Age of Blood by Shauna Granger ~ Cover Reveal

 I'm so excited to help take part in the cover reveal for Shauna Granger's Age of Blood - the third book in her Ash and Ruin trilogy! 

Age of Blood (Ash and Ruin #3) by Shauna Granger

Hope is a dangerous thing, but powerful. Hope keeps you going. Hope can keep you alive. 

But hope can shatter your world. 

Kat and Dylan have found a home, but the monsters are still out there. The pox and plague still ravage the world. They have hope of finding a vaccine, but their encampment isn't equipped to develop it. 

Dylan is still too weak from the pox to leave the encampment, so Kat must decide between staying by his side and protecting her last remaining family member as he leaves to find supplies. Separated for the first time since they came together, Kat and Dylan will have to fight their own battles to save what is left of their bloody world. 

Kat will have to hold on to hope that she has anything left to save and someone to come home to. 

If she can survive.

Available 5/5/2015

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About the series:

World of Ash - Book #1

There are two inherent truths in the world: life as we know it is over, and monsters are real.

The Pestas came in the night, spreading their pox, a deadly plague that decimated the population. Kat, one of the unlucky few who survived, is determined to get to her last living relative and find shelter from the pox that continues to devastate the world. When it mutates and becomes airborne, Kat is desperate to avoid people because staying alone might be her only chance to stay alive. 

That is, until she meets Dylan. Dylan, with his easy smile and dark, curly hair, has nowhere to go and no one to live for. He convinces Kat there can be safety in numbers, that they can watch out for each other. So the unlikely couple set off together through the barren wasteland to find a new life – if they can survive the roaming Pestas, bands of wild, gun-toting children, and piles of burning, pox-ridden bodies.

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Smashwords

Time of Ruin - Book #2

The world has ended, and hope is the most dangerous thing left.

Battered and bruised after barely escaping San Francisco with their lives, Kat, Dylan, and Blue press north – desperate to reach the possibility of a new home. 

But strange, monstrous ravens are tracking the remaining survivors, food is becoming scarce, gasoline is running short, and people are becoming suicidal, making survival almost impossible. 

And the Pestas are growing bolder. Somehow, their numbers are growing. 

The further north they go, the harder it becomes to ignore the signs that they’ve made a fatal mistake. Kat must face the impossible truth that there is no escape, there is no safe haven, and their worst nightmares don’t come close to their new reality.

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Smashwords

About the author

Like so many other writers, Shauna grew up as an avid reader, but it was in high school that she realized she wanted to be a writer. She released the first installment of her Paranormal YA Series, The Elemental Series, Earth, on May 1, 2011 and has since released four sequels, with the series coming to an end with Spirit. In December of 2013 she released the first in her Paranormal Post-Apocalyptic trilogy (Ash And Ruin Trilogy), World of Ash. 

Be sure to also check out her newest series: The Matilda Kavanagh Novels about a spunky witch just trying to pay her rent in West Hollywood. Shauna is currently hard at work on one too many projects, trying to organize the many voices in her head. It's a writer thing.

Stalkables

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

About the Cover Artist Stephanie Mooney

I am a 25-year-old graphic designer, artist, and aspiring author currently living in Cincinnati, Ohio. I’m a renaissance girl — a lover of all things creative and artistic. From the moment I learned to use my hands, I was writing stories about princesses and sketching ballerinas. I guess I never really stopped. 

Most of my training has been informal, and many of my skills are self taught. In 2006-07, I spent a year interning at a church in Louisiana where I worked in their art and design department. In July 2007, they hired me as one of their designers. I worked there for three years, gaining experience in graphic design, advertising, set building, event planning, and product design. From there, I began my career in freelance design. 

Many of my clients are indie authors looking for affordable cover designs. I love working with authors and getting excited about their stories with them. I’m still building my web portfolio, but I really enjoy designing and developing websites as well.

Stalkables

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Time of Ruin (Ash and Ruin #2) by Shauna Granger ~ Blitz: Excerpt & Giveaway!

Welcome to the Blitz for Time of Ruin by Shauna Granger, the second book in the Ash and Ruin trilogy! I absolutely loved the first book and will be reviewing this one very soon, so keep an eye out for that! 

