BOOK BLITZ [Guest Post + Giveaway] End of Day by Summer Lane (The Zero Trilogy #3)

End of Day by Summer Lane
(The Zero Trilogy #3)
Publication date: October 9th 2015
Genres: Dystopia, Young Adult

Synopsis:

The end has come.

Elle Costas and her dog, Bravo, have survived the dangers of Hollywood and escaped the clutches of Slaver Territory. The apocalypse has been cruel, and the wasteland of California has forced them to seek shelter in a civilian refugee camp at a place called Bear Mountain.

Here, they meet Cheng, a mysterious boy with the skills of a samurai, and Luli, a steampunk warrior with a thirst for vengeance. But friends cannot always be trusted. When a horrific tragedy befalls Bear Mountain, Elle and Bravo come face to face with their most dangerous enemy yet.

Betrayal and heartbreak threaten to destroy the bonds of friendship. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Run, or be caught.
Kill, or be killed.
Fight, or be forced to surrender.

The end of the day will change everything.
Will Elle and Bravo survive?

The explosive, thrilling conclusion to the #1 Bestselling Zero Trilogy by Summer Lane.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | B&N

What is it like to end The Zero Trilogy?

By Summer Lane

This is the first time I have ended a published series. Currently I’m writing the seventh installment of The Collapse Series – and I don’t even want to imagine how sad I’ll be when I reach the end of that story.

With the Zero Trilogy, I’ve been on this journey of completing Elle’s story for about two years.  It would be difficult to pinpoint the exact moment that Elle’s character jumped into my mind, because I’ve always wanted to write a story about a very young but very strong female character in the apocalypse. The Zero Trilogy seemed to almost write itself at times. Elle’s character development was an organic thing, something that I was able to cultivate like a rose. Poetic, I know. But true.

To finally end a story is a brand new sensation to me. I have ended stories before – but those stories are all unpublished, private works from the mind of a private girl in the wee hours of the night. To finish a story that I have shared with endless readers is almost frightening – I don’t want to say goodbye to Elle! Thankfully, her story intertwines nicely with The Collapse Series, so this isn’t my final farewell. Not yet.

It was supremely refreshing to be able to tie the loose ends of her story together, and to explain the unexplained. I love and adore the new characters of End of Day. Cheng is my favorite male lead of the moment. He’s devilishly handsome and mischievous, the perfect companion for a girl as quick and dangerous as Elle.

In the end, I am thankful for every new opportunity I’ve had because of this trilogy, and I am eternally grateful for the support from the reading and blogging community, who really gave me my start as a writer, and made Elle Costas and Bravo the bomb dog a phenomenal fictional force to be reckoned with.

AUTHOR BIO:

Summer Lane is the #1 Bestselling author of The Collapse Series and the compelling tie-in novella books of The Zero Trilogy, as well as the upcoming Bravo Saga (releasing March 2016). She is also the author of Collapse: The Illustrated Guide, a #1 Bestselling graphic companion to her phenomenal original series.

She is the owner of WB Publishing and Writing Belle, an online magazine. Summer is also an accomplished journalist and creative writing teacher.

Summer lives in the Central Valley of California, where she spends her days writing, teaching, and writing some more. When she is not writing, she enjoys leisurely visits with friends at coffee shops, movie dates, reading and spending the day at the beach or mountains. 

Author links:

WEBSITE | BLOG | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

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BOOK BLITZ [Interview] The Fire Sisters by A.G. Henley (Brilliant Darkness #3)

The Fire Sisters by A.G. Henley 

(Brilliant Darkness #3) 

Publication date: September 25th 2015

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Fennel and Peree are finally where they’ve worked ceaselessly to be: together and safe from the Scourge in the protected village of Koolkuna. But on the day of their partnering ceremony the children of the village are stolen away—Fenn’s loyal companion, Kora, among them.

Fenn wants to bring the children home, especially as the villagers seem to blame Peree and her for the tragedy. Only since the death of her own family, she’s terrified that a wrong move on her part will lead to the loss of others she loves.

