Book Blitz: Dead Girl Walking - Ruth Silver (+GIVEAWAY)

DEAD GIRL WALKING by Ruth Silver

a Young Adult Paranormal Adventure

published by Patchwork Press

http://royalreaper.com

Forget everything you know about grim reapers.

Princess Ophelia Dacre sneaks out of the castle to visit her boyfriend in secret. A perfect night cut short when she’s brutally murdered.

Ophelia is given the rare chance to become a grim reaper. She must become Leila Bele, cut ties with her old life, and follow the rules of the reapers. Her greatest adventure begins with death.

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Excerpt

“Forget everything you know about grim reapers, Ophelia. Humans have it wrong. It’s easier to believe in angels and demons, than to see what’s right in front of you. Who wants to believe the undead walk among us with beating hearts? It would frighten humans. It would probably send many to their graves faster,” Edon said.

About the Author: Ruth Silver is the best-selling author of ABERRANT, a young adult dystopian adventure series published by Patchwork Press and Lazy Day Publishing. Silver attended Northern Illinois University and graduated with a Bachelor's in Communication in the spring of 2005. While in college, she spent much of her free time writing with friends she met online and penning her first novel, Deuces are Wild, which she self-published in 2004. Her love of writing led her on an adventure in 2007 to Melbourne, Australia. Silver enjoys reading, photography, traveling and most of all writing. She loves dystopian, paranormal, and fantasy young adult stories. Ruth has been actively writing since she was a teenager. She currently resides in Plainfield, Illinois.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon Author Page | Goodreads


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- $10 Amazon GC;
- 2 Necklaces featured in Dead Girl Walking;
- 5 Dead Girl Walking Charms;

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Book Blitz: Vigilante Nights - Erin Richards (Excerpt and GIVEAWAY)

Vigilante Nights  by Erin Richards 
Publication date: July 18th 2013
Genre: YA contemporary w/light supernatural element

Synopsis

A "good boy" will do anything for vengeance when a gang rite kills his twin sister. Will Lucas win, or follow his sister Silver into the darkness?

After a hideous car wreck, Lucas wakes from a coma to find that his world is gutted. Not only is his beloved twin sister, Silver, gone forever, but Lucas is broken in body and spirit. He will never be a college athlete, and is robbed of what he now realizes was the most important bond of his life. Although they weren't identical twins, Lucas and Silver shared a bond so fierce it defied reason, and was nearly supernatural.

After her death, that bond seems to endure when Lucas sees Silver everywhere he turns. Either he's crazy, or Silver is trying to tell him something about the California gang initiation they stumbled into that cost Silver her life. Lucas is bent on revenge, turning on Raymond, Silver's former boyfriend; the one Lucas never wanted her to date. He forms a posse of vigilantes to take out the gangsters responsible for Silver's death, but he risks not only his own life, but the love of the new girl on his block, who knows more about Lucas and Silver than can be accounted for by mere chance.

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Excerpt

Silver’s babbling continued at racecar speed. Seriously, I didn’t want to hear about the new target of my sister’s lust. The fallout of her last crush with one of my friends still jacked me up. Memories surged and my gut pinched. Ex-friend now.

A blissful moment of silence descended. I peeked at my twin in the passenger seat. Brow puckered, she sucked on the straw to her daily iced mocha. My gaze slid past the speedometer clocking me at ten over in a fifty-five zone.

“Something feels weird tonight, Lucas.” Her tone turned somber. “Maybe you ought to slow down.”

“Meaning?” I felt her apprehension, a feeling I’d grown used to over the last week since she’d kicked Raymond—our collective ex—to the curb.

She shrugged. “Just a weird vibe I’ve had since we left the mall.”

“Raymond still bothering you?”

Silver looked out the passenger window. She didn’t have to hide the tears I felt from her in our weirdo twin bond. Hoping to lighten the mood, I gunned the car on a clear stretch of the frontage road. Despite her heebie-jeebies, I knew she loved the speed as much as I did.

Night had sneaked up on us as we left Monterey behind. We zoomed past the dimly lit Welcome to Sea Haven, California sign. Population 28,342, give or take ten million in an influx of farm workers from the inland counties, yearly tourists, and summer resort peeps.

