Showing posts with label Excerpt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Excerpt. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Dark Salvation Tour and Review



Title: Dark Salvation
Author: Katie Salidas
Series: Immortalis (Companion Novel)
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Rising Sign Books
Release Date: April 1st

Buy Link: Dark Salvation (Immortalis Vampire Series)

A gathering storm of violence is on the horizon. Whispered threats of the Acta Sanctorum’s return have the supernatural world abuzz. Only recently aware of the other world hidden behind our own, Kitara Vanders has barely scratched the surface of what being supernatural truly means. A special woman in her own right, she possesses unique telepathic abilities, gifts that have recently come under the scrutiny of the Acta Sanctorum, a fanatical organization whose mission is to cleanse the world of anything supernatural. Targeted, and marked for death, Kitara’s only hope lies with the lethally seductive yet emotionally scarred warrior, Nicholas.

Knowing full well the atrocities the Acta Sanctorum is capable of, Nicholas is all too eager for the battle to begin. Fueled by pain and rage from the loss of his mate, he’s itching for a fight, but one thing stands in his way, Kitara: a beautiful dark-haired woman with unique psychic abilities and an unusual link to the Saints. Despite his resolve to remain focused on his mission, a purely physical relationship binds them together in a way neither of them expected. And when her life hangs in the balance, Nicholas finds his own is teetering on the edge too.

Review
This story is about Nicholas and Kitara. It is a Novella of the Immortalis series but it CAN be read as a standalone.  In this book we learn much more about Nicholas and how he deals with the loss of his mate Rozaline.  His suffering has definitely caused a problem in the vampire clan.  I won't go into any details but suffice it to say that the unexpected should be expected when reading this book!

The characters are fabulous as we expect from Katie Salidas.  And Nicholas does not disappoint the readers at all.  I have to say I highly recommend this book and the series as a whole!

I am looking forward to many more stories from the Immortalis series.  This particular book is a short read and can easily be read in just a few hours since it only has 124 pages, unless your like me and just basically absorbs a book through osmosis in which case you can finish it in less than an hour.  Shhhh don't tell my husband but I snuck this book in for a bedtime read long after he had fallen asleep. And I for one do not regret missing out on that hour of sleep for this book!

Details/Disclaimer: Review copy was provided to me in exchange for a fair and honest review. The free book held no determination on my personal review.
Author Information
                                                                                                                                            


Katie Salidas is a Super Woman! Endowed with special powers and abilities, beyond those of mortal women, She can get the munchkins off to gymnastics, cheerleading, Girl Scouts, and swim lessons.  She can put hot food on the table for dinner while assisting with homework, baths, and bedtime… And, she still finds the time to keep the hubby happy (nudge nudge wink wink). She can do all of this and still have time to write.
And if you can believe all of those lies, there is some beautiful swamp land in Florida for sale…
Katie Salidas resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mother, wife, and author, she does try to do it all, often causing sleep deprivation and many nights passed out at the computer. Writing books is her passion, and she hopes that her passion will bring you hours of entertainment.


Social Media Links 




Excerpt 1


And there it was, the recognition. Her wide eyes locked on to his fangs. “It is true,” she whispered. Her pulse accelerated so much this time he thought she might faint. She clutched at her neck and took an unsteady step backwards.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Nicholas said in as reassuring a voice as he could manage, given his level of annoyance.
Her wide eyes met his again for a brief moment before she turned away.
Great. She has no clue what the Saints actually do, but she’d been told all about the bloodthirsty vampires. Revealing his fangs might not have been the smartest idea on his part. Too late to do anything about that now. “I’m sure Jeremy filled your head with all kinds of crap about my kind. If I wanted you dead, you would be. Quit acting like I’m some kind of monster.”
“I… just… sorry.” Her eyes flashed to his face again. “May I?”
What an odd request. No one had ever asked to touch his teeth before.
“I wouldn’t get too close. I bite.” He teased with a quick snap of his teeth.
“Is that what happened to the guy in the bar?”
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to.”
She lifted her hand and gently touched the corner of his mouth. This small act seemed so intimate, so wrong. Nicholas was not sure he appreciated the confused emotions it stirred within him and jerked his head just out of her reach.
“Do they retract?”
What a stupid question. “Why would they?”
“In the stories…”
“I’m not some fictional character, sweetheart. My teeth don’t magically move around in my jaw. And I don’t sparkle either.”
“Do you… drink blood?”
“You already know these answers. Why do you pretend not to?”
“I don’t know everything.” That, he knew, was the truth. She had a lot to learn about the supernatural world. But he wasn’t the one to teach her. He had neither the time nor the desire


