A Love For Lit

#NewAdult Book Spotlight: Beyond Parallel by Matthew Turner

2013-03-18T03:30:00.000-05:00

Title: Beyond Parallel
Author: Matthew Turner
Genre: NA (Romance)

Synopsis. One boy. One girl. One insignificant moment that changes their lives forever.

Bella and Clark are two young twenty-somethings, finding themselves in a chaotic and crazy world. One craves love; the other avoids it. Will they find one another, or will a single what-if moment send them down different paths?

In the same mould as Sliding Doors, Uncertainty, and Smoking/No-Smoking, Beyond Parallel flips between two parallel tales. One follows Bella and Clark as a couple, the other as if they never meet.

Friendships, careers, dreams, fantasies...their lives are no different to yours or mine.

Follow their journey over a fast paced, mazy two-years. Highflying careers, book tours, teaching teenagers, hipster warehouses, coffee shop hangouts, a despicable salesman...they're all confronted.

It's incredible how a small, everyday decision can affect how you look, where you live, the people you love, and who you become. We could all live a billion lives, but we’re only given one. Is it all a game of chance, or are Bella and Clark meant to be?

View on Goodreads | Amazon

ALSO, Its a super special week because Matthew is holding his "The New Adult Man" campaign!! That means Beyond Parallel is FREE from March 18 to March 22! Just click this Amazon link to grab it! We will be doing a blog tour with Matthew as well in about 2-3 weeks, so be sure to grab it so you can have a review ready!! If you'd like to read more about the event you can follow this link! Also check out Matthew's newest blog post called "What Is New Adult?". If you'd like to participate in the blog tour, click here and fill out the application and i'll send you the info on signing up.

About the Author

My name is Matthew Turner and I'm a Writer, Reader & Coffee Loving Fiend I write Contemporary Fiction (mainly coming-of-age) and Non-Fiction (Entrepreneur & Marketing related). My debut novel, Beyond Parallel, is out NOW, so please wander on over and take a look. I would love to hear what you think.

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With love,
Margaret

Cover Reveal: Anomaly by JC Emery

2013-03-01T00:30:00.000-06:00

Title: Anomaly
Series: Book #1 of Birthright Series
Author: JC Emery
Genre: YA (small amounts of Romance, History & Mystery)

Synopsis. How far would you go to save your sister?

Life as a college senior is stressful enough. Between mid-terms, stupid boys, and a rare blood condition, Eliza Landry is just trying to figure out what normal is—whatever that means—when she discovers that vampires aren’t just a thing of legend.

In a matter of moments, her life changes forever when she and her older sister Kate suffer a vampire attack which leaves Eliza with two puncture wounds on her neck and an allergy to sunlight. But she’s still human, or at least she thinks she is. It doesn’t really matter—her main concern is that her sister is missing.

Sorrow turns to obsession, leading Eliza to piece together the puzzle of that terrifying night. Even stumbling upon a millennia-old vampire assassin named Luke Conrad who demands she stop looking into vampire affairs cannot deter her.

When bodies start piling up and one of them is supposedly Kate, Eliza and Luke set out to discover who is behind the attacks. Soon, Eliza is drawn into the dark and dangerous world of the undead, with no guarantee she’ll make it out alive, and no doubt that she won’t like what she finds.

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About the Author

As a child, JC was fascinated by things that went bump in the night. As they say, some things never change. Now, as an adult, she divides her time between the sexy law men, mythical creatures, and kick-ass heroines that live inside her head and pursuing her bachelor’s degree in English. As it is for most writers, finding balance is a challenge.

JC is a San Francisco Bay Area native, but has also called both Texas and Louisiana home. She was born to a pair of crazy amazing parents whom she often draws inspiration from and who have supported her no matter how flighty her ambitions may be. She is blessed with a sister, eleven years her junior, who she also calls her friend. With the support and encouragement of her parents behind her, JC set out to figure out what she wanted to do when she grew up. Most days, the jury is still out; but the thing that stuck with her no matter what she pursued was her love of the written word.

JC writes adult, new adult, and young adult fiction. She dabbles in many different genres including science fiction, horror, chick lit, and murder mysteries; but she is most enthralled by supernatural stories-- and everything has at least a splash of romance.

J.C. Around the Web: Goodreads | Website | Twitter

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With love,
Margaret

Review: Stained by Ella James

2013-02-28T21:48:00.001-06:00

Title: Stained
Series: Book #1 of Stained
Author: Ella James
Pages: 157
Genre: YA (Nephilim, Paranormal Romance)
Rating: 4 Stars

Synopsis. After a fire destroys seventeen-year-old Julia’s home and kills her foster parents, she chases the half-demon responsible across the country and back, determined to avenge her family and discover why a host of celestial baddies want her dead. With Julia is enigmatic hottie - Cayne, who has his own score to settle with the half-demon, and who might be just as dangerous as the creature he and Julia hunt.

View on Goodreads | Amazon

My Thoughts

I totally loved this book!! It had a great story line and def a lot of action! Here's my account, more detailed:

What I Loved

I totally loved Julia, Cayne and their relationship. Well, first off, i'm a total sucker for sarcastic type guys... i love guys who have good comebacks and dry senses of humors. So Cayne was right up my alley. He also seemed bery real the way he was feeling one thing but then showing only a totally opposite and stoic outer image... i totally know guys who do that! Some guys need to learn communication skills!! Julia seemed very sensible and i could related to most of her feelings... esp with Cayne on the train! I've totally been there. The relationship between the two seems very authentic. Def no instalove here. I sort of like love stories where in the beginning they dont like each other...but secretly do. hahaha. To me, that's better than "love at first sight". They are cute as a couple.

What I Liked

I really like the Characters backgrounds. I like know about how characters cam to be and i think good stories always bring in a bit of the past. It brings depth and interest to the story! I also sort of like Cayne's bad boy like image! :D

I also really like that there are only 2 real characters. In some books (i wont mention breaking dawn...lol) there are like sssoooo many characters! I get confused easy and sometimes i just don't like them. On the other hand though, sometimes i do like them. I think if supporting characters are done right then they are good, but in this book i didn't mind Julia not having a constant best friend or brother/sister, etc!

I totally love the ending too. I was torn at first and wasn't sure if i liked it. My kindle tricked me. I was at like 85% and reading happily, then bam, i turn the page and i see end credits.. wtf? Apparently there is a sneakpeek chapter for another book at the end...but dang, i wasn't prepared for then! Let's just say that the ending was a major cliffhanger...im not even sure if the climax was in this book. I have to say that book two is going to start off with a bang. Also, i sense a little second book syndrome...

What I Didn't Like As Much

One thing that i didn't quite like, was the way some elements just appeared out of nowhere. Like in the first few chapters, you think that Julia is just a normal girl but then out of nowhere she uses her "talent" and your like wait...where did that come from. I was wondering if i even read it right. The was no previous thoughts on it or anything... It was kind of awkward but does pay a huge roll in the rest of the book. I just wished it was introduced more smoothly.

Another thing i didn't necessarily love was the dream/thought sequences. These confused me a lot too. Especially the first one. I dont even think it was Julia's dream... it seemed awkward to me and i couldn't figure out where it came from or how it fit into Julia's story. It was like all about Julia then there was like this dream about something totally irrelevant seeming. Of course it ends up being somewhat explained, but im not sure if the place is right or if it needed at all. There are other dreams/thought sequences too and while they are story building, i've just never been into them much in books.

Overall i totally love this book and i'd give it a very high 4 stars (so very close to 5 stars). I def recommend it to others, especially to people who would like a unique story about fallen angels. Or if you are new to fallen angel books! Im def going to read book 2 and would def try other books by this other as well.

About the Author

Ella James is the author of Stained and Stolen, books one and two in the Stained Series; HERE, book one in a sci-fi romance trilogy; and Before You Go, a romance YA beach read that tells the first meeting of Logan and Margo, who will be featured in her upcoming adult release, Over The Moon. She has a YA paranormal romance release scheduled for every month of 2012, including Chosen (Stained Book Three) in June and the second HERE book in July.

Ella is inviting readers to help her write a shapeshifter romance, which is plotted via polls and questions on her blog and her Facebook page.

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With love,
Margaret

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Book Excerpt: The Camp by Karice Bolton

2013-02-28T01:30:00.000-06:00

Title: The Camp
Author: Karice Bolton
Genre: YA ( Suspense/Romance)

Synopsis. Emma has always strove for perfection in her almost eighteen years of existence, but it has never been good enough. As she finds herself counting the days until she’s officially free from her parents’ reins, her stepfather hands her a plane ticket explaining that she must attend the Re-Boot Camp in the wilds of Alaska.

Once she lands in the middle of nowhere, she realizes the camp is nothing like she imagined, and she wants out immediately. That is until she meets Liam.

The camp is full of teens with dark pasts, but she finds herself drawn to Liam’s ability to see who she really is and who she wants to become. While Emma and Liam begin adjusting to a place neither want to be, frightening events begin to unfold. When people begin disappearing, it becomes apparent they can only trust one another as they fight for survival.

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Chapter One

The Cessna 180 engine rumbled through the small six-seat aircraft cabin, but unfortunately it did little to block out the words of the other passengers. I glared at the back of the Captain who was lucky enough to be wearing a headset.

“I’d love to see what’s under her jacket.” I heard the guy behind me say to no one in particular.

“I’ll second that, and I bet we’ll get the chance,” another one said.

The gnawing in my stomach only grew with every passing minute, but there was nothing I could do. I was stuck in a plane where I could literally touch the pilot. I didn’t need to start something that I couldn’t finish and have the plane crash because I couldn’t handle a little heckling.

I looked out the small, oval window pressing my head against the cold glass covered in water droplets. I couldn’t really see anything out the window because the weather was so bad. It was like we were trapped in one continuous rain cloud that was sent from the Gods to mess with me.

Getting tired of seeing nothing but ominous grey, I looked down at the pamphlet hoping the description would magically change, but I wasn’t that lucky. My fingers trembled as I silently read the overview once more.

The ReBoot program is a juvenile camp for mid-range offenders who have yet to become established criminals. Youth in their mid to late teen years are often responsive to this type of program which includes occupational training and behavior rehabilitation. We’ve found that the potential criminals at our work camp for forestry and conservation in Southeast Alaska never become repeat offenders. We generally only accept less dangerous delinquents but all cases are subject for review.

I loved the ‘yet to become established criminals’ part as if the first time around didn’t really count for these misfits. I so didn’t belong here. It wasn’t like I needed to be reminded that my newfound campmates weren’t savory characters. All I had to do was turn around in my tiny airplane seat to see their predator eyes taking me in.

I couldn’t believe my mom let this happen to me! There’s no way she could have been fooled into thinking this was a conservation-slash-forestry camp… although I was fooled. I actually thought my stepfather was trying to do something nice for me, for once. God! I hated my stepfather, and he obviously hated me. This was his last sendoff before I went to college, and it was a doozey. As if living with him since my father’s death wasn’t horrible enough, he just wanted one more way to stick it to me.

