Saturday, February 27, 2016

Book Spotlight: If I Should Remember by K. D. Van Brunt





Young Adult / YA Mystery
Date Published: February 2, 2016

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Memories make us human. Are we still alive if we can’t remember?

Seventeen-year-old Zoe Laleigh has accepted that sometimes the only way to survive today is to wipe away the past. That’s what her loving parents and dedicated psychiatrist are helping her do—forget. What, she’s not entirely sure. All she knows is when an entire year of recollections goes missing, there’s definitely something wrong.

Sometimes the past isn’t so easily forgotten…

Through a flood of dreams, Zoe realizes something happened. Something terrible and tragic. Her lost year is a monster hiding in the shadow of her nightmares, taunting her, but unwilling to reveal itself. When her family relocates, she hopes a new town and new school will help her regain a sense of normalcy. If only it were that easy.

Strangely enough, only her dog, Rin, seems to understand her…

He is somehow connected to her lost year—connected to why she keeps doing things her mother calls reckless, foolish, and dangerous. And when she starts to hear voices and sees things no one else can, she is forced to question her own sanity.

The monster of her nightmares has returned, bringing with it the single question that plagues her at night…

What is there to remember?





Excerpt


                Did I say how much I hate Dr. Bazely’s office? It starts with the reception area, which always has this citrusy smell. It’s like cheap perfume, and it gets into my hair and my clothes, so I smell it for days. Of course, there are magazines to read during the wait, and there’s always a wait no matter when you arrive, but the magazines come in two flavors: National Geographic and People. Right, gawk at animals or gawk at humans, your choice. Before we sit, we have to deal with Martha, the receptionist.


                    “Hello, Martha,” Mom says, as we approach her desk.


                “Zoe,” Martha responds with faux pleasure. Her smile is like a Halloween mask she slides down over her face whenever she has to interact with clients. For some reason, they refer to us as clients, not patients. Whatever.


                      “Dr. Bazely will be with you momentarily,” Martha states, as she always does.


                I sit next to Mom and scroll through the texts on my phone. Sara has texted me 10,000 times, Hannah and Tory only slightly less. According to Tory, she spent all first period this morning answering one of two questions: Does Zoe have a brain tumor? and Is Zoe rabid? I also have a text from Derek, but strangely nothing from Alex.                


Hey, fox ninja warrior, the wildlife around here wants to know if it’s safe to come out, Derek texted.


                I laugh out loud at this and text back, Tell the animals crazy girl is in Boston for the day.


                    He immediately replies. You looked kind of sexy holding that shoe, you know.


I roll my eyes. That’s what I was going for all right—the sexy, scared shitless look.


                “The doctor will see you now,” Martha says, rising to lead me back to his office. 


I stow my phone in my back pocket, and Mom gives my hand a gentle squeeze of encouragement. My sessions with Dr. Bazely are one-on-one. No Mom. No Dad. Bazely usually does confer with Mom after we’re done, but he’s made it clear to me many times he will not breach the confidentiality of our sessions with anyone. So even if it turns out I’m an axe murderer, my crimes will remain a secret from my mother.


                Dr. Bazely’s office is like a nice den, all wood paneling, comfy, an overstuffed couch, and two wingback chairs. I sit in my usual chair and he sits in the other one halffacing me. A round table is strategically located between us. His shiny, bald head reflects the overhead light like a mirror. Dr. Bazely is never mean with me, but I resent him. He never tells me anything. He knows stuff about me, but he won’t share it with me.  






About the Author


Young adult writer K.D. Van Brunt has authored four books, including the widely acclaimed Win the Rings.  Residing in Rockville, Maryland, he loves all things dogs, the civil war and books.

Contact Links





Purchase Links


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Thursday, February 25, 2016

Wolf's Blade by Clare Dargin



Wolf's Blade
The Paladins 1

Clare Dargin

 Contemporary, Paranormal, Shifters, Wolves
Heat Level 4,Words 32,000
Content Notes Intense, Extreme Violence, Non-Sexual Physical Assault
Publication Date 12/28/2015, Liquid Silver Books



 Samantha Dixon rescues a wounded wolf shifter in the woods near her home … and unwittingly gets drawn into a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a murderer.


Callum Blake is on the trail of an evil man who would be king of all wolf kind, no matter the cost … it’s up to Callum to stop him.


How can Callum fulfill his duty to protect his pack and save the woman who is destined to be his mate?


Buy Links:   Amazon    Liquid Silver Books











Author Bio
Clare Dargin is a multi-published romance author. She has written for several publishers in different genres, including erotic romance, military romance, contemporary, paranormal, and sci-fi. She lives in the mid-west, and when not surfing the web, she is hard at work writing her next romance novel. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and Amazon.