Sunday, May 12, 2013

Dark Salvation Tour


Title: Dark Salvation
Author: Katie Salidas
Series: Immortalis (Companion Novel)
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Rising Sign Books
Release Date: April 1st

Buy Link: Dark Salvation (Immortalis Vampire Series)

A gathering storm of violence is on the horizon. Whispered threats of the Acta Sanctorum’s return have the supernatural world abuzz. Only recently aware of the other world hidden behind our own, Kitara Vanders has barely scratched the surface of what being supernatural truly means. A special woman in her own right, she possesses unique telepathic abilities, gifts that have recently come under the scrutiny of the Acta Sanctorum, a fanatical organization whose mission is to cleanse the world of anything supernatural. Targeted, and marked for death, Kitara’s only hope lies with the lethally seductive yet emotionally scarred warrior, Nicholas.

Knowing full well the atrocities the Acta Sanctorum is capable of, Nicholas is all too eager for the battle to begin. Fueled by pain and rage from the loss of his mate, he’s itching for a fight, but one thing stands in his way, Kitara: a beautiful dark-haired woman with unique psychic abilities and an unusual link to the Saints. Despite his resolve to remain focused on his mission, a purely physical relationship binds them together in a way neither of them expected. And when her life hangs in the balance, Nicholas finds his own is teetering on the edge too.


Author Information
                                                                                                                                            

Katie Salidas is a Super Woman! Endowed with special powers and abilities, beyond those of mortal women, She can get the munchkins off to gymnastics, cheerleading, Girl Scouts, and swim lessons.  She can put hot food on the table for dinner while assisting with homework, baths, and bedtime… And, she still finds the time to keep the hubby happy (nudge nudge wink wink). She can do all of this and still have time to write.
And if you can believe all of those lies, there is some beautiful swamp land in Florida for sale…
Katie Salidas resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mother, wife, and author, she does try to do it all, often causing sleep deprivation and many nights passed out at the computer. Writing books is her passion, and she hopes that her passion will bring you hours of entertainment.


Social Media Links 



Excerpt 1


And there it was, the recognition. Her wide eyes locked on to his fangs. “It is true,” she whispered. Her pulse accelerated so much this time he thought she might faint. She clutched at her neck and took an unsteady step backwards.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Nicholas said in as reassuring a voice as he could manage, given his level of annoyance.
Her wide eyes met his again for a brief moment before she turned away.
Great. She has no clue what the Saints actually do, but she’d been told all about the bloodthirsty vampires. Revealing his fangs might not have been the smartest idea on his part. Too late to do anything about that now. “I’m sure Jeremy filled your head with all kinds of crap about my kind. If I wanted you dead, you would be. Quit acting like I’m some kind of monster.”
“I… just… sorry.” Her eyes flashed to his face again. “May I?”
What an odd request. No one had ever asked to touch his teeth before.
“I wouldn’t get too close. I bite.” He teased with a quick snap of his teeth.
“Is that what happened to the guy in the bar?”
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to.”
She lifted her hand and gently touched the corner of his mouth. This small act seemed so intimate, so wrong. Nicholas was not sure he appreciated the confused emotions it stirred within him and jerked his head just out of her reach.
“Do they retract?”
What a stupid question. “Why would they?”
“In the stories…”
“I’m not some fictional character, sweetheart. My teeth don’t magically move around in my jaw. And I don’t sparkle either.”
“Do you… drink blood?”
“You already know these answers. Why do you pretend not to?”
“I don’t know everything.” That, he knew, was the truth. She had a lot to learn about the supernatural world. But he wasn’t the one to teach her. He had neither the time nor the desire


Sunday, May 5, 2013

Finding Hope Blog Tour and Review





Author: Krystal Shannan
Series: Pool of Souls (#2)
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: March 10
Edition/Formats Available In: E~Book
Number of Pages: 185

Warning: The plot thickens with a passel of pissed off Olympians, but Ares and Aphrodite are in for a double dose of trouble! More Olympians join the mix in Finding Hope: Pool of Souls Book 2. A jewel addict, a kick-ass possibly-virgin huntress, and an insatiable ancient oracle are just a few. But don’t worry; Ares and Aphrodite are still front and center.