The tin can I was riding in suddenly took a plunge, and all of the instruments went berserk. Gasps and whines filled the air as the high-pitched warning beeps sounded through our tiny capsule. My hands immediately became clammy as my heart raced. There was no calming down in a situation like this, especially when a person was born as jumpy as I was. My fingers gripped the armrest so hard that my nails hurt, and I took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly.

About the Author

Karice Bolton is a Young Adult/New Adult author living in the Pacific Northwest.

Karice married the love of her life who she met in high school, and she still can't get over how cute and funny he is. They have two English Bulldogs that are the sweetest bullies in the world, and they use their cuteness to get what they want. Karice loves the snow and gravitates towards the stuff as often as possible! She enjoys skiing and tries really hard to snowboard, but often makes a nice little area to sit while everyone zips by on their board. She enjoys writing, and she also loves to read just about anything with print.

Karice would love if you stopped by her blog or FB page to find out the latest news on giveaways and upcoming releases, or you can just send her an email. She loves hearing from her readers and responds as soon as she can.

Karice Around the Web: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

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With love,
Margaret

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Character Profile: Princess Kyla from Unknown by Melissa Pearl

2013-02-28T01:00:00.000-06:00

Title: Unknown
Series: Book #1 of The Elements Trilogy
Author: Melissa Pearl
Genre: YA (Romance)

Synopsis. Darkness is covering the land. As the city of Mezrah grows with power and greed, the rest of the world can only stand by and wait for their inevitable destruction. The only hope against this growing power is an ancient prophecy that people have stopped believing in.

Then a star begins to fall.

Princess Kyla of Taramon stopped believing in the power of light the day her father died. Trapped in a city she does not care for, under the watchful glare of her mother, the queen, she struggles to accept her fate.

Then a star begins to fall.

Jethro has loved Kyla for as long as he can remember. Learning that she was to marry his cousin drove a wedge between him and the feisty princess. Watching her from a distance is a torture he is unable to free himself from.

Then a star begins to fall, sparking an ember of hope and sending two seekers on a trecherous journey into the unknown.

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Diary entry from Princess Kyla of Taramon

I have been chosen. I am sixteen years old and I have been chosen. The idea is terrifying, yet electrifying. Do you know what this could mean for me? Adventure, freedom, a chance to escape this castle! No more being Princess Kyla. For once I can be myself without the watchful glare of my mother constantly on my back. This journey is a chance to spread my wings, one last time, before they are clipped forever.

When the star first fell, I was fascinated. Everyone else seemed so afraid. What was this thing falling from the sky? Knocking us to our knees. To me it was a break in the mundane routine. I didn't want to show Athra how excited I was. My betrothed would no doubt disapprove. Watching the men ride out to the landing site and not being able to accompany them was a torture all of its own, but I knew Athra would return with news. And he did. He brought me pieces of the star itself. I don't think he would have if he knew what was going to happen. The moment I touched those chips of rock, a fire spread through my body so hot and intense, I thought I might turn to ash.

Everyone thought we would die. Jethro - my twin (not because we are related, but because we share the same birthday) had the same reaction to the rock, but it was meant to be. We are both now branded with tattoos on our wrists. They represent the four elements, which we must now go find. Mordekai, the seer from Mezrah, keeps calling us seekers. I guess that's what we will do. Seek the elements, which will lead us to the God of Light. He will help us defeat the darkness like he did hundreds of years ago. At least I think that's what the prophecy is trying to tell us.

The funny thing is, when my father was killed, I stopped believing in the God of Light. Now I am have been chosen to carry out a prophecy that's supposedly from him. I guess most would shy away from such a journey, but not I.

I know Jethro and I ride towards danger tonight. I know this task could take our lives, but I want to go. I want to be with Jethro, to see if we can resurrect the friendship he murdered a year ago. I still don't know why he won't talk to me, but this is my chance to find out. This is my chance to see the world. Whether I live or die, this is my final chance at freedom and I am going to take it.

About the Author

Melissa Pearl was born in Auckland, New Zealand, but has spent much of her life abroad, living in countries such as Jordan, Cyprus and Pakistan... not to mention a nine month road trip around North America with her husband. "Best. Year. Ever!!" She now lives in China with her husband and two sons. She is a trained elementary teacher, but writing is her passion. Since becoming a full time mother she has had the opportunity to pursue this dream and her debut novel hit the internet in November, 2011. Since then she has produced three more books with her fifth novel, Betwixt, due out in November 2012.

"I am passionate about writing. It stirs a fire in my soul that I never knew I had. I want to be the best writer I can possibly be and transport my readers into another world where they can laugh, cry and fall in love."

Melissa Around the Web: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

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With love,
Margaret

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Book Excerpt: Precious Things by Stephanie Parent

2013-02-28T00:30:00.000-06:00

Title: Precious Things
Author: Stephanie Parent
Genre: NA (Contemporary)

Synopsis. Isabelle Andrews isn’t supposed to be here. She isn’t supposed to be a freshman at Hartford Community College, she isn't supposed to be living at home and working at her dad’s failing bakery, and she definitely isn’t supposed to be taking Intro to Electronic Music Production, a class that will get her nowhere toward her goal of an English Ph.D. by age twenty-five. But when her dad’s latest business fiasco eats up her college fund, Hartford Community College is exactly where Isabelle finds herself—and thanks to her late enrollment, she doesn’t even get to choose her classes. Stuck with Electronic Music and way-too-easy English courses, Isabelle is determined to wallow in all the misery she feels entitled to.

But community college brings some unexpected benefits…like the fact that a certain overworked, over-scheduled Electronic Music professor hands over most of his duties to his teaching assistant. His tall, green-eyed, absolutely gorgeous teaching assistant. When TA Evan Strauss discovers Isabelle’s apathy toward electronic music—and, well, all music—he makes it his mission to convert her. The music Evan composes stirs something inside Isabelle, but she can’t get involved—after all, she’ll be transferring out as soon as possible.

Still, no matter how tightly Isabelle holds on to her misery, she finds it slipping away in the wake of all Hartford Community offers: new friendships, a surprisingly cool poetry professor, and most of all, Evan. But Evan’s dream of owning his own music studio is as impractical as Isabelle’s dad’s bakery, and when Evan makes a terrible decision, everything Isabelle has gained threatens to unravel. Soon Isabelle discovers that some of the most important lessons take place outside the classroom…and that in life, as in Evan’s favorite Depeche Mode song, the most precious things can be the hardest to hold on to.

View it on Goodreads

Chapter 1

I click “play” on the computer screen, and the song floods out of the headphones, into my ears and through my brain waves and down to my core, where I swear my heart syncs to the beat of the music. The melody pulses its way through me, into every hollow of every bone and every sinew of every muscle. I find it hard to believe the entire music lab, the entire building, isn’t filling with sound. People should be running into the room, lured by the song; but the truth is that outside my head, beyond the barrier of the headphones, there’s nothing but silence. Not that it matters. Because the one person I want—need—to share this song with, more than anything in the world?

He’s gone.

To say I’m unhappy as I walk into my first Intro to Electronic Music Production class at Hartford Community College is the understatement of the year. Oh, I’m unhappy, don’t get me wrong—I’m unhappy that due to overcrowded classes and my late enrollment, I’ve ended up with an “elective” that might as well be ancient Greek for all I understand about it. The syllabus—e-mailed to us last night—is a jumble of Logic Pro and MIDI and Fruity Loops (Fruity Loops?) Music Maker and strange programming language that scares the heck out of me. I’m unhappy that I still smell like a cinnamon bun from this morning’s shift at Teatime, and if this overheated, overcrowded room and the sweat trickling down my back are any indication, I’ll soon smell like a broiled cinnamon bun. I’m unhappy that I’m stuck here till six because, for some unfathomable reason, Intro to Electronic Music Production requires five hours of class time twice a week.

But as I was saying—I’m not just unhappy. No, I’m miserable. Miserable that I’m here at Hartford Community College at all, when I should be at Johns Hopkins, or Georgetown—both of which accepted me—or even at University of Maryland with Jenny, where I would have been accepted if I hadn’t been too stubborn and stupid to apply to safety schools. Miserable that I spent the morning still working my high-school job at Teatime, the teashop that, just to rub the salt in the wound, is responsible for my community college fate. Miserable that after this five-hour class, I’ll be driving back down the highway to dinner at my childhood home, TV on my childhood couch, and sleep in my childhood bed.

Miserable. Yeah, that about covers it. I scan the quickly filling classroom for a seat. Clearly I can forget about finding a computer for myself: people are already doubling or tripling up before the not-too-ancient Macs. A tiny raven-haired girl with an empty chair beside her offers me a smile, and I try my best to smile back. Then she turns, seized with a sudden need to flip through her notebook, and I know my smile came out more like a grimace. I meet two more pairs of eyes, belonging to a woman who must be in her fifties and a young dreadlocked guy, and the same thing happens. Not that I blame them—I’ve got the enthusiasm of a cold fish, and I’m sure I’m about as appealing as one. Heck, I don’t even like myself right now; I can’t expect anyone else to.

I thread through rows of tables, computers and electronic piano keyboards—true to its name, the “music lab” is set up more like a laboratory than a traditional classroom—and avoid any further eye contact until I slip into the very last empty seat in the very last row. Just as my butt hits the chair, the harried-looking guy at the front of the room, whom I’m guessing is our professor, clears his throat and begins talking. His voice, as rumpled and droopy as his tweed jacket, is the kind that immediately invites minds to wander, and it doesn’t help that more students keep filing into the packed room. I’m trying to keep an open mind about this whole community college thing, but it’s not a good sign when I can’t focus even for the first three minutes of my first class.

Just how many people did they let into this class? It’s standing room only now, and shit, is that guy pushing a stroller with a toddler inside? At least the kid is cute. And asleep, it looks like. Open mind, open mind…

“Don’t worry,” a whisper from my right startles me. “Half these people will drop before the second week of classes. That’s why they let so many in.” I turn toward the voice and find a very normal, even sympathetic-looking girl with olive skin and those wispy bangs I can never pull off. “It’s your first day, isn’t it?”

“That obvious, huh?” I try the smile again, hoping I can keep the grimace from creeping in around the edges.

“It’s always crazy the first week of the semester. It will calm down. Baby Daddy will work out the schedule with his babysitter. Oh and by the way”—she leans closer—“that’s not normal, so don’t get too concerned.”

“Good. I…I didn’t think it was.”

She winks at me. “I’m Lucy, by the way.”

“Isabelle,” I answer quickly. I may be miserable, but I’m making friends, goddammit.

