Friday, June 20, 2014

The Fox's Mask by Anna Frost - Virtual Tour and Giveaway

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/03/virtual-book-blast-tour-foxs-mask-by.html

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. This book is on sale for only $0.99 for a limited time. Anna will award a $30 gift card (Amazon OR B&N OR Kobo) to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour using the rafflecopter below. You can click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Demon hunter Akakiba keeps many secrets from his human companion. The fact he's a werefox isn't the worst one.

In feudal Japan, magic is dying. As a demon hunter, Akakiba finds this problematic. The evil he's been trained to destroy is disappearing and, along with it, the shape-shifting abilities of the clan he left behind. With his only companion, a determined young human named Yuki, Akakiba traverses the country slaying demons and performing odd jobs.

But when an army of demon-possessed humans masses to exterminate his clan, Akakiba must put aside old feuds and protect his family–-all while hiding an important secret from Yuki. Will they find a way to defeat the demon possessed before it's too late? With magic dwindling, will it matter either way?  

Enjoy an excerpt:   Rumor said that shinobi carried out their work in the dead of night, wearing black to disappear in the shadows, entering castles unseen and committing murder unheard.

Rumor, Sanae found out, was wrong.

When she noticed the intruder, it was merely late evening and the colors of sunset hadn’t yet drained from the sky. A gentle wind was tugging strands of hair out of the red ribbon at the nape of her neck, and the air was thick with the scent of spring and renewed life. It was a sudden noise, a thud that did not belong, that first alerted her.

She knelt outside the clan head’s suite on the porch that opened on the gardens. She wasn’t wearing practical clothing like a real guard, but rather a bright-blue furisode with ample sleeves and a beautiful flower pattern. She wore no sword, but a knife was camouflaged in the colorful sash about her waist. Her function was to raise the alarm in case of danger. Fighting was for the adults, those who had undergone the coming-of-age ceremony and thus earned the right to bear a sword. She would soon be one of them, but not yet.

Sanae watched from the corner of her eyes as the intruder became visible among the flowering plum trees. The sound that had alerted her must have been his landing after he’d jumped the wall, an impressive feat indeed. Twice as impressive considering this wall was the second of the clan house, created specifically to protect the clan head and his entourage. The first wall was taller and better guarded. How had this intruder gained access?

Attacks on the Fox clan were so rare that it was considered an honor to witness one. For one to happen while she was standing guard for the first time was amazing luck, and her excitement was far stronger than her fear.

The intruder was dressed in a plain manner that would not attract attention in the clan house, but he could not disguise that which betrayed him: his human aura. The only humans who lived in the clan house were women who did not bear swords. None but a shinobi, an assassin, would be so bold as to try this.

Under normal circumstances, Sanae’s duty would have been to raise the alarm and watch as the intruder fled, discovered too soon to act. But there was no need to let the shinobi know he had been discovered; there was a fox in the garden.

Sanae stared at the fox until she had its attention, then deliberately flicked her gaze toward the intruder. The fox slunk away to enter through a door out of the shinobi’s sight. She forced herself to remain calm, to pretend she hadn’t noticed a thing. After all, she was but a young girl watching the flowers in bloom.

Her heartbeat quickened as the intruder approached, discreetly sizing her up. Would he attack, or would he seek another entrance to the rooms she guarded? There was no doubt he was after the clan head: assassins always were.


About the Author

Anna Frost is a Canadian girl who spends winters writing and dreaming of summer. An overdose of Japanese culture and media has led her to write fantasy inspired by Japanese mythology. In a shocking break with literary tradition, Anna does not live with cats. Instead she lives with chinchillas, which can be just as demanding and evil as cats.

Author links:
www.annafrost.ca
https://twitter.com/Frostanity
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6452110.Anna_Frost

Buy links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Foxs-Mask-ebook/dp/B009SZNN5W
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/247839
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-foxs-mask-anna-frost/1113580803
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/ebook/the-fox-s-mask-1

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Angela Myron - Book Trailer

Today we would like to introduce Angela Myron, who has written Ennara and the Fallen Druid. We would like to show off her new book trailer for the sequel to Ennara and the Fallen Druid - Ennara and the Books of Shadows.
Angela Myron | angelamyron.com
2013 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards Silver Medal Winner

Ennara and the Book of Shadows Trailer

Thursday, June 19, 2014

The Possession by J. D. Spikes - Book Spotlight and giveaway!