Addison Connelly has given up on men. She is disappointed yet again when her best friend tries to play matchmaker, and the match falls flat…or does it? Her friend knows all Addison needs is a chance, a little hope, and maybe a dropkick in the right direction. With an extra push from Aphrodite, will this lonely soul learn to trust again? Or will she run from the only man who could make her happy?

Adrian Colter, Nashville Police Detective and certifiable bachelor, puts his foot in his mouth in a big way when his roommate’s fiancé tries to match him up with her best friend. After making a horrible first impression, can he earn the trust of a woman who won’t speak a civil word to him?

Adrian isn’t the only one trying to earn the trust of a beautiful woman. While Ares fights to rebuild the trust he lost thousands of years ago with the Goddess of Love, his parents do what they do best —show off their greed and selfishness. Will he find the hope and forgiveness he so desperate seeks or will his parents destroy his chance at happiness?






This book picks up right where we left off in Open House.  Aphrodite and Ares are still a HOT HOT HOT item.  We get to see a lot more of Aphrodite and Ares and get to see a bit of the other gods in this book.  I happen to love Gods and Goddess stories (I should since I happen to be Wiccan), and this one sure does NOT disappoint!  

Krystal Shannon has created a wonderful world in her Pool of Souls series!  In this book we have the story of Adrian and Addison.  We also have a bit of a mystery going on in this book or should I say two mysteries, which added a very nice twist.  

Once again she has strongly written characters and an enchanting world which will keep you turning the pages, late into the night.  There are some humorous bits in the book and a few make you heart race bits, and just that touch of sex that makes it a hot story.

I must say I HIGHLY recommend this series to anyone who loves a good tale.  This series has it all in my opinion.  I can't wait to read the next book in this fabulous series!

Details/Disclaimer: Review copy was provided to me in exchange for a fair and honest review. The free book held no determination on my personal review.
Chasing Sam: Vegas Mates Book 1 Amazon | Smashwords | and Others
Open House: Pool of Souls Book 1 Amazon| Smashwords | and Others
A Very Russian Christmas Amazon | Decadent | Smashwords | and Others

Krystal Shannan is a born, raised, and current TEXAN. She is married to a wonderful man who supports her dream of writing and allows her to spend many evening and weekend hours glued to her laptop. During the day she moonlights as an elementary music teacher. In addition to a doting husband, a young daughter is also part of the picture and keeps her hopping! An ornery little Welsh Corgi completes the household.

Krystal has been writing stories since she could hold a pencil. She has always dreamed of writing romance and sharing the "movies in her head" with the world. If she's not writing, she's reading -historical, paranormal, action, adventure -anything she can get her hands on that ends with a Happily Ever After!

If you are interested in receiving emails when new books are released, please sign up for her distribution list by visiting www.krystalshannan.com and clicking the newsletter tab.

Krystal Shannan Love and Destiny in all Realms

Dionysus nodded. “I’ll leave you to get settled. The festival opens for visitors in a half hour.”

“Sounds good.” Aphrodite flashed him a smile and went to work opening a few bottles of each vintage so they could breathe. She waved to Dionysus before he ducked out the front door of the shop. She leaned over, digging through the boxes Dionysus had left for her. Her back was to the door, when it opened again a few moments later. “Did you forget something, Dionysus?” Aphrodite turned and held out a bottle of the Red Ambrosia. “For your afterparty– Oh.” She stopped short and stared at the beautiful specimen of man standing in the doorway.

“No, ma’am, not Dion-is-us, or whoever you said. I just wanted to let you know I’m the police officer on duty for this line of shops today.”

