Friday, May 31, 2013

COVER REVEAL+ GIVEAWAY!! A Closer Look by Karen DellaCava

A Closer Look1
Title: A Closer Look
Author: Karen DellaCava
A Closer Look book description:
“…and there were these moments—when we laughed on the phone, or met for a kiss-and-run, when I noticed the sweet way he looked at me—well, I felt so good I could  almost  forget about my secret. But in the back of mind, it was like an invisible fist was lurking, one that followed me around, just waiting for the chance to rip out more hair.”
High school freshman, Cassie Donavan, is a stand-out sprinter about to move up to varsity track. Mom, a former teen model and Robin Lakewood, a competitive teammate are more than enough to handle when Cassie discovers her body is turning against her. On New Year’s morning she awakens to her pillow covered with her long hair. Mom and Dad explain alopecia areata—a secret they’ve kept from Cassie since she was three. And now it’s happening again. Cassie is losing her hair.
Life gets even more complicated when Cassie falls for jazz sax player, Tommy Sweeny.
Every day Cassie battles with her reflection, desperate to keep her hair loss a secret. Only her family and best friend, Tara Speziale, know the truth. With her rapidly changing appearance, relationships with Mom and Tommy are strained, damaged. And when Tara urges Cassie to race at a crowded track meet, Cassie is trapped in her worst nightmare. Shattered, she hides at home embarrassed and ashamed. Does she dare renew her trust in her family and friends? Will Cassie have the courage to take a closer look?

***
_JAY0021
Author bio:
Karen DelleCava is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and her short stories have appeared in Highlights magazine. When Karen isn't reading, working on her next novel, or playing Scrabble, you can find her at the gym in step aerobics or Zumba classes. A Closer Look is her first young adult novel.
"Like" my website on Facebook www.karendellecava.com
Buy links:
Giveaway

BOOK BLITZ [EXCERPT] TAKING BACK FOREVER by Karen Amanda Hooper

 Excerpt from
TAKING BACK FOREVER

In the short week since Maryah’s momentary remembrance of him, Nate had come alive again. He smiled all the time. His eyes were brighter. I was happy for him, but it left me feeling more alone than ever. He had been my partner in suffering over our lost soul mates. But not anymore.
I gazed at the landscape of Sedona behind him. To myself, I could admit my jealousy of his and Maryah’s reunion, but I’d never say it out loud. “How’s it feel? To have her back after all this time?”
“I don’t have her back. She hardly remembers anything. But I don’t have to hide who and what I am anymore, or that I love her. She knows who she was and where she belongs. I’m patiently waiting for her to figure out who she is now, and what she’s capable of.”
“She loves you. I can see it.”
“I am ecstatically grateful for that. But I still feel the loss of her, of all the time we shared together. It’s like we’re getting to know each other for the first time all over again. We haven’t had to do that for hundreds of years.” His head drooped. “What if she doesn’t like what she discovers?”
“Oh, please. You two light up around each other. That girl is smitten, and so are you.”
His cheeks flushed. “It’s amazing how much more you appreciate someone after you’ve lost them. Her happiness means everything to me. I want to give her the world, the magical and beautiful one she can no longer see, but I worry that’s no longer possible.”
“Give it time. If there’s one thing Mary proved over and over, it’s that anything is possible.”



TAKING BACK FOREVER (Book 2 of The Kindrily series)
by Karen Amanda Hooper
May 31st 2013
by Starry Sky Publishing

Forever is worth the fight.

Maryah erased all memory of her past lives, but she couldn’t erase her soul mate Nathan, or his undying love. Now, Maryah and Nathan have a second chance at a future together, but first Maryah must remember the person she used to be and embrace her supernatural gifts—more than one kindrily member’s life depends on it.

Maryah’s power is Harmony’s best hope of finding her kidnapped soul mate, Gregory. But Harmony isn’t big on asking anyone for help, and she’s tired of waiting, so she’s taking matters into her own hands. Heaven help anyone who stands in her way
Karen was born and bred in Baltimore, frolicked and froze in Colorado for a couple of years and is currently sunning and splashing around Florida with her two beloved dogs. She's addicted to coffee, chocolate and complicated happily-ever-afters.
Karen has been making up stories for as long as she can remember. In high school she discovered her passion for putting her thoughts onto paper, but it wasn't until her late twenties that she wrote her first novel. Due to her strong Disney upbringing, she still believes in fairytales and will forever sprinkle magic throughout all of her novels.