Lucy smiles and turns her attention back to the professor, and I know I should do the same…

But when I shift my gaze to the front of the room, I find myself staring not at Rumpled Tweed, but at what I swear must be the greenest pair of eyes I’ve ever seen. Really. They’re like two damn sparkly gemstones or something. And the owner of those eyes, who’s leaning against the wall, long arms and even longer legs crossed, the heel of one scuffed sneaker resting atop the toe of the other, is looking right at me.

He winks. And it’s nothing like Lucy’s wink.

By this point I’ve completely lost track of what Professor—I glance down at my syllabus—Barton is saying, so I’m thrown for a loop when he gestures for Green Eyes to step forward and stand beside him. I get a better look at Green Eyes as he comes closer: messy, longish dark brown hair, lean and chiseled and, okay, gorgeous face, and arms that appear to be packing some muscle beneath his hoodie. I tune back in just in time to hear Professor Barton introduce the class’s teaching assistant, Evan Strauss.

Oh. Great. I’ve only been in my first college class ten minutes, and the teaching assistant’s already caught me chatting through the professor’s lecture. The hot teaching assistant. I feel a sudden need to fix my scrappy ponytail. I refuse to be that cliché, though, so I force myself to resist it.

Professor Barton goes on to explain that he has a “prior commitment” at two p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, so after he lectures us for the first hour of class, Evan will lead the music lab for the remaining four hours.

Wait. What? Our professor has a “prior commitment” that’s more important than teaching his own class? That pisses me off enough to knock Green Eyes right out of my head. I hear Lucy click her tongue beside me, too. “Again,” she whispers, “not normal.” Professor Barton calls roll without once looking up from his roster. Then he launches into the most rushed, unenthusiastic overview of a syllabus I’ve ever had the displeasure of hearing—and I had Dreary Daniels for history in both tenth and eleventh grade. Forty-five minutes later, I still don’t understand exactly what Electronic Music Production is, but apparently there’s a ridiculous amount of software involved. We’ll be using mostly Logic Pro, which only works on Apple computers—hence all the Macs—but the class will also introduce us to Cubase, Ableton, Cakewalk, and FL Studio, also known as FruityLoops. What’s with all the food names, especially the sugar? I get enough of that from Dad at Teatime, thank you very much.

I learn that we’ll spend most of the five-hour class time completing a series of assignments, but as to what the assignments are, I’m not so sure. I took the obligatory few years of piano as a kid, enough to learn I have no musical sensibility whatsoever, so I recognize some of the terms Professor Barton throws around: staff, bars, measures, meter, time signature. But others, like loops and MIDI and quantization and arrange pages and media pages, send me into a total panic. I may have no interest in this class, but I need good grades to get a scholarship out of here. Besides, anytime I’m confronted with a subject I can’t wrap my head around, I get this antsy, itchy feeling under my skin. Come to think of it, that’s why I quit piano in the first place. It never made sense to me the way math and reading do.

By the number of hands popping into the air, I can tell I’m not the only one who’s confused—but Professor Barton waves us all away with a distracted flip of his wrist. “Evan will answer your questions later,” he mumbles. “I have to get through this before I need to leave.” He starts passing out the assignment instructions as he talks, and a cursory glance at mine tells me it will only add to my mental chaos.

Hmm. Maybe Professor Barton is purposefully encouraging half the class to drop so the rest of us will actually have a place to sit. I glance surreptitiously (I hope) at Evan, wondering how he’s taking all this. He’s back to leaning against the wall, arms crossed, a few wayward strands of hair threatening to obscure those too-green eyes. His lips—his not-too-full, not-too-thin, dear-lord-I’d-better-not-be-staring lips—are set together in a neutral line. He’s a closed book. A slammed-shut door. A beautifully sculpted, well-polished door…

No. Not going there.

Eventually Professor Barton concludes his mumble-lecture, packs up his briefcase, and runs out of the classroom like there’s a pack of wolves at his heels. Evan blinks as if he’s just waking up and pushes himself languidly away from the wall, finally dropping those crossed arms. I can sense a change in the atmosphere, a tightening, tautening—girls sitting up straighter, smoothing a stray hair or straightening a shirt hem—and I know I’m not the only one who’s noticed the TA’s, um, physical attributes. “So,” Evan says, and his voice is just right, smooth and deep with the perfect hint of boyishness to lighten it up, “who’s confused as all hell right now?”

Evan ends up sending half the class out on an hour-long “break” so there’ll only be two to a computer, not four, and then those of us who’ve stayed will get to leave early. He also says something about the inevitable mass exodus after the first week of class, which will guarantee seats for those who remain. Then, after a flood of questions about staffs and beats and meter, he divides the class into those who’ve had some musical instruction and those who haven’t; those of us who know that a staff is the thing musical notes are written on and meter is the number of beats per measure are left to fend for ourselves. I’m actually kind of disappointed to be in the latter category.

I am glad Lucy has some musical experience too—violin, she tells me—so we can struggle through the first assignment together. She seems better with the computer than I am, too, so I let her open the Logic Pro music-making program and then select an “Empty Project.” The “Arrange” page we’ve just heard so much about opens up, with a white pop-up window prompting us to set up our first “track.” Lucy clicks the “Create” button as our assignment sheet instructs, and the pop-up disappears, which I guess means we’ve created a track, though I sure don’t see it.

Well, this page doesn’t look too intimidating when it’s empty…just a bunch of vertical lines on a dark gray background. Kind of looks like a prison cell, actually. Plus a bunch of menus and icons on the sides that I’m going to pretend aren’t there for now. “Okay…” Lucy squints down at the assignment sheet, lips pursed, letting out a puff of air that ruffles those perfect bangs. “So I guess first we have to choose our ‘sound,’ and then use the keyboard to record a melody. Or, wait, do we start with the beat? Or the bass?”

Thirty minutes later, our prison-cell vertical lines have multiplied into skinny mesh-window-screen lines, there’s this weird green bar that keeps moving across the top of the screen, this sideways piano keyboard thing has usurped the bottom half of the page and I’m pretty sure it isn’t supposed to be there, and our cursor keeps morphing into a tiny pair of scissors or an eraser. “I hate computers,” I’m grumbling for the umpteenth time…

…when I hear a throat clearing behind me. “You ladies need some help?”

Oh, do we ever.

Before I can blink Evan is wedged between my chair and Lucy’s, kneeling down so his head is level with ours, close enough that I can see the hint of stubble lining his jaw. He even smells good—like laundry fresh out of the dryer, a hint of lemon, and something underneath that’s just guy.

“It looks like you’re in four-four time here, which is good…”

We are?

“…and since you’ve already got the piano roll open, I’ll just put in a basic bass line…is G and C okay?”

It’s all-righty with me. Evan grabs the mouse and clicks a few times on the sideways piano keyboard thing at the bottom of the screen (the “piano roll,” I guess), and more of those green bars pop

up on top. Then he starts moving things around the screen and clicking and the piano roll disappears, the green bars get longer and wider, he brings up some dropdown menus and clicks and frowns and clicks and nods and narrows those gorgeous green eyes at the screen…

“…so now you know how to set up a basic bass line.” I do? Oh shit, was he talking and was I totally not listening?

“Hey”—he looks right at me this time—“no need to panic. This week’s assignment is just to create a piece of music. It doesn’t have to be a good piece of music, and we’ll go over this so many times you’ll be able to teach me by the end of the class.”

“I’m not panicking,” I blurt out without thinking, “why would you think I’m—”

He looks pointedly down at my hands, and I follow his gaze to find my fingers ticking and stuttering like a collection of broken watch hands. Oh. I clamp my hands between my knees. “I’m fine, really.”

He shrugs. “So now you just need a simple melody above those Cs and Gs, so we’ll open another track and…”

Evan goes on talking and demonstrating and I can tell he’s a good teacher, he really is, but the confusion-clouds in my brain keep growing and since there are so many things I don’t understand, my mind eventually stops trying to understand any of them at all. Plus he just smells so damn good. Pretty soon he has to leave to help some of the twenty-five other bewildered students. I hope he’s getting paid well. Or at all.

Lucy and I fiddle around with the piano keyboard—not the one on the computer screen, but the plastic one below the computer—and do our best to record a “melody” (read: random collection of notes) for the next fifteen minutes. According to the assignment sheet, this would be a much more complicated process if all the computers in this room weren’t set up to communicate directly with, and only with, their own piano keyboards. But we’re in the beginners’ class, so they are. Then the missing half of the class comes back, and we’re done for the day, thank God. I have to slip right by Evan on the way out, and that fresh-dried-laundry-and-lemon scent sends a little shiver down my spine. I try to shake it off, but I can’t help looking back as I step into the hall—and he winks at me. Again.

Damn.

“He’s cute, huh?”

I nearly jump out of my flip-flops as I turn to see Lucy by my side. “Uh…yeah, I guess.” Cute enough to keep my adrenaline spiking the last hour, and now that the class is over, I’m suddenly exhausted.

“So,” Lucy goes on as we head down the music department hallway, “you want to grab a coffee, since we got out early? We can celebrate you surviving your first ever class at HCC.”

I smile, but my grip on my messenger bag tightens. Say yes make friends say yes make friends…

“Thanks, but I’m kinda tired. And I’ve got a long drive home, so…” Shit. I’m truly way more than kinda tired, especially since I started work at the crack of dawn, but I should have accepted her offer. I guess I really am determined to sabotage myself. Make the worst of things, as Dad would say.

“Okay, but you’re missing out.” Lucy’s shrug doesn’t look too affronted, and her voice stays light. Maybe I didn’t screw this up completely, at least not yet. “My boyfriend’s working today, and he makes a mean caramel mocha.”

Huh? I was picturing one of those gross coffee vending machines that spits out suspicious brown sludge. My forehead wrinkles in confusion, and Lucy laughs. “You really haven’t walked around campus at all, have you?”

“Uh…”

“HCC isn’t Harvard, but we’re still a college. We have a coffee shop. And it’s every bit as overpriced as Starbucks. Doug lets me use his employee discount, though.”

“Good to know.” We’ve reached the top of the cement stairwell, and I hesitate before asking, “Will your boyfriend be working after Wednesday’s class too?”

“Luckily for you, yes.” Lucy trails a hand along the staircase railing as we descend, and I admire her nail polish: baby blue on all except her fourth finger, which is buttercup yellow. I haven’t painted my own nails since July, and I catch myself curling my hands into fists. Dumb, since she’s been staring at the chipped remains of my graduation-gown blue polish for the past hour.

I know I could—should—still change my mind and just go with her today, but instead I say, “Maybe Wednesday, then?”

This time, Lucy’s voice isn’t quite as enthusiastic as she answers, “Yeah, okay.” It’s a good thing no one signed me up for How to Make Friends and Be Likable 101, because I’d fail that class for sure. We reach the first floor and I spot the triangle-skirted stick-figure girl on a nearby door, so I decide to make my escape.

“I’ve got to, um—” I point and mumble, “See you later,” then push through the bathroom door before I can make things any worse.