Aphrodite appraised him slowly from head to foot and licked her lips. He blushed just slightly, and she smiled. His dark hair hung just past his ears, and a little bit of stubble increased his appeal. In fact, he reminded her a little of Ares. He was tall, nearly six and a half feet. His shoulders were broad, and his arms flaunted beautifully sculpted muscles. A tight blue tee shirt read NPD on the front and accented the effort he put into working out. He would make a young lady very happy, if he weren’t already. His dark-washed jeans and black combat boots completed his look.

“So sorry, I thought you were my friend who’d just left. Thank you for coming in to introduce yourself.” She took several steps forward and extended her hand. Aphrodite flashed him a big smile. “I’ll be sure and set aside a bottle for you of my favorite. Come by when you get off, and I’ll have it ready for you.”

His shoulders relaxed. He reached forward and took her outstretched hand. She threw a few more pheromones his way, and he gave her a gorgeous smile. A small electric shock passed between them. Her grin widened when she saw his soul. She’d been looking for him for a while.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Softly Say Goodbye Tour and Review







Erin Sellers, an eighteen-year-old high school senior, hates teen drinking. She and her three friends – Bill, her guy, Shari and Jake - decide to use Twitter to stop a group, the Kewl Krew, from using their high school as the local bar. But the members of this group are just as determined to stop anyone from messing up their fun. Despite veiled threats to her safety, Erin continues her crusade.
To make matters worse for her, the stress of school and extra curricular work mounts and suddenly, shockingly, booze-fuelled tragedy strikes. Erin is now under greater pressure as she spends all hours to produce a mural and other work to commemorate the death of a teen friend. Bill, Jake and Shari support her in all this...
But more tragedy lurks nearby… until it’s time to softly say goodbye.



 
This book is amazing!  As the mother of teenagers, I can attest to having the "drinking" discussion.  You have no idea how many times I've told them about drinking and driving.  Well perhaps you know since many of you are mothers as well.  This book is a perfect example to give to your teenager.  It is done in such a tasteful manner, but the message is loud and clear. For every action there is a counter action and in the case of drinking and driving those actions can be disastrous!

The characters in this book are strongly written.  The kewl krew I can remember from my own days in high school.  Luckily I wasn't a part of them nor did I ever want to be, and even luckier for me as a parent my children have no desire to be with those kids either. *thank god*

The main characters in this story are such strong characters.  They stand by their beliefs even knowing that there could be consequences to their actions they still do what feels right to them.  Erin Sellers is a wonderful young woman, and artist and has such a large heart.  Her boyfriend Bill, Shari and Jake all take a large role in this storyline.  The friendship and comradery of these teens is fabulous.  Their loyalty to each other even when one of them Tiana turns away shows just how mature they are from the circumstances in their lives.  Bill is a wonderful young man regardless of the absolute piece of trash father he has, in this case the Apple fell miles away from the tree. 

I can't say how very much I think this book is of value on so many different levels.  First of all it deals with some major topics, abuse both mental and physical, alcoholism, underage drinking, and death.  This book you will not want to put down and you will most definitely need a box of tissues nearby.  I highly recommend this book to mothers and fathers of teens and recommend one very big thing... GIVE IT TO YOUR TEENS TO READ!

5 Breathtaking stars for K.C. Sprayberry.  I have to say I loved your take on teens and didn't show them to be these perfect little things but people with real issues and peer pressure. Thank you for a wonderful novel.

Details/Disclaimer: Review copy was provided to me in exchange for a fair and honest review. The free book held no determination on my personal review.
How I wish for the old days, when nothing got her down. She went into a total slide after her mom went to jail for the DUI. My crew and I want to help, but her home life is such a bummer. Her dad smokes pot from the time he gets off work until he passes out around ten or eleven every night. And she has to deal with her mom's stupid remarks whenever the woman calls, and her dad's drug addiction, but she is so cool about staying off the stuff herself.
“Does everyone understand I won't tolerate any reason for avoiding this project?” he asks.
His voice warms up a little. Almost like going from minus one to zero on the thermometer. Like me, the rest of the class sits quietly with pencils or pens poised above notebooks. No one wants to piss him off any more than he already is.
“Fine.” He searches the top of his desk as a question occurs to me.
“Uh, Mr. Janks?
“Yes, Erin.” No patience in his voice, just a lot of suppressed anger, like he thinks I'm about to make trouble.
No one, but no one, can accuse me of causing problems on purpose. If anything, I go out of my way to avoid notice and trouble, except telling off any teen drinking booze. The urge to say “it doesn’t matter” almost makes me change my mind, but I really have to know something.
“Will we have to get permission from the city to do this project? I mean, you used the Rec Center as an example. We can't just go in and do what we want unless someone approves it. Right?”


