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Release Event [Excerpt] Haven by Laury Falter

Haven, Part I of the Apocalypse Chronicles

by Laury Falter

Release date: June 22, 2013

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Age Group:  Young Adult

Event organized by: AToMR Tours

Book Description:

Haven, the first book in the Apocalypse Chronicles...

On an ordinary day in early September, Kennedy Shaw leaves for school unaware that within a few minutes the world she knows will be gone - succumbed to an outbreak of epidemic proportions. After finding a safe haven inside the security of her enclosed high school, she learns that four others have survived, one being a bold, mysterious transfer student from Texas whose unruffled demeanor harbors more than a cool interest in her. As they struggle to survive the dead fighting their way inside, will Kennedy discover there is more to life than survival? And will she and the others find a way to live in this terrifying new world?

Haven

The first Infected who came into view was balding. The half moon of white hair around the back of his head was severed in half by a gash that left his neck and the collar of his light blue business suit a crusty red. His hand on the railing was the same ruby color. The one coming up behind him was a girl in her twenties with bleached blonde hair and a tattoo that curled up the side of her neck. The Infected trailing her was a woman with an afro and oversized gold hoop earrings. There were more - I could hear their feet on the stairs - but they hadn't located me yet. Once they did, I knew nothing could tear them away. This was why I had the rifle pointed at Mr. Suit. If I hit him just right there was a possibility he would collapse against the wall and topple backwards, into the crowd, momentarily blocking the rest from advancing. That might buy me enough time to run for the next set of stairs and, possibly, to safety. 

My heart was pounding so hard that I was afraid it would interfere with my aim, even at this short distance. The muzzle was bobbing so rapidly it reminded me of peaks on a hospital pulse monitor. As I'd been trained, I stopped, took a deep breath, and attempted to steady my heart rate. One of my dad's favorite sayings coursed through my mind, reminding me how to take an accurate shot and calming me instantly. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast, Kennedy. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

As I contemplated my plan, biding my time to get the right shot off, something happened on the floor below. It started with a roar, which was odd because I'd never heard a single Infected roar. Then a commotion followed that caused Mr. Suit and the others to seek the source of the interruption behind them. Apparently, their judgment hadn't been so dramatically impaired that they knew enough to turn around. This took their focus away from me and I immediately stepped toward the stairs I'd been eyeing. But then I froze…because Ms. Afro had suddenly been yanked out of sight. I watched as Ms. Biker Girl prepared to lunge but also quickly disappeared down the stairs. Mr. Suit was then yanked away, his head snapping back as he vanished in the same direction as the others. Whatever was making its way up the stairs was cutting through the Infected like they were paper dolls. Then the turmoil came to a sudden end and the warehouse settled back into silence, with only the wind whistling through the openings in the building to fill the void. Beneath that hushed sound came another one. A footstep. It was sturdy, landing solidly and with intent. The sound came again. And again. And then there before me stood Harrison, chest heaving, eyes bulging, lips drawn back in a snarl.

My heart leapt at the sight of him, both because I didn't expect him to appear and because I didn't expect him to appear like this. What I saw in him was the same behavior so visibly obvious in the Infected. Only one word could describe them both: enraged. 

"Harrison?" I whispered, which seemed to bring him back to me.

He had been inspecting the upper floor before his eyes stopped on me. He blinked and straightened out of his crouch, relaxing his face until it returned to the same gorgeous Harrison so familiar to me. He came forward, up the remaining step, but no farther, as hesitancy spread across his face. I was vaguely aware of it wavering as I found myself running for him.

Before I knew it, I was in his arms and my face was pressed against his firm chest and his warm, secure arms were encircling me. 

"Kennedy," he whispered back, hoarsely, full of the emotion he held for me and vowed he would never show. 

Laury Falter is the author of the bestselling Guardian Trilogy. She writes young adult paranormal romances and urban fantasy when she's not taking her stray dogs for a walk or enjoying a date night with her husband.

Laury has released two series, the Guardian Trilogy and the Residue Series (a spinoff of the Guardian Trilogy books), and is currently releasing her third series, the Apocalypse Chronicles. 

