Welcome to the blog and my stop on the STONE CHAMELEON Blog Tour. I am beyond excited to be able to share the start of my good friend, Jocelyn Adams' newest Urban Fantasy series about the Ironhill Jinn.
If you are a regular follower of the blog, you know how much I loved Ms. Adams first UF series, The Lila Gray novels.
TIED
(Fire Born #1)
by Laney McMann
Release Date: September 9, 2013
Target Reader: Young Adult
Keywords: Fiction, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, YA
Back of the Book: Normal people don’t believe their nightmares stalk them. They don’t fall in love with boys who don’t exist, either.
Seventeen-year-old Layla Labelle, though, is far from normal. Her delusions walk the earth. Her hallucinations hunt her, and her skin heats to a burn every time her anger flares.
Or is that all in her head?
Layla doesn’t know what to believe any more because if none of that’s true, Max MacLarnon must be an illusion, and her heart must still be broken.
No matter how much she wants to believe Max is real, doing so would mean everything else is, too. How, then, is that possible?
The answers lie in an age-old legend the supernatural aren’t prepared to reveal, and with a curse that could tear Layla and Max apart forever—if it doesn’t kill them both first.
In TIED, book one in the Fire Born trilogy, learning the truth will mean fighting an arsenal of demons, and being with Max will put Layla on a path toward her own destruction.
Just how far will Layla go to protect the one she loves?
The answer may never be far enough … away.
URL: http://www.jtaylorpublishing.com/books/31
Se tell me, what do you think of the cover? Does it make you want to pick up the book? Excite you? Confuse you? I’m always curious what sort of reactions readers have to a cover, so please feel free to share. Of course, I wouldn’t ask you all to share without being willing to do so myself, so…
My Thoughts: I absolutely love the fiery phoenix looking image in the center of the cover. It really draws you in right away and gets the eyes wandering over the rest of the cover. Eye catching is always a good thing. I find the wolfish gargoyle like creature in the corner a bit odd — maybe a bit too computer generated or sci-fi looking for me? The keywords mention fantasy, not sci-fi, so Im not sure how fitting it is to the overall cover. Without reading the story, it is of course really impossible to tell how it fits in. In general, I find the cover makes me curious about the story, so I have to give it a Thumbs UP. 
It’s been a while since I have had a chance to share my cover whore status and participate in cover reveal, and I have to say, my first one of 2013 is a real winner. I really, really LOVE this cover, and I can tell you, since I was a beta reader for this one in the beginning stages, the cover truly suits the story perfectly.
As a fan of the Holloway Pack stories, I am most excited about this next release as it focuses on one of my favorites, Ethan *yummy*
Caged
A Holloway Pack Story (#3)
by J.A. Belfield
Release Date: August 5, 2013
Target Reader: Adult
Keywords: Romantic, Urban Fantasy, Werewolf
Back of the Book
If the meek can become deadly, the strongest can be weak.
For Ethan Holloway, his mission to find a missing werewolf should be simple. Crack a few heads, bust a few chops and the solution always reveals itself. Always.
Not this time.
Ethan’s reputation precedes him, and because it does, someone is ready. Waiting. Unbeknownst to Ethan, he’s about to go down. Hard. Against a foe he never suspected and in a world he never imagined could be real.
What awaits Ethan is a fight not only for his reputation, but also his pack, his female, and his life. If he survives, damage control will become priority number one.
If he survives.
Because even Ethan’s not sure he’s strong enough to take on an entire race all by himself.
Especially one hell bent on exposing who and what he is in the name of sport.
URL: http://www.jtaylorpublishing.com/books/29
Other Novels in this series include:
Darkness & Light (#1)
Blue Moon (#2)
In-between release novellas include:
Instinct (#0)
Eternal (#.5)
Resonance (#2.5)
Okay folks…I am going to be honest with you here. I have NO CLUE why when I was working on my blog I came across the post below as a “DRAFT”. I really thought I had posted this a long time ago. Maybe I did and this will be a repost. *shrugs* Who knows.
Anyway, here is a review I did for a fantastic YA horror novella I read written by an author I consider a friend, aside from thinking she is beyond talented. *gush gush* 
The Trouble With Nightingale by Amaleen Ison
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What a wonderful short story!
I gave this one a read yesterday while on the train to NYC for work and I just LOVED it. It had been on my Nook waiting for me to find some time to read it for months and I am so glad I finally got the chance. The characters were vibrant and realistic, even in the context of a paranormal type tale. A completely unique twist on the dart arts and witchcraft.
