At the Heart of the Deep by Carrie L. Wells ~ Blitz: #Interview & #Giveaway

Hey Donnie Darlings! Welcome to the At the Heart of the Deep Book Blitz hosted by Xpresso Book Tours! Check out the book info plus an interview with the author below. :D  

Title- At the Heart of the Deep

Series- A Falling in Deep Collection Novella

Author- Carrie L. Wells

Publication date- June 23rd 2015

Genres- New Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Purchase- Amazon | B&N

Synopsis

Oceanographer Luke McAllister races to figure out why the ocean depth is changing off Florida's Treasure Coast. But before he and his crew discover what's transforming the deep, he stumbles upon an even greater mystery. Leagues below the waves, he swears he sees...a mermaid? 

Anya isn't allowed to get close to humans. But when a golden-haired researcher gets too close to her island, she can't afford to stay away. 

Together, this unlikely pair will seek to discover what's causing shifts in the ocean floor. While their new alliance is forbidden, Anya will risk everything to save her beloved ocean. The only problem is, she's not sure what's really luring her in, her love of the sea or the tempest Luke has stirred in her heart. Either way, Anya knows that the dangers facing the sea are nothing compared to what will happen to her when her father learns she's broken the merfolks' most sacred law. 

Can Anya and Luke discover what lurks at the heart of the deep before it's too late?

Interview with the Author

Q1: What is your favorite mermaid story or myth? 

Growing up in New England, it seems all stories were about the ocean. I know it is cliche, but I remember sitting on my grandmother's porch, looking at the water, and wondering if Marina, the "real" little mermaid was actually out there. I guess she started it all for me.

Q2: What was the inspiration for your mermaid novella?

I spend a lot of time down in Vero Beach, FL where my sister lives, and since it is on the Treasure Coast there are plenty of stories about buried and found treasure. I wanted to mix pirates with mermaids, and while I didn't quite do that here, this leads into the next book in my series, The Mark of the Mermaid, which does just that.

Q3: Cast your characters. If your novella was made into a movie, who would play your main characters? 

Anya would be a Drew Barrymore type, independent and a bit silly. I could see her tripping in front of Luke and just laughing it off. Luke, well, I wrote him with the surfer version of Matthew McConaughey in mind. Focused and fun, at home in the water, and cut!

Q4: What was most challenging writing about mermaids?

The challenge was determining how much time to put them on land. It isn't easy to offer mermaid human interaction in the middle of the ocean, so you need a plausible world where they walk on land. 

Q5: Ursula or Ariel?

Ariel's curiosity, but not her "sell my soul" naivete. 

Q6: What else should we know about your novella?

It's my first! I have plenty more in the works, but I'm busy reveling in this one right now.
     

About the Author

Carrie L. Wells crosses genres, writing everything from newspaper editorials and textbooks to paranormal romance novellas. Her first fiction publication, The Heart of the Deep, will release in June 2015, followed by Playing with Magic in October 2015. A New England native, she spent her childhood on the beach and inland, fishing and dancing, before moving to Florida. And while she doesn't tan, nothing keeps her from a walk on the beach.

Carrie earned her Master's degree in English with a minor in Psychology from Hardin-Simmons University and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Central Florida. With a love of chocolate, books, and her family, Carrie braves the world and chaos only children can bring. She currently lives in Florida with her fire-medic hubby and three children. She is an English instructor at Eastern Florida State College. 

Connect with the Author 

Blog | Facebook | Pinterest 

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Book Blitz organized by:

Synthetica by Rachel Pattinson ~ Blog Tour: #Review & #Giveaway @REPattinson1

Hey Donnie Darlings! Welcome to my stop on the Synthetica Blog Tour hosted by YA Bound Book Tours! Click here to follow along with the tour stops. 

Title: Synthetica
Series: Synthetica #1
Author: Rachel Pattinson
Release Date: April 1, 2015
Source: Copy for review

Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Synopsis

This city is falling.