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BOOK BLITZ [Precious Things Playlist] Precious Things by Stephanie Parent

Precious Things
by Stephanie Parent
Publication date: June 4th 2013
Genre: New Adult Contemporary

Synopsis:
Isabelle Andrews isn’t supposed to be here. She isn’t supposed to be a freshman at Hartford Community College, she isn't supposed to be living at home and working at her dad’s failing bakery, and she definitely isn’t supposed to be taking Intro to Electronic Music Production, a class that will get her nowhere toward her goal of an English Lit Ph.D. by age twenty-five. But when her dad’s latest business fiasco eats up her college fund, Hartford Community College is exactly where Isabelle finds herself—and thanks to her late enrollment, she doesn’t even get to choose her classes. Stuck with Electronic Music and way-too-easy English courses, Isabelle is determined to wallow in all the misery she feels entitled to.

But community college brings some unexpected benefits…like the fact that a certain overworked, over-scheduled Electronic Music professor hands over most of his duties to his teaching assistant. His tall, green-eyed, absolutely gorgeous teaching assistant. When TA Evan Strauss discovers Isabelle’s apathy toward electronic music—and, well, all music—he makes it his mission to convert her. The music Evan composes stirs something inside Isabelle, but she can’t get involved—after all, she’ll be transferring out as soon as possible.

Still, no matter how tightly Isabelle holds on to her misery, she finds it slipping away in the wake of all Hartford Community offers: new friendships, a surprisingly cool poetry professor, and most of all, Evan. But Evan’s dream of owning his own music studio is as impractical as Isabelle’s dad’s bakery, and when Evan makes a terrible decision, everything Isabelle has gained threatens to unravel. Soon Isabelle discovers that some of the most important lessons take place outside the classroom…and that in life, as in Evan’s favorite Depeche Mode song, the most precious things can be the hardest to hold on to

Stephanie Parent is a graduate of the Master of Professional Writing program at USC and attended the Baltimore School for the Arts as a piano major. She moved to Los Angeles because of Francesca Lia Block's WEETZIE BAT books, which might give you some idea of how much books mean to her. She also loves dogs, books about dogs, and sugary coffee drinks both hot and cold.

Website / Goodreads / Twitter

Precious Things Playlist

Precious Things features a lot of Depeche Mode songs in the story, and while most of them are named in the novel, a few are not, so I thought it might be helpful to put together an official Precious Things playlist!  I also have to admit that I am not much of a Depeche Mode fan—I really only started to listen to their music while I was thinking about this book, mulling over the idea of a story set around an electronic music production class.  (Like Isabelle, I also took an electronic music class at a community college; however, I was already a college graduate at the time and the class wasn’t for credit.)   Also like Isabelle, there are a lot of Depeche Mode songs I don’t like, but I have found a few that I really love, and the mood and tone of them had a huge influence on the writing of Precious Things.  So here are the songs, in the order they appear in the book:

“Enjoy the Silence”—For the record, I hate this song almost as much as Isabelle does.  It’s one of Depeche Mode’s earlier hits.

“Waiting for the Night”—This is the song Isabelle listens to after reading the Robert Frost poem “Acquainted with the Night,” and the combined effect of the song and poem prompts an unexpected emotional reaction.

“I Want It All”—Evan plays this song for Isabelle the first time they’re alone together.  In other words, the almost-kiss sexual-tension song.

“Halo”—The soundtrack to Evan and Isabelle’s first date.  The “girl with a famine in her heart” song.

“Goodnight Lovers”—This song foreshadows some of the troubles Isabelle and Evan will face in the last part of the book.

“Precious”—This one is my favorite too.

And if you want more Depeche Mode, here are some other songs that inspired me, but didn’t make it into the book: “Ghost,” “Useless,” “Stripped,” “One Caress,” “Suffer Well,” “The Things You Said,” and “Shine.”  Happy listening!

BOOK BLAST [GIVEAWAY!!] Desolation by Travis Simmoms

Asher St Paul thought it was just a typical zombie apocalypse like in the movies, until the necromancers crawled out of the woodwork. Since the undead have chased the living into hiding, the necromancers are able to roam freely in a new America of their making. Asher is seeking safe harbor. The need for safety is what drove him from his home in Philadelphia Pennsylvania before it was shelled. He has searched from quarantine to quarantine, always finding them overrun with zombies until he hears of The Refuge, a military compound in Binghamton New York.