WEBSITE | GOODREADS | FACEBOOK | TWITTER 

BLOG TOUR [Guest Post & Giveaway] Wonderstruck



Wonderstruck
by Rebecca Gober, Jon Messenger, Maren Dille, Katie Ellis, Jennifer Bull, Radeyah H. Ali, Gabrielle Arrowsmith, Beau Barnett ,  Liana Chau, MeMe Collier, Leah D.W., Julie Gilbert, Dominique Goodall, Brenna Harden, Sandra Havriluk, Sacha Hope, Erin Liles, B.T. Lyons, Julie Marcinik, Mia Marin, Miranda Maurin, Veronica Morfi, Ifeoma Ofuani, Paula Phillips, Jocelyn Sanchez, Clemy W. Thompson, Dana Wright, Lisa Goldman

When you look at a picture, what do you see?
We gave authors around the world the challenge to write a story based on a set of five images. More than thirty authors rose to that challenge and created an amazing young adult anthology of drabbles, short stories, novelettes and novellas for you to enjoy. Flip the pages and prepare to be Wonderstruck!

Dive into a world where wind is a power that feeds the flames and love makes everything more complicated. A life where a scorned bride can cause a great deal of trouble and a place where silence as you will find out has a lot to say. Find yourself in a future where a powerful enemy can only be stopped by the most dangerous weapon of all: the truth. All of this and more lies within these very pages... Are you ready?

Prepare to be Wonderstruck! Join us in celebrating the launch of Clean Teen Publishing's first Young Adult Anthology: Wonderstruck!!

Guest Post 
by Jon Messenger 
(Winning Novella Author of Wind Warrior) 

Jon recently signed on with Clean Teen Publishing and the full length novel of Wind Warrior will be releasing on June 14, 2013! 


We interviewed Sean from Wind Warrior and this is how it turned out::

Sean leaned forward on the couch, resting his chin in his open hands.
“In your life, you’re obviously the main character to your story,” he said.  “But don’t forget that you’re a supporting character in a lot of other lives, and sometimes those supporting characters manage to steal the show.”
He leaned back and ran a hand over his ample belly.  “I’m not the main character here, don’t worry.  My buddy Xander, he’s practically a superhero.  I mean, he controls the wind.  I saw him make a tornado.  A freaking tornado in the middle of White Halls!
“No, I’m not the hero.  I’m the sidekick.  I’m the Robin to his Batman.  I’m the Kid Flash to his… well, regular Flash.  I’m the Patrick to his SpongeBob.”
Sean reached nervously over his shoulder and pulled aside the blinds.  The parking lot in front of his apartment building seemed relatively deserted but he wasn’t fooled by the quiet appearance.
“The problem is that Xander isn’t the only one who can control the elements.  There’s a new group who control flames who are hunting for him.  And sometimes being a supporting character means that they’re after you too.
“If you happen to see Xander,” he said, leaning forward once again and dropping his voice into a harsh whisper, “tell him not to come home.  Tell him, no matter what, to stay safe.”
A shadow appeared in the hallway leading to the apartment’s back bedrooms.  It stretched as someone walked into the doorway to the living room.  The pretty blonde tossed her hair over her shoulder and frowned at the heavyset man on the couch.
“Who are you talking to?” Jessica asked with an arched eyebrow.
“No one,” Sean stammered.
“Come on.  I heard you.”
Sean cleared his throat.  “I was monologuing.”
“You were what?” she asked, furrowing her brow.
“Doing a monologue,” Sean replied a little more confidently.  “Someone has to tell our story.”
Jessica gestured over her shoulder toward the closed bathroom door.  “You do remember we have someone tied up in the bathtub, right?  How about you ‘monologue’ your butt back there and check on him?”
“You’re such a sorostitute,” he muttered.
“What was that?”
“Sorostitute.  Part sorority girl, part…”
She stomped her foot on the ground.  “I can guess the last part!  Now get back there and check on the guy in the bathtub!”
Sean huffed as he pushed off the couch.  “I really hate you.”
“You’re an idiot,” Jessica said.  “And I hate you too.”

Follow the exploits of Sean, Jessica, and the rest of the supporting cast in WIND WARRIOR, featured in Clean Teen Publishing’s Wonderstruck anthology.  I’m honored to have the novella featured among the 27 drabbles, short stories, novelettes, and novellas from some outstanding up-and-coming authors.  The Wonderstruck anthology is now available on Amazon.
WIND WARRIOR has also been converted to a full-length novel, which will be published through Clean Teen Publishing on 14 June.

