I'm so excited to be taking part ing Spellbinding Fun Blog Hop, to celebrate the release of Janice Horton's How Do You Voodoo. I'm supposed to write a spell. After sitting down, and flipping through my Book Of Wish Spells, I retrieved one of my favourites. Avoid The Winter Chill Spell. - It's already chilly here in Vienna, so yeah, it's quite useful :)
Mix the following ingredients in a cobalt spun glass bowl:
Fire Dragon's flame (very tricky, but if you can manage to trap a sliver of it, it's awesome)
A vial of Cat's breath (This might be tricky as well, Cats are not as lenient as dogs)
A drop of Schnaps
1/2 cup of Pure spring water
A drop of lavender
5 Drops of early morning dew
Pixie dust.
Leave it to rest for about 30 minutes, and Voila! It's ready.
Do you have a spell to keep you warm during Winter? Share, share please.
Welcome to the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop, hosted by I Am A Reader Not A Writer. and Diary of a Book Worm. Thank you for stopping by. There are over 400 blogs taking part in this hop. For easy hoping, there's a linky list at the end of this post.
I'm giving away ecopy ARCs of my upcoming YA Urban Fantasy, Reaper's Novice as well as bookmarks (Truly Madly Deeply You and Reaper's Novice.
I'd also be giving away ecopy ARCs and bookmarks of Liz Grace Davis' upcoming women's fiction, Honeysuckle & Jasmine -- Thank you for donating the copies, Liz..
For a chance to win the above mentioned prices, ( ARCs will be available in December) please scroll down to enter. There are two rafflecopters. You can enter one or both, the choice is yours.
Now, for the giveaways: (International)
Reaper's Novice ecopy ARC
Book Description
17- year- old Ana Maria Tei’s life has always been perfect: loving parents, good grades, and a future so bright it outshone the sun. But now words like “separation” and “divorce” are sending her world plummeting to hell. Determined to keep her family intact, Ana plans a family-bonding trip from Vienna to Tuscany. Except fate has other plans. Ana’s parents and siblings are killed in a car accident on their way to pick Ana up from school.
Enter Grim, aka Ernest. He promises to relinquish the four souls if Ana agrees to trade her soul for theirs and serve a lifetime as his novice. In order for Ana to graduate from her Reaper’s Novice station to a Soul Collector graduate, Grim puts her to test. To her horror, she finds out becoming a Reaper’s Novice didn’t happen by chance. It was preordained, and she is forced to make a choice: save her family’s souls or come to terms with who she really is and complete the task set for her.
Bookmarks: my Contemporary Romance Novella, Truly, Madly, Deeply, You and YA Urban Fantasy Reaper's Novice
Honeysuckle & Jasmine ecopy ARC and bookmarks
Book description
When Senia
arrived in Germany to work as an Au-Pair, she never planned to return to South
Africa, to the tainted memories she left behind.
With the help of her host family, she learns to veil the past, to love herself,
to trust again. To live. When she meets Miina, another African Au-Pair, Senia
lets more of her guard down, and they form an unbreakable bond of friendship. There's
nothing they wouldn't do for each other.
Senia has never
been happier, even more so when she falls in love for the first time ever.
But when Miina is betrayed and left stranded, Senia stands by her friend. Even
if it could cost her her new found love. Even if she gets into trouble with the
law, risking her stay in Germany. Being sent back to the one place she never
wanted to return to, back to the past she tried so hard to forget.
Senia and Miina both know, it's only a matter of time before the police comes
knocking, before they're separated. But for now, they can pretend it won't
happen.
Senia and Miina's story was inspired by a
true story.
Soo, today I have the pleasure of hosting KaSonndra Leigh's, Dark Seraphine release day. I've been waiting for this book's release for a long time --well, since Kay mentioned it a while back-- and I'm so excited. It's finally here! To join the release party which starts at 6pmEST , hop over at Young Adult Teen Readers Group https://www.facebook.com/events/288064814642558/
Book Description:
"Mom always says the angels walk among us. She forgot to tell me that sometimes they're not all fluffy and nice."
Seventeen-year-old Caleb Wood has seen people he calls the walkers since he was a baby. It didn't take long for him to realize something…no one can see these strangers but him. They never stuck around or tried to touch him. And they never said a word. That was until one day on the first day of class in his senior year when an incredibly gorgeous girl strolls into his life…and things are never the same again.
