Apr 30, 2014

Release Book Blitz/ w. Giveaway!: Dead Girl Walking by Ruth Silver

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Dead Girl WalkingDEAD GIRL WALKING by Ruth Silver (Royal Reaper #1)

Genre: YA, Paranormal
Publisher: Patchwork Press
Cover Design: Erica Crouch
Length: 41k words (paperback includes a bonus story – Ashes to Ashes: prequel)
Book’s Website: http://royalreaper.com

About the Book:
Forget everything you know about grim reapers.
Princess Ophelia Dacre sneaks out of the castle to visit her boyfriend in secret. A perfect night cut short when she’s brutally murdered.
Ophelia is given the rare chance to become a grim reaper. She must become Leila Bele, cut ties with her old life, and follow the rules of the reapers. Her greatest adventure begins with death.

“Forget everything you know about grim reapers, Ophelia. Humans have it wrong. It’s easier to believe in angels and demons, than to see what’s right in front of you. Who wants to believe the undead walk among us with beating hearts? It would frighten humans. It would probably send many to their graves faster,” Edon said.

Ruth Silver author photo
About the Author: Ruth Silver is the best-selling author of ABERRANT, a young adult dystopian adventure series published by Patchwork Press and Lazy Day Publishing. Silver attended Northern Illinois University and graduated with a Bachelor's in Communication in the spring of 2005. While in college, she spent much of her free time writing with friends she met online and penning her first novel, Deuces are Wild, which she self-published in 2004. Her love of writing led her on an adventure in 2007 to Melbourne, Australia. Silver enjoys reading, photography, traveling and most of all writing. She loves dystopian, paranormal, and fantasy young adult stories. Ruth has been actively writing since she was a teenager. She currently resides in Plainfield, Illinois.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon Author Page | Goodreads
 

Apr 29, 2014

Early Reader Review: Courtney Crumrin: The Witch Next Door Volume 5 by Ted Naifeh

Courtney Crumrin Volume 5: The Witch Next Door by Ted Naifeh
Publisher: Diamond Book Distributors/ Oni Press
Publication Date: April 30, 2014

Format: Ebook
Source: Netgalley and Diamond Book Distributors

Goodreads Synopsis:
Holly Hart is new to Hillsborough and witchcraft. When her family moves in next to Courtney, the two girls quickly become friends. But as Courtney watches Holly making the same mistakes she once made, she begins to have second thoughts about teaching the girl magic. And when Holly sees the aftermath of the other children's "adventures" with Courtney, her suspicions cause her to make a dangerous decision. The first five issues of the full-color Courtney Crumrin comic series are collected for the first time in a special hardcover edition.

Review:
My Rating:
I love everything about these books! When I saw the next (volume 5) installment of Courtney Crumrin on Netgalley, I had to grab it, even though I had just told my husband that I had too many other books through Netgalley I needed to read and review (my bad).

In Volume 5, Courtney meets a new girl, Holly, who is living across the street from her and everything is going smoothly until magic becomes involved.  Courtney and Holly become friends and Courtney explains magic and how anyone can learn it. Holly being an outcast like Courtney takes all of this very well and is willing to learn a few things, only she takes it way out of proportion and all the crazy breaks loose.

As always, I love these dark, macabre images and settings throughout the storyline; and Courtney has really grown since the first volume. She is stronger both mentally and magically, and is learning about the consequences of all of her actions.  

In this volume, the story of Holly and Courtney brings the reader back to other events in the series, which was a nice refresher, but it also uncovers Courtney’s past and so the end of the book leaves you on the edge as Courtney must flee from her new home with Uncle A.  Uncle A is given an ultimatum and must decide to go after Courtney or wither away and die.

I cannot wait for the story to continue and these volumes are a great way to read the story. They give you just enough to fulfill you for a little while, but when the next one comes out you want to grab it.

Other Books in the Series

Courtney Crumrin Volume 1: The Night Things Courtney Crumrin, Volume 2: The Coven of Mystics Special Edition Hardcover Courtney Crumrin, Volume 3: The Twilight Kingdom Courtney Crumrin Volume 4: Monstrous Holiday Special Edition


~~ Read My Reviews Here ~~





Click covers to go to Goodreads

Apr 28, 2014

Building the Book Pile #88

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Welcome to Building the Book Pile!  A Weekly meme inspired by Stacking the Shelves

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

What's Happening?!

Happy Monday all, again I am a day late with this post (oh well, I set the schedule :P) Anyways! I hope you are all having a great Monday, after a great weekend.

This past week has been crazy busy, doctors appointment (just a check up), trying to read but being in a slump, and my husband got a new job.