"Make a difference.  Change the world."



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Thursday, May 30, 2013

BOOK TOUR [EXCERPT] The Wanted Bride by Sylvia McDaniel

Excerpt from
The Wanted Bride by Sylvia McDaniel


“I need a one-way ticket to anywhere,” Valerie Burrows
commanded the girl behind the bus counter in downtown Dallas. A
charred piece of her wedding veil sagged onto her face.
Impatiently, she flipped the singed lace away, her throat
closing off the tears that threatened her vision.
On what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life,
she reeked of smoke, not flowers, saw red not white, tasted bile
not cake.
Glancing up from the counter the clerk’s eyes widened,
making Valerie acutely aware of her appearance. On what was
supposed to be the happiest day of her life, she felt
traumatized, not joyous.
“Whe...re do you want to go?” the clerk stammered.
“Anywhere, as long as I leave in the next five minutes,”
Valerie insisted, wishing people would stop staring. So she
looked like a crazy woman. After this morning maybe she was a
little loco.
“The bus to Amarillo is loading now,” the agent advised,
her large brown eyes riveted to Valerie. “I have one seat left.
The one-way fare is sixty-five dollars.”
Though she preferred to travel by plane, there was no time
or way to get to the airport. She could take the bus or stay and
face the consequences of her actions.
Valerie dug the cash out of her Bottega Veneta purse and
handed the money to the ticket agent. “I’ll take it.”
Dirty lace from her wedding veil fell onto her face again,
so she yanked the offending garment off her head and threw the
veil on top of her matching Louis Vuitton luggage.
The beautiful lace of her Vera Wang wedding gown was streaked
with gray and black. Burn streaks made a crazy pattern on the
silk that didn't accessorize the seed pearls.
The heel of one of her Stuart Weitzman pumps had snapped
several blocks ago, and her feet were blistered. And yet her
heart beat on in spite of her ruined wedding.
The clerk handed her the ticket, sympathy in her dark eyes.
“The bus is ready. You’re the last one to board.”
Not even time to change. Head held high, spine locked in 
place, she limped to the white steel carriage, her suitcases
trailing behind.
There, she handed her two suitcases to a gawking young man.
He opened his mouth to speak, but she held up her hand. “Just
load my luggage.”
She glanced up to see faces pressed against the glass
windows of the bus, gaping at her like she was a freak show.
Hadn’t these people ever seen a runaway bride in real life
before? Julia Roberts may have made the movie, but she didn’t
own the copyright to wedding disasters.
With her carry-on bag hanging from her shoulder, Valerie
marched up the steps of the waiting bus as if she walked around
in a wedding gown every day. The babble of sixty voices ceased
as she handed the driver her ticket.
He mumbled, “Lord, I need to retire.”
Her silk dress pressed against her legs and swished as she
made her way to the only empty seat on her getaway bus. Thank
God she’d ditched the petticoats in the Corvette.
A gray-haired woman glanced at her as she put her luggage
in the overhead bin.
“Hm hm hm, I can’t wait to hear this story,” the elderly
Hispanic woman said. “Are you all right?”
Valerie plopped in the seat, her ruined silk gown making a
mighty swish. She exhaled loudly, her heart aching, her eyes 
blurring with unshed tears. For the last hour she’d been holding
her breath while making her escape.
But now, now all the pain she'd carefully controlled broke
free and she chuckled. Hysterical laughter rumbled from deep
inside her, echoed through the bus. A single tear rolled down
her cheek.
“I am now.



The Wanted Bride
by Sylvia McDaniel
Genre: Short Contemporary
Cover Artist: Kat Baldwin

Book Description:

She’s a Runaway Bride

Valerie Burrows is running from a wedding, her attorney fiancé and the law. Pampered Valerie takes a bus to nowheresville, where she learns her cash and credit cards have been stolen. Left with only her designer clothes and luggage she takes on a new identity and must learn to be self-reliant. She swears off men, especially attorneys, only to find the one man who refuses a one night stand and wants a relationship.