Despite her apprehension, Fenn and Peree join a small search party led by rival Kaiya, the one person who stands a chance of finding the children thanks to her mysterious past. As they travel away from the safe waters of Koolkuna and into the Scourge-infested wilds, Fenn endures Kai’s scorn, her subtle designs on Peree, and the squabbling of the group. But nothing in her life so far has prepared her for the fierce warrior women who will steal others’ children to preserve their own existence—the Fire Sisters.

If Fenn is to survive the threat of the Scourge, rescue the children from the Sisters, and have a hope of making a life with Peree in Koolkuna, she must face her fear of failure and loss and become the leader she’s destined to be.

Read THE FIRE SISTERS, the thrilling conclusion to the bestselling young adult fantasy Brilliant Darkness series! There are three novels and two short stories in the series. The first novel, The Scourge, was a finalist for the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Award.

RECOMMENDED SERIES READING ORDER:

The Scourge

The Keeper (novella)

The Defiance

The Gatherer (novella)

The Fire Sisters

GOODREADS | AMAZON

1.   Why don’t we start off with you telling us a little about yourself.

Thanks for having me! I SO appreciate bloggers for the good work you do to help authors get the word out about their books, and you’ve been especially kind to me. Thank you!

So, I’m a YA author with a now complete (hooray!) series of dystopian/post-apocalyptic books. The Brilliant Darkness series begins with The Scourge, a 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist, and includes The Defiance and the just-released The Fire Sisters. There are also two novellas in the series. The series features a blind girl who believes she’s mysteriously protected from flesh-eating creatures called the Scourge, but she hasn’t been tested—until now.

I’m also a psychologist, which makes my workweek an interesting mix of fantasy and heart-wrenching reality.

2.   I know it is good to hear an encouraging word now and then to know how much the readers love your books and to keep you going. So what is your favorite comment from a fan that really lifted your spirits?

I LOVE my readers, and I have such nice ones. They are incredibly supportive. One comment that has always stuck in my brain came very early after I first published The Scourge in January 2012. I was not planning to self-publish, but at the time I couldn’t interest an agent in my writing. I thought no one would buy or read my book.

A woman, an early reader, said she was so engrossed in The Scourge that she read while trying to do her housework, and while changing her baby’s diaper. I was thrilled that the initial response was that the book was hard to put down. I see that as a primary goal for an author: to make you lose sleep, because you can’t stop reading : ) Consider that fair warning! You can see her actual comment here, third one down on the left:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Scourge-ebook/dp/B0073O59OI

3.   I don’t want to give away any details in Fire Sisters to spoil the series for everyone else, so I will just focus on the series as a whole. I just love your Brilliant Darkness series! How did you come up with such a great idea for a story?

Thank you so much! I initially came up with the idea of people trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world full of swamps. I figured they’d move up into the trees. But, what if half the people moved up and wouldn’t share with the other half? That’s how the two main groups in The Scourge, the Lofties and Groundlings, were born. (The swamp idea kind of fell away, although water is very important to the story.)

Then, I thought, what if the main character, a Groundling, was blind? And THEN, I thought, and what if there were zombie-like creatures that only she was protected from, due to her blindness??? And that was it. Fennel and the Scourge were born.

4.   I find the concept of the Lofties (tree dwellers) and Groudlings (Ground dwellers) so fascinating. Then there is the dreaded Scourge. Can you tell us a little about each of them?

Lofties are all fair-haired and fair-skinned. Groundlings are dark. Once a year, the two groups meet for the Exchange, when they trade their infants based on their coloring. It’s a terrible time for both groups, but they’ve been locked in this tradition for generations. The Lofties hold the safety and security of the trees and treetops, while the Groundlings control the community’s only water supply. So they have a tense, mistrustful relationship, as you might imagine. The Groundlings are particularly bitter, because they have to hide in cold, dark caves for days when the Scourge come, because the Lofties won’t share their trees.

The Scourge are vicious flesh-eating creatures that chase down and devour, or turn, any humans they come across—except the Sightless, like Fennel. I should say here that if you don’t like blood and gore, don’t be afraid of The Scourge. Most people who say they aren’t zombie fans, and are easily grossed out or afraid, don’t find my series to be objectionable at all. It’s really fantasy romance : )

5.   Your characters have a ways of getting themselves into so many bad situations and some causes problems for those around them. Which character(s) gave you the most problems when trying to write their story?