Time of Ruin (Ash and Ruin #2)

by Shauna Granger

Release Date: 07/22/14

The world has ended, and hope is the most dangerous thing left.

Battered and bruised after barely escaping San Francisco with their lives, Kat, Dylan, and Blue press north – desperate to reach the possibility of a new home.

But strange, monstrous ravens are tracking the remaining survivors, food is becoming scarce, gasoline is running short, and people are becoming suicidal, making survival almost impossible.

And the Pestas are growing bolder. Somehow, their numbers are growing.

The further north they go, the harder it becomes to ignore the signs that they’ve made a fatal mistake. Kat must face the impossible truth that there is no escape, there is no safe haven, and their worst nightmares don’t come close to their new reality.

Book One:
(linked to Goodreads)

Click here for my review of World of Ash!

Sitting on the bumper again, my jagged nails scratch at the plastic as I fight the urge to tell Dylan to hurry. Blue looks up at me and whines. I shake my head at him and pet him with the toe of my boot. His eyes are dark blue in the evening light. Blue drops his head and looks at Dylan, his ears perked up into two triangles. I follow his gaze. Dylan's still standing, holding his instruments of destruction, and staring at the raging fire.

Blue pushes to his feet and barks one sharp, loud yelp. My hand drifts over to the rifle by my leg as I let my eyes slide from Dylan's back to search for the source of Blue's panic. 

"Dylan." I mean to call to him, but my voice comes out in a strangled whisper. I swallow as I stand and pull the rifle with me. Across the street, the shadows between the houses are taking shape. They're no longer the snapping, twisting formless shadows from the fire, but something more, something substantial. Dylan lifts the can of fluid and squirts more onto the fire, making it spike and lick the air. 

"Dylan," I try again, my voice a little louder. The rifle is in my hands now. The stock is pressed into my shoulder as I aim at the shadows peeling away from the deeper black.

Still Dylan doesn't hear me, or is ignoring me.

Blue barks repeatedly, backing up until he hits the car. I find my voice and scream his name loud enough that it hurts my throat. Finally he looks at me, his face cast in shadows with the light behind him. I can't make out his features, but I can make out the horde of Pestas behind him.

"Run!" I aim the gun as I walk backward around the car.

Instead of listening to me, he looks back to see what has terrified me so. They shuffle forward, lines of them spilling out into the cul-de-sac. Dylan takes two steps backward, nearly tripping over his feet and making me scream again. I rip the rear door open for Blue to get in the car. Slamming the door behind Blue, I lift the rifle and fire a shot, aiming well away from Dylan. The Pestas cringe in unison, as though they are all puppets controlled by the same set of strings.

"Run, dammit!" I scream.    

Like so many other writers, Shauna grew up as an avid reader, but it was in high school that she realized she wanted to be a writer. Five years ago, Shauna started work on her Elemental Series. She released the first installment, Earth, on May 1, 2011 and has since released four sequels, with the series coming to an end with Spirit. She is currently hard at work on a new Urban Fantasy series, staring a spunky witch with a smush-faced cat named Artemis.

   

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Book Blitz Organized by:

Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway ~ World of Ash by Shauna Granger

Hey guys! Welcome to my stop on the World of Ash Blog Tour hosted by YA Bound Book Tours. Click here to follow along with the full blog tour schedule! :D

Title: World of Ash

Author: Shauna Granger

Release date: December 2nd 2013

Genre: New Adult, Post-apocalyptic  

Source: Review Copy

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~ Synopsis ~

There are two inherent truths in the world: life as we know it is over, and monsters are real. 

The Pestas came in the night, spreading their pox, a deadly plague that decimated the population. Kat, one of the unlucky few who survived, is determined to get to her last living relative and find shelter from the pox that continues to devastate the world. When it mutates and becomes airborne, Kat is desperate to avoid people because staying alone might be her only chance to stay alive.

That is, until she meets Dylan. Dylan, with his easy smile and dark, curly hair, has nowhere to go and no one to live for. He convinces Kat there can be safety in numbers, that they can watch out for each other. So the unlikely couple set off together through the barren wasteland to find a new life - if they can survive the roaming Pestas, bands of wild, gun-toting children, and piles of burning, pox-ridden bodies.   