He’s Looking For A Wife

Matt Jordan, the Colorado Crusher, is the most successful liability lawyer in the state. After the death of his brother-in-law, he realizes he’s ready to settle down with a family of his own. His only requirements are intelligent, great-looking, wants more than a hook-up and doesn’t lie. After witnessing the lies his father told his mother, he demands complete honesty. Yet Valerie Brown shows him sometimes in order to find yourself, you must become someone else. Even if that means lying.




Sylvia McDaniel and her very supportive husband Don, the love of her life, live in Texas with son Shane, Putz the klutzy dachshund and Ashley our shy dachshund. During the day, she works for a small insurance agency, helping clients with their commercial insurance coverage. The weekends are spent working out in the garden until the temperature climbs above ninety degrees. Currently, she's written fourteen novels. Her novel, A Hero's Heart, was a 1996 Golden Heart Finalist. Sylvia is the President Elect of Dallas Area Romance Authors.

COVER REVEAL: Hugged By An Angel by Roberta Capizzi


Title: Hugged By An Angel
Author: Roberta Capizzi
Expected release date: July 22, 2013
Genre: Contemporary Romance (with a little angelic theme)
Age Group: New Adult/Adult
Cover Designed by: Mooney Designs

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  How can you ever love again when tragedy has crushed your heart? Kathleen used to love life. She had plans, dreams, and faith in life; but that was before the accident that took it all away from her in an instant. Now that her beloved brother is dead and she's confined to a wheelchair, her future is but a dark cloud hovering above her head. How can she ever find the will to move on and keep living without him? Even the cares of the happy-go-lucky American physiotherapist who's helping her with her rehab therapies are all in vain. Life seems to have lost its meaning, until one night she receives an unexpected celestial visit… Colin has been working as a physiotherapist in Dublin for almost five years, but he’s never bonded so much with a patient like he is bonding with Kathleen; there's something about those sad blue eyes that makes him want to help her, to take away the pain that reminds him so much of his own. Having lost both his parents in a plane crash when he was only sixteen, Colin knows how it feels to have someone you love taken so abruptly away from you, and he makes it his mission to help Kathleen find her faith in life again. But something changes along the way… Sometimes love can work miracles. If you believe.   

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An avid reader since her childhood years and being an only child, Roberta always enjoyed the company of her fictional friends from the children’s books she loved reading, while she dreamed of writing her own stories one day. It was when she discovered novels by authors Rosamunde Pilcher and Maeve Binchy in her teenage years that she realized it was time she put down in words the stories she had kept well hidden in her mind until then. What started as a hobby, soon turned into a real passion and a way of life, until she could no longer keep the stories to herself, and decided to get over her fears and share them with the world. Roberta lives in Italy, but her dream is to move out of her country and live either in a thatched cottage in the Irish countryside or in a country house with a swing on the back porch, somewhere in the United States, where she would love to spend her days writing novels as a full-time job, and maybe one day even get as far as writing a screenplay for a movie.
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Wednesday, May 29, 2013

BLOG TOUR [Excerpt, Trailer, & GIVEAWAY] He's Gone by Deb Caletti


Excerpt from 
He's Gone by Deb Caletti
 “My fear – it too often needs a person to second it, as if it’s merely a suggestion on the table until someone else agrees it’s a good idea.  Fear doesn’t always seem real to me.  Mark would be standing over my body, his face changing into something dark, and I couldn’t quite believe it was happening.  It seemed too overly dramatic to be true.  I’ve never been very good at listening to my inner voice.  It’s been one of my biggest faults, and it’s gotten me into my worst troubles.  My inner voice speaks too softly, or maybe it’s connected to some wire that was wrongly bent years ago, same as my old stereo speakers, which never worked at the same time.  But now, at my mother’s words, the fear takes its rightful place.  It shoves forward, becomes a rioting crowd of panic, toppling all my fragile reasoning and flimsy stories of the day.  “Something’s wrong.  Something’s really wrong.”



What do you think happened to your husband, Mrs. Keller?” The Sunday morning starts like any other, aside from the slight hangover. Dani Keller wakes up on her Seattle houseboat, a headache building behind her eyes from the wine she drank at a party the night before. But on this particular Sunday morning, she’s surprised to see that her husband, Ian, is not home. As the hours pass, Dani fills her day with small things. But still, Ian does not return. Irritation shifts to worry, worry slides almost imperceptibly into panic. And then, like a relentless blackness, the terrible realization hits Dani: He’s gone. As the police work methodically through all the logical explanations—he’s hurt, he’s run off, he’s been killed—Dani searches frantically for a clue as to whether Ian is in fact dead or alive. And, slowly, she unpacks their relationship, holding each moment up to the light: from its intense, adulterous beginning, to the grandeur of their new love, to the difficulties of forever. She examines all the sins she can—and cannot—remember. As the days pass, Dani will plumb the depths of her conscience, turning over and revealing the darkest of her secrets in order to discover the hard truth—about herself, her husband, and their lives together.