Seventeen-year-old Anais Finch lives in a world where everyone is born beautiful, where every dream is a possibility - and where their every move and every piece of personal information is recorded by an ID picochip inserted behind their right ear. When technology giant, Civitas, finally announces the launch of their highly anticipated Scholarly Learning Programs, which allow people to download and learn any subject instantly, Anais can hardly wait. 

But not everyone is pleased with society's progress, and not everyone wants to fit in. When Anais witnesses a brutal murder on an innocent citizen and is implicated in the crime, she becomes determined to uncover the truth, especially when others like it begin to occur all over the city. But it may already be too late for Anais to stop the man who calls himself 'the Hacker' before he commits his most appalling crime yet...  

I can resist a terrific-sounding science fiction story, and one that's YA, too? Yes, yes, and yes! Synthetica is a story that gave me a lot to think about with technology and how it could fit - or not fit - into daily life. There'd be both positives and negatives as with anything. Honestly, I don't think I'd want a chip implanted in my skin with my ID and info all there for just anyone to scan. The thought kind of freaks me out, but on the other hand, it'd be cool not to have to worry about losing my driver's license or something.  

I anticipated seeing what Pattinson's vision of the future would be like. Some aspects of Anais' life made me feel jealous while others made me glad I'm not her. I loved that people had such colorful hair! Anais was born with pink hair - her parents chose it. How cool would that be?? But then again, I wouldn't want to be stuck in a job I had no passion for with little to zero chance of moving on to something better. But I knew Anais was strong and if anyone could move upward, it would be her. 

Synthetica is well written with plenty of action and a touch of romance. I wasn't quite sold on Anais and Xander's relationship because they seemed to function better as friends than romantic partners in my opinion. Anais and her friend, Dalla, are total opposites, so it was interesting to see their interactions. Sometimes Dalla seemed to be so immersed in her own world that she didn't notice Anais' pain, but I think we all have at least one friend who can be like that, right?   

On the plus side, I was anxious to find out what the Hacker was up to and if he'd be found and stopped. I liked the mystery of what he was doing added to the sci-fi. There were times I was shouting (in my mind) to Dalla and Anais not to do what they were about to do. I wouldn't say I was totally attached to the characters, but I still didn't want them to do something dumb. 

What drew me to read Synthetica more than anything was the vision of the future as well as the Hacker. There are dystopian elements to this story, although I think Synthetica leans more toward sci-fi than dystopia. The society isn't completely abysmal for people. Places are kept neat and clean, and the citizens didn't seem to be under the heavy-duty control of a dictator-like ruler. 

If you're a fan of YA sci-fi with some mystery woven in and like thinking about what society would be like in the future, Synthetica is a book I'd recommend to you.           

About the Author

So what qualifies me to be a writer? Well, ever since an early age I've been more interested in the worlds in my head, than the real one - so I thought it was finally time to do something about it. I went to uni, got a degree in publishing, worked in an office for a while, decided I hated it, went to China, came back...and now I'm a teaching assistant by day and a YA writer by night. Phew! It's been quite a journey, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

Connect with the Author

Website | Goodreads | Twitter  

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Blog Tour hosted by:

How to be a Mermaid by Erin Hayes Blitz ~ #Playlist & #Giveaway

Hey Donnie Darlings! Welcome to the Blitz for How to be a Mermaid by Erin Hayes hosted by Xpresso Book Tours!  

Title- How to be a Mermaid

Series- Falling in Deep Collection #10

Author- Erin Hayes

Publication date- July 7th 2015

Genres- Fantasy, Young Adult

Purchase- Amazon | B&N

Available on Kindle Unlimited 

Synopsis

All Tara ever wanted was to be a mermaid.

So she takes a year off between high school and college to don a fake tail and tour aquariums across the country in a professional mermaid troupe. 

Everything's great until she meets a gorgeous real-life merman named Finn. Suddenly, what she thought was a dream turns out to be a nightmare - she's turning into a mermaid herself. For real.

Yet when she returns to the sea to seek out Finn and reverse her transformation, she finds herself in the middle of an impending war between the land and sea. Tara may have always wanted to be a mermaid, but now it's sink or swim. In order to survive, she has to learn how to be one, too.