When I step out of the bathroom stall a minute later, I’m relieved to find the room empty and, judging by the lack of noise from the halls, likely to stay that way for a few minutes. I turn the faucet to ice cold, full force, and let my hands linger under the water till my body begins to cool. I’m all hot and bothered, that’s for sure…and it’s not because I might have flubbed a potential friendship with Lucy. No, it’s one hundred percent due to Evan Strauss. I just didn’t expect to encounter such a cute—okay, hot—guy on my first day at community college. And I especially didn’t think said guy would be my teaching assistant in a class that’s bound to make me look like a moron.

As I shut off the water and shake off my hands, I risk a quick glance at the mirror—mistake. I didn’t bother to change or fix my makeup after my shift at Teatime, and it shows. Just the barest traces of my eyeliner and shadow have stuck around, so my brown eyes look even more blah and tired than usual. Only my blush has decided to stay put, and considering how red my face is, that’s not a good thing. My T-shirt is accented with a flour streak on the left side, and my ponytail (blah brown, to match my eyes) must have passed the fashionably messy point a few hours ago. And of course the huge scowl on my face doesn’t help matters.

I stick my tongue out at the face in the mirror and, for good measure, flick some water at it. Then I walk out without bothering to dry my hands.

Outside, I force myself to look around on my way back to the parking lot—maybe I’ll spot that coffee shop. Lucy wasn’t far off, actually, when she said this was my first time on campus: I’ve only been here once before, two weeks ago, when I tried to beg my way into already over-full classes. Actual registration was in July, right around the time I found out we didn’t have the money for Georgetown, and I should have come down here immediately to sign up for the fall semester. But I kept thinking something was bound to happen—Dad would come up with the money somehow, or Georgetown would offer me a last-minute scholarship. God, I even hoped my mother would turn up after twelve years, and that she would have miraculously transformed from responsibility-fleeing wanderer to successful CEO, back just in time to deliver her daughter’s missing college fund.

Sometimes I’m just as delusional as the rest of my family.

Back in August, the HCC campus was dead, and I walked to and from the registration building with blinders on, my gaze firmly stuck to the map I’d printed from the school website. Now, though, I have to admit it’s not completely prison-like: wrought-iron benches beneath broad-branched trees invite reading, relaxing, and conversation; clumps of students actually seem to be taking advantage of the shade to chat and catch up. I even spot a miniature bridge over what looks to be a manmade stream, which I may have to investigate at some point. The wide walkways remind me of the Yellow Brick Road, except that these bricks aren’t quite yellow, more the shade Crayola calls “burnt sienna.” But these little touches can’t disguise the fact that HCC is no Oz, no Cornell or Georgetown, not even a University of Maryland. The buildings scream institution, squatting low and long and featuring a lot of cement. No ancient ivy-covered stone here. In fact, the view at HCC is depressingly similar to the scenery that accompanies my drive home along the highway: strip mall, strip mall, strip mall, hulking buildings that all look the same and sell pretty much the same stuff inside. I might have exaggerated a bit when I told Lucy I had a long drive home—it’s only twenty minutes—but it’s certainly a dull one. Hartford Community College is smack in the middle of, shockingly enough, Hartford County, Maryland, where it’s reasonably accessible to students in the surrounding suburbs and small towns, but pretty far from anything remotely interesting. It’s all Target, Wal-Mart, Applebee’s, Outback Steakhouse, the occasional cookie-cutter housing development, until I’m back in Colbin. Home sweet home. I have to drive right by Teatime, and I see Dad has turned on all the strands of white fairy lights bordering the windows, even though the sun is still blazing overhead. I grit my teeth. Yeah, an extra ten bucks on the electric bill probably isn’t that big a deal, but when you’re as broke as we are, every little bit helps. At least he’s not home, waiting for me—I don’t think I could handle the how-was-your-first-day spiel right now.

Nope, when I park in front of the two-story, eggshell-blue house with brown shutters where I’ve lived my entire life, head inside, and collapse on the ratty couch, only Corey is there to greet me. And my fifteen-year-old brother knows better than to say anything besides, “You wanna make dinner?”

Corey and I eat Kraft Macaroni and Cheese on the couch while the TV plays an old episode of Friends, and then I watch Corey battle cyborgs or zombies or something for a half hour before I finally find the energy to get up. Five AM alarms are so not conducive to the college lifestyle.

I lug myself to my bedroom and check my e-mail. There’s one from Jenny: she’s stuck in a two-person dorm room with two roommates because stupid U of M accepted too many students. They didn’t think so many would actually enroll, but when private college tuition is more than the price of a house, state schools quickly go from fallback option to only option. Jenny’s actual classes don’t start until next week, so she has an entire week of orientation activities—trust exercises where you have to fall backwards into another person and hope they catch you, and other crap like that. I feel bad for her, I really do. Apparently the dorm room is so cramped you have to climb the furniture to navigate it, and college freshman boys are just as immature as high-school boys, only now you have to spend twenty-four hours a day with them instead of eight.

So I feel for her, a little…but to tell the truth, most of my energy is taken up with feeling sorry for myself. No, I don’t have to deal with roommates, but I’m still stuck here with the same home and family and job and if I don’t get out, how am I going to become something more? Something better?

Though it’s still early, I turn off the computer without replying to Jenny and curl up in a tight little ball under my old quilt. I’m not a crier, but right now, I wish I were, because there’s nothing I want to do more than cry myself to dreamless sleep.

About the Author

Stephanie Parent is a graduate of the Master of Professional Writing program at USC and attended the Baltimore School for the Arts as a piano major. She moved to Los Angeles because of Francesca Lia Block's WEETZIE BAT books, which might give you some idea of how much books mean to her. She also loves dogs, books about dogs, and sugary coffee drinks both hot and cold.

Stephanie Around the Web: Blog | Goodreads | Twitter

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With love,
Margaret

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Character Profile: Daisy from Daisy Madigan's Paradise by Suzy Turner

2013-02-27T09:34:00.001-06:00

Title: Daisy Madigan's Paradise
Series: Book #1.5 of the Morgan Sisters Series
Author: Suzy Turner
Genre: YA (Fantasy/Paranormal)

Synopsis. When tragedy falls upon 15 year old Daisy Madigan, she escapes to the only place she feels safe, the cemetery of Abney Park. There, in the company of the dearly departed, she realizes she is changing, growing stronger and faster by the day. But in the darkness lurks a terror even she can't imagine facing.

Profile

Name: Daisy Madigan

Age: Just turned 16

Physical description: Mass of red curls, intense green eyes, pale skin, very pretty but doesn't realise it. New 'tattoo' at the base of her back with the words, Semper Fidelis, which appeared on her 16th birthday. 5ft 3 inches tall. Slim, sporty figure.

Family: Beau Madigan (Father), Esther Madigan (Mother)

Occupation: Part time corner shop assistant

Who is Daisy? She is quiet, shy, practical, strong, loyal and fiercely independent. She has the most beautiful singing voice and she's just started to see ghosts!

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Although Suzy is a Yorkshire lass at heart, she left her home town of Rotherham, UK, to move to Portugal with her family when she was ten. The Algarve continues to be her home, where she lives with her childhood sweetheart husband Michael and their menagerie of cats and dogs. Suzy's career began soon after completing her A levels when she was offered the position of trainee journalist for a local English newspaper. Her love of writing developed and a few years later she moved on to become assistant editor for the region's largest English language publisher. Since then she has also worked as the editor of one of the Algarve's most loved monthly lifestyle magazines. Early in 2010 however, Suzy began working as a freelance writer and author. She has since completed three novels for teens, The Raven Saga, a trilogy.

Suzy has just launched a brand new series, The Morgan Sisters, the first of which, The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw is out now!

Suzy Around the Web: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

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With love,
Margaret

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Cover Reveal: Blood and Snow by RaShelle Workman

2013-02-27T09:18:00.000-06:00

Title: Blood and Snow
Series: Full Series Bind-Up
Author: RaShelle Workman
Genre: YA (Paranormal Romance)

Synopsis. Every thousand years the Vampire Queen selects a new body, always the fairest in the land, and this time she's chosen Snow White.

Snow isn't an ordinary girl. She doesn't know that yet.

When Snow gets bitten by a Hunter, her life is thrown into a whirlwind of change where instead of worrying about what to eat, she has to fight not to drink the blood of fellow high school students. She becomes a revenant - not quite human, not quite vampire.

With the help of an eccentric old Professor, his seven adoptive sons, and her best friend, Snow learns to control her blood craving. Sort of. She drinks a bloodlust tea, but she'd rather drink from her Hunter.

Or, a human.

She also discovers a whole other realm, one filled with fairies, dragons, and magic. And not only does the Vampire Queen want her, but there's a pendant called the Seal of Gabriel created for Snow by the Vampire Queen's twin sister. And Snow's supposed to use it to restore balance to all magical creatures. Including vampires.

View on Goodreads | Amazon

About the Author

Renowned goofball with attitude. Lover of books, baking, and toffee-making. Honorary nerd with attitude. RaShelle Workman lives on a mountain with her husband, three children, and three dogs. From her back porch she can see the city lights and imagine... She's the bestselling author of the Dead Roses series (Sleeping Roses is being translated into Turkish, and will be available in print wherever Turkish books are sold in 2014), the Immortal Essence series, and the Blood and Snow series.

RaShelle Around the Web: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

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With love,
Margaret

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Book Spotlight: Shades of Gray by Susanne Jacoby Hale

2013-02-27T05:40:00.000-06:00

Title: Shades of Gray
Author: Susanne Jacoby Hale
Genre: NA/Adultish (Contemporary)

Synopsis. In inner-city New York, horrors lurk in the unruly hallways of Malcolm High School. As in-school riots and gang violence consistently envelop the classroom, Olivia Dalton attempts to teach her students while simultaneously directing a drop-out prevention program that embraces an ever-increasing group of at-risk students. Left with little hope she will ever have children of her own, Olivia becomes entrenched in her students' lives, partly out of love, but also out of an unconscious desire to avoid her own internal anguish.

Meanwhile, Olivia's devoted husband, Tom, is having trouble facing his own disappointments in not being able to create a family. In an effort to protect Olivia, he attempts to hold her back from the one place she feels useful and fulfilled - her career. But despite her husband's efforts to quell her desire to help the troubled and confused, Olivia presses on and believes in change, even in the face of her students' continual mistakes and poor choices. Neither Tom nor Olivia have any idea that everything is about to change when an unassuming gift is left at their door.

"Shades of Gray" is the profound story of one woman's unpredictable journey to the truth, new beginnings, and a kind of love she never knew before.

View on Goodreads

About the Author

SUSANNE JACOBY HALE, a former drop-out prevention teacher in a New York City high school, earned a master's degree from New York University in education and creative writing. She currently lives in south Florida with her husband and their three children. This is her debut novel.

