a bright future. But for the last three years, she’s been struggling with terrifying visions, phantom pains, and mysterious bruises that appear out of nowhere. 

Finally, she’s promised a cure: minor surgery to burn out the overactive area of her brain. But on the eve of the procedure, she discovers the shocking truth behind her hallucinations: she’s been seeing the world through another girl’s eyes. 

Elissa follows her visions, and finds a battered, broken girl on the run. A girl - Lin - who looks exactly like Elissa, down to the matching bruises. The twin sister she never knew existed. 

Another Little Piece
By Kate Karyus Quinn

Another Little Piece will be released on the 11th of June.

On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.

A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon.

The Registry
By Shannon Stoker

The Registry will be released on the 11th of June.

The Registry saved the country from collapse. But stability has come at a price. In this patriotic new America, girls are raised to be brides, sold at auction to the highest bidder. Boys are raised to be soldiers, trained by the state to fight to their death.

Nearly eighteen, beautiful Mia Morrissey excitedly awaits the beginning of her auction year. But a warning from her married older sister raises dangerous thoughts. Now, instead of going up on the block, Mia is going to escape to Mexico - and the promise of freedom.

Winter Queen
By Amber Argyle

Winter Queen will be released on the 19th of June.

Becoming a winter queen will make Ilyenna as cold and cruel and deadly as winter itself, but it might be the only way to save her people from a war they have no hope of winning.

Mortally wounded during a raid, seventeen year old Ilyenna is healed by winter fairies who present her with a seductive offer: become one of them and share their power over winter. But that power comes with a price. If she accepts, she will become a force of nature, lose her humanity, and abandon her family.

Spartan Frost
By Jennifer Estep

Spartan Frost, book 4.5 in the Mythos Academy series, will be released on the 25th of June.

Professor Metis and Nickamedes say that I'm fine, that Loki and the Reapers don't have a hold on me anymore, but I can't risk it. I can't risk hurting Gwen again. So I'm leaving Mythos and going somewhere far, far away.

I know Gwen wonders what's happening to me, whether I'm safe. I can't tell her, but this is my story. . .

Hidden
By Marianne Curley

Hidden will be released on the 25th of June.

For as long as Ebony can remember, she's been sheltered. Confined to her home in a secluded valley, home-schooled by her protective parents, and limited to a small circle of close friends. It's as if she's being hidden. 

But something is changing in Ebony. Something that can't be concealed. She's growing more beautiful by the day, she's freakishly strong, and then there's the fact that she's glowing

Weather Witch
By Shannon Delany

Weather Witch will be released on the 25th of June.

In a vastly different and darker Philadelphia of 1844, steam power has been repressed, war threatens from deep, dark waters, and one young lady of high social standing is expecting a surprise at her seventeenth birthday party - but certainly not the one she gets!

Jordan Astraea, who has lived out all of her life in Philadelphia’s most exclusive neighborhood, is preparing to celebrate her birthday with friends, family and all the extravagance they might muster. The young man who is most often her dashing companion, Rowen Burchette, has told her a surprise awaits her and her best friend, Catrina Hollindale, wouldn’t miss this night for all the world!

But storm clouds are gathering and threatening to do far more than dampen her party plans because someone in the Astraea household has committed the greatest of social sins by Harboring a Weather Witch.

Have any of June 2013's New Releases caught your eye?

Click on the images below to check them out on Amazon!