***

Summer 2015, award-winning and best-selling authors will bring you romantic tales of mermaids, sirens, sprites, and other creatures of the deep! Keep in touch as we reveal each title in our collection!

Playlist

~ How to be a Mermaid Soundtrack ~

Below is a list of songs that I listened to while writing How to be a Mermaid. Each of these songs helped to get me into the right mindset in order to pretend that I was a mermaid! 

• Go - Grimes featuring Blood Diamonds
• Can't Hold Us - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
• Never Let Me Go - Florence and the Machine
• What the Water Gave Me - Florence and the Machine
• Start a Riot - Jetta
• Believe - Mumford and Sons
• I Will Wait - Mumford and Sons
• Dirty Paws - Of Monsters and Men
• Anything Could Happen - Ellie Goulding
• Part of Your World - Jodi Benson from The Little Mermaid No mermaid soundtrack would be complete without that song! 

About the Author

 

Sci-fi junkie, video game nerd, and wannabe manga artist Erin Hayes writes a lot of things. Sometimes she writes books, like the fantasy mystery novel Death is but a Dream, the sci-fi middle grade book Jacob Smith is Incredibly Average, and the Her Wolf paranormal series.

She works as an advertising copywriter during the day, and she moonlights as an author. She has lived in New Zealand, Texas, and now in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, cat, and a growing collection of geek paraphernalia. 

You can reach her at erinhayesbooks@gmail.com and she'll be happy to chat. Especially if you want to debate Star Wars.   

Connect with the Author

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Instagram | Amazon

A mermaid care package to help you be the best mermaid:

• A signed copy of How to be a Mermaid
• Tara's necklace
• Two Mermaid Mix soaks
• A mermaid mirror compact
• Six starfish hairpins
• A mermaid wallet
• Mermaid perfume
• Mermaid Tail Nail Polish
• A mermaid makeup bag
• Four Little Mermaid Buttons
• And one mermaid handbag to carry all your dinglehoppers

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Book Blitz organized by:

Resistance by Allana Kephart & Melissa Simmons ~ Cover Reveal! #Happy4thOfJuly

Check out this beautiful cover below for Resistance! I'm in love - can't stop looking at it!  

Resistance

Dolan Prophecies Series #1

By- Allana Kephart & Melissa Simmons

Genre- New Adult Dark Fantasy/Dystopian

Expected Publication Date- July 27th, 2015

The year 2102--the world as it was no longer exists. Ravaged by nuclear war and polluted almost to the point of no return, Earth was dying. When the faeries came and brought their healing magic, humanity was grateful at first. Centuries of damage repaired in just five years, and during the course of that rehabilitation, they invaded. Quietly overthrown, the human race is now enslaved. The majority doesn’t even realize they have no free will. Branded, herded and kept only to further the agendas of the Fae Courts, humanity could be facing extinction.

But a resistance is coming…

Fianna Dolan has spent her entire young life preparing herself for an uprising against the Fae. One scorching summer night Fi's parents leave and never return. Thrust into a position of power she never expected, Fi struggles with her new position and the responsibility it entails. When a secretive fae man known only as Flint breaches the city’s defenses claiming he can help, Fi begins to doubt everything she's ever considered truth. As betrayals and deception come to light, will Fi want the answers she’s been seeking, or will trusting Flint lead to her destruction?

Blades of Magic (Crown Service #1) by Terah Edun ~ #AudiobookReview & #Giveaway @tedunwrites

Hi there, Donnie Darlings! Welcome to my stop on the Blades of Magic Audiobook Blog Tour hosted by YA Bound Blog Tours. Click here to follow along with the full tour schedule.

Title: Blades of Magic

Series: Crown Service #1

Author: Terah Edun

Publication date: March 31, 2014

Length: 8 hours, 14 minutes

Narrator: Sylvia Roldn Dohi

Source: Copy for review 

Purchase: Audible | Amazon | B&N | Kobo |    iBooks

Synopsis 

It is not a peaceful time in the Algardis Empire. War is raging between the mages and seventeen-year-old Sara Fairchild will be right in the middle of it. 