Susanne Around the Web: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

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With love,
Margaret

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Cover Reveal: The Diamond of Freedom by Lorena Angell

2013-02-27T05:08:00.000-06:00

Title: The Diamond of Freedom
Series: Book #3 of The Unaltered Series
Author: Lorena Angell
Genre: YA (Science Fiction, Paranormal)

Synopsis. Calli Courtnae and Chris Harding race against the clock to identify the mysterious power-neutralizing stone that will help them hide from their enemy, but that will also prevent Calli from healing her life-threatening injuries. Their challenge is not simply to identify the stone; they must also learn how to counter its effects so they can fight against the rogue Diamond Bearer named Freedom.

View The Unaltered Series on Goodreads

NOT ONLY do I have the beautiful cover above to reveal... I ALSO have the official RELEASE DAY to share!! :) ... *drum roll* It will be available on April 11, 2013! Awesome i'm adding this to the calendar now! Also, did you know that Apple's iBookstore named A Diamond in my Pocket as a Breakout Book Feb 5th when they launched their new category of Breakout books on iTunes. Yes, it true! I'm going to try to grab books 1/2 off amazon and get those read so i'll be ready for the release! :D

About the Author

I've always told stories. Even as a child my parents would set a timer to try to limit the ramblings my brain was kicking out. I guess back then the stories were only intriguing to me. I love the unexpected twist, the ‘Snape’ characters who are not what you think, and good chemistry between the sexes. I try to incorporate these into my books basically because I write what I like to read.

Most of my book ideas come through my dreams. I feel sorry for anyone who says they don’t dream because my dreams are vivid and detailed. My “Scars of Defiance” series began as a recurring dream over 15 years ago. It took me until 2005 to begin trying to write the dream down which proved to be a bit difficult; I never excelled in English class. A Diamond In My Pocket was a dream also. However, it was a rare event for me because: 1)It was fantasy and I never dream in fantasy settings, and 2)The dream had a beginning, middle and end. I remember waking up and thinking, “Wow! I’ve got to write that down!” I spent the better part of four days typing 50,000 words and not much of the original storyline has changed. There were parts which didn’t fit into the story such as other powers and abilities, but those will be brought out in the books to come. My 20yr old son helped me immensely with the ‘lore’ of the magical diamond and possibilities of where the story could go.

My husband is very supportive of my writing. When I finally let him read my rough draft of The Dictator’s Daughter, (the first book I wrote), he was floored. He told me he had to keep reminding himself his wife wrote it. He also began to wonder, “Who is this woman I’m married to?” His favorite book is Scars Of Defiance and he feels everyone should read The Dictator’s Daughter before Scars of Defiance. I chose to go with chronological order when numbering my series, but now you have his recommendation.

Some tidbits about myself: I married my wonderful husband in 89’ and am still married to him. We have three kids, one son and two daughters.

Over the last 20 years I’ve worked the craft fair circuits selling hand-painted wall hangings, been a Pampered Chef consultant demonstrating over 250 kitchen shows and trade shows, I operated my own catering business specializing in wedding receptions and Christmas parties, I operated a State licensed home daycare for five years(gray hair from that one), sold Senegence cosmetics, worked a short stint at a juvenile detention center, another short stint at a grocery store bakery(4am shifts are for the birds), worked in a family practice medical office as a file clerk, and operated a jewelry business buying from bidz.com and selling on ebay(I love shiny things).

I love my little family and our close bond, and it is my hope to be able to help my children through college by selling my books.

Lorena Around the Web: Website | Goodreads | Twitter

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With love,
Margaret

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Cover Reveals: Sea Wenches Trilogy by Elle Casey

2013-02-27T04:40:00.001-06:00

Title: Sea Wenches, Book #1
Author: Elle Casey
Genre: YA (Fantasy, Paranormal)

Synopsis. The year is 1717. Queen Ann's War has been fought and won by some, lost by others. Merchants and privateers run the seas, while pirates - the scourge of all who venture to sail - prowl the open waters for those who do not guard their ships as they should - with goodly care and an abundance of gunpowder.

Cassandra. Eeking out a living near the docks as a scullery maid by day and a fiddling troubadour by night, she does whatever it takes to survive. She's sixteen, and for as long as she can remember, without a home, family, or future.

Tatiana. She's known as the Ace of Hearts, even to the men who lose to her at the card table. Regardless of the game - Maw, One and Thirty, Bone Ace, Ruff and Honours - this eighteen-year-old nearly always wins, and she takes no prisoners while doing it. It's a dog-eat-dog world near the harbor, and she's determined to avoid an untimely end like her sister before her.

Ruby. Give her a farthing and she'll read your palm, telling you what you want to know about your future. Perhaps she'll even share the whisperings of those spirits who may have secrets to reveal before you set sail. Mariners are a superstitious lot, and missing a stopover at Ruby's street corner before departing could be disastrous, or so they believe.

A shipmaster is seeking crew members for his merchant vessel. Word spreads over the docks like wildfire. The pay is beyond anything that people from this place have ever known. Just one voyage could change a life forever. The risks are great, but the alternative could be worse.

What they don't know is that the sea this ship will sail is a temperamental beast, deep and dark, calm and sparkling one moment, raging and exploding with the sound of a thousand crashing waves the next. And the mysterious inhabitants who live amongst those waves are always watching the land dwellers who share their home. Always.

Title: Sea Wenches, Book #2
Author: Elle Casey
Genre: YA (Fantasy, Paranormal)

Synopsis. Three girls, sailing the seas, thwarting the efforts of ships full of pirates, each using a special talent all her own, and all together sharing a secret that no one can ever know.

A violinist who plays so sweetly, her music can enchant and enthrall ~ A master of games, whose slight of hand and ability to read any tell empties pockets and minds ~ and ~ A fortune teller and seer of truths who can reveal even the most unsavory details of a man’s life, exposing his vulnerabilities and stripping him down to nothing.

Title: Sea Wenches, Book #3
Author: Elle Casey
Genre: YA (Fantasy, Paranormal)

View Elle's Books on Goodreads

About the Author

Avid writer and reader. Mom, wife, professor, attorney. American living in southern France since 2010. YA Fantasy nut.

Elle Around the Web: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

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With love,
Margaret

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Character Profile: Characters from the Sons Of Old Trilogy by Annabell Cadiz

2013-02-26T00:05:00.001-06:00

Title: Lucifer
Series: Book #1 of Sons of Old
Author: Annabell Cadiz
Genre: YA (Paranormal Romance)

Synopsis. Have you ever wondered what could be hiding in the shadows?

Well, for eighteen-year-old Zahara Faraday, she doesn’t have to wonder. You see she comes from a lineage of Light Witches, those who have chosen to help protect and serve between the supernatural world and the human world. The only problem is Zahara, like her father Solomon, is as human as a human being can be whereas her mother, Mia, and her Aunt Catalina, were born as Light Witches. As a family they hunt down rogue supernaturals—creatures who harm humans or who have committed an act against their kingdom.

Zahara’s hunting skills are usually kept dormant since her parents would prefer she live life as a normal human girl without knowledge of the supernatural world. She plans on doing just that—except when she finds a couple being attacked by fairies, she has no choice but to step in. Before she can return to pretending to be blissfully ignorant, Zahara encounters a problem she isn’t the least equip to handle: Bryan Hamilton, the good looking new co-worker she has to help train. In a heartbeat, her best friend, Becca King, has set her up on a double date with herself and her new crush, Rekesh Saint-Louis, who happens to be the most powerful leader of the biggest Imago Coven in South Florida –supernatural creatures with the ability to control water . . . and suck out human souls.

Zahara has no time to focus on how she’s going to explain her double date with her best friend and the enemy they have a tentative truce with to her parents because soon one of the members of Mia and Catalina’s coven is found murdered with a strange tattoo of a snake with wings carved into his arm.

Zahara is then thrown into a whirlwind battle with an angel determined to have revenge against God, an Imago coven she doesn’t think they should trust, and slew of dream-eating fairies and powerful Nephilims, hybrid children of angels and humans, more than happy to rip her to shreds.

Normal just got a deadlier definition.

Vote on Goodreads: Lucky 13's | Best Little Known Authors | Highly Anticipated Indie Books of 2013

Characters from the Sons of Old Trilogy

Character Name: Bryan Hamilton

Age: 20 years old

Appearance: Stands at six feet even with a mess of golden brown hair and crystal blue eyes inside an oval shaped face. He has a defined jaw and long eyelashes.

Born: Plantain, South Florida

Relationship Status: Single

Occupation: Works at Delicious Tales Bookstore

Skill Set: Telepathy, Wields a sword made of flame, can heal wounds, revive people from near death, communicates through dreams.

Character Name: Zahara Faraday

Age: 18 years of age

Born: April 9, 1994

Appearance: Standing at five feet five inches, Zahara has bright green eyes set into an oval shaped face with demure cheeks and full lips. She has a head filled with curly, untamable red hair inherited from her mother. She is slender built with nicely toned arms and legs due to her training.

Relationship Status: Single (and her father is determined to keep it that way!)

Skill Set: Has been trained in martial arts, archery and hand to hand combat with a dagger.

Hobbies: When not training Zahara loves to read or go to the movies or ride her bike. She also loves make (and eat) anything to do with chocolate.

Likes: chocolate covered almonds, collecting books, hot chocolate, vegetarian spaghetti

Dislikes: rogue supernaturals, peas, mosquitoes

Bio: Zahara was born into a unique type of family. Her mother is a Light Witch and

her father is human but she didn’t develop any special powers, she’s as human as her dad. Ever since she was teenager she has been training in various aspects of hitting and stabbing since rogue supernaturals tend to go after her family and they help hunt down the ones who attack humans. She’s never had a boyfriend but she’s been on a few dates. She would rather spend her day snuggled up in the couch in the library if she isn’t chasing down Imagoes, dream sucking fairies, or sociopathic angels.

Character Name: Becca King

Age: 18 years of age

Born: May 12, 1994

Appearance: Stands at five feet six inches with shoulder length strawberry blonde hair with brown eyes within an oval shaped face and short arms and long legs.

Relationship Status: In a relationship

Skill Set: Knows how to wield a mean can of pepper spray, has been trained in hand to hand combat with a dagger, great swimmer, can make an outfit out of anything.

Hobbies: Putting together funky outfits, having movie marathons, stalking her favorite bands on the net, bike riding with her best bud Zahara, scrap booking, swimming

Likes: chocolate chip cookies, vanilla bean fraps, pizza, reading

Dislikes: red meat, rogue supernaturals who try to kill her or her best friend, beets

Bio: Becca was born in Broward, Florida to a very loving and very protective father, Adam King, and a sweet, obsessed baking mother, Ariel. Becca is an ordinary girl keeping a very dangerous secret: her best friend’s family hunts rogue supernaturals and she tends to offer a hand of help every now and then. Although Becca doesn’t want to be known just as the sidekick, she can definitely kick butt when the moment calls for it and is willing to do anything to protect the people she loves. She plans on becoming a fashion designer and opening her own small shop in the future.

