Nano #1 update--mmh, quite worrying

So, I decided to take part in nano--I just couldn't help it. (I tried last year. Let's just say the wordcount was so low it wasn't funny.) There was much too enthusiasm floating around plus I saw was an opportunity to finally work on a story I've been longing to embark on for awhile now. I joined this writing frenzy.

And frenzied I was for the first two days.

First....a bit about my project:

The title I'm working with right now is 'House of Hearts' a mature young adult contemporary romance. I love the story, the characters--although they are driving me crazy at the moment as they take over my conversations with my patients. It's a much needed break from Reaper's Novice.


Anyway, this year I went in with my story loosely outlined--I'm not sure if my mind really understands the 'outlining' concept, because what I have is something close to words and  a lot of doodling -- and my characters yapping inside my head (which is great because I'm getting to know them). And guess what? The amount of gusto I leapt in with, really helped me whip out 2000 words the first day. Man, was I riding high on adrenaline--or whatever writers ride on when the story  flows smoothly. Until the shifts at work started getting in my way. Now I'm only 4758 words in Nano on the 6th day. Very worrying.


I hope to catch up on my word count and with the story in the next days. I have two free days coming up. So that's about 3577 words to catch up. mmh, as I said, it's quite worrying and I don't want to give up halfway or quarter way, or whatever way for that matter.

I found this cute and useful program: write or die. I'm in love! I can't remember ever loving a software like I do this one. It allows you to type the amount of words and how many minutes one hopes to accomplish to type them out, to gauge how fast one can type. I found out, for about twenty minutes, I could type about 700 words. Pretty cool, I think.

On other news: My daughter's birthday is coming up. Her wish: a costume party. Another wish is one of those costumes from Monster High dolls, Draculaura to be exact. Plus, she would like --has requested several times-- three to four Monster High dolls as gifts. They cost around 32 euros each O_O. I'm sort of resenting this new doll trend right now..LOL. I'm really looking forward to this, though. Birthdays are so much fun!

What about you? What are you looking forward to? Are you Nano-ing this year?

Clare Marshall's--The Violet Fox Blog tour

Happy Saturday! Today I have the pleasure of hosting Clare Marshall's The Violet Fox blog tour. Thank you Clare for including me in this tour, and for this wonderful book. For a chance to win some great stuff, there is a rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Author Website: Clare Marshall
Buy Link: Amazon


Book Description

Run.
That’s what instinct told me.
But in order to save the secrets of my people
and to protect my brother
I have to become the enemy.

From Goodreads

My thoughts:

The Violet Fox is a Young Adult fantasy set in a world, where there are two kinds of groups: The Marlenia and Freetors. The Marlenia are the priviledged ones, and live above the ground, while Freetors, live underground. Kiera is a Freetor, and will do anything to help her people.

This  actioned packed story is written in Kiera's point of view, and gives us a glimpse of her thoughts, what she is going through, the kind of decisions she has to make in order to survive.
I really liked her character. She's stubborn, fearless, determined, and dedicated. Although she acts tough, she has a weakness, namely her brother, and later on the Prince.

The worldbuilding for this story was superbly done. I could picture the underground place the Freetors lived, above on land where the Marlenia lived. The sights, and sounds through Kiera's eyes.

The romance:- what can I say, I do love a good romance weaved in the story and this one was done really well. Had some sighworthy moments.

The characters, each and every one of them had their own voice and mannerism. I could totally picture them.

There were some twists that caught me by suprise--which is a very good thing.

My favourite passages:

"He moved my black locks of hair out of my face and brought his lips--the lips that I had once slashed--to mine. I took thescars into my mouth and moved my tongue gently over them, as if hoping to repair them and make them truly one with mine. They weren't Freetor, they weren't Marlenian, they were lips, and those lips belonged to me. And when we parted, it was like he had taken a piece of  me with him."

How romantic is that?

"Father. People of Marlenia." Keegan reached for my hand and led me to the center of the pavillion. "Yes. This is the Violet Fox. The symbol of hope for the Freetor prople. The thorn on our side." 


I loved the ending! Now, I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.



Author Bio:

Clare Marshall grew up in rural Nova Scotia with very little television and dial up internet, and yet, she turned out okay. She has a combined honours degree in journalism and psychology from the University of King’s College, and is a graduate from Humber College’s Creative Book Publishing Program. She founded Woulds & Shoulds Editing and Design in 2010 for self-published authors and businesses looking for quality editing and design services. She enjoys publishing books through her publishing imprint, Faery Ink Press, and released her first novella, Within in 2011. When she’s not writing, she enjoys playing the fiddle and making silly noises at cats.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/faeryinkpress

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ClareMarshall13

Website: http://www.faeryinkpress.com

The Violet Fox on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14743283-the-violet-fox

Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5120291.Clare_C_Marshall

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal: Holiday Fling by Victoria Smith

Today I have the another cover reveal by the awesome, Victoria Smith. Her New Adult contemporary romance, Holiday Fling, will be published on 26th November.

Book Description:

Tarrah Reid is aware that she holds the name of a famous Hollywood actress… Not that she cares, since the association helps with her "Christmas floozy” persona. She has one goal every Christmas Eve: sleep with her roommate’s cousin while the rest of the family is distracted by fruitcake. However, her annual conquest comes to a screeching halt when she winds up in the middle of a bank robbery and is miraculously saved by a handsome, redheaded stranger.

A few hours with medical student Chase Stewart has Tarrah’s mind in a daze and her heart aflutter. Suddenly, Tarrah no longer wants her fling—she wants Chase. But if there’s one thing Tarrah has discovered this Christmas Eve, it’s that the Christmas gods have it out for her. Her new favorite redhead and her fling have way more in common than just their towering heights. The anticipated announcement of fruitcake has never been more heightened. Before the fruited-pastry delight is served, Tarrah must decide what she really desires this Christmas Eve – a simple fling or something more.

A New Adult contemporary romance, Holiday Fling is a short Christmas tale with a spicy kick.

Release Date: November 26, 2012

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance (Novelette)

Cover designed by:  Mooney Designs.

To add Holiday Fling on Goodreads: 

 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16010068-holiday-fling

About the Author:

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. 

Victoria H. Smith Links: Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Spooktacular Giveaway Winners

Hello Friends,

First, thank you for taking part in the Spooktacular Giveaway. Thank you for following, and it is great to 'meet' you.:)


For the winners for this giveaway, please follow this link:

http://cecereadandwrite.blogspot.co.at/2012/10/spooktacular-giveaway-hop-oct-24th-31st.html

I will email you in a bit.

Thank you!

Spellbinding Fun Blog Hop

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.

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop - Oct 24th -31st

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.

a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway To visit other blogs participating on this hop:

Dark Seraphine Release Day

 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.

She told me to be ready.

Exactly what did I need to get ready for?

Author website: http://www.kasonndraleigh.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/kasonndraleigh

Facebook: http://facebook.com/kasonndraleighbooks

Facebook#2: http://facebook.com/kasonndraleighbookspage

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/alestasia/the-lost-immortals/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13628670-dark-seraphine