She just doesn't know it yet.

Sara is the daughter of a disgraced imperial commander, executed for desertion. Sara is also the best duelist and hand-to-hand combatant in Sandrin. She lives quietly with her family's shame but when challenged about her family's honor, her opponent inevitably loses. 

On the night she finds out her father's true last actions, she takes the Mercenary Guilds' vows to serve in the emperor's army. Using her quick wits and fierce fighting skills, she earns a spot in the first division.

There she discovers secrets the mages on both sides would prefer stay hidden. Dark enemies hunt her and soon it's not just Sara questioning the motivation behind this war.

While fighting mages, blackmailing merchants and discovering new friends, Sara comes across something she's never had before - passion. The question is - can she fight for her empress against a mage who might unwittingly claim her heart?

This is year one of the Initiate Wars. Sara is hoping it doesn't become the year she dies.

   

Man, I love audiobooks. I'm really into them now, and they make me so happy. If my eyes are tired, I can still immerse myself in a book! Take an exciting story, add a talented narrator, and you have Blades of Magic. Listening to this book made me even more excited about audiobooks as well as the fantasy genre. 

Sara pulled me into her story right away. I was mystified by her father's death and wanted to find out what happened to him. Sara's faith in her father was touching, and I trusted her belief that if he was a deserter, he must have had a good reason for it. I loved how kick ass Sara is - it's always thrilling to find out the heroine is strong and self-reliant. She doesn't need to lean on a significant other - she stands tall all on her own. 

It took me a while to warm up to Ezekiel, but I ended up liking him quite a lot. The back and forth between Sara and him was a lot of fun to listen to. He reminded me of the kind of character who's really book smart but doesn't have much common sense. I pictured him as Wesley from the TV show, Angel. That's who Ezekiel's character reminded me of right away, and the image stuck in my mind, glasses, hair cut and all. 

Ezekiel's disdain for fighters like Sara is evident in the beginning, but once he got to know her, he found out there was much more to her like her honor, faith, and intelligence.     

There's plenty of action with a touch of romance in Blades of Magic. I loved the magic, especially the possibility that Sara could become what's known as a beserker - a mage who becomes so immersed in using his/her powers that it overpowers them. That was a scary possibility but also a cool twist to the story. 

It took me a little bit of time to get into the story in the beginning. I listened to the first chapter twice, and the second time was pulled in quickly. 

Sylvia Roldn Dohi, the narrator for Blades of Magic, had a pleasant voice to listen to and varied her tone accordingly with what was going on in the story. She was in tune with what she was narrating, and it was easy to tell which character was speaking because she also varied her voice for each person. 

This was my first Terah Edun book as well as audiobook and certainly won't be my last. I'm looking forward to reading more of this series as well as her other series. 

  

 

Audiobook Sample 

About the Author

Terah Edun is a young adult fantasy writer that writes the stories that she always loved to read as a young girl. She prefers reading and writing high fantasy tales of adventure, magic, fellowship and courtship. Her latest book is Sworn to Conflict, the third in the Courtlight series.

Connect with the Author

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest  

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Blog Tour organized by:

Forget Me Knot (Royal Reaper #2) by Ruth Silver ~ Book Blast!

Welcome to the Book Blast for Ruth Silver's Forget Me Knot, the second book in the Royal Reaper series. Check out the book's info. I read the first book in this series, Dead Girl Walking, and loved it! Click here to read my review. 

Forget Me Knot

Royal Reaper Series # 2

By- Ruth Silver

Genre-YA Fantasy

Publication Date- June 23rd, 2015

Published By- Booktrope Publishing

Don’t mess with death.

When Wynter explores his newly developed dark angel powers, regret soon fills his heart and mind. Saving a soul isn’t what he imagined it to be, and it puts the grim reaper he loves in grave danger.

Obligated to take the throne as Queen, Mara must face the truth and unravel secrets she may not be ready to accept.

The second book in the Royal Reaper saga takes you on a paranormal fantasy adventure into a world of grim reapers, dark angels, and undead trucidators.