I am happily married to a man I met while in the Air Force. We recently celebrated our 18 years of marriage. Our teen, the youngest of 8, keeps us on our toes with his band activities. Writing is something I've done since I was very young. At first, it was in a diary and then I poured all my energies into English compositions, earning praise from my Advanced Composition teacher in high school for an extremely visual project. While in the Air Force, I placed second in the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge's annual contest and from then on, was hooked. However, the reality of a military career and raising children forced me to put off attempting publication until my husband and I moved to Georgia. It was after the birth of our now teen that I began taking courses through The Institute of Children's Literature, Long Ridge Writer's Group, and Writers Digest in an effort to make my life's dream come true.
We live in Northwest Georgia, in a small town, where I write Romance, Westerns, Young Adult, and Middle Grade stories, both short and book length. More than a dozen of my short stories have appeared in magazines such as Listen Magazine, Brio, and The Pink Chameleon website. I also have short stories in anthologies, Passionate Hearts Anthology, Mystery Times Ten, The Best of Frontier Tales, Vol. I, and Mystery Times Nine. My western stories have garnered interest by avid readers and appear on The Western Online and Frontier Tales.
My work appears under the pen names of KC Sprayberry and Kathi Sprayberry. Softly Say Goodbye, a young adult novel, was my NaNoWriMo winning project for 2010. This story was inspired by a quote from a song and hearing of an auto wreck involving teens and drinking.
 

Friday, April 19, 2013

Beautiful Freaks Excerpt Tour





Title: Beautiful Freaks
Author: Katie M. John
Series: Stand Alone
Genre: YA/Paranormal/Gothic/Romance
Publisher:  Little Bird Publishing House, London
Release Date: Ebook October 2012 Print February 2013
Edition/Formats Available In : Currently just ebook print coming soon Feb 14 2013.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Sliding Beneath the Surface Review and Excerpt



 The St. Augustine Trilogy Book I

A new resident of America's oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida, fifteen-year-old Jeff Golden suddenly finds himself up to his eyeballs in frightening paranormal experiences. At the end of his rope
in trying to figure out what is happening to him, Jeff decides to rely on his
friend Carla Rodriguez, and Lobo, an old Native American shaman, for help.

Despite this guidance, things get even worse. Jeff's spine tingling encounters increase in number and intensity at an alarming rate, scaring him even more. Eventually, he makes the startling discovery that unresolved circumstances involving a bloody event directly out of Florida's
distant past threatens his sanity and possibly his life.

Finally, overwhelmed by forces he cannot understand or control, Jeff's world shifts from frightening to downright terrifying. In desperation, and on Lobo's advice, he leaps headlong into the unknown in order to save himself. What Jeff discovers though is that he has entered a level of reality he is completely unprepared to handle while unwittingly dragging Carla with him.

Like all the books in THE ST. AUGUSTINE TRILOGY, the premise for Sliding Beneath the Surface is simply this: You create your own reality.


Click to Buy E-book

Click to Buy Print Book


Okay now how to review this book without giving anything away….

So this book has it all, out of body experiences, ghosts from the past, a past that could kill those involved in the present, and all done under a dense fog of mystery which will keep you turning the pages to discover what will happen to these children. 

The story begins with young Jeff who is having nightmares and horrible headaches. His best friend Carla takes him next door to meet Lobo, a Native American Shaman with a strange and unique ability and mystical powers. Between the three of them they struggle to discover what is causing these strange things to happen to Jeff and to help him solve the problem.

The amount of detail this author put into his writings is intense. The research he did on the St. Augustine Florida area is amazing. It is the perfect setting to a ghost mystery such as this one. I couldn’t classify this as strictly a young adult book so I’m making my own category, Historical Young Adult. 