    

 Deb Caletti is an award-winning author and a National Book Award finalist whose books are published and translated worldwide. Her first novel was The Queen of Everything (Simon & Schuster, 2002),of which a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly proclaimed: “This marks Caletti as a writer to watch.” Although written for adults, its coming-of-age themes gained it acclaim as a Y/A book. It made the cover of the esteemed review journal The Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books (the first trade book to do so in the journal’s history), and then was chosen for PSLA’s Top Forty of 2003 and the International Reading Association’s Young Adult Choices for 2004. It is currently in its thirteenth printing.

Deb’s second book, Honey, Baby, Sweetheart, was a finalist for the National Book Award. Kirkus called it, “tender and poetic,” and the book earned other distinguished recognition, including the PNBA Best Book Award, the Washington State Book Award, and School Library Journal’s Best Book award. It was a finalist for the California Young Reader Medal and the PEN USA Literary Award, and was also a 2005 IRA Notable Book, an SSLI Book Awards Honor Book, and made the New York Public Library’s Best Books for the Teen Age, Chicago Library’s Best Books of 2004, and the Texas TAYSHA’s list. Her third book, Wild Roses, won acclaim with starred reviews in Publisher’s Weekly, which deemed it, “rich,” and School Library Journal, which said the book was “multifaceted and emotionally devastating,” with “profound observations and vivid language.” It was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award and was chosen as a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age and a RT Book Club Magazine’s finalist for Best Y/A Book of 2005. The Nature of Jade was a summer 2007 Booksense pick, a Books A Million Book Club selection, and was a finalist for RT Magazine’s Best Y/A Book of the Year.

Her fifth book, The Fortunes of Indigo Skye, was released April 2008, followed by The Secret Life of Prince Charming in 2009, The Six Rules of Maybe in 2010, Stay in 2011, and The Story of Us in 2012. In addition, several anthologies include work by Deb, including “First Kiss, Then Tell,” a Bloomsbury anthology benefiting NPR Youth Radio, and two collections of non-fiction critical essays developed by Borders Books: “The World of the Golden Compass” and “Through the Wardrobe: Your Favorite Authors on C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia.” In 2013, Deb’s first book for adults, He’s Gone, will be released from Random House.

Deb grew up in the San Francisco Bay area and earned her journalism degree from the University of Washington in Seattle. When Deb is not writing books or reading them, she is a painter and a lyricist, and speaks widely to audiences on writing and life as an author. Deb lives with her family in Seattle.


   




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BOOK TOUR [Excerpt] A Tainted Mind by Tamsen Schultz


Excerpt from 
A Tainted Mind by Tamsen Schultz

The irony of her situation did not escape her. Whatever was compelling her to stay and find answers on the side of this country road was the same thing that had gotten her here in the first place. She didn’t like to let things go, and because she couldn’t let things go, she had almost destroyed herself with her last case. She’d taken to the road to escape, to maybe find some balance. If she were to hazard a guess, though, she’d say that whatever balance she’d found in the past few weeks was about to be tipped. 
And, as if to give weight to the direction of her thoughts, about fifteen feet away from her position and about halfway down the embankment, her light landed on a small collection of rocks. No, not rocks, pieces of road that had broken away from the winter-weakened, rain-pummeled lane and tumbled down to rest a few feet away. 
Vivi kept her beam trained on the pile as she walked closer. Tracing a line up the embankment, she could see an approximately two-foot by one-foot section of the road cracked and starting to cave in, the edge beginning to break away. 
As she contemplated the small sinkhole illuminated by her flashlight, a gust of wind picked up. Her wet jeans pressed against her legs, her ponytail lifted, and her skin broke out in bumps from the sudden chill. Another piece of the road cracked and tumbled down the slope. 
And there, at that crumbling edge, barely visible in the dark and shadows, was the 
unmistakable form of a human hand. 