AND this weekend, I went to see my little brother play his first ever lacrosse game - I know nothing about this sport other that he can hit people with a stick and that should be right up his alley - he scored a goal and it was a great game. Except that it was 40 degrees and raining and I am pretty sure I caught a cold from standing outside in it :( oh well. Sunday I spent the day running errands and playing WoW, I needed a relaxing game day after all the cold rain on Saturday.

Some other fun things going on:
ARC April - Almost done!
Clean Sweep ARC Challenge in May -  Don't forgot to sign up :)- only a few weeks away now!
ArmChairBEA sign ups ARE OPEN! Go sign up! DO IT! You can also be a cheerleader :) - Sign up for that too!


Giveaways Going on NOW!   


http://cover2coverblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/blog-tour-w-giveaway-rock-n-roll.html

http://cover2coverblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/blog-blast-w-giveaway-summer-on-short.html

Click pic/link to be taken to the giveaway!

Others may be linked on the right sidebar :) check them out!

 

Coming up on the Blog...

Tuesday (My Birthday!!)  -- Early Reader Review: Courtney Crumrin: The Witch Next Door, Vol 5 (Graphic Novel) 

The rest of the week I am leaving pretty open, I hope to finish some books and write reviews but I am not sure which ones will get done.

Books This Week

Books for Review
The Only Boy by Jordan Locke for a blog tour



  Comment and leave me a link to your Round-up/ STS/ Weekly...anything post and I will happily stop by and say hello!

 Happy Reading!

Apr 25, 2014

Blog Tour w/ Giveaway!: Rock 'n' Roll Princesses Wear Black by Kelly Polark

Rock 'N' Roll Princesses Wear Black by Kelly Polark

~~Buy Links!~~

Barnes & Noble: coming soon!

Format: ebook
Source: From the author for review/blog tour


Rating:


Synopsis: 
Music class and recess totally rock, but being teased in school and ignored at home totally stinks. Stefani Lucas is a rockin’ sixth grader who loves music and dresses like a mini hipster in all black, but there's one thing cramping her style - her lame baby brother who manages to hog all the attention from her parents.

When classmates tease her about her clothes and even double dare her to (gasp!) wear another color, Stef decides a minor makeover may be in order.  Can Stef change for others and still stay true to herself?
 Review: 

Stefani is a rock ‘n’ roll princess learning to deal with real world situations of being in the 6th grade, having a baby brother who is a huge pain, and dealing with fitting in at school – which is a problem because she does not like wearing color. Stefani is a young girl trying to figure out her place but not wanting to conform to the same clothing and styles of all the other little girls at her school and in her class. She is semi-confident in her choice but also bummed; she gets made fun of, a lot, for this decision.

I found this middle grade read to be entertaining and fast paced. I was in a non- reading kind of mood but still managed to read it in about 2 sittings. I found the characters interesting and relatable, in that they are a family of four dealing with a middle schooler and a baby and some things fall through the cracks, no family is perfect, but at least Stefani’s is pretty cool.

I think that this will be a great book for middle grade readers, there are rumors and bullying and the mean kids and Stefani does try to express her feelings to her parents about the problems she is having in school (not grades, but kids making fun of her). I think that unique, outside of the box kids can read this book and know that it is perfectly fine to be yourself and stand up for your beliefs, even if they are as simple as wearing black instead of colors.

An interesting side note: I, for one, am still getting the “you need to wear more color” talk from my family, sometimes you just gotta go with what you know, and black goes with everything.  Happy reading!





  a Rafflecopter giveaway


About the Author
 Kelly Polark is a married mom of three and educator/author from the great Midwest. ROCK 'N' ROLL PRINCESSES WEAR BLACK is Kelly's debut middle grade novel. She is also the author of the ABC picture book, ROCKABET: CLASSIC EDITION and two Meegenius books: BIG SISTER, BABY BROTHER and HOLD THE MUSTARD! In her free time, Kelly loves to hang with her fam, read books for all ages, and sing along at rock concerts.


Find the Author
Celeb Book Recommendation Blog: www.bookrecsthatrock.blogspot.com
Intrepid Publications: http://intrepidpublications.com/
 

Apr 23, 2014

Release!!! -- Stone of Destiny by Laura Howard





Stone of Destiny (The Danaan Trilogy Book 2) by Laura Howard
Genre: New Adult Paranormal Romance

Blurb:


Allison thought it was crazy enough when she found out her father, Liam, wasn't entirely human. But now she has to join his magical allies to unravel his former mistress's plans. Aoife wants to keep Allison's parents apart forever.

Despite Allison's efforts to keep Ethan, the only guy she's ever cared about, out of this supernatural mess, fate keeps throwing him back into the mix.