Ms Ison has a gift for descriptive tales or the supernatural, and The Trouble with Nightingale is no different. I fell in love with the characters, most especially Fabian. Just too cute for words. I don’t put spoilers in my reviews, so I won’t get into too much detail on him, but I bet if you give it a read, you will agree with me.
I highly recommend this for anyone interested in paranormal tales appropriate to a YA audience and those who enjoy reading stories about the occult or witchcraft.
By this point in our blogger to reader relationship, you all are well aware of my "Cover Whore" status. I love covers and this one is for one of my favorite series, and coincidentally one I recommended highly to attendees and Albacon 2012, where I was a panelist the weekend before I wrote this post (10/22) .
Top that, right?
Make Believeby J.A. Belfield, Jennifer M. Eaton, J. Keller Ford, Terri Rochenski, Kelly Said, Lynda R. Young
Release Date: December 3, 2012
Target Reader: Adult
Keywords: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Romance
Back of the Book
Sacrificial Oath by Terri Rochenski
An impetuous act unwittingly makes Alesuela the fulfillment of the Sovereign’s Blood Oath to their Goddess. In five days, she’ll be forced to make the greatest choice of her life: become the virginal sacrifice already promised, or force the man she loves most to die in her place.
With an impossible choice in front of her, she searches for ways to undo the oath, and in her quest, finds not everything in her life is as she expects.
The Amulet of Ormisez by J. Keller Ford
There is only one way to save Elton Fletcher’s brother from an insanity-ridden death.
After years away from home, fighting for his people, Elton returns to discover his only sibling, Cayden, possessed by greed and malice, and responsible for malicious, unthinkable deeds. Cayden, though, isn’t the only one afflicted by the Amulet of Ormisez, and Elton finds himself in yet another battle, where the price of failure could be his own life.
Birthright by Lynda R. Young
Christa can mask the pain and hide the scars, but running from a birthright is impossible.
She’s tried to escape her grief by fleeing to a small town in Florida. Much to her frustration, the locals think they recognize her even though she’s never been there before. To make things worse, a man named Jack spouts outrageous theories about her.
Both spur Christa to bolt, to start fresh yet again, but there’s something about Jack that intrigues her enough to stay. The only problem? Someone else wants her to leave, and they won’t stop until she’s dead.
Petrified by Kelly Said
A mysterious storm has replaced summer with winter, devastating crops and smothering Castle lands in snow. Prince Sterling August stands alone as a leader, lost in personal grief as well as a desire to help his people but with an inability to do either.
The answers he needs await him, but without Lochlyn, a woman who’s just as isolated as Sterling, he’ll never see what stands before him, cloaked in illusion.
Last Winter Red by Jennifer M. Eaton
Emily is a Red, a woman whose sole purpose in life is to produce offspring. When her husband dies and leaves her childless, she risks her life and forsakes the safety of Terra—a disease-free city born after the nuclear holocaust. Beyond its boundaries, she knows, survives a man with whom she can be properly paired.
The Outside, though, holds secrets the government struggles to keep, and what Emily discovers on her quest for a mate will change her life forever.
Escort to Insanity by J.A. Belfield
From a charity auction, to a stroll in the park, to the craziest night of her life. Nicole Harrington can’t help but wonder how a simple event went so drastically wrong.
Of course, the male escort she booked is wholly to blame. Not only charming but shrewdly intelligent, Benjamin Gold drags Nicole into a platoon of unimaginable problems—ones from which she’ll have to find the courage just to survive.
Eternal by J.A. Belfield
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read Darkness and Light, the first novel in the Holloway Pack series, so I was really interested to see what this prequel novella had in store for me. I was not the least bit disappointed.
In this short, we meet the original Sean and Jem (circa 1800's). If you read Darkness and Light, you understand what that means.
Reaper
by L.S. Murphy
Release Date: January 7, 2013
Target Reader: Young Adult
Keywords: Urban Fantasy
Back of the Book:
There’s no way sixteen year old Quincy Amarante will become the fifth grim reaper. None. Not over her shiny blue Mustang. Her Jimmy Choos. Or her dead body.
She’s supposed to enjoy her sophomore year, not learn about some freaky future Destiny says she has no choice but to fulfill.
It doesn’t take long for Quincy to realize the only way out of the game is to play along especially since Death can find her anyway, anywhere, anytime. And does.