A Tainted Mind
by Tamsen Schultz
Romantic Suspense
Date Published: TBD

OBSESSED with her job as a medical examiner and lead consultant with the

FBI, Dr. Vivienne ‘Vivi’ DeMarco is a woman running from her own demons. And

finding the remains of a body on the side of a road in rural upstate New York wasn’t part

of her plan.

FRUSTRATED that the ghosts from his past won’t leave him alone, Ian MacAllister

makes for a reluctant Deputy Chief of Police of Windsor, New York. But as more victims

are discovered, all women that bear a shocking resemblance to Dr. DeMarco, he knows

he’ll need to call on all the skills he learned as an Army Ranger if he wants to keep her

safe.

DENIED over and over again of the one thing he desires most, a killer may have finally

reached his breaking point. The only question that remains is, will he take Vivi and Ian

with him?


Tamsen Schultz is the author of The Puppeteer and “American Kin” (a short story published in Line Zero Magazine) and is a three-time finalist in the Pacific Northwest Writers Association annual competition. She worked in the field of international conflict resolution and co-founded a non-profit prior to attending law school. Since graduating, she has worked as a corporate attorney and, like most real lawyers, she spends a disproportionate amount of time thinking about what it might be like to do something else. She lives in Northern California in a house full of males including her husband, two sons, a cat, a dog, and a gender-neutral, but well-stocked, wine rack. A Tainted Mind is her second novel and her third, These Sorrows We See, is tentatively scheduled for release in late 2013.


BLOG TOUR [Interview & Giveaway!] Live For You (Boys of the South ~Book 1) by Marquita Valentine

TOUR SCHEDULE

 Interview with 
Marquita Valentine

Q: Do you remember how/when your interest in writing started?

I’ve always been an imaginative child…er big fibber when I got caught being naughty. Heh. I loved to make up stories with my dolls and friends. Later on, I wrote stories all of the time about my life when I got older. I was obsessed with becoming an adult and getting a job.

After college, my personal writing took a backseat to teaching. And not too long ago I was writing Dear Class letters to Kindergarteners. <G>

Then I became a stay-at-home mom and my husband aka Hot Builder suggested I start writing again. So…I did, joined Romance Writers of America, then my local chapter, and last July I indie-published my first book, Twice Tempted. Best thing ever!


Q: What were the challenges (research, psychological, and logistical) in bringing this story or characters to life?

Learning to write in 1st point of view was super hard, because I’ve written in 3rd point of view for so long.  But writing in a true/genuine voice for my characters was the Biggest challenge, mainly because I wanted to get it right and honor the tone and characteristic of the New Adult genre.


Q: What was the easiest part of writing LIVE FOR YOU?

BWAHAHAHAHHA. Easy?!  Um, none of it. <G> Actually the story flowed for my the best whenever Cole and Violet were on the same page. That tends to be true for me while writing any of my books. I like the banter, the snark, the discovery or rediscovery between the hero and heroine.


Q: What is your favorite scene or was your favorite to write? Don’t forget to tell us why. 

Ask me pick my favorite child, why don’t you? ;) Can I share ONE of my favorite scenes to write? Here goes, one of my favorite scenes is when Cole, Wyatt, Parker and Beau (my Boys of the South crew) all play Texas Hold ‘Em and use candy for currency. How can you not love that, right?  It’s Hot Guys playing poker?!


Q: What’s next for you writing wise that you can share with us?

Oh my gosh! I’m so excited about what’s coming up next! Only For You, the conclusion to Cole and Violet’s story aaaaand a super cool Christmas Project called The 12 NA’s of Christmas with a bunch of ahhhhmazing New Adult authors, called All I Want is You. It will feature a new couple (tied to my Boys of the South Series) and will be my version of Never Been Kissed (the movie), only with a little twist….the asshat from high school comes home to apologize to the heroine during Winter Break. AHHH! So freakin’ stoked about their story.

And I’ll have an adult contemporary romance Christmas novella and another book in my Going the Distance Series.

Plus, my next full length novel, featuring Lacey Evans and Wyatt Tanaka, in the Boys of the South Series will be out in late January of 2014.

So, I’ll sorta be busy in 2013. ;)




Live For You (Boys of the South ~Book 1)

by Marquita Valentine

Release date: May 29, 2013

Age Group: New Adult

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Tour organized by: AToMR Tours



Book Description:
On the surface, twenty-two year old Cole Morgan is exactly what any girl would be proud to take home to meet her parents: He’s charming, intensely handsome and goal-oriented...Only he has some secrets of his own, which include provoking bar fights and a former drug-addict of a mother slowly wasting away in a medical facility.