Will Allison be able to find the amulet that holds the enchantment Aoife placed on Liam and destroy it? Are Ethan' s feelings for Allison strong enough to endure the magic of the Tuatha De Danaan?

~~Purchase Links~~

Kobo: Coming Soon



The Forgotten Ones

Book One in The Danaan Trilogy


About Laura:

Laura Howard lives in New Hampshire with her husband and four children. Her obsession with books began at the age of 6 when she got her first library card. Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High and other girly novels were routinely devoured in single sittings. Books took a backseat to diapers when she had her first child. It wasn’t until the release of a little novel called Twilight, 8 years later, that she rediscovered her love of fiction. Soon after, her own characters began to make themselves known.


Apr 22, 2014

Blog Blast w/ Giveaway!: Summer on the Short Bus by Bethany Crandell


About the Book


SUMMER ON THE SHORT BUS by Bethany Crandell
Release Date: April 1, 2014
Publisher: Running Press Kids


Spoiled, Versace-clad Cricket Montgomery has seventeen years of pampering under her belt. So when her father decides to ship her off to a summer camp for disabled teens to help her learn some accountability, Cricket resigns herself to three weeks of handicapped hell. 

Her sentence takes a bearable turn as she discovers the humor and likeability of the campers and grows close to fellow counselors. Now, if she can just convince a certain Zac Efron look-alike with amazing blue eyes that she finally realizes there's life after Gucci, this summer could turn out to be the best she's ever had.

Summer on the Short Bus is a very non-P.C., contemporary YA with a lot of attitude, tons of laughs, and a little life lesson along the way.

  
Giveaway is open Internationally for Gift Card, US Only for Book.
Must be 13+ to Enter

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 
~~Praise~~

"Crandell creates a wonderful and relatable protagonist with Cricket but even better than that, she surrounds her with equally relatable, flawed, and real characters...This book is an absolute winner!" – Feathered Quill Book Reviews

“A novel oozing with heart and humanity.” - Ken Baker, E! News correspondent and author of Fangirl and How I Got Skinny, Famous and Fell Madly in Love

“A hilarious and heartwarming ride.” – Jennifer Salvato Doktorski, author of How My Summer Went Up in Flames 
and Famous Last Words



About the Author
Bethany lives in San Diego with her husband, two kiddos (one of whom is differently-abled), and a chocolate lab who has no regard for personal space. She believes that prayer solves problems and that Jake Ryan is going to show up at her door any minute now…. She is represented by Rachael Dugas of Talcott Notch Literary Services.

Find the Author

Apr 21, 2014

Blog Tour & Guest Post: Things Young Writers Should Know by Adrienne Woods author of Firebolt


Firebolt: The Dragonian Series (Book One) by Adrienne Woods

Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: GMTA  Publishing – Mythos Press

ISBN: 978-1491244654
ASIN: B00GS5SUM6
Number of pages: 289
Word Count: 95 000
About the Book:

For the love of blueberries, Elena Watkins was destined for greatness, even though she didn’t know it. Before entering Paegeia Elena was not special, she wasn’t even average until the night her father was killed by a creature she thought only existed in fairy tales – a dragon. With her father’s death leaving her orphaned, Elena is whisked away to her true birthplace, Paegeia.

Arriving at Dragonia Academy, the premier school for young Dragonians; a school she was never meant to attend because her father was a dragon. Unbeknownst to Elena danger is lurking behind the enchanted vines concealing the once thriving capital of Paegeia – Etan.

Goran, the darkest sorcerer in the realm, has lain dormant for over a century behind the crumbling city. There, in the shadowy ruins he plots his revenge to destroy the only weapon that can kill him – the King of Lion Sword.

When the sword is stolen without a trace Elena doesn’t think twice about seeking it; knowing deep down that it is her destiny to save her new home.


  by Adrienne Woods
Things Young Writers Should Know


I'm still considering myself as a young writer. I've recently published Firebolt, book 1 of The Dragonian Series a couple of months ago, but the things I've learned on this short journey will be enough to write a book about it.


Marketing:
I thought getting a publisher was going to be hard, but it wasn't the hardest thing for me. It was to get my novel in front of the market.
So before you even start writing a novel, know your market. 
I used to think that people were insane when they told me to start marketing my novel three years before its release date. I mean, how do you sell a book if it isn't available yet?
What I didn't grasp was marketing and selling were two different things.
Get a fan base for your book. 
Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest are all amazing sites to get people to follow your work and they do help by sharing your posts.

Virtual book tours, such as Bewitching, really works. I've become a freak when it comes to virtual tours and I've only found in my experience that they are the only tool that does help with getting your novel out there. Advertising helps also, but not in the amount you wish for, unless you have a budget that can afford Google Ads. That is the best tool in getting your novel to number one.