Character Name: Rekesh Saint-Louis

Age: 148 years old

Appearance: Stands at six feet two inches in height with long limbs that glow silver when touched by the moonlight. He has a head full of thick dark brown hair and chocolate colored eyes set a diamond shaped face with angular cheekbones and full lips.

Born: November 7, 1865

Relationship Status: In a relationship

Skill Set: Deadly with his hands, incredible speed, can pretty much use any weapon at his disposable

Hobbies: Collecting first editions of books, swimming, cooking, collecting classic cars

Likes: Sailing, fishing, cage Shark diving, snorkeling, wakeboarding, playing the harmonica

Dislikes: deserts, pickles, fighting his own kind, anyone who goes after Becca

Bio: Rekesh is a leader to the most powerful Imago coven in South Florida. He has a history with the Faraday family having worked with several of the family members over the past few decades. He once belonged to the Royal Guard in the Celeste Kingdom but his past is pretty mysterious so no one is quite sure as to why he was exiled from the kingdom and chose to turn Rogue.

Character Name: Leanian

Age: 108 years old

Appearance: Stands at five feet ten inches with forest-green colored eyes, a blue Mohawk, and pierced ears.

Born: September 9, 1905

Relationship Status: Single

Skill Set: Ridiculously fast and agile, trained in hand to hand combat

Hobbies: Reading, collecting old cameras, listening to classical and rock music, playing the violin

Likes: red velvet cake, colorful sneakers, action movies

Dislikes: stupidity of humans

Bio: Leanian is an Imago and is Rekesh’s second in command. He’s quirky and has an awkward personality. He doesn’t trust humans very much and is extremely loyal to Rekesh and the coven.

Character Name: Chamuel

Age: Unknown

Appearance: Stands at six feet four inches, body made of pure muscle, eyes the color of rainstorm, and thick spiky black hair.

Born: Unknown

Relationship Status: Single

Skill Set: Can wield a sword made of fire, move faster than the wind, break your body with one hand

Hobbies: Seducing women, fighting with rogue supernaturals

Likes: Same as hobbies

Dislikes: Too much perfume on women, sushi, oatmeal cookies

Bio: Chamuel is a fallen angel that sided with Lucifer in the Great Rebellion against Heaven. He loves to flirt with anything that resembles a female and wears a skirt. He’s definitely the dangerous bad boy every girl should stay away from.

About the Author

Annabell Cadiz was born in the sweltering heat of South Florida. She was raised surrounded by Puerto Rican chefs and band of siblings that weren’t all related to her. A self-proclaimed nerd and book-a-holic (her room does hold much evidence to prove her claims are justifiable), she created TeamNerd Reviews to showcase her EXTREME love for novels where, along with her best friend, Bridget Strahin, she hosts book reviews, interviews, giveaways, Indie Shoutouts and much more. She also blog tour services for authors. She also had the pleasure of being published in three separate issue of Suspense Magazine. She also adores Cinnamon Teddy Grahams, has an addiction to Minute Maid Orange juice, and is a proud Jesus Freak. Lucifer is the first book in the Sons of Old Trilogy.

Annabell Around the Web: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | TeamNerds Reviews

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With love,
Margaret

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New Release: Endless by Tawdra Kandle

2013-02-26T00:05:00.000-06:00

Title: Endless
Series: Book #4 of King Series
Author: Tawdra Kandle
Genre: YA (small amounts of Romance, History & Mystery)

Synopsis. After the tumult of her high school senior year, all is right in Tasmyn Vaughan’s world. She’s attending college with her boyfriend, and she’s learning to control her powers. Everything is finally perfect, until it isn’t. When her new part-time job leads to more than she bargained for, she is thrown into a deadly fight against forces of evil that she didn’t even know existed. Mastering her extraordinary gifts—along with the strength of an endless love—may be the only weapon that can guarantee her a happily ever after.

View on Goodreads | Amazon

About the Author

Tawdra Kandle is the author of the King series, a young adult urban fantasy quartet. Born in south Jersey, Tawdra published her first short story at the age of 13 in Young Life magazine. During the early years of her marriage and motherhood, she wrote articles and columns on parenting and homeschooling, as well as some homeschooling curriculum. FEARLESS is her first novel. Tawdra currently lives in central Florida with her husband and children.

Tawdra Around the Web: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

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With love,
Margaret

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Cover Reveal: Imitation by Heather Hildenbrand

2013-02-25T12:33:00.001-06:00

Title: Imitation
Author: Heather Hildenbrand
Genre: YA (Dystopian)

Synopsis. Everyone is exactly like me.

There is no one like me.

The rough fabric of my cotton nightgown chafes so I lie very still. They say my discomfort comes from being built like one accustomed to niceties. How is that fair when I myself have never experienced anything but copies of the real thing?

My entire life is an imitation.

I am an Imitation.

I’ve been here five years. Training. Preparing. Waiting.

And now I have a letter.

My assignment has begun.

I am a prisoner.

I am not Raven Rogen.

I am here to die.

About the Author

Heather Hildenbrand was born and raised in a small town in northern Virginia where she was homeschooled through high school. She now lives in coastal VA, a few miles from the Atlantic Ocean, with her two adorable children. She works from home, part time, as a property manager and when she's not furiously pounding at the keyboard, or staring off into space whilst plotting a new story, she's lying on the beach, soaking in those delicious, pre-cancerous rays.

Heather loves Mexican food, hates socks with sandals, and if her house was on fire, the one thing she'd grab is her DVR player.

Heather is a co-founder of Accendo Press, a publishing group she operates with fellow authors: Angeline Kace and Jennifer Sommersby. Accendo (a-CH-endo), A Latin word, means “to kindle, illuminate, inflame, or set fire.” This is something Accendo strives to do inside a reader’s imagination with every title released. For a complete list of titles and author bios, visit www.accendopress.com.

Heather Around the Web: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

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With love,
Margaret

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Cover Reveal: Understudy by Cheyanne Young

2013-02-25T12:22:00.000-06:00

Title: Understudy
Author: Cheyanne Young
Genre: YA (Contemporary Romance)

Synopsis. Wren Barlow's senior year of high school was supposed to be easy. But that all changes when the theater arts teacher quits her job and Wren is named director of the school play. With her college recommendation letters on the line, Wren must ensure the play goes off without a hitch. Directing a group of her peers is harder than she thought, and the only person who can help her pull this off is the one boy she's not allowed to like--that is, if he can stay out of trouble long enough to see opening night.

About the Author

Cheyanne is a native Texan with a fear of cold weather and a coffee addiction that probably needs an intervention. She loves books, sarcasm, Xbox and paid holidays. She lives near the beach with her daughter, one spoiled rotten puppy and a cat who is most likely plotting to take over the world.

Cheyanne Around the Web: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

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With love,
Margaret

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#TakeControl Event & ReadAthon

2013-02-25T05:21:00.003-06:00

So here's the Deal: Read books only from you TBR pile in March, review them, then add the link to the Rafflecopter!! Also, there will be a readathon from March 15th to 18th...for added support! :D Oh yeah, you hashtag #TakeControl.

Read all about it on Kimba's Blog.

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With love,
Margaret

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Book Spotlight: The Girl Who Could Talk to Zombies by Rusty Fischer

2013-02-25T03:01:00.001-06:00

Title: The Girl Who Could Talk to Zombies
Author: Rusty Fischer
Genre: YA (Paranormal, Zombies)

Synopsis. Grace Chalmers can talk to zombies. Now, if she could only make them listen!

Some girls talk to their BFFs. Some girls talk to their boyfriends. Grace Chalmers talks to zombies. They even talk back! Thanks to her newfound talent, Grace is the key to stopping a zombie outbreak before it gets any worse. And she only has to battle the US Army, a skeevy Congressman, a top-secret military organization, a horde of hungry zombies plus a brood of even hungrier zombie chimps. Good thing she’s a fast talker.

Veiw on Goodreads

About the Author

Rusty Fischer is the author of several YA supernatural novels, including Zombies Don't Cry, Ushers, Inc., Becca Bloom & the Drumsticks of Doom and Panty Raid @ Zombie High.

Rusty Around the Web: Website | Goodreads | Twitter

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With love,
Margaret

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Author of the Day: Lisa Bouchard

2013-02-25T02:45:00.000-06:00

Lisa Bouchard
I am 9 days older than Star Trek. I thank any and all deities that I have never had to live in a world without Mr. Spock.

I probably spend way too much time watching television. I blame the internet. Seriously, my lack of will power has nothing to do with it. Now that I can wait and watch an entire season of a show at once I get sucked in and don’t come up for air until about 2 in the morning. I think this goes along with my love for long songs, multi-book series, and four hour movies.

My life seems to be a series of crazy ideas, from ‘go to college across the country where you don’t know anyone’ to ‘four kids sounds like a great idea’ to ‘writing novels for a living sounds like a great plan’. My latest crazy idea is to hike the Appalachian Trail all at once, with my long-suffering husband. He’s taking it rather well.

I live in southern New Hampshire with my husband and our four children. I am the author of the Morrison Investigations series.

Lisa Around the Web: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Her Book

What would you do if you had a superpower you couldn’t use?

Darcy and Olivia Morrison are telepaths, but if they use their power they will be caught by the Telepathic Corps, taken away and never heard from again.

Everywhere they look they see people suffering, both telepath and normal, and feel compelled to help. Traditional avenues - police, fire, medicine - are unavailable to them because these professions test for telepathy. Undaunted, they opened their own private investigation firm.

Telepathic rights is the hot-button issue of their time. George Wynton leads this crusade from Boston, where he is opposed by a secret group called The Twenty, whose only goal is to eliminate all telepaths.

When a horrific murder is discovered, all clues lead to Wynton. It doesn’t help that he was discovered talking to the victim, the only woman he has ever loved.

With his life at stake, Darcy and Olivia are bullied by his lawyer into taking the case even though it is out of their depth. If they do not prove his innocence, the nation’s only champion for telepaths will spend his life in jail, or worse.

View on Goodreads

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With love,
Margaret

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Character Interview: Bay-Lee from Bait by K.C. Blake

2013-02-25T02:20:00.000-06:00

Title: Bait
Series: An Order of the Spirit Realm Novel
Author: K.C. Blake
Genre: YA

Synopsis. There are monsters in the closet.

Children everywhere refuse to go to sleep until their rooms are checked. Parents roll their eyes. Most closets are empty. At sixteen, Bay-Lee is in for a surprise. She has a late night visitor. A reaper gives her a grim warning. It kills you on your birthday.

Now, with a mystery to solve and a mentor who hates the sight of her, she is invited into Van Helsing’s school for hunters. Her plan for vengeance is set into motion. Step one: train hard to become a great hunter. Step two: kill the werewolf pack that murdered her mom. Step three: buy a boat and sail around the world for the rest of her life because there are no monsters at sea.