Social Media Links
Clare's Blog 2 The Haven -  www.claresblog2thehaven.blogspot.com/
The Embraced:  Scribal Love -  www.theembraced.blogspot.com/


**********


FREE READ Opportunity
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receive a free erotic romance e-read from her back list.

Hi everybody, I have a new newsletter that I've created that WILL have cool and relevant content for romance book readers including news and previews about my upcoming books, posts and articles you won't see on my blog and free romance reads from me.  Subscribe to my newsletter now and receive a free e-romance read from me today
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Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Happy Release Day! Open Hearts by Erin Hayes

Feb 24 - Hearts

Young couple wrapped in plaid Goodreads
Synopsis
My heart isn’t my own.
And I don’t mean romantically.
Six months ago, I had a heart transplant. Now I’m learning to live again with someone else’s heart beating in my chest. My scars both inside and out haunt my every waking moment.
Then I meet Rhys, the tattooed Yank that finds himself transplanted to my Southern hometown. Even though he’s haunted by his own scars, he’s determined to show me how to embrace my second chance at life.
I’m not sure if I can give someone my heart when it wasn’t mine to begin with.
And neither of our hearts will survive rejection.
~~~~
A standalone NA contemporary romance coming February 2016.
Young couple in love walking in the autumn park holding hands lo

Buy Links
Young couple in love walking in the autumn park holding hands lo

AMAZON * AMAZON UK 

AMAZON CA * AMAZON AU

About the Author
Sci-fi junkie, video game nerd, and wannabe manga artist Erin Hayes writes a lot of things. Sometimes she writes books, like the fantasy mystery novel Death is but a Dream, the sci-fi middle grade book Jacob Smith is Incredibly Average, and the Her Wolf paranormal series.
She works as an advertising copywriter during the day, and she moonlights as an author. She has lived in New Zealand, Texas, and now in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, cat, and a growing collection of geek paraphernalia.
You can reach her at erinhayesbooks@gmail.com and she'll be happy to chat. Especially if you want to debate Star Wars.
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Siren's Curse by Margo Bond Collins ~ Paranormal Love Wednesdays Blog Hop ~ #PNR

paranormal%20love%20wednesdays%202-1

Welcome to the weekly blog hop featuring paranormal stories. From witches to werewolves, vampires to berserkers, you name it, we have it. This blog hop is open to authors and writers whose work is published or unpublished. We also welcome works-in-progresses/WIP's.

 Join us each week and check out all the cool stories!

 This week, check out this sneak peek at Siren's Curse, coming out this fall as part of the Hotel Paranormal collection, then be sure to HOP back to check out the rest of this week's entries.

Keep an eye out for more information about both Siren's Curse and the Hotel Paranormal collection!

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Excerpt
The world of mer is no place for men.
I said so to Skyla when she returned from the surface with her earthen male. He drifted nearby, his human bulk and muscles a clear contrast to our Atlantean males, with their sleek bodies.
He had to work to move through the water and to keep himself still, and the muscles of his new tail rippled with effort.
"I had no choice." Skyla's eyes glowed green in the depths, lighting the ocean around us. "Poseidon himself sent me. We need an army if the Titans are returning." She flicked her tailfin in suppressed emotion, her eyes darting to the side as if to evaluate her new companion's mood.
Not that she had any need to do so. Anger emanated from him in ripples that charged the ocean water around him with energy.
"And you're certain the Old Ones are pushing their way back through on the surface?" I didn't truly doubt her—she is not known for lies—but I wanted to hear her say it aloud again.
"I am." Her words bubbled out and around me, tasting of truth and of fear.



About the Author 

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Margo Bond Collins writes urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and contemporary romance. She lives in Texas with her daughter and several spoiled pets. She teaches college-level English courses online, though writing fiction is her first love. She enjoys reading urban fantasy and paranormal fiction of any genre and spends most of her free time daydreaming about vampires, ghosts, shapeshifters, and the women who love them--and sometimes fight them.


Connect with Margo

 Newsletter: https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/03A21E5E161401F0
 Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/margobondcollins
 Email: MargoBondCollins@gmail.com
 Website: http://www.MargoBondCollins.net
 Blog: http://www.MargoBondCollins.com
 Twitter: https://twitter.com/MargoBondCollin @MargoBondCollin
 Google+: https://plus.google.com/116484555448104519902
 Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/vampirarchy
 Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/MargoBondCollins
 Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/mbondcollins/