Hmm, I’m not sure any of them gave me problems. I LOVE creating characters. They usually just jump into my head fully formed!

6.   I love so many of the characters in The Brilliant Darkness series so I can’t pick just one. Who was your favorite character to write?

I’m attached to my two mains, Fennel and Peree. It was so fun to build their relationship from scratch. But the most fun to write was Moray. He’s a bad guy, really, but he has heroic, good guy moments. I really tried hard to write him so that you couldn’t classify him, so he wouldn’t be black and white. I hope I succeeded right through The Fire Sisters.

7.   I know right now the series consist of 3 full length novels and 2 novellas. So is this it or do you feel there will be a spin-off or prequel in the future?

Hmm, this is it for NOW. Funny you should mention a spin-off, though. I did try to leave the ending somewhat open for a few characters, and there are many more questions about the world of the Scourge…

8.   What are you working on now? Has a new story started to bring itself to life?

Thanks for asking! I’m writing a YA time travel short story right now for an indie anthology that will release in March. I met a group of women writers here in Denver who all write YA and are mostly indies. We have done a few writing retreats together, and at the last one someone said, “Why don’t we publish a short story anthology?” So, Tick Tock: Seven Tales of Time came to be! It’s so much fun to write a new character in a new world. I could totally see this leading to its own series down the road…

I’m also revising a novel I wrote last year that is YA speculative fiction. It will be a duology, if all goes as planned.

9.   There is one question we like to ask all of our authors. Is there any advice you would like to give to the aspiring authors out there?

Read a lot. Write a lot. Honestly, that’s what being an author boils down to. I read, write, and create all day, and it’s a privilege to get paid to do it!

10.    We would like to thank you for joining us today A.G. Henley you are amazing! Now I would like to give you the last word. Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your books or yourself that I did not ask about? Or is there something you would like to say to all the readers out there?

Thank you so much for reading and supporting the work of authors and bloggers! I can create books and worlds, but that’s only half the equation of reading. Readers provide their own lens and interpretation to what I write, and they bring richness to the experience of writing that would otherwise be very solitary. We’re a team – and I appreciate my other half!

Thank you again for having me on the blog! It was a lot of fun.

Interview questions created by Candy Cassin with Otherworldy Book Adventure. Used with permission.

http://otherworldlybookadventure.blogspot.com/

AUTHOR BIO:

A.G. Henley is the author of the BRILLIANT DARKNESS series. The first novel in the series, THE SCOURGE, was a finalist for the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Award.

A.G. is also a clinical psychologist, which means people either tell her their life stories on airplanes, or avoid her at parties when they've had too much to drink. Neither of which she minds. When she's not writing fiction or shrinking heads, she can be found herding her children and their scruffy dog, Guapo, to various activities while trying to remember whatever she's inevitably forgotten to tell her husband. She lives in Denver, Colorado.

Author Links:

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BOOK BLITZ [Excerpt + Giveaway] Fractured Suns by Theresa Kay (Broken Skies #2)

 
Publication date: September 18th 2015
Genres: Post-Apocalyptic, Young Adult

Synopsis:

We came in peace. Lie.
We had no role in the Collapse. Lie.
I have always been honest. Lie.
I never lied to her. Truth.
Reunited with her brother, and surrounded by Flint, Peter and her new-found grandfather, Jax Mitchell has still never felt more alone. The choice to follow Rym back to the city to find answers and see Lir is an easy one, but their reunion is cut short and Jax is forced to leave Lir behind. She finds herself traveling with some unexpected companions and heading back toward a place she’d hoped to never see again.
After being imprisoned—and tortured—on the orders of his uncle, Lir hasn’t seen daylight or linked to anyone in weeks. After a lifetime of connection, the pain and loneliness is almost too much to bear. Elated that Jax actually came, Lir finds renewed hope and strength to continue fighting his uncle’s influence over the E’rikon, even when things look hopeless and Lir’s been branded a traitor by the very people he’s trying to save.
While Jax and Lir fight separate battles, their missions have more in common than they realize. It’s a race against time to stop men driven only by greed and power. But the people they trust the most might be the very people working against them—and “family” doesn’t mean what it used to. Will they recognize their friends from their enemies in time to save the people they love or will they lose each other in the process?

