Friday 31 March 2017

Visible Through Darkness by Auden Johnson #Fantasy #Romance

Auden Johnson will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

If your book were made into a movie, who would you want to play your main characters? That is a great question. I have no idea who’d make a good Jade. When I imagine my book being made into a movie, I always picture it being an anime.

How do you come up with the titles of your books?
I think about a major theme or location in the story and use that as the title. In Visible Through Darkness, Jade is just existing in life. She doesn’t have any friends or family. Then one day, she gets pulled into this sort of in-between world made of darkness. She saves Serin and her life changes after that. It’s not all positive but it’s much better than where she came from. Jade is really seen for the first time in years.

What does your writing space look like? I used to write on the small couch with my laptop either on my lap or a table. But I started having back pains. Now, my writing space is a desk. On my wall, I put up story notes for easy access. I also have map. These notes are for my novel length stories in The Merging Worlds series. My phone and tablet are always nearby so I can keep up with social media. I have quotes on my wall for those tough days.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing? I love photography. I can take a lot of photos just by walking around my neighborhood. I’m also bad at organizing these photos. Now, I have a couple thousand images on my computer and they’re eating my hard drive space. My computer is crying, “I need more space.” When I’m not writing, I’m deleting bad photos so my computer can stop acting up.

What is your favourite color? I love purple. I had purple in my hair at one point. My hair is blue now, another favorite color. I’ve been going back and forth about returning to purple. I love both colors.

What is your favourite season? I love, love spring. The weather isn’t too hot or too cold. In my neighborhood, flowers are blooming. It smells amazing. We have beautiful white and pink cherry blossom trees. I love taking love walks around my neighborhood with my camera. At my park, all the cool animals start to come out.

What is your favourite television show? I mostly binge watch YouTube videos like Markiplier’s game playthroughs and Screen Junkies’ Honest Trailers. I also enjoy documentaries about old British houses. They’re so inspiring. I’m current watching Escape to the Country on Netflix. Since I’m a huge anime fan, I watch Days when I’m not binging YouTube videos.

What is your favourite song? Because of the Nintendo Switch commercial, I now plan Imagine Dragons’ Believer…a lot. I already liked Imagine Dragons. Now, I like them even more.

What is your favourite comfort clothing attire? Converse. I generally don’t spend a lot of money of clothes but I won’t think twice about dropping $80 for a pair of converse. They aren’t the plain ones either. My shoes will have some awesome art on the sides. A while ago, I went to the converse store and got a custom design put on my shoes. I love those shoes! 

Describe yourself in three words. Artistic, persistent, nerdy.

BLURB
Jade Greer is an outcast. Her only light is memories of her dead family. An unusual call leads her to Serin, a prisoner trapped in darkness for twenty years. Saving him leads Jade to a world for people with powers. A world her parents were once a part of. Jura, the once vibrant world, is dying. The magic is leaving the land. Jade and Serin have no homes to go back to, but they move forward with hope because they're no longer alone.

EXCERPT
Jade lunged at him. He fell backwards. She straddled his chest and beat her fist and her frustrations into his face. No one would care what she did to him. He made her relive everything this world represented and everything she couldn’t have. Her fists burned. No one would care. People were supposed to care. He wore a wedding ring. He had a wife and maybe children. This world didn’t raise people to honor such commitments. 

What Mom and Dad had was beautiful. She once wished for something like that. People like him turned that dream to ash. 

She punched and punched. He stopped moving. Why was she born into such an ugly world? Why couldn’t she be selfish like everyone else?

His face caved under her blows. Finally, something bent to her will. Her fist drilled though his skull. Jade’s blood sang. His head became bloody ground beef flecked with small hard pieces. She punched concrete. She needed to stop. Her body wouldn’t listen. Sharp pain slid up her arms. Stop. Gore splashed into her face. Stop. Her body froze.

AUTHOR Bio and Links
An artist at heart, Auden loves photography, graphic design and writing beautifully dark and diverse stories. As a kid, she created her own books by folding several construction papers in half and stapling them down the middle, adding her own illustrations. She holds a B.A. in English, a M.S. in Library and Information Science, a M.S. in Publishing. She’s an Author/Social Media Marketing Consultant for Aubey LLC, a small press publisher and offers writing, design and marketing advice on her blog. She currently lives in Brooklyn, NY starting her own business as a photographer, designer and author. Find info on her dark fantasy stories on aubeyllc.com. Book 3 of The Merging Worlds series, The Lost Sciell, is coming soon.