This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding winner's choice of two ebooks from Lachesis Publishing (http://lachesispublishing.com/) to a randomly drawn winner via the rafflecopter at the end of this post.

Daphne Wentworth is almost seventeen, definitely a red head, and most likely the tallest girl in her class, which is awkward to say the least when it comes to dating boys in her school. But she doesn’t have to worry about school for the next two months since she’s spending the summer at her aunt Dwill’s lighthouse in Maine.

What she does have to worry about is seeing ghosts in the lighthouse cemetery, having strange dreams, and hearing the voices of star-crossed lovers who lived two-hundred years ago. And then there’s a local boy named Zach Philbrook who works for her aunt. He’s too gorgeous for his own good. He’s also very tall, with midnight black hair, and the most beautiful indigo blue eyes Daphne has ever seen.

Zach is treated like an outcast by the local teens in town. He’s Micmac and therefore not “one of the gang”. Daphne can’t help being drawn to his strength, especially considering that he’s had to live his entire life dealing with ignorance. But the local teens aren’t the only trouble-makers in town. As Zach and Daphne get closer, the lighthouse ghost lovers begin haunting them. When Daphne and Zach try to figure out how to fight them, the spirits get bolder and more dangerous. So how do you protect yourself from something that isn’t really there?


Enjoy an excerpt:

It wasn’t the first time a good idea had come back to bite me in the ass, but I was afraid it might be the last.

The plan had seemed harmless enough. I never intended things to get so out of hand, and I certainly hadn’t expected Zach to get involved. No, wait. If I’m going to tell this tale, write it down so it’s never forgotten, I must tell the truth—the whole truth.

I should start at the beginning . . .

I had always resisted being a redhead.

“My hair is brown,” I’d declare, “with red highlights.”

When you were one of six heads that spilled out onto the sidewalk every morning though, the sun unmercifully spotlighting the fact that you varied in shades from the red section of the crayon box, you eventually had to let that notion go. When I was twelve—we were only four heads bobbing off to Catholic school at the top of the hill by then—Mom tried to soothe me by pointing out my hair was auburn.

Auburn. I’d liked the sound of that. It wasn’t red, it was auburn.

Auburn sounded regal and refined.

So did Daphne Wentworth. That’s my name, but I can tell you truthfully I’m neither regal nor refined. I favor t-shirts and jeans and my battered sneakers. I usually have a basketball in my hands. Or a softball bat. I’m tall, always have been. Do you know what it’s like to go through school like a giraffe above the crowd? Above the boys?

But I digress.

My point is, I’m not at all what you’d expect from my name. And what happened to us last summer, what waited at the lighthouse, in that small copse of trees, well . . . you’d never expect that, either.

Not in two hundred years.


Jeanine Duval Spikes is a spinner of romantic tales with a touch of the supernatural. Lifelong research and experience with the paranormal infuse her stories with ethereal spirit, while her belief that love conquers all suffuses them with heart.

She is a paranormal investigator with a small local group, aspiring to help those in need by advancing this exploratory field both spiritually and scientifically. When not writing, you can find her cooking, gardening, horseback riding, or forever getting lost in secondhand shops. The mother of two grown sons, she lives in Rhode Island, the Ocean State, with her very own hero-husband Tim, and two crazy cats. She is the proud recipient of the Jo Ann Ferguson Service Award for selfless assistance and dedication to fellow writers and the craft.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeanine.duvalspikes?fref=ts

Website: http://jeanineduvalspikes.wix.com/jeanineduvalspikes

Buy Link:  http://lachesispublishing.com/?product=the-possession-by-j-d-spikes

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, June 13, 2014

Book Blast: School of Deaths by Christopher Mannino


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will give a $20 Amazon gift card to two randomly drawn commenters. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

A timid girl finds bravery as the first female Death.

Thirteen-year-old Suzie Sarnio always believed the Grim Reaper was a fairy tale image of a skeleton with a scythe. Now, forced to enter the College of Deaths, she finds herself training to bring souls from the Living World to the Hereafter. The task is demanding enough, but as the only female in the all-male College, she quickly becomes a target. Attacked by both classmates and strangers, Suzie is alone in a world where even her teachers want her to fail.