Soon Caleb realizes he has stepped into the middle of a growing conflict between two ancient groups. And his ability to see the invisible ones, the half-breeds that want to modify the human race, just might be the only hope both he and the mysterious, but infuriating, Gia, have of making it out alive
Excerpt
for Dark Seraphine by KaSonndra Leigh
A
Young Adult Paranormal Romance
Without
Kyle by my side, I now faced with heading into my Trig class too early. Nobody
blazed a trail to be the first one sitting around and waiting on the teacher.
Because of Kyle’s hormones, I faced looking super un-cool and nerdy. When you
put those words together, you never came away looking sexy.
Stepping
into the room, I immediately noticed that I was right. I headed straight for
the back row. I turned around and almost wet my pants.
The
new girl was sitting in a desk at the front of the room. She wore that same
faraway look they always have, these Walkers do. I gave them that nickname
because sometimes a ghostly film trailed behind them. It always reminded me of
angel wings. Otherwise, I guess they might be considered plain old ghosts. To
label them as spirits kind of took away from their magic. The mystery people
were always super gorgeous, like this chick: slick, dark hair that stopped just
below her shoulders, a long oval-shaped face, and nice skin. And they always
wore something dark: black jackets, jeans, and a tee shirt.
To
admit this girl made my skin crawl sounded sissy and weak. This wasn’t the time
to be a wuss. Manning up, I squared my shoulders before I sat down. The little
kid in me wanted to run away like a baby. But then she laughed. It was a
high-pitched giggle, a normal girl’s chuckle. It surprised me. That wasn’t
right. I couldn’t ever remember the Walkers laughing before.
“Go
ahead and run. I’ll just simply find you like I always do,” she said, her face
still turned toward the teacher’s wipe board.
Her
voice was smooth like a forgotten song, a hypnotic one. I could listen to it
all day long. But even super sexy voice didn’t change the fact that she pretty
much read my mind.
“Have
you decided whether you’ll run or not yet? I have an awful lot of things to
take care of.” She turned her head the slightest bit to the side
My
underarms prickled. I was glad that Mom forced me to start using the clinical
strength deodorant this morning; to say I was nervous wasn’t even close to how
I felt.
“Are
you an angel?” I asked, my voice squeaking on the last word. What a dork. She
didn’t frighten me too badly, but I wasn’t exactly ready to get her phone
number either. As a little kid, I remember talking to a few of the Walkers. As
soon as I hit my thirteenth birthday the ability to communicate with them
disappeared. This was the first time I’d spoken to one in years.
“I
hate to tell you this, but I’m not a ghost an angel or a zombie. Sorry.” She
turned around to face me, an amused expression on her ridiculously gorgeous
face. I inhaled sharply and held my breath. The word beautiful didn’t do this
Walker-girl any type of justice. Her strange, dark eyes with the specks of blue
and green inside the irises pierced into me.
I
swallowed hard and found my voice. “So then, what are you? You’re not the only
one I’ve seen or talked to. And why do I have the honor of being the stalked
one?”
She
made a light laugh and tilted her head. Her slick black hair flowed around her
face as if it were made of silky thread.
“Others
have come before me?” She seemed to have said it to herself rather than asking
me. One thing I did know for certain. I was probably going to be committed to the
loony ward after all of this. “I’m going to need your help soon, Caleb. So be
ready.”
“Be
ready for what?” I asked, crossing my arms and feeling just a tad flirtatious.
A desperate idiot. Kyle was chasing Erica the Stiff. And me, I got some sort of
angel girl sitting in front of me. A good man always knows when to aim for the
right goal.
She
glanced behind my head just before a sudden crash thundered behind me. My heart
leapt into my throat. I jumped up and spun around thinking it sounded like
gunshots. But I was being paranoid. It wasn’t a gun or anything at all
threatening. The classroom clock had fallen. Bits and pieces of it lay all over
the floor.
I
groaned. “Oh hell. They’ll think I did this.”
“What
in the world did you do, Caleb Wood?” a girl’s nasal voice asked me. I turned
around to find Jillian Bowman and her tortoise shell glasses grinning at me.
She was the last person I wanted to see. What, or rather who did I not find?—the
Walker girl. She’d vanished.
Something
hitched in my chest. I wanted to know more about her. I’d never gotten so
intimate with them before.
Hi friends! Ah, the weekend. It's very sunny and cold outside, so I decided to stay home and finish the my edits - with a mug of Vanilla tea-- really soothing.
Lately, my blog has been a bit slow. I've been buried neck-deep in edits. I'm really glad I'm almost there where I want to be: edits complete and ready to share Ana's story with you.