With his family and lover lain to rest by his own hand, he has nothing left to lose and gives everything he has to reach the safe haven. But questions arise when he reaches The Refuge, mainly, how has he been able to sustain multiple zombie bites and not change? He thinks he has found safety in the military compound turned quarantine, but he was wrong. Even now there is a necromancer trying to make The Refuge their kingdom of the dead

I have always been a do-it-yourselfer. I haven’t had any formal education on writing, and I haven’t been raised around writer types. For that matter, I wasn’t even encouraged to read when I was a kid, even though plenty of people in my family read. When I was a teenager, I discovered Cliff’s Notes on Mythology, and it sparked something in me. It was like a floodgate had been opened, and all of these stories started rushing in. I would get ideas at random times, and I would jot them down. I have a pretty big file system of everything I have ever written. Someday I will get to them and put them all into electronic files. There is some good material in there, but there are a lot of bad stories too.
I started writing when I was thirteen or fourteen. At an early age I was already writing books of Saracin (the world The Bonds of Blood takes place in). The first book I wrote of that place was “The Calling of the Two” (not yet released). While I was writing that, I kept thinking of these characters Jovian and Angelica. I knew they had a part to play in the storyline, but they weren’t going to be in the same series. For that matter, they weren’t even going to be in the same age. As I finished the first draft of “The Calling of the Two” I went on to write the first book of Angelica and Jovian’s story. At that time it was The Mirror of the Moon. Later an editor told me it was so massive that I should make the one volume into two, and so The Bonds of Blood was born, and The Revenant Wyrd Saga went from a planned three to six.
That story has taken many forms until now, and I am sure if I didn’t declare that it was “done” it could continue to transform.
Along the way, I discovered my passion for research. I absolutely love researching. It would be nothing for me to sit for days on end, barely eating, just getting up to take care of necessities, and research really odd theories and stories. I get my ideas from them to be honest. Of course, my idea’s are never the main theme of the research I am doing, but it always seems to come from some obscure topic mentioned while I am researching. For instance one book I am outlining now is based on something I heard while watching Ancient Aliens.
Unlike most authors, I have not always loved reading and writing. I hated it until I was in 7th grade. My teacher wanted us to read the entire semester. We would read a book and write in a journal about it. Back then the teachers were allowed to spend more time on what their passions were, and actually foster something in their students, and she did just that. She made me love reading and writing. She told me to go to her book shelf and pick out a book that I was interested in. I found one of my first loves: David Eddings’ Pawn of Prophecy.
Back then I was in remedial reading, and my teacher (Mrs. Peters) would sit with me for the time I was in her classroom, taking turns reading the story out loud with me. We would read where the adventure was taking Garion, and then we would flip to the beginning and look at the map so we could follow them as well.
I think it was at that point, getting lost in a book I love to this day, that I knew I had to do this. I had to create the same magic for others that Mr. Eddings created for me.
At times it is boggling. I have three series of books started, and 2 more forming in my mind (and outlined on the computer). At this point I have to step back and finish the ones I have started before I can let myself move forward.
I feel that I am blessed in being able to write, and forging a life of my passion. It is tough at times, but that is what makes the payoff all the sweeter. The writing business is a huge adventure, trying to figure out what to do and what not to do; when to do things and when not to do anything. Currently I am planning the release of the second book to “The Bonds of Blood”. This is the first time I am armed with the knowledge of what I must do for a book release, and I finally understand why it nerves so many authors up, but it is that excitement that makes me love writing. Every time I hear a reader I don’t know praise my work, it makes my heart race and brightens my day.
Travis is the author of The Bonds of Blood, the first book in his epic fantasy series The Revenant Wyrd Saga. He has also written a young adult novel called A Lament of Moonlight which is book one of his pre-apocalypse series The Harbingers of Light. He is currently seeking publication for the first book of a third series, a zombie novel called Desolation. When he isn’t writing he is helping his family and trying to live a normal, under the radar life. His interests lie in cooking, gardening, green living, and human rights advocacy. He is a huge supporter of the Trevor Project and all agencies that seek to preserve natural resources and protect pets from abuse.”