Caught in the middle of a plot to overthrow the World of Deaths, Suzie must uncover the reason she’s been brought there: the first female Death in a million years.

Enjoy an excerpt:

She tried to turn, but the scythe pulled her onward. She coursed through stars and space, beyond time and emotion. Lighter than a daydream, she slipped through a crevice: the gap between light and shadow. The blade twisted, finding its way.

A face appeared before her: an elderly man she didn’t recognize. Somehow, she sensed a name: Elias Stoneridge.

She landed hard, stumbling as her feet hit a tiled floor. Beads of white light trickled off the blade.

For a moment, she couldn’t tell where she was. She heard beeps and the slow intake of air.

Frank patted her on the shoulder. “You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Remember, don’t let anyone else see us,” said Frank, looking around the hospital room.

Certified Deaths received special robes to help avoid mortal eyes. Ironically, the Deaths who’d inspired tales of the Grim Reaper throughout the ages had been students like her. Students and ones who didn’t make it back. She shuddered, remembering her skeletal appearance. It seemed long ago.

A man lay in a bed, connected to an array of tubes and machines. Suzie walked to the foot of his bed and read the name on his chart. “Elias Stoneridge.” The scythe quivered in her hand. The handle pulsed like a beating heart, or was that only her own heartbeat? No, the blade felt the soul, it was hungry.

“It’s his time,” said Frank, patting her on the shoulder. “Quickly, before someone comes.”

About the Author:
Christopher Mannino’s life is best described as an unending creative outlet. He teaches high school theatre in Greenbelt, Maryland. In addition to his daily drama classes, he runs several after-school performance/production drama groups. He spends his summers writing and singing. Mannino holds a Master of Arts in Theatre Education from Catholic University, and has studied mythology and literature both in America and at Oxford University. His work with young people helped inspire him to write young adult fantasy, although it was his love of reading that truly brought his writing to life.

Mannino is currently working on a sequel to “School of Deaths” as well as an adult science fiction novel.

Find Mannino online at:

Website: http://www.ChristopherMannino.com
Blog: http://poetsfire.blogspot.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8108129.Christopher_Mannino
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ctmannino
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CTMannino
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXSSZN6L128

Buy the book at MuseIt Publishing, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Smashwords. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Escaping the Mirror by Emily P. DeLoach - Book Review and Giveaway


This review is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Emily will be awarding a $20 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

When her mom abandoned the family, Evelyn Crayley was left with an alcoholic father, a drug-dealing older brother and the nickname "Evil." Starting fights at school and getting high do little to ebb the rage welling inside. Her brother, Jim, does his best to protect her from their violent father, but Evil still feels helpless, doomed to live the same kind of white trash life she and her family have always known.

That summer everything changes: her father's abuse spurs Evil to run away from home, and her budding romance with Jim's best friend, Dopey, damages her relationship with the brother she depended on. When she is forced to return home again, will Evil's secrets destroy her? Or will she finally learn that the girl in the mirror can take control of her future?

My Review:

This is not your typical "feel good" YA book. It's hard, it's gritty, and unfortunately I feel it may be true to life.

The book starts out with a prologue that sets the background for the book. Then, the main part of the story is told in alternating points of view (1st person but there's never a question who is talking) from Jim, Evil, and Dopey. It takes place over a few short weeks early summer when their three lives are changed forever and secrets hidden are revealed.

The characters are well-drawn and real. The reader feels the pain Evil lives and rejoices when she finds the strength within her to fight back. The frustration that Jim feels is also evident as he tries to protect her in the best way he knows how. Unfortunately, because of the only role model he has, that way might not be the best. And, my favorite character is Dopey-- he's a deeply caring young man who only wants the best for Evil and it's his love that helps her climb out and escape the mirror.

Be prepared for cursing, drug use, abuse and a pretty dysfunctional home. I know it made me appreciate my own. 4 stars.

Read an excerpt:

We turn onto our street, roll to a stop outside the house. It looks so small and dark and lonely, and I don’t want to go inside. I want to run away. But before I can even think about jumping out of the car, Dad grabs my wrist, slams the car into park with his left hand, opens the door, and yanks me across the seat. I grab onto the door handle, panicking.