Though Reaper's Novice was set for release in December 2012 - I really thought hard about this and decided to push it forward to January 2013. I had some stuff going on on my end, and it got a little bit difficult to give Reaper's the attention it deserved.
BUT.... ARC copies will be available from December. If you would like to read and review, I will put up a link to sign up for a copy. Starting next week, I will be participating in I am a Reader, Not A Writer Spooktacular Blog Hop, with over 300 bloggers. Drop in for some wonderful giveaways.
Last week on Monday, a writer friend and I decided to go for a stroll in the city -- Stadt Bummeln, in german. Stadt translated to city, and Bummeln meaning stroll or saunter. I took some photos that I wanted to share with you, places Ana -- Reaper's MC-- loves to visit,see the places through her eyes.
So here are a few. Enjoy.
Hotel Sacher Confectionary, which is famous for the traditional Sacher Torte, invented by Franz Sacher in 1832. From what I've gathered - I'm too shy to bake one, just in case the middle sinks - the Sacher Torte consists of two layers of sponge chocolate cake, a thin layer of apricot jam, then topped with dark chocolate icing on top and sides.
Vienna in Autmun.- There are these type of huts situated in corners, selling roast potatoes, roast chestnuts and/or potato wedges. Yum!
St, Peter's Church off the Graben - The Graben is a 'pedestrian only' shopping street, with the occasional bus or horse pulling a carriage on the designated areas. But mostly, human traffic.
The U-Bahn (underground) station
Sweets and treats. My friend and I took a break for some of these treats and Viennese Coffee. Nothing can beat that ::)
Wien Stadtoper- Vienna State Opera
The park close to where Ana lives on the 22. District. (Vienna is divided into 23 districts.)
Flowershop on Marco d'Aviano Gasse in the 1. District.
"Pestsäule" -- a plague column in High Barock style, located in Graben inner city in memory of the worst epidemy to ever hit Vienna. Erected during the Habsburg Monarchy.
Summer sled. So much fun
Where she enjoys taking walk along the Danube River
Hi friends! So today I have for you another cover reveal, Bright Star by N. Anderson.
Book Description:
It's
bad enough that Sadira Pascal's father
doesn't make it home to celebrate her fifteenth birthday. He might be a
busy hovership engineer pulling overtime on a new design, but he's always been home for the important things. It's worse
when she discovers her father decided to ride on the maiden voyage of
his newest ship, the CAS Bright Star, without even telling her.
But things really fall apart during Sadira's field trip with her
class to observe the hovership launch. Instead of a successful flight, she watches the Bright Star
fall out of the sky.
The Central government confirms her father's death, leaving Sadira to pick up the pieces of her former life.
While she struggles with her loss, Private Baruj Haddad tries to convince her that her father and the rest of the Bright Star
crew are still alive. At first, Sadira doesn't believe there's any
hope. But then she stumbles across a message that makes her think maybe,
just maybe, her father is still alive. As
she digs deeper into the Bright Star's crash, Sadira uncovers secrets about
her father's work, secrets that put her and everyone she loves in
danger.
Release Date: November 27, 2012
What a great storyline and beautiful illustration!
Today I have an awesome cover reveal for you. Victoria H. Smith's The Crimson Hunt, a New Adult Science Fiction Romance. I met Victoria while browsing NA Alley. If you like to know more about New Adult or already are a fan of this genre, check this site out. Victoria one of the moderators on this fantastic website that features all things New Adult. Victoria is giving a sneak peak - the first chapter - of her book on her blog.
The Crimson Hunt (Eldaen Light Chronicles, #1) by: Victoria H. Smith
Release Date: November 12, 2012
Genre: New Adult Science Fiction Romance
Book Description:
College junior Ariel Richmond is working on year three of Project Normalcy.
Her house reeks of keggers past and her bestie is just a slight bit vulgar. But the thing is—they both aid in making life refreshingly uneventful.
So much for hard-earned mediocrity when Luca Grinaldi appears on the scene.
Luca’s sudden presence on campus is hard to ignore. Those bright eyes act like a beacon to unsuspecting females, and with features like his, he’s got to be moonlighting for GQ. Luca hopelessly captivates Ariel with his confidence and charisma, but the mysteries surrounding him make him nearly untouchable. And just when Ariel grows close enough to unlock his secrets, a tragic event sends her life in a downward spiral.
That steady life is no longer an option and allies quickly become scarce. The mysterious Luca seems to be the only one willing to help her—but with that trust comes the burden of his secrets. He has a dark mission of otherworldly proportions, and is willing to sacrifice as many lives as it takes to see it completed.