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Book Blast [GIVEAWAY!] IXEOS Trilogy by Jennings Wright

IXEOS: REBELLION (BOOK TWO)
With rebel leader Darian free at last, the humans and outsiders on Ixeos must find a way to join forces and defeat the Firsts. The problem? All slaves are tracked with GPS, the Firsts are the only ones with power, and roving gangs hate the rebels just as much as they hate the aliens. As Darian and the outsiders from Earth travel the globe through the mysterious tunnels in Paris, they learn that the Firsts are preparing to launch another wave of biological warfare. With a transporter that will allow the aliens to target any city, anywhere on the planet, the rebels know they must stop them at all costs.
As things get more dangerous on Ixeos, the outsiders find that they’re pushed to their limit. Will they fight for freedom, no matter the price?

IXEOS: BOOK ONE
The McClellands are enjoying a lazy summer vacation at the beach when they are lured from our world into Ixeos, an alternate Earth. Finding themselves lost in a maze of tunnels under Paris and surrounded by strangers, they discover that they have been brought to Ixeos for one purpose: to take the planet back from humanoid aliens who have claimed it. With the aid of the tunnels and a mysterious man named Landon, the teens travel the world seeking the key that will allow them to free Darian, the long-imprisoned rebel leader. But the aliens aren’t the only problem on Ixeos — the McClellands have to deal with brutal gangs, desperate junkies, and a world without power, where all the technology is owned by the aliens, and where most of the population has been killed or enslaved. The worst part? There’s no way home.

Born and raised in Rockledge, Florida, Jennings spent her early years reading anything she could get her hands on, when she wasn’t spending time in and on the water. She won a prize in the 6th grade for her science fiction stories.
Jennings attended the University of the South and the University of Tampa, graduating with a B.A. in Political Science, and almost enough credits for B.A.s in both English and History. She spent time over the years doing various kinds of script doctoring, business writing, editing, and teaching writing, but mostly having and raising her family, homeschooling her children, owning and running a business with her husband, and starting a non-profit to Uganda.
Thanks to a crazy idea called NaNoWriMo Jennings got back into creative writing in 2011 and hasn’t stopped since. She’s written four novels and a screenplay in less than a year, with more ideas on the drawing board. She currently lives in North Carolina with her husband, also a writer, and two children, and travels extensively.

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BOOK BLITZ [Elle's Favorite Movies] Shine Not Burn by Elle Casey

Shine Not Burn
by Elle Casey
Publication date: June 30th 2013
Genre: NA Romance

Synopsis:
IT HAPPENED IN VEGAS. I can't be held responsible. Things that happen there are supposed to stay there, right? Right? Yeeeah. Not so much. ... Andie's just days away from tying the knot, but there's just ooooone little glitch. Apparently, she's already married. Or someone with her name is married to a guy out in Oregon of all places, and the courthouse won't issue her a marriage license until it's all cleared up. Tripping her way through cow pies and country songs to meet up with a man who gets around places on horseback is her very last idea of how to have a good time, but if she's going to get married, make partner at the firm, and have two point five kids before she's thirty-five, she needs to get to the bottom of this snafu and fix it quick ... before her fiance finds out and everything she's been working toward goes up in flames.

 Pre-Order Price of 0.99c!

Elle Casey is a full-time writer of New Adult and Young Adult titles in several genres, including romance, urban fantasy, sci-fi dystopian, and action-adventure. She's an American girl who's been living in southern France with her husband and three children since 2010. She loves chatting with her readers, so feel free to drop her a line.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

 Elle's Favorite Movies 

(disclaimer: I'm a huge John Hughes fan, as you can see) :)

Pretty In Pink

Sixteen Candles

Better Off Dead

The Sure Thing

The Breakfast Club

Pretty Woman

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Dumb and Dumber

Tuff Turf

Weird Science

Twilight

The Burbs

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Overboard

Good Will Hunting

COVER REVEAL! Owlet by Emma Michaels

Owlet by Emma Michaels

Publication Date: October 13th 2012

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal

(Currently on sale for only $0.99!)