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I push the door open and slide through. The door closes behind me, leaving me in the dark, and my hand instinctively searches the wall for a light switch.

A familiar voice in the darkness. “Jax?”

I inhale sharply at the naked hope in that sound and the flare of elation that crashes into me from somewhere across the room. Squinting my eyes, I try to make him out. “Can I get some light here?” I say. “Not all of us can see in the dark.”

There’s movement to my left, and then a soft blue light fills the room. Not much, but enough for my eyes to finally find his.

“Hello.” Lir’s eyes travel over my face with a longing look. He steps forward until he’s within two feet of me, the closest we’ve been to each other in weeks.

If Rym looked tired, Lir looks exhausted. The charcoal-colored uniform he wears highlights the dark bags under his eyes and contrasts deeply with the paleness of his skin. The gold in his hair and eyes looks tarnished and dull. He’s lost weight, too—his features are more gaunt than angular.

“How have you been?” he says.

His almost nonchalant greeting is making it easy for me to hold on to the fire of my anger, and I inject my words with heat. “How have I been?” My voice creeps up with each word. “What the hell? You asked me to come here, to risk not only my life but everyone else’s, to ask me how I’ve been? I’ve been just peachy. How about you?” I close my eyes and take a deep breath, swallowing back the other words that are fighting to pass my lips: Why did you leave me? I’ve missed you. I’m sorry.

When I open my eyes again, he’s moved closer. I’m frozen in his gaze, a burn forming behind my eyes from the tears I refuse to let him see.

He lifts one eyebrow in a graceful arch. “Based on the context in which I have heard you use that word… I believe I’ve been peachy too.”

A sound that’s half laugh, half sob explodes from my mouth, and I throw myself into his arms. It’s the only thing I’ve really wanted to do since the moment I saw him, and though I know it’s stupid and impulsive, I can’t hold myself back anymore. There’s still a whisper of suspicion in the back of my mind, but I ignore it.

Lir jolts, a splash of cautious elation flowing from him, before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close to his chest. One of his hands presses into the small of my back, a slight tremble in his fingers. He relaxes into the hug. His arms and shoulders loosen and his breathing steadies.

AUTHOR BIO:

The only person she knows who had a subscription to Writer's Digest at eleven and was always excited to write research papers, Theresa has been putting words to paper since a young age. Living in the mountains of central Virginia with her husband and two kids, she works as a paralegal by day, binges on Netflix at night and finds bits of time in between reading almost everything she can get her hands on and laundry to craft stories that tend to feature broken characters in sci-fi or paranormal worlds, with a touch of romance thrown in for good measure.

She's constantly lost in one fictional universe or another and is a self-proclaimed "fangirl" who loves being sucked in to new books or TV shows. Theresa originally wanted to write horror novels as an ode to her childhood passion for Stephen King novels, but between her internal Muse's ramblings and the constant praise for her sci-fi pieces from her writer's group - The Rebel Writers - she knew she should stick with what was working.

Author links:

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BOOK BLITZ [Excerpt + Giveaway] Legends by Doug Solter (Skid #3)

Legends 

by Doug Solter
(Skid #3) 
Publication date: September 2nd 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Looking for an exciting young adult read about a kick-butt girl that doesn’t revolve around high school?
Meet Samantha. She drove the car that killed her dad. Now racked with guilt, the 18-year-old-girl racer dedicates her life to becoming what her dad always planned her to be…a racing champion. Now demoted to number three driver, Samantha feels alienated from her friends on the crew and Manny. And the worst part of it is…she knows it was all her fault.
Determined to make amends and save her Formula One career, Samantha re-commits herself to winning the championship. But how? How can she convince her boss to give back her car? How can she convince the crew that she’s changed? And how can she win eight consecutive races against the best drivers in the world? That’s what it will take for her to have a shot at the world championship.
Manny doesn’t like to create waves. His uncle owns the racing team, but the crew teases the boy like one of their own. But that’s okay. Manny dreams of designing his own race cars and he thought his girlfriend Samantha would race them. But she tossed him to the side when the self-absorbed racing star took over from the small-town girl from Oklahoma that he fell in love with.
Samantha needs an edge. She needs that revolutionary new transmission Manny designed that made her car so nimble and fast. But Manny hates her. She neglected him so bad that he broke up with her. Why would the boy help her? Especially when Manny’s ex-girlfriend is making her move to take Samantha’s place.
The world now thinks Samantha Sutton is a joke. Solid proof that girls don’t belong in a race car.
She doesn’t have a choice. Samantha must prove the world wrong.