Like when she’s reassuring her friends she wants nothing to do with former best friend Ben Moorland, who’s returned from god-knows-where, and fails. Miserably.
Instead of maintaining her coveted popularity status, Quincy’s goes down like the Titanic.
Maybe … just maybe … that’s okay.
It seems, perhaps, becoming a grim reaper isn’t just about the dead but more about a much needed shift in Quincy’s priorities—from who she thinks she wants to be to who she really is.
I have a special treat to go with the cover reveal I have for you all today. Because I am so very well connected, I managed to finagle the answers to a few fun questions for Ms. Belfield to go along with it. I am a gracious host, so I will save those until after I unveil the cover. (see how nice I am?)
Here it is!! The cover for the next book in The Holloway Pack series, Blue Moon.
Blue Moon
A Holloway Pack Story #2
by J.A. Belfield
Release Date: December 1, 2012
Target Reader: Adult
Keywords: Urban Fantasy, Werewolf
Back of the Book
Someone is watching the Holloway pack, and this time, the female isn’t the target.
Life with a group of seven male werewolves worries Jem Stonehouse not one bit. She is engaged to the Alpha’s son Sean Holloway after all. So what has Jem’s territorial instincts on high alert?
The pack’s latest addition. Both of them.
None of the men think there’s a problem with the new girlfriends. Jem’s intuition tells her otherwise—that and a nagging suspicion the new females aren’t there to partake.
Jem believes they’ve joined in to take.
The question is … What?
As the eve of the blue moon draws ever closer, Jem’s running out of time to find the answer and outwit a thief of the worst possible kind.
A woman who believes she can’t lose.
Excited to know what’s going to happen, right? Yeah, me too. Let’s hope December gets here fast (so very long to wait).
URL: http://www.jtaylorpublishing.com/books/18
Previous Books in this series include:
Darkness & Light (#1)
Instinct (#0)
Eternal (#0.5)
Ms. Belfield also agreed to allow me to pick her brain a little bit.Below is the transcript for our interview:
Bex: Thanks so much for coming.
JAB: Thanks for having me here.
Bex: How would you describe your writing style?
JAB: My writing style? Um … Jab-like? I really don’t know. I don’t have a tendency to try and mimic what I’ve experienced as a reader. I just write as the words come to me and a lot of the time that can happen subconsciously. If forced, however, to come up with a description, I’d probably brand it as straight forward waffle. Ha!
Bex: What books have had the most influence on your life?
JAB: Books don’t really influence my life. But then I read purely for escapism so it’s rare that whatever I’m reading isn’t driven by supernatural creatures or occurrences, and I rarely hunt beneath the surface for hidden meanings or themes—I’m quite content to journey along for entertainment value alone. However, there are books I’ve read that have made me want to try my hand at YA, or ones that have intimidated me but rather than put me off writing they’ve made me want to try harder to be better, or series’ that are wrapped up so tight and neat that I aspire to be able to achieve that kind of solidness in my own writing.
But I shan’t list all those. Instead, I’ll let you in on the last couple books that made me sob like a baby: Mockingjay (Hunger Games #3); Sisterhood Everlasting (Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants #5).
Bex: If you were facing the executioner, what would you choose as your last meal?
JAB: Um … I’m not really a lover of food. More a lover of crap that shouldn’t pass my lips because my hips’ll never forgive me. But then I doubt I’d request anything. After all, if I knew death was about to be bestowed upon me, I’d probably feel too sick to my stomach to eat. It’d be a waste. And if there’s one thing I cannot stand, it’s food wastage.
Bex: Plotter or Pantser?
JAB: Pantser all the way, baby.
Bex: Why?
JAB: Probably because I’ve tried plotting and it never works out. Those I have successfully written to a structured list of what’s to happen in each chapter have fallen flat and missed the mark by miles. I think unless you can 100% predict how each and every occurrence within your plot will affect each of the characters in advance, then plotting cannot possibly be totally foolproof for you—or for me, anyway. Besides, I love being surprised by where my mind ends up taking me. And trust me, I am constantly surprised.
Bex: If you were to be marooned on an island with only one “modern convenience”, what would it be?
JAB: Silly question. My laptop, of course. Ha!
Bex: Who should play you in a film of your life?
JAB: I once got told when I was younger (like much younger when Splash was first showing on TV) that I looked like Darryl Hannah (sp?) but I can’t quite make the connection anymore and I’m pretty sure she’s older than me.