Somewhere between falling and flying… there is a girl.

Iris has a secret. She lost her memory eight years ago and never told a living soul. After an asthma attack one night she finds out that her dreams of a strange house on a snowy island may be a memory resurfacing but the more she learns about the past the more she realizes the life she has been living is a lie. As the façade her father has built starts to crumble around her she will have to decide which means more to her; the truth or her life.

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Emma Michaels is a cover artist and the author of Owlet. As the founder of The Writers Voice blog (http://OurBooksOurVoice.Blogspot.com) she loves to connect authors and readers. Her love of blogging started when she created a review blog in 2009 (www.EmmaMichaels.com) which gave her the courage to finally submit her own novels to publishers.

Feel free to stop by www.EmmaMichaels.com

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Thank you!

Release Day Tour [Review] State of Chaos Collapse Series #2 by Summer Lane

Cassidy Hart has had better days.

Her dad is missing. Her friends have been captured. And modern society is pretty much gone, thanks to an EMP that destroyed the technological infrastructure of the United States. 

Surviving in the foothills of California is a challenge, but with the help of former Navy SEAL Chris Young, Cassidy's been able to stay alive.

Until now. Omega, the shadow army arisen from the chaos, won't stop until every single survivor is either under their control or dead. Taken by soldiers and forced into a labor camp, Cassidy must turn the tables on her captors. Escape means everything. Unfortunately, staying out of Omega's crosshairs is easier said than done. 

You can run. 

But you can't hide. 

Cassidy's about to learn that the hard way.

Three words...Romance, action, and adventure

The theme for these novels is a great one indeed. A perfect dystopian novel if I have to say so myself. :) Summer takes the reader to a world that we are all secretly afraid of in the backs of our mind. The one where a foreign military takes over our beloved USA. Summer’s view on the now common-place dystopian idea makes it even a more of a reality.

State Of Chaos is the second book in the Collapse Series. It picks up about 2 months after State Of Emergency ended. Cassidy and Chris are trying to stay hidden from the Omega forces to avoid being arrested and shipped off to a death camp. All the while looking for Chris's family and Cassidy's dad. But soon Cassidy finds herself in a work camp helping harvest food to feed the Omega forces. This novel is about her rescue and Chris and Cassidy's working with the "Freedom Fighters" to take our country back.

Cassidy. It seems as if this female lead character happens to be the most real and vibrant (fictional) person I know. She is so stubborn and sarcastic sometimes all I can do is shake my head. She loves Chris quietly and will do to anything to get back to her loved ones. I was very proud of how far she came in the second book. And Chis. Ex Navy Seal, Chris....long hair, muscular, swoon worthy, Chris. OK that's all I have to say about Chris - you get the picture! Oh yeah! And Chris Hemsworth should play Chris in the movie. Just sayin'! :) And I believe Summer agrees! :)

Sometimes when you read a novel you just connect and for some reason I just connected with these. I love Summers writing style, the characters, and the setting. It all makes for a wonderful series. If you haven't read State Of Emergency go get it now. Then you will be reaching for State Of Chaos, so just go ahead and get both! You will definitely not be disappointed. 

5 Stars!

Summer Lane is the author of the national bestselling YA/NA Contemporary Romantic Adventure, State of Emergency, the first installment in the Collapse Series. State of Chaos, the sequel, released June 28th, 2013. She is a freelance writer, publicist and lover of all things feline. Summer is also the author of Snappy Social Networking: How to Dominate the Blogosphere & Everything in Between. In her spare time, Summer is the creator of the online magazine/blog, Writing Belle, in addition to being a frequent contributor at NA Alley, a website dedicated to all things New Adult.

Summer began writing when she was 13 years old, due to the fact that the long afternoons after school were somewhat boring, and writing stories seemed to make the time pass a little quicker. Since then she has written many books about jungle cats, secret agents, princesses and spaceships. She is also a non-fiction writer, but her debut novel, State of Emergency, is her favorite book yet. Stay in the loop with all updates for the Collapse Series by liking STATE OF EMERGENCY - COLLAPSE SERIES on Facebook! Want to talk to Summer? Email her at: summerlane101@gmail.com

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