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(Skid (book 1) is free and Rivals (book 2) is only 0.99 this month so readers can get caught up with the series!)

Samantha

Munich, Germany

The human shell that bears my name wears jeans, a little makeup, and a St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap. She feels hollow. Like her guts have been scooped out. The guts that made her take risks. The jittery stomach that made her puke before a race. The pulsing heart that made her fall in love. The delicate tissues that made her human. Made her real.

It’s all been sucked out of her.

Shutting my eyes, I listen to the sounds around me in the first-class departure lounge. A man speaks to his wife in German. He’s flying to Toronto on business and must be on the phone since he’s telling her when his plane is scheduled to leave. A woman in a strong Jersey accent scolds her child for making a fuss over her drink. Yeah, she’ll be sitting right next to us on our flight, I bet.

I tune out the voices and stretch on this comfy leather couch I found.

The silk scarf covering my face lifts as my sister leans in to destroy my moment of nirvana.

“Are you gonna be moody on the plane too?” Paige asks.

“Yes.” I grab the scarf and place it back over my face.

Paige lifts the scarf again. “Do you want a cookie? The walnut chocolate-chips are wicked.”

“No.” I take it from her again. I don’t wanna talk. Eat. Or experience life. I want life to leave me alone for a while. Or better yet, forget that Samantha Sutton ever existed.

Doesn’t Paige get the message? Do I have to spell everything— 

Paige lifts the scarf. “Please stop feeling sorry for yourself. You’ll get through this. Everything will be mucho better. You’ll see.”

A spark of rage throws me off the couch and into my sister’s face. “Shut up. You don’t know anything. My future is gone. I screwed up my entire life and I don’t need my baby sister acting like she knows what’s best for me because you don’t know crap. You’re useless to me right now. Do you understand? Useless. Go bother someone else with your condescending wisdom.”

Paige wants to cry, but she somehow chokes off the tears. She stands and grabs her purse before shuffling out of the lounge.

Good. Now I’ll have some freaking peace.

I lie down on the leather couch. Voices murmur around me. Fingers point. That loud argument with Paige draws the room’s attention to that eighteen-year-old girl on the couch. That girl who looks oddly familiar because she took off her stylish Italian scarf and her large designer sunglasses that disguised her identity.

Crap.

Please leave me alone. I don’t want to be her. I want to be a nameless traveler. A plain, uninteresting girl you would pass in the hallway without a second peek.

I throw on my sunglasses, hoping it will make me invisible again.

Wrong.

Their hushed voices start it off.

“Is that the girl who…?”

“Samantha Sutton. Yes, that’s her!”

“How could she do that to her team?”

“What a spoiled brat. Did you hear what she did?”

“What an embarrassment to the sport.”

“She’s a teen girl. What do you expect?”

The first-class lounge becomes my court room. All the passengers self-appointed judges. I can’t look at them. But I can’t stare at the ceiling for another hour. Maybe if I sit here and be quiet, they’ll leave me alone.

The voices go on and on as if I can’t hear all the awful things they’re saying about me.

People take pictures. I ignore them and play a game on my phone.

They stand up and approach me.

I don’t look up or acknowledge them.

Those people snap pictures anyway. Like I’m this inanimate object. Not a person with feelings. Or a girl who craves her privacy.

A few ask questions. Normally I would answer and be that professional sports celebrity I’ve been in the past. But I’m too fragile now. If I talk about what’s happened this week, dig up all those horrible moments again, I’ll totally lose it. So I walk out of the first-class lounge…

…and into a sea of media. They circle me like a pack of wolves and I’m trapped. They just won’t let the story die. Guess my location isn’t a secret now. Microphones and cameras aim for my head. It’s the quickest way to take me out. Their questions fly like spears…

“What’s the real reason you skipped the German Grand Prix? Was it to get back at the team for not supporting you?”

“Will Porsche sack you for embarrassing them?”