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Legally Undead Audiobook Sample

Book Blitz: Sing Sweet Sparrow by Angela J. Townsend


Sing Sweet Sparrow
by Angela J. Townsend
Release Date: January 2016
Genre: YA Historical Romance
Spinning Broom Books Publishing

Summary from Goodreads:

With the odd disappearance of her parents, Gussie Gibson has lived her entire life with her granny on a peaceful pecan orchard, owned by the meanest man in all of Georgia—Mr. J.P. Combs. Granny teaches Gussie many valuable life lessons as a black woman growing up in the still-segregated south. Mr. Combs is an evil underhanded banker who takes liberties beyond his privilege. When Granny dies, Combs informs Gussie she owes him back rent—but he wants much more than money for payment—and more than Gussie can live with. 
After defending herself against his sexual advances, Gussie flees to escape certain vigilante justice when she meets a charming, handsome stranger, Sam Johnson, who is just returning from World War II. 
Gussie and Sam’s friendship is short-lived when Mr. Combs hunts her down and drags her back to Green Ridge, driven by his craving for revenge and a grudge too deep to comprehend. Gussie fights to return to Sam and his love, but it seems, no matter where she runs, danger follows close on her heels, in the troubled South where cruelty disfigures the human spirit and love is a dim beacon of hope.


Buy Links:

EXCERPT:
1945
No one on this earth deserves to die more than Mister J.P. Combs.
Mister Combs is the vice president of the Green Ridge Union Bank, and the nastiest man in all of Georgia. He robs from the old, the poor, the sick, and the weak. Granny and I been working for the Combs family for as long as I can remember. Granny taught me how to wash their silver and fancy china so it comes out shiny, how to iron the tablecloths, and how to fold the napkins just how Missus Combs likes it done.
Missus is a nice woman. She treats Granny and me right. On Sunday she takes her coffee into the kitchen to visit with us after church. But not Mister. He hates colored folks. He says we don’t know our place.
Mister never takes his eyes off of me. It’s like he’s making sure I don’t stop to take an extra breath while I’m working, so he’s getting his money’s worth. Granny and I tend the Combs’ house for just sixty-nine cents an hour. That’s a lot less than most maids. The trouble is that Granny is old, tired and slow. Her feet don’t work so good no more. We got to take what work we can get.
Mister comes home early every Friday. He likes to lean against the stove while he peels an apple with a buck knife. He chews the pieces and leers at me while I polish the silver. I’d love to stuff that apple in his mouth and stick him in the stove. I gotta learn to control my temper, sometimes it’s hard, especially when Mister’s at me. Don’t know from one day to the next what’s gonna happen. Somedays I wish I could explode and blow up the whole world.
Granny knows I got a bad temper. It worries her. She takes me into Mister’s parlor and stares at me with her brow all crinkled up. “Gussie child, you keep outta Mister’s way,” she whispers. “I don’t like how he looks at you.” Granny shakes her head in disgust. “You’re only sixteen years old. Don’t you let him get close. You stay by me—you hear?”
I can’t look at Granny. My cheeks burn with shame.
Granny takes hold of my hands. “You listening to me, child?”
I nod. She leans in real close, her bottom lip quivers in a two-tone brown. I stare at the wrinkles around her mouth, and at her bottom row of teeth all worn down. I worry about how much longer she’ll live. I don’t want her to leave me. “I see the way he’s been looking at you,” Granny says. “Like you the hottest thing on the lunch menu.” Granny lifts my chin so that our eyes meet. “If he comes round, and you alone—you tell him you got chores to do.” Granny squeezes my hands tighter. “His heart ain’t nothing but a thumpin’ gizzard. He’ll hurt you if he has a chance. You stay away from him. You understand me, child?”
I nod again. “Yes, Ma’am.”
The lines around Granny’s eyes soften. She cradles my head in her knobby hands. “You the only thing I got in this world, Gussie. I done lost my boy. I don’t plan on losing you too.”
My lips tremble. “I know Granny, I’ll be careful.” I cross my heart. “I promise.”
She hugs me round the waist, but I don’t hug her back too hard. She’s so frail, I worry that she’ll break. I press my face into her chest. Her heart pounds against my ear and I feel her shaking. All this worry isn’t good for her old body. I don’t want to let go of her. I bury my head into her shirt collar. She smells like shea butter and sweet ginger. Granny runs her hand over my head. Her fingers untangle the curls in my hair, the ones she makes with the pressing comb heated on the stove every morning. Granny pulls away from me and sits down. She never sits at Mister’s house. She looks so tired.
“Granny, you okay?”
She closes her eyes for a moment, placing a hand on her chest. “Take me home, child.”
I help her up, and hold tight to her thin hand as she walks unsteady beside me. My heart twists over Granny working so hard at her age. How she worries over me.