Deep Blue by Kathleen Duhamel #Contemporary #Romance

 
Kathleen Duhamel will be awarding a $30 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
 
BLURB
“Barely-not-starving” Denver artist and cancer survivor Claire Martin has almost given up finding an older man with a youthful spirit when she meets charismatic New York soul singer Robert Silver of the legendary band Deep Blue. She soon learns that hero worship can be dangerous, especially when the object of her desire comes with a disturbing past.

Robert is smart and sexy with a self-deprecating sense of humor, but he’s also a man who has suffered from panic attacks, drug abuse, a well-publicized stint in rehab and the death of his wife, screenwriter Elaine Jordan. When his demons resurface on tour, jeopardizing his voice and the band’s future, Claire must decide if she’s willing to take the biggest risk of her life—betting her future on a troubled man.


EXCERPT
This tour is for the audio book release of the book. Audio file excerpt:   https://soundcloud.com/apparatuspress/deep-blue

AUTHOR Bio and Links
Kathleen Duhamel is the author of Deep Blue and Deeper. She wrote and illustrated her first short story at the age of eight, and has been a writer for most of her life.. Her love of the written word continued throughout her varied career as a newspaper journalist and editor, public relations executive, freelance travel writer and owner/operator of two small businesses. A native of Texas, she spent most of her adult life in Colorado before relocating to Virginia in 2014, where she lives with her husband, a standard poodle and geriatric cat. She is a lifelong devotee of rock and soul music, contemporary art and pop culture.


Monday 27 March 2017

It Started With a Kiss by Ella Quinn #Historical #Romance

 
Ella will be awarding an Autographed ARC of IT STARTED WITH A KISS (US Only) to 5 randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour.
BLURB
What is a young Worthington woman to do when the man of her dreams is not who she thinks he is?

This season, all eyes are on the Earl of Worthington’s spirited, beautiful sister, Lady Louisa Vivers. Many gentlemen are vying for her attention in and around the ton. Yet, Louisa longs for someone who can take her beyond the ballroom—a man who is worldly, adventurous, and passionate. She won’t settle for just any suitor. She wants her true soul mate—and she’ll know him when she sees him.

Is Gideon, the Duke of Rothwell, him? The moment he and Louisa meet, they share a powerful attraction. Rides at sunrise and waltzes at dusk follow. Finally, Gideon can no longer resist the urge to embrace her, and Louisa is sure he will ask for her hand. But Gideon believes he is in no position to marry. The Rothwell estate has gone bankrupt, a scandal simmers in its wake, and he has nothing left to offer. Now, he must decide if he will let pride stand in the way of true love—or if he will risk everything, and let the lady decide for herself…

EXCERPT
Early morning, Hyde Park, May 1815

Dawn had broken only a few minutes before, but a light fog clouded the air making the sun look like a small yellow ball. Gideon, Duke of Rothwell, was certain he was the only rider at this hour of the morning. Needing the calm a hard ride gave him, he thundered down the empty carriage way. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a dark bay burst through the mist, disturbing his solitude. Yet it was the massive dog, almost the size of a pony, keeping pace with the horse that caught his notice.

What the devil?

Faisu, his black Murgese stallion, pranced nervously as Gideon brought him to a halt. “Easy, boy. We don’t need that beast tangling with you. He could sever your hamstrings in an instant.”

A moment later, a twist of long, dark hair pulled loose from under the rider’s hat, riveting his attention on the woman. By the time she was even with him, he’d taken in the neat figure encased in a dark blue riding habit, and her excellent seat.

She glanced over, slowing her horse for a bare moment as she passed him. Her cheeks were pink from the cool air and a smile graced her lush rose lips. Their gazes collided and held. As if they were the only two people on earth. In that second, Gideon felt as if he would tumble into the vivid blue of the rider’s eyes that reminded him of lapis.

She cannot be real.

He blinked and she was gone. He might have dreamed her except that a few seconds later, a groom raced by, clearly attempting to catch up with his mistress.

For a moment he was tempted to follow as well, but it wouldn’t do him any good. She was obviously a lady, and even if he could obtain an introduction, and their relations proceeded satisfactorily, he was not yet in a position to wed.

It was pure fantasy to think of marriage in conjunction with a woman he’d seen in passing. Still, he would have liked to have been able to dream.