“Did Ralf Wolert’s nephew break up with you because he found out you were pregnant?”

“Was the pressure too much for you? Are you seeking professional counseling?”

“Is this the end of your career in Europe? Will you try to race in America?”

I can’t answer them. The mountain of crap that I’ve created is suffocating and I have no energy left to fight it.

My cheeks become moist.

Crap. I can’t start bawling. Not here. Not in front of the cameras.

They want to break you. Reduce you to nothing. Don’t let them do it.

The cameras move in to capture my face. The tears flow and I can’t stop. These reporters will get what they want. A pathetic little girl crying over the boy she loves.

I wedge myself in between two reporters and push through them. I dash across the terminal in this frantic state. Searching for an escape. Searching for anything that will keep them away.

And they’re chasing me. Seriously. Chasing me across the freaking airport.

I spot a women’s restroom and dash inside.

Finding an empty stall, I slam the door shut and sit on the cold toilet seat. I relax for a second and rest my head against the wall. Then it rolls out like a tidal wave. I sob and the tears drip off my jaw. I drift forward. My wet cheek slides against the wall. The friction it makes is the only thing preventing me from collapsing on to the bathroom tiles.

There’s a commotion as the restroom door opens. Things being moved around. It must be the mob. They won’t give up. They’re stuffing themselves into this bathroom. Excited that I’ve trapped myself inside this stall. They don’t care about decency. Or empathizing with the pain of a human being. All they care about is their story. Catching pictures of me in this helpless position would be the perfect image for their news feeds.

The stall door opens.

It’s Paige.

She kneels down and wraps her arms around this hollow and broken girl who’s totally lost it. Paige rocks me back and forth like a child. But it does the job. It helps me find my voice.

“I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to say,” I blubber through the tears. “I’m losing my mind.”

“Don’t worry,” Paige says in this upbeat tone that I hated a few minutes ago…but I so need to hear now. “I blocked the door. No one’s coming in here.”

“But they’re still out there. Waiting to pounce. I can’t—I can’t get on a plane now.” I sniff and my nose is clogged from crying. “Look at me. I’m a disaster. And everyone’s gonna stare at me on the plane for what…? Nine hours?”

“We’ll charter a private jet home, okay? Megan will have a cow, but this is an emergency and we’re spending the money.”

I manage a nod.

Paige dives into her purse for a moist towelette and cleans my face. I sneeze and snot comes out my nose. Paige gives me a tissue and I blow into it. Paige gets rid of the tissues and my ball cap. She brushes my hair to make me look like a girl again.

I breathe in and relax.

Paige searches her purse and takes out a big cookie. “Here, I saved you one.”

I take the cookie and examine its rocky surface of walnuts and serious chunks of chocolate. My mouth waters. “Are they really wicked?”

“Dude! You won’t regret it. Now do the Cookie Monster on that bad boy while I call NetJets.”

AUTHOR BIO:

Growing up in Oklahoma, Doug Solter began writing screenplays in 1998 and became a 2001 semi-finalist in the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences' Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting. He made the switch to writing young adult novels in 2008. His first novel, the Formula One racing romance SKID, was honored as a young adult semi-finalist in the 2013 Best Kindle Book Awards. His paranormal werewolf romance MY GIRLFRIEND BITES was honored in the same category in 2014. Doug is also a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. He respects cats, loves the mountains, and one time walked the streets of Barcelona with a smile on his face.

Author links:

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BOOK BLITZ [Excerpt] Shadow in the Sea by Sheila A. Nielson

Shadow in the Sea 

by Sheila A. Nielson 
Publication date: July 15th 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis:

When sixteen-year-old Sadelyn Hanson washes up on the shores of Windwaithe Island, her beauty and the strange marks on her wrist make superstitious locals suspect she is a mermaid. Feigning amnesia, Sade hides a far worse secret: she was sailing to her own murder trial when she was thrown overboard by the real killer, the cunning and cruel Captain Westwood.
Sade’s quiet effort to rebuild her life on the island is threatened when she meets an actual young merman. Unable to speak his language, Sade still longs for the warm companionship he offers, despite the locals’ dire legends about merfolk and their dark magic. But her confused feelings for the impossible boy become the least of her problems when Captain Westwood’s ship docks at Windwaithe. With nowhere to escape, Sade must trust in the one person who doesn’t fear the merfolk. A woman who had dealings with them herself—years ago.