Jeez, I dunnoooo. I really have no idea.
Bex: If Blue Moon were to be made into a movie, who would play Sean? Jem?
JAB: I’ve been asked this a tonne of times and I’m never really sure of the answer because every single reader will no doubt picture them differently. I did ask it on my blog once and received suggestions such as Josh Hartnett or David Boreanez for Sean. The only suggestion I’ve had for Jem, however, is Claire Danes.
Bex: Thanks so much for spending some time with us today. I can’t wait for Blue Moon to release.
JAB: Thanks heaps for having me here today, Becca, and for participating in the Blue Moon cover reveal.
Please enjoy this guest post by Sheryl Steines, author of the urban fantasy novel, The Day of First Sun. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including $450 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book.
I am always amazed to hear that, in the year 2012, women are still talking about strong female characters. It’s funny that we’re always surprised when one comes along. Even in Hollywood, actresses still can’t find roles to sink their teeth into.
As a reader, I look for characters that I can relate to in some way; a character who is more than a damsel in distress but less than an unfeeling, mean, witch. I’m putting it gently, but I’m looking for someone, who when facing a problem, doesn’t necessarily need a man to bail her out–a woman who can take care of herself in spite of her vulnerabilities. Because in reality, women are multi-layered and complex. We don’t fall to one end of an extreme or the other.
When I was younger, I started reading Danielle Steele, but I couldn’t read her for long. Her female characters were far too needy and always put themselves in a position of requiring a savior. Even as a child, I couldn’t help but wonder why these characters always needed a man to improve their lives. Why couldn’t they simply take care of themselves? It seemed as though female characters fell into two camps, and only two. They were either villains, witches, someone to be hated and despised, or they were weak, pathetic, your classic damsels in distress.
Why is fiction lacking real women, women who can simply be human and celebrate all that they are?
As I got older, I found myself drawn to shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I saw in Buffy a strong character. Yes, she could kick ass, kill the vampires and fight the demons. She also had a brain, could plan, and could save the world each week. But she wasn’t uni-dimensional. She also has a side that liked clothes, shoes and boys, a side that was feminine, a little vulnerable; a side that, okay, sometimes needed to be saved. She was a complex female character, real and human, a character with whom I could definitely relate.
The strong female character isn’t a caricature or stereotype. She’s not a total wimp like Snow White, and she’s not a total monster like the evil queen. She falls somewhere in the middle. She’s reactive, emotional, human, sexual, confident and sometimes unsure of herself.
When I originally wrote my character Annie Pearce in The Day of First Sun, I wrote her as a no-nonsense person, strong and smart, the girl who could survive on her own. But she didn’t feel genuine. As the story unfolded and changed, I rewrote her, gave her friends and family with whom she could interact. I gave her feelings, gave her stress. I let the other characters take charge once in awhile and offer some support. I melded two halves into one woman–a strong woman, who can take care of herself and ask for help when necessary. We’re not perfect, so why should our characters be? Instead, why can’t we make them simply authentic?
Charlize Theron made a really compelling comment regarding her character in the movie Young Adult. She said, “Women are usually either really good prostitutes or really good mothers. Maybe women are finally getting the chance to play more honest characters,” Theron said. “We usually don’t get to play bad hookers or bad mothers — or anything in between.” Maybe it’s time to be a little more real and a little more honest.
As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Day of First Sun eBook edition is just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes.
The prizes include $450 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book. All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment–easy to enter; easy to win! To win the prizes:
Help my blog win: The tour blogger who receives the most votes in the traffic-breaker poll will win a $100 gift card. When you visit Novel Publicity’s site to fill-out the contest entry form, don’t forget to VOTE FOR ME.
About the book: A vampire, a rogue wizard and an army of soulless zombies are par for the course for Annie Pearce and Bobby “Cham” Chamsky of the Wizard’s Guard. But when the non-magical princess, Amelie of Amborix, is murdered by magical means, a deeper plot unfolds. Get it on Amazon.
About the author: Behind the wheel of her ’66 Mustang Convertible, Sheryl is a constant surprise, using her sense of humor and relatable style make her books something everyone can enjoy.
Visit Sheryl on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.
Welcome to the Book Nook. I'm the erotica alter-ego of "mainstream" author, Rebecca Hart. While I write for adults, I read just about everything. You'll find lots of new releases and fantastic covers, as well as an occasional review or giveaway. Thanks for stopping in :)
Weeks #54, #60, #61 and #62
Week #58
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