Blast Father! If he were still alive, I’d shake some sense back into him.

But the old duke had been in the ground for over three months when Gideon had returned from Canada. Now all he could do was pick up the pieces his father had left behind.

AUTHOR Bio and Links
Bestselling author Ella Quinn’s studies and other jobs have always been on the serious side. Reading historical romances, especially Regencies, were her escape. Eventually her love of historical novels led her to start writing them. She has just finished her first series, The Marriage Game, and her new series, The Worthingtons, began in April 2016.

She is married to her wonderful husband of over thirty years. They have a son and two beautiful granddaughters, and a dog. After living in the South Pacific, Central America, North Africa, England and Europe, she and her husband decided to make their dreams come true and are now living on a sailboat cruising the Caribbean and North America. Europe is next!
    




Friday 24 March 2017

WILDE THING by Jannine Gallant #Contemporary #Romance

Jannine Gallant will be giving away a digital copy of Wilde Thing.

BLURB
The Wilde brothers are addicted to the rush of adventure. But one of them is about to learn no matter how often you look for danger, you don’t want danger finding you.

For extreme skier Tripp Wilde, pushing the limits is what he lives for. Unfortunately, the inherent risk takes a toll on his body. After an injury sidelines him, he ends up in the care of his little sister’s best friend, physical therapist Hannah Ryder—who has grown up in all the right ways since they last met.

Hannah doesn’t mix business with pleasure, even though she harbored a maddening crush on the irresistible Tripp years before. So, while Tripp tries every slick maneuver he knows to bed her, Hannah uses her own moves to keep the hotshot skier cooled off while trying to control her own growing desire for him.

After the pair witness what they think may be a murder on the slopes, along with the men responsible, no one believes their story. But when a series of unlikely accidents suggests they are being targeted, the two will have to trust in each other like never before if they are going to survive.

EXCERPT
When the door to his hospital room opened, Tripp didn’t bother to glance up from the text he was trying to send one-handed. He fumbled the phone and swore then tossed it down on the bed. “Damn it. This sucks. I feel like a freaking invalid.”
           
“Problem?”
           
His chin came up as his gaze shot toward the doorway. Not Jake, who’d left to get something to eat and promised to come back later to drive him home. Hannah Ryder. His little sister’s old college roommate. Once in a while, when he was actually home and not to the far corners of the world, he caught sight of Hannah around town, but they’d never been anything but casual acquaintances at best. From the way her golden eyes narrowed on him, Tripp got the feeling she could take him or leave him…and would prefer the latter.
           
“I guess I wasn’t imagining you were on the hill this morning when they hauled me out of the avalanche.”
           
“No, you weren’t.” She advanced into the room and stopped a yard short of his bed. Hands tucked into the pockets of her down jacket, she regarded him steadily. “How’re you feeling?”
           
Strong was the word that sprang to mind as he studied Hannah. Those golden eyes reflected intelligence in their depths along with a mental toughness. Model tall but without scrawny angles, this woman looked capable of taking down any man stupid enough to mess with her without permission. Not that he’d ever try.
           
Tripp let out a breath. “Uh, I’m feeling okay. A little loopy from the pain meds. I imagine my shoulder will hurt like hell when they wear off.”
           
“Probably, but they’ll give you more drugs to manage any discomfort. I ran into a friend on the nursing staff out in the hall and got the basic facts. No fractures. That’s great.”
           
He scowled. “The dislocated shoulder is bad enough.”
           
“And only a mild concussion. You were extremely lucky. You could easily have been killed.”
           
He rolled his eyes. “Aren’t you Miss Glass Half-full. Lucky would have been not getting caught in the avalanche. Really lucky would have been finishing my run before the cornice broke free.”
           
Her golden cat eyes darkened to the color of her tawny-brown hair as she tucked a stray lock behind one ear. “I’ll report back to Eden that you’re not going to drop dead anytime soon…unless one of the nurses gets fed up with your bad mood and kills you.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links
Write what you know. Jannine Gallant has taken this advice to heart, creating characters from small towns and plots that unfold in the great outdoors. She grew up in a tiny Northern California town and currently lives in beautiful Lake Tahoe with her husband and two daughters. When she isn’t busy writing or being a full time mom, Jannine hikes or snowshoes in the woods around her home. Whether she’s writing contemporary, historical or romantic suspense, Jannine brings the beauty of nature to her stories.