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I forced myself to lift my head and look around. The Bonny Mary was adrift, the towline having fallen into the water when I dropped it. I was now a full twenty yards from shore and drifting farther every second.

“No, no, no, no!” the horrified words were wrung from me as I looked madly about for the oars. I caught sight of them bobbing on the waves far ahead of the boat. I looked helplessly about me. Only the sound of the ocean filled my ears. How was I supposed to get back to shore? The ocean pulled at the Bonny Mary as if she were a piece of driftwood.

Clawing at the water like a panicked dog, I vainly tried to propel the boat towards shore with my bare hands. It was useless.

“Help! Someone help me!” I shouted at the deserted beach.

The whole boat jerked suddenly beneath me. I was thrown forward and clutched at the gunwale for balance. The boat stopped drifting. I could see the water rushing beneath its bow as if it moved against the tide under its own power. Like a needle of a compass, the boat’s nose turned slowly in a circle until she once again faced the Rumbles in the same direction we just came from.

“What in heaven’s name…” I said under my breath.

Out of the water just in front of the bow of the Bonny Mary emerged the top of someone’s head. My mouth gaping, I stared into a pair of dark eyes, fringed by a full head of wet, corn silk colored hair. It was a boy—at least I thought it was. His nose and mouth were still hidden beneath the shimmering surface of the sea. He blinked. I caught my breath. Something wasn’t right. His slightly slanted eyes, his pointed ears, they did not look quite—human.

The boy’s head and shoulders rose from the sea, in one smooth movement. I gasped aloud as I finally got a good look at him. He was without a doubt the most incredibly handsome creature I had ever laid eyes upon.

The apparition looked like he was almost a man, eighteen or nineteen perhaps, with skin the color of fine porcelain and fair hair that shone with the same warm luster as cream colored pearls.

Though they were dripping wet, I could see his clothes were made of the finest material. A long sleeved, loose fitting white shirt clung wetly against his powerful arms. Over the shirt he wore a vest of the strangest cloth. In some lights it looked gold, in others a shimmering green like the scales of a fish.

“Who are you?” I whispered in awe.

As if in answer, the young man lifted his hand from the water. Wound tight around his wrist was the lead line of the Bonny Mary. He pulled back on it. The muscles along his arms flexed and grew taut as the boat surged back toward shore. I clutched at the gunwale, bracing myself against the sudden movement.

He’d come to save me.

The young man heaved himself backward against the towline. A large, supremely golden fish tail broke the surface of the water for a moment, stroking powerfully against the force of the

tide. It took me all of five heartbeats to realize it belonged to my strange aquatic rescuer.

James had been right about the existence of mermaids after all.

AUTHOR BIO:

Sheila never did figure out what she wanted to be when she grew up. She graduated from college with a BFA in illustration, has worked as a children's librarian for over eighteen years, and would eventually like to be a full-time author. Why pick one career when you can have many? Sheila lives with her two pets, a goffin cockatoo and a tiny toy poodle. She was born and raised in California but has come to also love her adopted home in Utah where she currently resides.

Author links:

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BOOK BLITZ [Excerpt + Giveaway] Cage of Deceit by Jennifer Anne Davis (Reign of Secrets #1)

Cage of Deceit 

by Jennifer Anne Davis
(Reign of Secrets #1)
Published by: Clean Teen Publishing
Publication date: August 25th 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Jennifer Anne Davis’ best-selling True Reign series captivated readers from the very first page. Now, get ready to become entangled in the follow-up series, Reign of Secrets. In this new series, follow Allyssa, the daughter of the beloved Emperor Darmik and Empress Rema— and find out what happens after happily ever after.
Seventeen-year-old Allyssa appears to be the ideal princess of Emperion—she’s beautiful, elegant, and refined. She spends her days locked in a suffocating cage, otherwise known as royal court. But at night, Allyssa uses her secret persona—that of a vigilante—to hunt down criminals and help her people firsthand.
Unfortunately, her nightly escapades will have to wait because the citizens of Emperion may need saving from something much bigger than common criminals. War is encroaching on their country and in order to protect her people, Allyssa may have to sacrifice her heart. Forced to entertain an alliance through marriage with a handsome prince from a neighboring kingdom, she finds herself feeling even more stifled than before. To make matters worse, the prince has stuck his nosy squire, Jarvik, to watch her every move.
Jarvik is infuriating, bossy and unfortunately, the only person she can turn to when she unveils a heinous plot. Together, the unlikely pair will have to work together to stop an enemy that everyone thought was long gone, one with the power to destroy her family and the people of Emperion. Now the cage Allyssa so longed to break free from might just be the one thing she has to fight to keep intact. In order to save her kingdom, she will have to sacrifice her freedom, her heart, and maybe even her life.