The thumping drone of the Red Renegade’s new headers oozed ’68 perfection. Or as sweet as the Camaro SS should’ve sounded back in 1968. “Camaro sounds badass, you think?”

“I guess.” Silver sighed, knocking her cup on her thigh. “Do you think I did the right thing?”

“Dumping Raymond?” Incredulous, I glanced at her. “Hell, yes.”

“He’s still your friend. He keeps calling me.”

“We’re football teammates. Nothing more. I’ll make sure he stays away from you.” I tweaked her hair. “You know he’s gunning for my spot.”

“You’re the best quarterback the school’s ever had. Coach would never,” Silver said thoughtfully, jingling her silver bangle bracelets.

Good enough to get three scholarships to killer schools. “I am perfect, aren’t I?” I teased, wanting to slide her mind off douche bag Raymond. He’d never know how much I hated him for the way he treated my twin. If I didn’t continue to keep the peace, he’d get all vindictive on her, like he did with other girls who quit taking his crap. I’d bite my tongue into pieces before I let on how much I knew about him . . . pressuring her . . . before she was ready. A slow burn spiraled up my chest. Screw him.

Dropping my speed, I felt for the glassy shift of the four-speed transmission. I’d spent junior year restoring the Camaro, using all the money from my weekend gopher job for my mom at the resort. I finished the last engine mods in time for summer break in two weeks. I was raring to open up the Red Renegade on the public track.

“I’m still ticked about my cell,” Silver said, her long blonde hair streaming out the open window, her mind already switching gears as usual. “Karma’s like a boomerang.” She swished her drink. “It always comes back ’round.”

I snorted. “In your case, it always bites you in the butt, and I gotta wipe up the mess.”

“Not always, Lucas.” I deflected her playful backhanded slap. “You owed me a trip to the mall. Besides, I didn’t lose my cell. Someone stole it out of my purse.” She danced her fingers on her silver bangles into a tinkling vibration. “I needed a new phone anyway. Screen was shot.” A giggle slipped out. “Karma’s a bitch.”

As we neared the speed trap on County Coast Road, I eased up on the gas. The small-block engine thumped and growled, the exhaust burbling defiantly. Few cars zipped past, driving south toward Monterey. Cops wouldn’t clock me going more than seven over north of the Sea Haven sign. This stretch of the frontage road had already earned me a speed warning. Lucky for me, I weaseled my way out of a ticket by promising to install a Borla exhaust on the sheriff’s Corvette. Killer small town bribery.

Silver traded my quick grin with her evil squint. Her evil squint was one of her poker “tells.” That particular tell meant the hard drive was spinning in her head. Which led me to believe she knew who nicked her cell. Man, I felt sorry for the poor sucker.

She slurped down the dregs of her mocha and tossed the empty cup in the pristine backseat, missing the trash bag by a mile. “Oops.”

“Silver! My car’s not a trash bin.” I knocked my fist on the gearshift, glowered for half a tick. We approached the STOP sign at the Ocean Avenue intersection. I downshifted and rolled to a full stop. The streetlight across the intersection bathed the red car in amber fire and ghosted the stickweeds along the side of the road. Light glinted off a small spot in the ditch to our right.

“Jeez, go find your happy place, will ya? I’ll get it when we . . .” Silver cranked up her window so fast I thought she’d just discovered that sea air killed genius brain cells. She mashed her elbow on the door lock. “Someone’s hunched over in the ditch.” The seat harness squeaked as she squeezed closer to the center console. “Oh. My. God. A body’s lying down there, too.”

Author's Biography

After bemoaning the lack of young adult books to read, Erin wrote her first novel at the age of eighteen hoping to shift the tide. Then everyday life took its toll on her writerly dreams until 2003 when she couldn’t ignore the writing bug any longer. By then, she had immersed herself in reading adult fantasy and romance novels. Writing paranormal & fantasy romance was a no brainer. Erin has published two adult romance novels: CHASING SHADOWS, a paranormal romantic suspense (EPPIE award finalist and Night Owl Romance 5-Star Top Pick) and WICKED PARADISE, a fantasy romance, released in August 2012. Erin will finally realize her lifelong dream of publishing a young adult novel when VIGILANTE NIGHTS debuts in July 2013.