“Get out of the car!” Dad yanks me harder. Then, when he sees that ain’t going to work, he grabs me with his left hand and uses his right to punch the side of my head.

“Get your ass out of this car!” He punches me again, then lets out this hellacious roar and jumps back in. He starts beating the shit out of me; gets my eyes, the back of my head, my chest, my arms. There’s sweat and blood and grunts and I feel like I’m an animal; I’m on my hands and knees on the ground, snorting. The air’s kicked right out of me and I’m curled in on myself, shrinking, trying to get some air in my lungs. It’s like those dreams where you open your mouth to scream but nothing comes out—only in reverse. I can’t get nothing in. I’m being kicked, then grabbed, then dragged, but all of that’s far away. The only thing I can think about is air.

Dad leans in close; his face is red and he’s hollering at me to get up. Then everything fades away.


About the Author:
Emily P. DeLoach was born and raised in southern Virginia. After graduating from Ferrum College with a Bachelor's degree in psychology (with a minor in English), she went on to work in a variety of jobs, from boardwalk train driver in Ocean City, Maryland, to a missionary in the Russian Far East, before becoming a teacher on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. She is currently a stay-at-home mother living in Hampton Roads.

Emily has been writing for most of her life, and has had the characters from her first novel, Escaping the Mirror, stuck in her head since she was fifteen. She loves character-driven stories and writes to give her own characters a voice.

She is currently working on her second novel.

Visit her on Facebook and buy the book at Amazon.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Uncharted Storms by Jackie Anton - Super Book Blast and Giveaway

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/04/virtual-super-book-blast-tour-uncharted.html


This stop is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jackie will be awarding a paperback edition of “Wind River Refuge” penned as J.M. Anton (US only) to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. If the winner is international, the author will send a digital copy of Fateful Waters. Click the banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Weather is our constant companion, and when it behaves like a benevolent parent we pay little attention to it. Angry or out of control it becomes terrifying and can change the landscape as well as lives. So I asked my characters to take a ride on the wild side of weather. “Uncharted Storms” takes readers on a journey from a gentle summer rain to raging storms in the cosmos.

What if you were caught up in Uncharted Storms?

What if? Erica’s world didn’t come to an end in 2012 while she was in middle school? She manages to make it through college before an apocalyptic event changes her life forever. The science fiction story Terra Beyond 2012 shares Erica’s voyage.

What if? You and your best friend were traveling down the highway on the way home from an extended trip when you are caught in a blinding thunderstorm, and then are hit by lightning? To make matters worse you are injured, and wake in a strange world. Find out what happens to Chris in the tale Riding Lightning.

What if? You were on your way to meet a friend for dinner and caught in a flash flood? That is exactly what happens to Alexandra in the story Flashflood Texas Style.

What if? A boy you haven’t seen in two decades winds up sitting on your front porch? Find out what Casey comes up with on A Rainy Night.

What if? You were caught out in a winter storm on icy, drifted, walks and streets when a skidding car comes directly at you? Find out what happened to eighteen-year-old Annie when she is hit from behind in the short story A Tumble in the Snow.


About the Author:
 
Jackie Anton is the mother of two grown children, and grandmother of two. She and her husband, of forty-three years, continue to ride daily. They live on a mini-farm in rural Ohio, and share their little slice of horse heaven with two Quarter Horses, a Haflinger, a rescued dog, and a calico barn cat.

Jackie is an accomplished equestrian, with a life time of experience: as trainer, exhibitor, 4-H and youth club coach, as well as a horse show judge; the author brings many years of experience working with horses and young riders to her award winning Backyard Horse Tales Series.

Uncharted Storms: Short stories are aimed at the Young Adult and older reader. Look for more short tales in the future.

Backyard Horse Tales: Sox 2nd Edition Brings to light the mutual love between a handicapped colt and a lonely child with a learning disability. Find out how this pair team up to triumph over life’s roadblocks, and why their story won the prestigious Mom’s Choice Award of Excellence for Family Friendly Media. (Reading level age 8 thru Adult)

BYHT 2 “Frosty and the Nightstalker” was one of four finalists in the E-Book Fiction category for the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, then the paperback went on to earn the Mom’s Choice Award for Juvenile Historical Fiction.