Only two things struck me with the book. One was that it really needs to be run through by an editor again because I found quite a few mistakes in the book not just in grammar but also in words being out of order at 65% through the book it says “We need to get begin.” That sentence doesn’t make any sense so I think a quick run by an editor will help greatly. Second thing was Jeff sounded more like he was telling the story from the past as if he wasn’t narrating the story as it went along; it was more like he was grown and was telling the story of what happened to him as a child. I’m not quite sure that’s the feel the Author was going for in the book.

I can say I did enjoy the book without a doubt, and I personally would recommend this book to anyone from the Middle-school years on up not strictly just Young Adult. I can say that this is an enlightening book about being able to change our path by changing ourselves.  I give this book 5 stars!




I shut Lobo’s door behind me without putting on my jacket and took a big breath of cold air. Standing there for a second, I felt like I had been running hard. God, my heart pounded so hard I thought it might split wide open, and that stupid headache throbbed even more. I hated leaving Carla like I did, but the time to get out of there had come.

Being away from Lobo was such a relief. With my eyes closed, I took another deep breath and let it out slowly. All that had gone on that afternoon rushed through my mind like a flooding river. Instantly, those panicky urges to turn around and run away while walking towards Lobo’s place with Carla popped up in my head. I opened my eyes again only to see that everything had gotten a lot darker than it was seconds before. A massive fog bank had somehow moved in over Matanzas Bay and already covered most of Lobo’s dock. As I watched, the rest of the dock disappeared into all that gray stuff as if it had never been there. Rapidly, a smaller wave of fog rolled over the tip of the peninsula and headed right for me at a speed fog should never move. It all happened so fast, I had no time to think or act. Long fingers of mist reached for the porch, and before I knew it, a cold wetness surrounded me.

“What the hell?” I whispered to myself. Talk about freaky. Yeah,  it scared me—so much that I even turned around to go back into the house. Believe it or not, right then, facing old Lobo seemed better than dealing with that awful, weird fog. When I turned around though, I couldn’t find the house. All I could see was fog in every direction. Even so, I knew the front door had to be there directly in front of me, right? I mean I hadn’t moved more than a couple of feet away from it, so I stretched my arms out and slowly stepped forward.

After walking maybe five or six steps, I still hadn’t found the door or any part of the house. I know what you’re thinking. You’re sure I must have been hallucinating all of that or something. I don’t blame you. To be perfectly honest, I thought the same thing at first, but that cold, wet fog was very, very real.

“Carla!” I shouted, but my voice sounded muffled. “Lobo?” I yelled. At any second, I expected one of them to open the door and answer me. No such luck. I kept shouting anyway.

When I finally gave up yelling my lungs out, the absolute silence startled me. Like a thick blanket of insulation, the fog no longer allowed any sound in from the outside world—no birds chirping, no noises from boats out on the bay or traffic in the neighborhood. Nothing but total silence. I swear, it was so quiet I actually heard my heart beating. As I listened though, I noticed a darkness creeping into the fog. I’m telling you, it just got darker and darker as I stood there frozen in fear, with my head still aching. In less than a minute, I was in total blackness with only the feel of cold, wet fog all over me. Strangely enough, I also smelled something like pine needles. Pine trees. Pine needles. Something like that.

I didn’t know what to do. Lobo’s words about spirits and danger still swirled through my weary brain, reviving the memory of that deep blackness I had seen at the bottom of his carved ivory ball. For a moment, I wondered if I was dreaming somehow, but the feel of that cold fog all over my body told a different story. I turned around several times, hoping to see or hear something, anything. When that got me nowhere, the panic really started to build. Even in the cold, I could feel sweat trickling down my back and under my arms. I had never felt so alone.

“Wait. Wait a minute,” I said out loud, closing my eyes even though there was nothing to see. “Take it easy and think.” After sucking in a couple of deep breaths of cold air, I put on my jacket. Funny how that helped. Doing that one little thing for myself also calmed me down a little. Even my headache eased up a bit.

No matter what, I said to myself, you still have to be on Lobo’s porch. All you have to do is get down on your hands and knees and feel your way across the wood floor until you find the door. Why didn’t you think of that before, idiot?

To be Continued...