We head outside and make our way down the path through the pecan grove. The path is uneven and it’s hard for Granny to walk. Her toes are twisted like tree roots with arthritis. I wish I could carry her home so her feet don’t have to hurt. She holds onto my arm as I help her up the front steps of the shack we rent from Mister.
We go inside but Granny won’t rest. She puts supper on the stove, and waves me away when I try to help. She lowers herself onto her rocking chair while the beans boil on the back burner. Granny releases a heavy sigh, closes her eyes and stops rocking. I touch her hand and she don’t move. I can’t breathe. My soul dissolves into darkness. I know she’s gone but I can’t face it. I run to Mister’s house. Missus lets me use their telephone and I call for help.
Half an hour later, Granny’s church ladies come and take her away while my heart rips into pieces. I sit in the dark staring at her empty chair, at her shoes, at the knitting needles sticking in the ball of yarn. I close my eyes willing it all to be gone, for the day to start over with Granny alive. I wish life could be like a chalk board where you can erase the bad parts and start over. Hours pass with nothing but the ticking of the clock. I look out the window surprised to see the world still going on even though Granny isn’t.
After the funeral, I lay up in the bed and pray that God kills me so I can be with my Granny—the only mother I’ve ever known—the only person I ever loved. I don’t sleep. I don’t eat. I don’t go to work. I just don’t care about living anymore. When Granny died, something came apart and broke inside me. Fell off a shelf and shattered to the floor. And I just can’t put all the pieces back together.
A week passes and Mister comes looking for me. He’s mad that I haven’t been to work. He yells his fool head off, saying I gotta pay the rent or get out. I don’t got no money and nowhere to go. I don’t know why God don’t come down and take me to Granny. What kind of a life do I have to look forward to anyhow. I don’t want to be stuck in some white man’s kitchen the rest of my life.
Mister comes back the next day, but I already got my bags packed. He looks at me and frowns. “Where you think you’re going?”
I just shrug.
“You come on home with me. You can have a room in exchange for looking after the house. You got that, girl?”
I nod my head. I don’t know what else to do.
I don’t got no choice.
A lonesome sparrow hatches inside of me, flies out my mouth, and pulls out my insides as it leaves, taking all my happiness with it.
*****
Missus shows me to my room. Mister follows and stands in the hallway, watching. Missus hands me a washrag and towel, shows me where to put my things, and then pulls back my bed sheets.
“I’m so sorry about your Granny. She was a good woman and I‘ll miss her,” Missus says. “Try to get some sleep, child.”
She closes the door behind her, but I hear Mister breathing through the thin wood. I get undressed and slip my nightgown on as quickly as I can, wash my face and jump into bed, hoping he’ll go away. As I close my eyes I see Granny, smiling at me. Tears fill my eyes and roll down the sides of my face into my ears.
Later that night, the feeling of being watched startles me awake. In the moonlight, Mister stands in the doorway. Clamping my eyes tight, I try to shut him out. The wood floor groans as he creeps closer. The smell of whiskey and cheap cologne fill the room. His cigar breath comes in rapid, short bursts, followed by a wheezing rattle. My heart jumps like a cricket and blood pulses in my ears. The bed shifts under Mister’s heavy frame. I lay still as death, petrified, pretending to be asleep.
Mister leans over me, dripping sweat from his forehead onto my face. I fight to keep my eyes closed. I don’t want to look at him. He flips back the thin sheet. The bedsprings squeak like a flock of birds.
“J. P., are you coming to bed?” Missus yells.
Mister lets out a grunt and curses under his breath. The bed squeaks again as he moves away. The sounds of his heavy footsteps echo across the floor and the smell of whiskey grows fainter. Springing from the covers, I close the door, lock it and slip on my clothes. I climb back into bed, pull the blankets up under my chin and try to erase what just happened from my mind. I stare at the moonlit ceiling, praying that God will keep me safe or take me to heaven so I can be with Granny.
A few hours later, the grandfather clock in the hallway strikes midnight, waking me up. Heavy footsteps shuffle outside my door again. The doorknob moves slowly from left to right then rattles fast against the lock.
I don’t sleep the rest of the night.
The next day Mister slinks up behind me in the kitchen, grabs my shoulders and yanks me backward until his big gut presses against my backside. My legs tremble when his hot breath brushes my ear. “I can get into that room anytime I like, so you better be ready” he growls. His rough tongue flicks at the base of my neck. I swing my elbows back hard and pull away. I return to my chores, paying him no mind at all. I may be his house girl, but he don’t own me. I won’t give in without a fight.


About the Author

Angela is a multi-published, award-winning author of young adult and middle grade books. She has a motion picture based on her award-winning novel, The Forlorned, coming out soon, and a second motion picture project in production for River of Bones.

Author Links:
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