Erin Richards lives in Northern California. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, photography, and American muscle cars.

Pre-Order your copy of Vigilante Nights before its official hardcover release date of July 18, 2013 and get an exclusive gift! Details at: http://www.erinrichards.com

Links

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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What do you guys think? My request for this book on netgalley got accepted and I already started reading! It has been exciting so far! :)

Book Blitz: Never Too Far - Thomas Christopher (Excerpt, Interview, GIVEAWAY)

Never Too Far by Thomas Christopher
Genre: YA Dystopian
Publication date: May 10th 2012

Synopsis:

A harrowing story of love and survival.

In a future of scarce resources, where the possession of gas and diesel is punishable by death, a teenage boy and a pregnant girl must save their impoverished family. They risk their lives on a terrifying journey to sell stolen fuel on the black market.

Excerpt:

Joe turned and ran back into the gully, but he didn’t get very far. A sudden blast of wind shoved him to the ground. Flat on his face, he heard the wind whistling and screeching past his ears. When he lifted his head, he couldn’t see the pregnant girl anymore. All the dust whirled and whipped into a blinding black blizzard. He thought for sure she’d gotten snatched up in the dust storm. The wind lashed at his face. He went to call out to her, but he didn’t know what to say because he didn’t know her name. And even if he did, his voice would’ve gotten lost in the snarling wind. Nevertheless, he had to find her. 

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Purchase: Amazon

Interview with the author

Tell us about Never Too Far?

Well, it’s set in a future that is much hotter and where gas and oil are running out. In fact, it’s illegal and possessing it is a capital crime. The hero is a sixteen-year-old boy named Joe, whose family is very poor and live in Dust Bowl-like conditions on the plains. One day, he finds a wrecked vehicle that belongs to the authoritarian city-state of Chikowa. And against his family’s wishes, especially his older brother Frank, Joe siphons the vehicle’s diesel and takes off on a treacherous journey to sell the fuel on the city’s black market. Fuel is worth a tremendous amount of money because it is so scarce. Joe takes along a pregnant orphan girl named Mary that his family recently took in. They use a cover story about Mary’s baby being breech and needing a hospital to throw off suspicion. She barely talks at first and hides beneath a big hat she always wears. The relationship that develops between them is one of the big themes, especially after she gets sick. The whole journey leads through a hostile landscape of desert and forests until they reach the city, where they get caught in a dark world of fear corruption they might not escape from.

Where did the idea for the novel come from?

The idea for Never Too Far came from two sources, really. Several years ago, my wife gave me a book called The Long Emergency by James Howard Kunstler about the consequences of running out of oil. Around the same time, I also read The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I really loved it. It was dark and ominous, but also full of tenderness between the boy and his father. I started thinking about a future where oil was scarce, and global warming had heated the planet, and some kind of desperate journey, like in The Road. I first wrote it as a short story, but I liked it so much that I turned it into a novel.  

The environment is wide raging in the story— arid plains, deep forests, and a city on a lake. Is it based on any specific area?

Yes. Although the country in the novel is a fictional one called the Meshica Union, it’s really based on the geography of the U.S. that stretches from eastern Iowa to the shores of Lake Michigan. I didn’t want to be bound to actual places and cities because I wanted the story to have more of a universal and timeless feel.

Who is the audience for Never Too Far?

I would say that both adults and young adults would enjoy this novel very much. Fans of dystopian fiction, coming-of-age stories, adventure and suspense would like it as well.

Tell us a little about yourself?

Sure. I grew up on an acreage near Grinnell, IA.  As a kid, I loved roaming all the fields and creeks that surrounded us. We also raised sheep, and I helped birth the lambs. I remember very fondly feeding bottles of milk to orphan lambs in our basement.  After high school, I hiked the 130 mile Adirondack Trail in upset New York. And after I graduated from college, I lived out west for a while in Seattle and Montana. I did a lot of hiking in the mountains out there. Then I went to graduate school in Michigan to studying writing and that’s where I was lucky enough to meet my wife. She was the manager of the hotel I was working at. I taught writing and literature for a while at Western Michigan University, Creighton University, and a few community colleges. Then came the birth of our son. I now split my time between writing and chasing after a very active 18 month old boy.