Jackie is hard at work on BYHT 3 Don’t Call Me Love. You can catch a peek at her beautiful cover on the Backyard Horse Tales Face Book Fan Page: : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Backyard-Horse-Tales/ 190283981002767
Author Website: http://talesbyjackie.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ jackie.anton2
FB Adult Novel Fan Page: page: http:// www.facebook.com/authorjmanton?ref=hl
Email: talesbyjackie@gmail.com
Online Autographed Book Covers: http://www.authorgraph.com/authors/backyardhorse
Blog: Writing for readers in a .com world http://jackieanton.com/</ a>

Buy Uncharted Storms: Short Stories of Hearts at Risk at
Smashwords, Amazon, or Barnes and Noble. Autographed Paperback Copies are available at Jackie’s Author’s Den. U.S. Readers click on the cover of your choice and follow the Signed Book link to order.

J. M. Anton (adult novels) can be purchased at Amazon.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

The Overending by Rick Johnson - Review and Giveaway

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/04/virtual-nbtm-book-review-tour.html


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.
Rick will be awarding a $50 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
You can click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.


The Overending is nonstop, fast-paced, mind-bending fantasy. Fantastic and quirky, exhilarating and addicting, this entertaining adventure takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

Ridiculous, but deadly serious. Hits you hard in the funnies, while turning your mind inside out.

The Overending continues the unfolding epic saga of the Wood Cow Chronicles—a fantastical, magical, completely unexpected world that swallows both kids and adults whole!


MY Review:
This is the second book in the series about Helga and her friends as they fight against the tyranny that has taken over their land. While it can be read as a standalone, I think I would have enjoyed it more had I read the first book in the series. I'm planning on getting it before reading the NEXT book in the Wood Cow Chronicles.

The book is very character driven-- it was easy for me to forget that they were animals. I was caught up in their struggles and rejoiced in their successes. I definitely want to read the next episode in their adventure.

Good job, Mr. Johnson. 4 stars.
Enjoy an Excerpt:

Seeing that she had won the first round in this contest of wills, Bem leaned back, pulling away from the face-to-face staring match. “To catch Yii Strikers, you’ve got to sleep in the open in their territory. Lie very still and let them slither up across your body. Don’t move, or you’ll spook them—and that’s the end of you. They like the warmth of a body and they especially like the warmest part of your body, the head. Wait long enough, and be still enough, and they will coil up right on your face and go to sleep. This is the most important part. You’ve got to leave your mouth open wide and breath through your mouth. The Yii Striker likes that warm, moist air. The ol’ snake will just curl up around your open mouth and let its head hang down right into your mouth. You wait until you’re sure as sure can be that the snake’s asleep, and then you slam your jaws shut on the snake’s head. He can’t bite you. You just let him flail his body around until he wears himself out, then you take a knife and cut the body away from the head. Then, you can spit out the head. And that’s how you capture a Yii Striker.”

About the Author
I am a native of the Great Plains, having grown up on a farm in the Platte River Valley of western Nebraska. I love the wild beauty of the Plains and nearby Rocky Mountains--the too hot, too cold, too empty, too full of life extremes. Typically, the awesomely diverse and the awesomely stark are much the same, even as they are different. Although I have lived in Michigan, North Carolina, and British Columbia, the western plains, mountains, and desert are in my heart.

As my day job, for over thirty years I have been a faculty member and administrator in higher education. Teaching broadly in the liberal arts, including creative writing, in addition to my novels, my professional publications include educational materials, poems, and 28 stories for young readers. I am a member of SCBWI.

As an author, I'm drawn to eccentric, unexpected characters: those who surprise because they hear a distant galaxy, see a different music, create their own fragrance rather than get hooked on a soundtrack; the child who has her own ideas about how the emperor is dressed; the lunatics and rebels who tell stories on the boundaries. I tell unusual stories that take readers to worlds they never imagined—definitely a whole new ride.

Links:

http://www.woodcowbooks.com/
http://www.rick-johnson.com/
https://twitter.com/WoodCowBooks
https://www.facebook.com/WoodCowBooks
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1497328683