The only thing that can destroy her plan at this point is falling in love. No problem. Bay-Lee has her mind firmly focused on revenge. Then she meets unbelievably hot Nick Gallos, a tormented hunter with a dark past and a bleak future. She’ll have to make a choice. She can either have love or revenge. Will she make the right choice?

Interview with Bay-Lee

Q: Tell us about yourself. What makes you newsworthy?
A: The only reason people want to know about me is because I’m a Van Helsing. They think I’m going to do something spectacular with my life. It’s a lot of pressure.

Q: Who is your best friend?
A: I don’t have one. My uncle and I have been running since my mom died. I get a new name every time we move. Now it’s finally stopped. I’m Bay-Lee Bishop, Van Helsing’s daughter, and I’m going to his school for hunters. Maybe my roommate Tessa will become my best friend even though she talks a mile a minute and is hard to understand. Or maybe Keisha will be it even though she kicked me in the face at our first meeting.

Q: What are your plans? Are you going to do something great?
A: The only plan I have at the moment is to track and kill the werewolf pack responsible for my mother’s death. I can’t think about anything else. They deserve to die.

Q: What do you see as your biggest obstacle in achieving this goal?
A: Jungle green eyes.

Q: Excuse me?
A: Nick Gallos is a major obstacle. A week ago I didn’t even know he existed, and now he’s everywhere. Falling in love with him would ruin everything. How can I be hard and focused and in love?

Q: What frightens you the most?
A: Yesterday I would have said werewolves, but now there’s something killing hunters on their birthdays. My father is even freaking out because he has no clue what’s behind it. None of us do. My birthday is coming up fast, but Nick’s is even sooner. If we don’t catch the thing or kill it, he’s going to die.

About the Author

Born and raised in California, I fell in love with writing while reading The Outsiders. Then I fell in love with Stephen King's writing style. I enjoy reading many types of books, but YA Paranormal is my favorite. I used to write for Harlequin under a different name. So that's my background. Exciting, no?

K.C. Around the Web: Website | Goodreads | Twitter

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With love,
Margaret

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Excerpt: Betwixt by Melissa Pearl

2013-02-25T01:56:00.000-06:00

Title: Betwixt
Author: Melissa Pearl
Genre: YA (Ghosts, Paranormal Romance)

Synopsis. Beautiful, wild-child Nicole Tepper is hit by a car and left for dead. But when she wakes the next morning, Nicole finds herself in bed without a scratch. Perhaps she was more intoxicated than usual, as her mother is giving her the silent treatment and her friends are ignoring her as well.

Things take a turn for the weird when Nicole soon discovers she is actually hovering between life and death. Her body is lying in the forest while her spirit is searching for anyone who can hear her. Unfortunately the only person who can is Dale Finnigan, the guy she publicly humiliated with a sharp-tongued insult that has left him branded.

Desperate, Nicole has no choice but to haunt Dale and convince the freaked-out senior to help her. Will he find her body before it's too late? Or will the guy who tried to kill her with his car, beat him there and finish her off before anyone finds out?

Vote on Goodreads

Excerpt: Chapter 1

My boots make a sharp tapping sound as I clomp my way home. The loose gravel at the edge of the road jumps away from my anger, skirting ahead of me then tumbling down the steep embankment.

I can't believe I'm in this situation. How could my boyfriend be such a jerk? I cross my arms and shiver, trying to block the last thirty minutes from my mind. What will people think? I blink away tears as I imagine the gossip tree shaking with mirth. How am I going to face everyone tomorrow?

I should have just given in and done what he wanted me to. I have before.

I look up at the night sky. It is clear and cold, the stars are brilliant with no streetlights to hinder their glow. I'm guessing it's around midnight. I can't see my watch face in this dim light. I can barely see two steps in front of me.

A cool wind whistles through my clothing and I wish, yet again, that I hadn't chosen to wear a sleeveless shirt with a plunging V-neck that left nothing to the imagination. Maybe Trent was right. I had dressed for it.

I look down at my knee-high boots and skinny jeans so tight they'd have to be peeled off. I suddenly feel like a hooker. My lower lip wobbles. I can feel the melt down setting in. I struggle to hold it together.

I'm stuck in the middle of who knows where. I have no idea how long it's going to take me to walk home... I don't even know which direction home is.

Trent said it would be romantic, the best vista point he'd ever found, but it wasn't a scenic overlook. It was just a clearing of darkness where mischief could never be discovered.

Bile swirls in my stomach.

The metal dog tags clink against my sternum. I can feel them swinging back and forth in time with my march. I grab them through my clothing and squeeze. I'm tempted to take them off and hurl them into the trees beside me, but I can't. I blame them though... well not them exactly, but the person who gave them to me.

Why had I put them on? They had been hidden in my jewelry box for months. My fingers had brushed over them as I was searching for my hoop earrings and I'd been compelled to slip them over my head and stuff them beneath my shirt. If I hadn't put them on, I wouldn't have thought of him and if he hadn’t been swimming around in the back of my brain, I wouldn't be in this situation.

Dale Finnigan.

Dale Finnigan and his "you should know better look" had a lot to answer for tonight. I hitch my bag higher onto my shoulder. My march is getting faster and the need to be out of here burns. I start the long descent down the winding road, my mind playing tricks with me.

Maybe you should call, Dale.

I grimace.

You know he'd come and collect you.

"No he wouldn't," I say to the air. "He hates me."

I frown.

Scarface.

The word sends a shudder through my system and I slam the door on my brain. It can just shut up right now.

I won't be calling Dale.

I reach into my bag and fish around for my phone. I stop in my tracks to have a better look, but with no light, the endeavor is hopeless. It looks like I won't be calling anyone. I grit my teeth and keep walking, picking up my pace as I round the corner. The wind whistles through my clothing again and I shiver. I should stop and put my jacket on, but I don't want to. If I just keep walking I won't have to stop and really analyze the crap I'm in.

My brain doesn't play fair and I analyze it anyway.

It's Tuesday night. Most normal sixteen year olds would be home in their beds having done their homework, watched a little TV, and said goodnight to their parents, but not me, right? I always have to do things differently.

I can feel my mouth pinching into a tight line as the simplicity and bliss of that kind of life feels a million miles away.

I shake my head.

"What am I talking about? My life rocks." I say the last word way too loud as I continue to convince myself. "I have just been at study group."

I laugh. Why did we even call it that? We never studied. It was basically Tuesday night party time. Matt's parents were out of town, so we had blasted the music and stood down by the lake goofing around and laughing until our bellies ached.

I grin as I picture the scene in my head - friends surrounding me, Trent's arm around my shoulders making me feel safe.

I wish his arms were around me now.

I cringe.

The second part of the night had not been so great.

I wrap my arms around myself and squeeze, trying to eradicate the memories, the look of annoyance scouring his perfect features, the harsh words of disgust and the sound of gravel spray as he drove away from me.

Stupid jerk!

Who needs him?

I ignore the "you do" in the back of my mind and sniff. Lifting my head, I pick up my pace again as I enter a dark patch of road. The trees loom overhead and I try really hard not to think of ghosts and demons as my breath quickens.

The distant sound of an engine distracts me. The faint glow of headlights appear behind me and I smile. Trent feels guilty. Yes! Man, was I going to give him hell for this.

I glance behind me and disappointment sears my insides. The headlights are sitting way too low on the car to be Trent's. He drives a Jeep Cherokee, this car looks more like a sedan? Or maybe a sports car?

I toy with the idea of sticking out my thumb as it draws near. I'm sure it would be safe enough. I'd just ask for a lift to Big Bear Village then walk from there. No big deal. Maybe I could even ask for a ride to L.A.. The idea of running away skirts through my brain as I squeeze my thumb inside my fist.

It fights to break free, but I won't let it. I even start filling my mind with every hitch hiking horror story I can think of. That works like a charm and my thumb relaxes into submission.

The car is cruising down the hill towards me when a sudden fear rips up my spine. I can see it swerving out of the corner of my eye and turn to watch its erratic movements. I move to the very edge of the road, my boots pushing piles of dirt and stone off the edge of the embankment. My legs hit the guardrail. With eyes the size of dinner plates I watch the car swerve. Hasn't it seen me? Doesn't it know I'm vulnerable on the side of the road here?

I turn to make an escape, but it's too late.

The headlights illuminate my body for a second, before the car violently swerves away, but not before clipping me. Pain sears through my body and I scream as I'm thrown over the guardrail.

It's like being in a tumble drier as I roll down the hill, scratching myself on pinecones and nature's debris. My descent comes to an abrupt end as I crash into a tree trunk. A loud crack rings like a gun shot inside my head, rattling my brain. I roll away from the tree with a groan and reach for my temple then scream as pain radiates up my arm. My stomach jerks and I feel its contents shifting north. I cover my mouth, but it's pointless.

Out of breath, I try to shift away from my puke, but moving hurts too much. I lay back on the bumpy earth and look up at the sky. The stars are fuzzy and shifting wildly. I blink to bring them into focus, but that just makes it worse. I feel as though the world is falling on top of me. As the stars and treetops come crashing down I hear a young girl scream my name.

"NICKY!"

About the Author

Melissa Around the Web: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

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With love,
Margaret

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Cover Reveal: Soul Quest Trilogy by Amy Maurer Jones

2013-02-25T01:27:00.003-06:00

Title: Soul Quest Trilogy
Series: Bind-up of all 3 books
Author: Amy Maurer Jones
Genre: YA (Paranormal Romance)

Synopsis (from Book #1). Do you remember how horrified you were about the idea of attending high school? I remember ticking off those last miserable days of my summer vacation following my eighth grade year. Maybe you don’t, maybe you were one of 'those people.' You know who I’m talking about, people like Melissa Small, the distinguished District Attorney, Larry Small’s daughter, popular, gorgeous... and absolutely terrifying to someone like me, Liv Glyn. No, I am far from measuring up to the standards required to make Melissa’s crowd. I’m not even close. I’m just a simple man’s daughter, mostly tolerated by my peers with average looks. If this isn’t depressing enough for you, stay tuned, it gets worse. I was commanded with Spirit at birth by the Great Spirit, Hala. I know, it sounds crazy but it’s true. If you think it's difficult being a teenager, try being a teenager who was born destined to save the world from soul sucking Daevas and their mutant progeny Aengels. There are four of us. My companions of Spirit are Laith, Brayan and Meena. Melissa Small is Laith’s step sister and she is always meddling where she doesn’t belong, further complicating our lives. To make matters even worse, my best friend Jedd is apparently aware of things that are typically undetectable to ordinary humans. So, I have to lie to Jedd, the boy who has been my constant standby since the third grade, to shield him from the horrible and very dangerous truth. Did I mention that I think I’m falling in love with him? The term awkward doesn’t even begin to cover it, trust me. Welcome to the mess that is my life.