Author's Biography:

Thomas Christopher grew up in Iowa. He received his MFA from Western Michigan University. His short stories have appeared in The Louisville Review, The MacGuffin, Redivider, and Cooweescoowee. He was also awarded an Irving S. Gilmore Emerging Artist Grant and was a finalist for the Matthew Clark Prize in Fiction. He lives in Wisconsin with his wife and son.

Links:

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GIVEAWAYS

Grand Prize Giveaway:

One $20 Amazon gift card and a Kindle ebook of Never Too Far - Open internationally.

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Book Blitz: Visited - Janine Caldwell (Excerpt and GIVEAWAY)

Visited by Janine Caldwell
Publication date: May 25th 2013
Genre: YA coming-of-age fantasy

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Joanna Murphy has lost faith in her life. Vying for her mom’s attention, she’s resentful of her stepdad’s intrusion to their family. Her best friend, Tommy, has no clue she’s in love with him as he dates girl after girl without noticing how it tortures her. The final kicker, though, is God’s sick joke to make her freakishly tall when everyone knows boys prefer petite girls.

Then in a bizarre accident Joanna meets James, a breathtaking teen who appears to her after an unusual falling star sighting. Suddenly, her dream for an alien encounter becomes all too real. But when she finds her life has been made unrecognizable, she’s forced into an explosive study of the original design for her life that just may have her regretting every wish she ever made.

Goodreads

Excerpt

I gape up at him, the fear beginning to course through my veins. “Who are you?”

“A friend.” He answers in an even enough tone, but at the same time, his face begins to glow the color of amber, making him look warm and unusually vibrant. I’ve never known any being able to radiate such a glow. Any being from Earth, that is.

“A friend?” I manage to whisper back before swallowing a gulp. “Are-are you human?” I’m half kidding, but after years of watching realistic science fiction movies and reading a library of fantasy novels, I think I mean the question more than I want to admit. However, he doesn’t answer me. He averts his eyes, blinking rapidly like he’s unsure of the situation.

Again, I’m at a loss of what to think. I thought I asked a pretty straightforward question and he can’t even answer that. By his omission, I have to assume he’s trying to tell me he isn’t human!

Is this really happening? And, more importantly, if he’s not human, then what is he?

My brain pores through a dozen images at once, my chest heaving from the excitement. I flash to movies, T.V. shows, graphic novels, and to my own imagination as I consider what life form James could be. While I try to convince myself I’m jumping to conclusions, that of course this is all a misunderstanding or perhaps an elaborate hoax, something else itches in the back of my mind. That something whispers: Haven’t you always considered the existence of other worlds? Discussed the possibility a hundred times with Tommy?

The answer to both questions is an emphatic yes. I decide right then, despite all reason, I know what James is.

“I think I know what you are,” I remark feebly.

He turns to me with a spark of expectation in his eyes, still glowing, still warm.

“You came to Earth with that star last night, didn’t you?”

Blood rushes to his cheeks, giving him an even brighter supernatural glow, and then I know I have my answer.

“That’s it, isn’t it?” I sit upright, gripping the sheet into my fists. “You’re from another planet. That’s how you have the power to heal.”

He pales for a second, but amazingly, he doesn’t deny it. He flickers his lashes upward like he’s searching the ceiling for his reply. After a moment, he shakes his head of soft curls that brush his neck before redirecting his intense expression back on me. He licks his lips and smiles pensively, but I feel the same need as before to shy away; whether it’s from shock or from a loss of focus I don’t know, but holding his gaze is next to impossible.

My mind is all aflutter trying to come to grips with what I’m being confronted to believe.

“Incredible. I was right all along,” I murmur, commenting to myself. “Aliens do exist.”

Author's Biography

Janine Caldwell was born in Concord, CA and raised in the small San Francisco Bay Area town of Clayton. Four days after her high school graduation, Janine attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and graduated with a degree in English. 