At barely twenty, Violet Lynn is Country Music's hottest star, until one night of partying gets out of control. Violet ends up in jail and on TMZ. Suddenly, she’s the girl least likely to be invited anywhere. Sick of the drama and keeping secrets, she runs away from the prying eyes of the paparazzi to her grandmother’s home in Forrestville, North Carolina.

A chance meeting knocks Cole off his feet, but he doesn’t recognize Violet for who she is. In fact no one does and Violet plans to keep it that way.

Circumstances, however annoying, keep throwing Violet and Cole together. Unable to stop themselves they give into the inevitable.

But when Nashville is ready to forgive and forget, Violet is forced to choose between Cole and claiming her spot as the new and improved Princess of Country Music.

Will Violet and Cole have the courage to live for their dreams...Or their hearts?



Nationally Bestselling Author, Marquita Valentine, writes small town romances that are anything but small. Lisa Kleypas, Carly Phillips and Rachel Gibson are her favorite contemporary authors. Marquita met her husband aka Hot Builder at Sonic when they were in high school. She suggests this location to all of her single friends in search of a good man -- and if that doesn't work, they can console themselves with cheesy tatertots. She lives in North Carolina in a very, very small town with Hot Builder and their two children.

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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

BOOK BLITZ & Giveaway! Angels of the Knights Series by Valerie Zambito


Angels of the Knights - Fallon 

Summary from Goodreads:
When Fallon Angell died at the age of sixteen, her life changed forever.

The hallowed world of Emperica is everything she had ever hoped for as a mortal—immeasurable beauty, unconditional love and light. But, with affection for humankind still burning within her, she joins the Knight Caste to train as an angel warrior. As a Knight, she will give up her wings and return to the place that killed her to use her unique powers to search out and destroy the evil Kjin that roam the earth. As a Knight, she will stop at nothing to protect the mortals in her care.

The elders warn her that the path she chose will be a solitary one. That she will not have the same bond with humans as she once did. But, as far as she knows, the elders had never met Kade Royce.

When her duties place her in the path of this handsome former cop, emotions buried long ago rise to the surface and she is powerless to ignore the depth of her feelings for this young man. She knows instinctively that she has found what most people search their entire lives for.

Ignoring the risks, she invites him into her world of danger, but soon their lives collide with explosive consequence. As a result, Fallon realizes with heartbreaking despair that she can no longer hide from the painful truth. In order for Kade to live, she must destroy him.


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Angels of the Knights - Blane 
(Angels of the Knights #2)

Summary from Goodreads:
Once the hunter, now the hunted. As the war with the Kjin rages, Blane Romero must lead the Paladin Knights against their mortal enemy while trying to protect the young, Juliet Hunter, who unwittingly finds herself entangled in their sinister schemes. Juliet cares only about shielding her young sisters from harm, but finds herself drawn to the enigmatic man who offers her much more than either he or she was prepared for.

Ostracized by the families they loved, Blane and Juliet find they have more in common than they thought as they battle demons both real and personal to stay together. But, will it be enough when the powerful Cesar Grant decides he wants Juliet for his own?

Book Two in the Angels of the Knights paranormal fantasy series.



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About the Author
Thank you for visiting my Goodread's profile. I am Valerie Zambito, and I live in upstate New York with my husband and three sons. After having been involved in a busy sales career for fifteen years, a great love of world building, character creation, and all things magic led to the publication of my first adult epic fantasy series, ISLAND SHIFTERS, in October of 2011. Since then, I have added two additional books to this series and wrote the first book in a new teen paranormal series called ANGELS OF THE KNIGHTS.

My reading preference is fantasy as well and I devour in copious amounts. In my opinion, there’s nothing like it! Great fantasy grants us entry into a world beyond our own that is filled with adventure, mystery and danger. How exciting to enjoy a front row seat to human struggles of epic proportions. Struggles that tug at our heartstrings and elicit real emotion.

I gravitate to fantasy with heroic elements. I like strong, confident men who never back down from a fight against evil. The kind who will not hesitate to throw himself between a woman and a fire-breathing dragon. I like strong women, too. The kind who will appreciate the offer, but is more inclined to push the man out of the way and take care of the dragon herself. ;)


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(1) Print or e-book copies of books 1 & 2 in this series plus $25 Amazon Gift Card
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