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Allyssa despised sparring in a dress. However, that was the way her father had taught her to fight. He said if someone attacked her, she would be in a gown, so she had to be able to maneuver in heavy fabric.

  “Faster,” Marek instructed. “You’re not focusing.”

  She wanted to growl because he was right, she was too distracted. Putting all thoughts of the pretty prince out of her mind, she gave Marek her full attention. He swung his sword, hitting hers near the hilt, making her drop it. Not intending to lose their match so easily, she twisted and came in close to him. When he went to grab her, she rammed her elbow into his stomach. He hunched over and she yanked him down, slamming her knee into his face.

  He dropped his sword.

  “I win,” she declared.

  Catching his breath, he wiped his forehead. “You seem to have gained a few new moves.” Not a question.

  “Perhaps,” was all she said in reply. The training room was lined with her personal guards. She knew her father didn’t want her practicing—he’d rather she prepare for the ball. But in order to make it through dinner and dancing, she had to release her anger and frustration.

  Marek took their wooden swords and put them back on the rack.

  “I’m not ready to return to my rooms.” She still felt off balance and unsettled.

  He glanced to the door where Mayra and Madelin were waiting for her. “I need to go over some security details with my father,” Marek stated.

  “Then go.” She waved him away. “I’ll only be a few more minutes.”

  He briefly spoke with the guards before he said, “Your Highness,” and left.

  As soon as he was gone, she put leather gloves on and went to the hay figure secured to the wall. Taking a deep breath, she started punching it, imagining the dummy was the prince. Smiling, she started hitting it harder and faster, allowing all of her aggression to evaporate.

  Someone started clapping, and she spun around about to yell at whoever had interrupted her.

  Prince Odar stood there with a smirk.

  “What are you doing here?” she demanded, wiping the sweat off her forehead with her arm. He was accompanied by two of his soldiers and the squire she noticed earlier in the Throne Room.

  He clicked his tongue. “A testy remark from someone so delicate and lovely.”

  Her eyes narrowed. She was dirty, smelly, and certainly not the picture of a princess at the moment. The squire clasped his hands behind his back, staring daggers at her. He must not approve of a woman who could take care of herself, knew how to fight, and who dared to sweat. She hated him almost as much as she hated the prince.

  “I’m sorry, Your Highness,” she said, trying to keep the detest from her voice. “Please excuse me, I must prepare for this evening.”

  Mayra rushed forward and placed a cloak upon Allyssa’s shoulders. The princess yanked the hood up, concealing herself so no one from the court would see her all sweaty. She swept out of the room, not looking back. She could have sworn she heard the prince chuckling as she hurried down the corridor.

  “Why didn’t you use the opportunity to speak with the prince?” Mayra asked, trying to keep up. “He obviously sought you out.”

  Allyssa’s eyes sliced over to her lady-in-waiting. “Because,” she snapped, “I don’t want to talk to someone who flatters with pointless words.”

  Mayra laughed. “He is rather charming.”

  “He appears to be exactly as a prince should,” Allyssa said. “And I have no interest in princes.”

  “Aiming a bit higher?”

  “No,” Allyssa replied. “I’m aiming for someone a bit more real.”

AUTHOR BIO:

Jennifer graduated from the University of San Diego with a degree in English and a teaching credential. Afterwards, she married her best friend and high school sweetheart. Jennifer is currently a full-time writer and mother of three young children. Her days are spent living in imaginary worlds and fueling her own kids’ creativity.

Author links:

WEBSITE | GOODREADS | FACEBOOK | TWITTER

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