~ My Thoughts ~ 

My Rating: 5 / 5 

My first reaction is wow! World of Ash is my first book by Shauna Granger, and it definitely won't be my last. Her writing is fantastic, and the world she built is so realistic it's scary. The idea of the Pestas - some sort of monsters who infected and caused the plague that's wiped out most of the population - really freaked me out. The plague is terrifying as it is without monsters spreading it around. It was a nice break from zombies, which if you hear me saying that, then you know this book has to be good. 

I thought it was different how Kat was living a happy and privileged life before the apocalypse - many times the main character in a post-apocalyptic world possessed skills that would enable her/him to face the hell that has become the world. But in Kat's case, she was living a cushy life before and has no delusions that she didn't have any idea how to survive in the beginning. That's what makes her character so impressive; she's struggled and fought to survive, learning along the way.

If I imagined what the world would be like after an apocalypse, this is the kind of world I think it would be. In World of Ash, the government takes action in ways that are so awful, I could feel Kat's emotions coming through the pages. Kat feared other human beings who were healthy as much as she did the plague and the Pestas. 

Her mother was wise in warning her before she left that she wouldn't be able to trust other people. She finds an exception in Dylan, and I was happy she had companionship and help. I loved Dylan and Kat's relationship - they were partners in this new world, and each carried his/her own weight. They saved each other in so many ways. He's just the kind of guy you'd be lucky to have around in an apocalypse. He was naive at first, thinking the government would help healthy people, but Kat helped him see it's everyone for him or herself.  

I loved World of Ash from it's front cover all the way through to the back cover. Kat and Dylan are two of my new favorite characters. Please tell me there's going to be a second book - I can't help wanting to find out what happens next! 

~ Purchase Links ~

Amazon | Smashwords | B&N | Kobo

~ About the Author ~ 

Like so many other writers, Shauna grew up as an avid reader, but it was in high school that she realized she wanted to be a writer. Five years ago, Shauna started work on her Elemental Series. She released the first installment, Earth, on May 1, 2011 and has since released four sequels, with the series coming to an end with Spirit. She is currently hard at work on a new Urban Fantasy series, starring a spunky witch with a smush-faced cat named Artemis. 

~ Social Links ~ 

Blog | Goodreads | Twitter 

~ Giveaway ~

2 - Signed paperbacks of World of Ash (US Only)

2 - eBooks of World of Ash (INT)

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Blog Tour hosted by:

YA Bound Book Tours

Cover Reveal ~ World of Ash by Shauna Granger

World of Ash

by Shauna Granger

Release Date: 12/2013

Book Summary:

There are two inherent truths in the world: life as we know it is over, and monsters are real.

The Pestas came in the night, spreading their pox, a deadly plague that decimated the population. Kat, one of the unlucky few who survived, is determined to get to her last living relative and find shelter from the pox that continues to devastate the world. When it mutates and becomes airborne, Kat is desperate to avoid people because staying alone might be her only chance to stay alive.

That is, until she meets Dylan. Dylan, with his easy smile and dark, curly hair, has nowhere to go and no one to live for. He convinces Kat there can be safety in numbers, that they can watch out for each other. So the unlikely couple set off together through the barren wasteland to find a new life – if they can survive the roaming Pestas, bands of wild, gun-toting children, and piles of burning, pox-ridden bodies.

About the Author

Like so many other writers, Shauna grew up as an avid reader, but it was in high school that she realized she wanted to be a writer. Five years ago, Shauna started work on her Elemental Series. She released the first installment, Earth, on May 1, 2011 and has since released four sequels, with the series coming to an end with Spirit. She is currently hard at work on a new Urban Fantasy series, staring a spunky witch with a smush-faced cat named Artemis.

Author Links:

   

This cover rocks! And the synopsis scares me - "monsters are real." Eep! O.o

Cover Reveal Organized by:

Book Blitz ~ Spirit (Elemental #5) by Shauna Granger

Spirit (Elemental #5)

by Shauna Granger

Release Date: 04/30/13
Book Blitz organized by: YA Bound Book Tours

Summary from Goodreads:

Not even a guardian angel is more powerful than Death.