View on Goodreads | Amazon

About the Author

I am a 1993 graduate of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro where I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Dance Education. I have seventeen years of experience in education and currently teach Dance and Theater Arts to high school students in southeastern North Carolina. Dancing, acting and writing are all forms of communication. Each form requires exceptional creativity and passion to inspire and impress an audience. I have enjoyed a passion for reading, writing, and the arts since I was a child. As an adult I’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to share my passion for the arts with children. It only seems appropriate that delving into the world of teen fiction would be the next logical step in my life.

Amy Around the Web: Website | Blog | Goodreads | Twitter

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With love,
Margaret

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Author of the Day: Suzy Turner

2013-02-24T05:03:00.000-06:00

Suzy Turner
Although Suzy is a Yorkshire lass at heart, she left her home town of Rotherham, UK, to move to Portugal with her family when she was ten. The Algarve continues to be her home, where she lives with her childhood sweetheart husband Michael and their menagerie of cats and dogs. Suzy's career began soon after completing her A levels when she was offered the position of trainee journalist for a local English newspaper. Her love of writing developed and a few years later she moved on to become assistant editor for the region's largest English language publisher. Since then she has also worked as the editor of one of the Algarve's most loved monthly lifestyle magazines. Early in 2010 however, Suzy began working as a freelance writer and author. She has since completed three novels for teens, The Raven Saga, a trilogy.

Suzy has just launched a brand new series, The Morgan Sisters, the first of which, The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw is out now!

Suzy Around the Web: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

The Books

The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw, a Morgan Sisters novel.

Adopted sisters Lana Beth and Emma Jane are polar opposites, but when the same strange 'tattoo' suddenly appears and winds its way up their bodies within days of each other, they soon realise there's more to their relationship than they could ever have imagined.

Sent off to London for two weeks of 'work experience', the Morgan Sisters soon find themselves being initiated into the ancient Praxos Foundation, one that protects the innocent while fighting evil, both human and supernatural.

At the same time, Lana Beth and Emma Jane must also investigate why the sweet but sometimes pesky ghost of Josiah Grimshaw just won't leave them alone.

Book 1 of the Raven Saga.

Her whole life had been based on a lie. Lilly had grown up in a loveless home with a father who she had barely ever seen and a mother who was... well, not very motherly.

After they mysteriously disappear without a trace, Lilly is sent to Canada where she finds a whole new way of life. A life filled with love and people who care for her. But that's not all she discovers, Lilly also finds out that she isn't who, or what, she thinks she is.

Lilly has a very special ability and it's just a matter of time before her true self starts to shine. And when it does, her life will never be the same again.

View on Goodreads

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With love,
Margaret

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Book Excerpt and Cover Reveal: Astarte's Wrath by Trisha Wolfe

2013-02-24T04:49:00.000-06:00

Title: Astarte's Wrath
Series: Book #0.5 of Kythan Guardians
Author: Trisha Wolfe
Genre: YA (Steampunk, Paranormal & Romance)

Synopsis. A tragic love story.

Two thousand years before Dez Harkly developed her secret powers, Guardian Astarte was vowed to protect by the binds enslaving her to the Egyptian pharaohs. Discover the prophecy that originated from a very different time, and spans generations to link two very different girls.

This is the beginning.

Set against the backdrop of the Battle of Actium, in the city of Alexandria, Star struggles with her guardian duties as her feelings for the newly named pharaoh of Egypt grow deeper. Not only is Caesarian her duty, he’s the son of Cleopatra, and he’s human. All of which makes their love forbidden.

But when a conspiracy linked to Caesar creeps its way into Alexandria, Star must choose between helping her fellow Kythan free themselves of their servitude, and protecting her charge—the last pharaoh—while Egypt burns around her.

View on Goodreads

Excerpt

Habi raises his curved blade catching the firelight. “Defend Egypt!” he roars.

The Shythe break formation and run full force up the dune.

Once I reach the top, my feet stop. I’m planted in place like a wilting lotus as my eyes take in the battle below. Brown-plumed helmets merge together in a sea of amber sand. The armor of the Roman soldiers flash gold and red, the Narcos’ Flame glinting off it like violent sun flares. Spears ignite mid-throw. Smoke billows up from scorched bodies strewn across the desert.

“Move!”Habi yells near my ear.

He slaps my shoulder, his hand already ablaze with radiant blue. Charge zaps my skin, and I’m spurred into motion by the shock. My knees unlock their hold. I follow Habi down the dune, the balls of my feet digging into the loose sand.

The clash of armor hitting armor rings out.

Before I reach for my weapon, I call forth my Charge, shifting into Kythan form. My arms illume blue spreading from the tips of my fingers to my elbows. I feel my ears point, sliding through the loose wisps of my hair. My skin tingles with the shift.

A cry rips from my mouth as I lock gazes with a Roman. I bare my teeth at him, my lips curled back around my sharp canines. He’s on the cusp of the battle, and wavers hesitantly before raising his sword to meet mine. A sneer mars his olive-toned face. I raise my shield and plow into him. He’s knocked off balance, but rights himself quickly. He drives the point of his blade into my shield, and I’m thrust backward. “Just wait, slave”, he bites out, swiping his sword toward my face.

A low, shrill whistle as it cleaves the air. I know some Latin, but he says this to me in Greek as it’s the common language in Alexandria. He grunts and lunges. “Jove’s reckoning is coming.”

I block his attack with my shield, then send a bolt of Charge into his weapon. It careens with his mid-flight, a flash of white-blue crackling energy. He trembles, shocked into silence. I swipe his leg. He falls back, my sword already coming down on his head, but a blast of sand stings my eyes. I stumble and my sword stabs the ground instead. He rolls and comes up with his hands blocking the rising winds.

“Fall back!” another Roman orders.

My foe picks up his sword and follows the retreating Romans. Before I can question whether it was our forces that intimidated them, the swell coming off the red land intensifies, lifting strands of my hair. The sand attacks my skin, biting.

Hunkering low, I bring up my shield to guard against the whirlwind of sand. It pelts the metal like hail. I peek above the scooped top and see the other Kythan doing the same. Where in the heavens did a sandstorm come from this time of year?

A crack of thunder splinters the air in answer.

Beyond the haze of swirling sand, shadowed figures emerge.

Their eyes and arms are lit up blinding white. Draped in black flowing linen, their pale skin stands out, striking, like pearls rising out of the Nile.

About the Author

I’m the author of the YA Steampunk/Paranormal DESTINY'S FIRE (Omnific Publishing) and the upcoming YA Sci-Fi / Utopian FIREBLOOD from Spencer Hill Press, October 2013. My published short stories have appeared in YA literary journals, Fantasy magazines, and anthologies. I’ve written five books in the past three years, and I’m currently working on a new YA Sci-Fi / Dark Fantasy project.

I’m the creator of YA Bound, a promotional blog for the Young Adult genre. Also a proud member of YALITCHAT.ORG, SCWW, and The Apocalypsies.

And I’m also a business owner, partnered with my partner, my husband. When I’m not busy doing all of the above, I’m a wife and the mother of a gorgeous teen boy who's the sounding board for my male characters.

Trisha Around the Web: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

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With love,
Margaret

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Character Profile: Poppy by Riana Lucas

2013-02-24T04:06:00.000-06:00

Title: Poppy
Series: Book #1 of Deadly Flower Series
Author: Riana Lucas
Genre: YA (Paranormal, Fey)

Synopsis. Poppy, a young female Warrior Faery from the Unseelie Court is sent out to retrieve Halflings from the human world to help build her Kings army. A seasoned warrior, she sets out on what should be a routine exercise, but not this mission. Suddenly Poppy's world is turned upside down. She meets an odd Halfling - Reed, portals between worlds close, assassin attempts, and much much more.

View on Goodreads

My name is Poppy and I am an Unseelie Warrior Fae. My hair is silky and jet black with streaks of burgundy throughout. It reaches past my waist, which is why I braid it when I am going on a mission. It stays out of the way during a fight. My skin is pale like most Fae, but it almost glows in the sunlight. All Fae are tall and thin, but I am taller than most female Fae at 5’-11” and my body is thin, but well defined by sleek muscle. My ears, nose and chin are sharp and defined, but my unique eyes soften up the cruel look. Usually Fae have eyes that reflect their hair so one would expect mine to be black and red. They are not. They are an unnaturally beautiful, soft green. I am fierce and strong willed, more so than most of the other warriors within my Court. I have no other choice having been raised by one of the meanest and deadliest Fae that I have ever met, only to be out done by the Unseelie King himself. I am also known for my undying loyalty to my Court, but things are changing around and within me. I am meeting others that are making me see and feel things I have never felt before. They are helping me to realize that things are not what they seem and that there just may be a different side of myself that I never knew.

About the Author

Duo/BFF Indie Authors. We both live in Florida where we spend our time reading, writing, and enjoying our families. Opening ourselves up to the world of Indie authors, self-publishing, and everything else that comes with it has been so much fun. We are so excited about what else is in store!! We are currently working on the 4th and final book in The Deadly Flowers Series along with some other new ideas.

Riana Around the Web: Website | Goodreads | Twitter

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With love,
Margaret

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Guest Post: Community First by Bryna Butler

2013-02-24T03:33:00.000-06:00

In my small town in southern Ohio, there has been a new movement swelling with great momentum. It’s called Community First. The idea is to think of your local community first when making purchasing decisions.

After all, whether we like it or not, we are all connected. When you buy from the local dress boutique, that owner and her employees then have money to spend at the local grocer, who then has money to donate to the local school team, who uses it to buy equipment at the local sporting goods store. Not only the businesses and school benefit, but the employees, students, and their families and friends. When that money goes out of the community at any point in the purchase line, it is extremely unlikely that the money will come back.

As I think of Community First, I wonder if the model holds true for indie authors as well. When we support indie authors aren’t we also benefiting ourselves? By buying indie, we’re saying that we want work that is artistic and creative, not mainstream. We’re saying that we don’t want to pay $10.99 or more for an ebook.

So, here is what I propose. Before you pick up the next mainstream bestselling novel pushed by one of the major houses, think about how many indies you could support with those same dollars. If you decide to support indie, drop the author a line (you won’t be able to do that with the big-timers) and let them know how much you enjoyed their work, or better yet, give them a positive review at a major online bookstore. Mention the idea of Indie First and ask them to join you.

About the Author

Butler is an indie author, TV fanatic, book (kindle) lover, housecleaning procrastinator, newbie blogger, cinema buff, browncoat, blessed mom and wife, district 12 resident, new gadget admirer, sucker for vampires, Saturday morning cartoon watcher, wannabe tractor driver, closet twi-mom, and the unofficial Queen of Corn (corny jokes, that is). She can also recite nearly every line from Back to the Future. “Great Scott!”

Bryna Around the Web: Website | Goodreads | Twitter

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With love,
Margaret

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