PR services is a must. I'm not saying to go and get a PR company on your first novel. Wait till you have a couple of novels out there and then use a PR to promote you with all your novels. 

As a writer you should market your own novel. Not even all the traditional published authors get a good marketing structure and they too have to take out the money and get their novels out there.

Use sites on the internet to help you. 
Goodreads is amazing place to start. Join genre groups you write for and have a conversation with all of them. Get them on your side because you are going to need them when your novel is published. A new website I found for YA authors is one called LitPick. They get your novel in front of young people, the ones you written this novel for. You might think that teenagers can't help getting your novel out there, you are wrong.
When they love something, they share with all their friends and family, you'll end up having mom and dad reading the novel too as they wanted to know what sort of books their children reads.

The internet is filled with websites that can help you with getting your novel out there. Just do your research and use them.
Tip: Marketing should be done on a monthly basis for at least six months if not more.

Reviews:
You need to change your mind set when it comes to handling reviews, otherwise they will get the better of you and in most cases authors question their ability to write novels. 

Don't ever question yourself. You've written a novel, most people can't even do that, so in that way you already won.


As a new author you want everyone to be smitten with your novel, they won't. You always get the kind of person you just can't please. Some of their reviews are plain nasty, but never let it get under your skin, because not everyone will love your novel.

Now I know you probably think but if I get a one or a two my novel will stop selling.

Not in the least. It was proven that even with negative reviews that your novel still sells, as long as it's a good story and the majority of your readers absolutely loved it.

Go look at the big block buster authors. Stephanie that wrote the Twilight Series got so many 1 star review, people actually took the time making cartoons to express how much they hated it. Instead they gave her a bit of marketing. Where did she ended up, with a movie deal. 
If she comment on those bad reviews, do you think that she would ended up with so many fans. 
The one thing she did have was an audience. She new her market and she attacked them with Twilight with everything she had. It led to a lot of reviews and a lot of people loving it. 
Another sample is J.K Rowling. Harry Potter was the most amazing series in this world, yet there were still people that hated every word of it. Just go on goodreads and go see how many one and two star reviews she has.

I would be so happy if I could end up with the amount of reviews she got one star for.

All of the block buster movies got their one and two stars. I would be worried if I didn't get them.


So the faster you make peace with this, the easier your live as an author will be. Believe me, I've been there and there were so many times I wanted to comment back on a one star review, it's human, but instead I started to appreciate their input. They supported your work, bought the book, and that is what you should be aiming for.


Editing:
Get yourself a professional Editor. If your novel isn't edited it will harm you in ways you never dreamed off. Editors ended up becoming good friends and are the people that can help you on the long run. I'm sure there are many typos in this post, but it shows you that even I need my editor, which I didn't use for this post. hahahahaha.


Cover designers:
A book does get judge by its cover. Don't ever think it's the opposite. You need a professional designed cover in order to make a good impression.
Aim for the next number one seller's cover. A cover that looks cheap will not grab attention and it will just lay on the shelves.
There are pretty amazing cover artist that makes them for next to nothing. Spend time in getting everything perfect.

The last thing, never give up. If you aren't a published author yet, it should become your number one motto. Rejections are more than the acceptance when it comes to the publishing industry, especially if you want to go the agent and the traditional publishing route. Stephen King had so many rejections, I think if he wasn't Stephen King, he would've given up after then tenth rejection letter. He made it and today everyone knows who he is.

I hope all the new writers out there got a bit of insight to what a published author goes through, don't be afraid, I'm loving every moment of it.

Thank you to everyone that spend the time reading this and I truly hope I would see your novel out there.

Kind Wishes,
Adrienne Woods


About the Author
I was born and raised in South Africa, where I still live with my husband, and two beautiful little girls. I always knew that I was going to be a writer but it only started to happen about four years ago, now I can’t stop writing.

In my free time, If I get any because Moms don’t really have free time, I love to spend time with friends, if it’s a girls night out, or just a movie, I’m a very chilled person.
                     
My writing career is starting with Firebolt, book one with the Dragonian Series, there will be four books in total and two to three books that is about the stories taking place inside The Dragonian Series.

I do write in different Genres, I have a woman’s fiction called the Pregnancy Diaries, but it would be published under another name. And then I have a paranormal series, called the Watercress series. There are about ten novels in that one.

So, plenty of novels to come out, so little time.

I hope you are going to embrace the Dragonian Series as much as I loved writing them.

Find the Author

Twitter: erichb3
Goodreads: Adrienne Woods
Google+: Adrienne Woods