Always careful to watch out for others, Shayna put too much trust her abilities to keep herself safe and has been cut down by crazed man. Now she is trapped in the land of the dead, watching as her two best friends suffer the consequences of her death; their powers are fading and soon they will too. Shayna is desperate to return to the land of the living to save them from a similar, cold fate. To save her friends Shayna must turn away from the Light and, in doing so, sacrifice her wings.

But the longer Shayna stays among the dead, the further she slips from sanity. If Shayna cannot find her way back she will be condemned and lost forever among the restless souls of the dead. With nothing left to lose, she will do whatever it takes to fight her way back, with or without her wings.

Available from:

    

Excerpt #3:

In the distance, I heard something echoing my screams. I had a moment of panic and looked right and left, but the monstrous cries stopped. I held my breath to listen, not even daring to move. In the sudden quiet, the snuffling breath and breaking twigs behind me sounded like gunfire.

I was no longer alone.

My mouth was dry, and my hands were suddenly shaking. I dared not breathe for fear of giving myself away before I knew what the noisy thing was. Whatever it was, it was too close to be whatever had roared in the distance. Great, two things to worry about. Slowly, I inched around the tree, bracing myself with one hand, to try to see what was creeping up on me. I kept my face pressed against the smooth trunk, trying to keep myself as small as possible. Dead leaves crunched and twigs snapped as the thing made its way through the dark forest. It finally came around another group of trees, and by the weak moonlight, I made it out.

For one heart stopping moment, I thought it was the Hell Hound Ian had set on me so long ago, but this thing had thick, coarse fur, so white it nearly glowed. Its paws were as big as both my hands put together, shoulders as high as mine, and its tail swished back and forth, back and forth as it snuffled against the ground, looking for a scent to follow. I might’ve thought it was beautiful until he picked up his head and swung his face in my direction. It reminded me of a snow leopard after a bloody battle.

His black lips stretched wide over a mouth full of razor-like teeth, each one as long as my finger, and saliva foamed and dripped from the corners of his mouth. His eyes were black and beady, nearly lost in the ruff of fur around his squashed nose. His ears were flattened against his head as he galumphed through the trees, snuffling the ground. He got ever closer to me, and I knew my chances of escaping dwindled as I stood frozen in place. I chewed the inside of my cheek, trying to think of what to do. Yes, I could run, sure, but to where? The trees seemed to go on and on, and I had no idea where I was. I would’ve climbed a tree, but all of the branches were too high for me to reach, and the trunks were smooth in the winter hibernation.

Laying the flat of my hand against the tree, I tried to make contact with it, asking it to open up and take me in, to hide me from the monster. But the tree remained quiet and firm against my hand. I had hoped the pain returning meant I had some of my powers back, but if I couldn’t get a tree to hear me, then I definitely had no Earth powers here. I cursed silently before edging to stand up, keeping my body pressed tightly against the tree.

Risking another glance around the trunk, I saw the creature turn left, away from me, sniffling and snuffling as it went like a pig looking for truffles. Just as I was about to turn and sneak away, my foot slipped on some loose dirt, and the toe of my boot scraped against a root. In the quiet, it sounded absurdly loud, but not so loud as the beast’s surprised snort. Its ears shot straight up and turned toward the sound, toward me.

Our eyes met, mine round and unblinking, its narrowed and angry. It craned its head back, its neck lengthening as it did, and howled so long and loud that I cringed away. Before it dropped its head, I spun on the spot and ran.

***

Rest of the books in the Elemental series:
(link to Goodreads)

   

About the Author

Like so many other writers, Shauna grew up as an avid reader, but it was in high school that she realized she wanted to be a writer. Five years ago, Shauna started work on her Elemental Series. She released the first installment, Earth, on May 1, 2011 and has since released four sequels, with the series coming to an end with Spirit. She is currently hard at work on a new Urban Fantasy series, staring a spunky witch with a smush-faced cat named Artemis.

Author Links:

   

***GIVEAWAY***

1 – Signed Paperback of winner’s choice of books 1-5 in the Elemental series. (US only)

1 – e-book of winner’s choice of books 1-5 in the Elemental series. (INT)

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