Janine now lives in Anthem, AZ with her husband and two sons. As a lifelong literature fanatic, she knew it was only a matter of time before she would become obsessed with writing her own work. With relatives like the Brothers Grimm and Anita Loos (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), she figured fantasy writing had to be in her DNA.

Books published by Janine include Visited, a YA coming-of-age fantasy, Rematch and Double Fault—the first two books of The Vortex Series. The final book in this YA fantasy romance, Deuce, will be released fall 2013.

Links

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GIVEAWAY

• Prize: One (1) ebook copy of Visited by Janine Caldwell;
• Open internationally;
• Fill the rafflecopter below (or click the link of the rafflecopter doesn't show up);
• This giveaway ends on July 5th, at 12 a.m (WEST - Western European Summer Time);
• I will contact the winner by email, if I don't get a reply in 48 hours, another winner will be picked (don't forget to check the spam folder!);
• The prize will be sent out the week of July 15th;

Good luck! :D

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Book Blitz: All In - Marta Brown (Excerpt and GIVEAWAY)

All In by Marta Brown
Publication date: May 28th 2013
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Synopsis: 

On the picturesque island of Martha's Vineyard, there are two kinds of residents. Locals and Stays.

Local boy, Lane McCarthy, plans on spending his summer working at the country club to save money for college in the fall, while summer stay, Ashley Whitmore, and her elite group of friends are only there to play.

As the summer heat goes up on the island, so does the ante, when both Lane and Ashley must decide what they’re willing to wager in order to follow their dreams… and their hearts.

With stakes as high as the surf, and hopes as high as the midday sun, will they risk everything and go all in?

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Purchase:

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Excerpt

“You got a jacket in there too?” Lane asks as I pull off my heels and swap them with a pair of flip flops.

“I don’t, but I’m fine,” I say and then as if to contradict myself my skin explodes with goose bumps.

Lane laughs then walks to his car and pulls out the light blue zip up hooded sweatshirt he was wearing at the bluffs from his back seat. He holds it open so I can stick my arms in and when I do his intoxicating smell surrounds me. Sea salt, sunshine and boy.

“Better?” he asks, stepping in front of me again and rubbing his hands up and down my now covered arms to help warm me up.

“Perfect.”

Lane’s hands stop moving but stay wrapped around my arms, and the way he’s looking at me makes another shiver go through my body.

“So, where are we going?”

“Now that’s a surprise,” he says with a wink before he takes off his tie and tosses it in the back seat of his car. He un-tucks his crisp white dress shirt then undoes the first few buttons, revealing a baby blue tee shirt underneath that matches his eyes. After rolling up his sleeves he instantly looks more relaxed, and so hot I bite my lip.

He opens the passenger side door and helps me in before making his way around the front of the car and leaping into the driver’s side seat with a wink. I’m not sure if he’s trying to kill me, or impress me, but either way, he’s doing a fine job at both.

“Oh, and one last thing.” He leans forward and cups my face in his hands with a playful grin on his face. I suck in a breath as my heart hammers in my chest. Is he going to kiss me? I let my eyes flutter closed when I feel his breath touch my skin. His soft lips press against my cheek and linger for a moment before he pulls away.

“What was that for?” I ask quietly.

“For giving me a do-over,” he says with a boyish smile.

Yep. He’s trying to kill me

Author's Biography 

Marta Brown grew up in the Pacific Northwest and was a teenager when Doc Martens, Pearl Jam and flannel were the norm and Dylan loved Kelly forever (Beverly Hills, 90210 shout out).

She still lives just outside Seattle, now with her husband and cat, and loves the rain.

When she’s not writing about cute boys, first kisses and the magic and wonder of being seventeen, she’s watching The CW. And she sleeps in. Late.

Links

Website / Goodreads / Twitter

GIVEAWAY

• Prize: One (1) ebook copy of All In by Marta Brown;
• Open internationally;
• Fill the rafflecopter below (or click the link of the rafflecopter doesn't show up);
• This giveaway ends on July 5th, at 12 a.m (WEST - Western European Summer Time);
• I will contact the winner by email, if I don't get a reply in 48 hours, another winner will be picked (don't forget to check the spam folder!);
• The prize will be sent out the week of July 14th;

Good luck! :D

a Rafflecopter giveaway