Gone are the days of simply maintaining normalcy, and if Ariel isn’t cautious with her trust, so soon may be her future.
Victoria
H. Smith has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. She puts it to
good use writing romance all day. She resides in the Midwest with her
Macbook on her lap and a cornfield to her right. She often draws
inspiration for her stories from her own life experiences, and the
twenty-something characters she writes give her an earful about it.
In her free time, she enjoys extreme couponing, blogging, reading,
and sending off a few tweets on Twitter when she can. She writes new
adult fiction romance in the sub-genres of science fiction, urban
fantasy, and contemporary, but really, anywhere her pen takes her she
goes.
Book Summary:
It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?
from goodreads
My Thoughts:
This Is Not A Test is a 'wow' book for me.
The story starts of in a somber-ish mood, then two pages later bang! The action.
Sloane, the MC, sits in the bathtub thinking of her sister, wondering why she left her. Sloane's mom died a while back, and living with her father is a nightmare. Then the Undead burst into her life, claiming her father in the process. All hell breaks loose after that. It's survival for the fittest.
The characters: Sloane, Trace, Gary, Grace, Rhys, Harrison. these are the survivors so far, hiding inside the school, with Zombies hiding, waiting for any opportunity to come out and play. After days spending in each other's company, tension rises among these survivals, romantic bonds are formed, even to the point of forming alliances - in case they leave, who will leave with who.
As for Sloane --the MC--she realizes that survival is the key. She starts to care. It was really good to see the character growth from this uncaring, suicidal girl, to caring, fighting to survive, and not only for her sake.
What a story! Highly recommended, if you are looking for a heartstopping YA, which will keep you guessing. So unpredictable, and brilliant
Today I'm taking part in Emma Michaels' Owlet tour. Thank you Tribute Books for including me in this tour. The rafflecopter for the giveaway is and the bottom of this post, as well as a list of blogs hosting the tour + the read along for the entire month of October, November and December. Awesome, right?
More about the book and the author, please read on:
Owlet Summary
Somewhere between falling and flying… there is a girl.
Iris has a secret. She lost her memory eight years ago and never told a living soul. After an asthma attack one night she finds out that her dreams of a strange house on a snowy island may be a memory resurfacing but the more she learns about the past the more she realizes the life she has been living is a lie. As the façade her father has built starts to crumble around her she will have to decide which means more to her; the truth or her life.
Read along excerpt:
***
“I heard her. You shouldn’t make her go with me. We can always hire someone else,” Iris said softly. Her voice was raw but she knew she needed to say it out loud. She had always thought that Diana had loved her in some way, but the fact that she had a weekly paycheck always got in the way of Iris being truly sure of her feelings, even if half the time Diana spent most of her wages on frivolous things for the two of them. But even that didn’t stop her from worrying about Diana’s outburst. Iris had never heard Diana refuse to do anything before, especially when it came to getting out of the house together.
“That is not it. She doesn’t want to go because of the place,” he said. His expression was hesitant; his gaze was worried.
Truth.
Guest post by Emma Michaels
I am a Reader and a Writer
I am both a reader and a writer. I love to write, but I also love to read. For me, I feel like I get to enjoy the best of both worlds because not only am I able to write as my main profession, but I’m able to enjoy a good book by a fellow author. As a book blogger turned author what could be better?
Well, writing and reading with a good piece of chocolate!
Writing allows me the opportunity to bring to life the dreams and experiences all around us in a new and fantastical way. I can write from home, or travel to a museum and write there. I can also do the same with a good book. It can take me on a journey set in modern times or even in the past where I can experience something it would be impossible to experience without reading the literature left behind.
I also believe that it is important to keep reading because it allows me to experience the adventures that my fellow authors write about. I can’t imagine not having read the Harry Potter books! What about the Chronicles of Narnia? Lord of the Rings? What about reading about history, art and culture? I’m a reader and a writer because books are as much a part of me as my dreams or hopes. You can lose an arm or a leg, you can lose a job or have to move, but who we are is defined by what we love and for me, I’m a reader and a writer because I love both.
What do you love? Do you love to read and write like I do?
Emma Michaels' Bio:
Emma Michaels is the author of the ‘A Sense of Truth’ and ‘Society of Feathers’ series. Her goal with her latest YA novel 'Owlet' is to give others what she did not have growing up; a strong female protagonist with asthma. While her previous aspiration was to be a lady knight she realized that not being able to run more than a few feet might become a hindrance so turned to writing instead. Her day jobs include being a cover artist, marketing consultant and silk screen designer.
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