Rae Lori's Blog, page 25

Midnight Masquerade 


 Stavos Voronin was not as blind-eyed as many nobles and royals. Evony’s physical gestures—even the simplest movement of her hands—revealed that she had not always been destitute. The same was true of the children—of their polished manners and the boy’s knowledge of horses and tendency to be bold and fearless of strangers.

Ah yes, Stavos enjoyed a good mystery. After all, interest in the inexplicable circumstances surrounding the royals of Abawyth was the very thing that had lured him to the kingdom—the enigma of Abawyth’s twelve sleepy princesses. And yet now—now his mind was all the more intrigued. Not only was the obscurity of what had caused the profound and baffling torpidity of Abawyth’s princesses laid out before him, but also he found his curiosity intensely piqued over the riddle surrounding the very lovely Evony and her siblings.

As Stavos strode through the village resting on the outskirts of Abawyth Castle, his mind reeled with possibilities. His musings were drawn back to why he had come to Abawyth at all—to solve the conundrum surrounding the twelve beautiful princesses of Abawyth kingdom—to solve the seemingly impenetrable crux and thereby win the hand of one of Abawyth’s princesses, as his father, King Letholdus of Ethiarien, had commanded.





Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Kindle



 

 

Author Marcia Lynn McClure

Marcia Lynn McClure’s intoxicating succession of novels, novellas, and e-books, has established her as one of the most favored and engaging authors of true romance. Her unprecedented forte in weaving captivating stories of western, medieval, regency, and contemporary amour void of brusque intimacy has earned her the title “The Queen of Kissing.”

Marcia, who was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has spent her life intrigued with people, history, love, and romance. A wife, mother, grandmother, family historian, poet, and author, Marcia Lynn McClure spins her tales of splendor for the sake of offering respite through the beauty, mirth, and delight of a worthwhile and wonderful story.















Website * Twitter






 



 



Book Blast Giveaway

$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 9/13/13

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Author Jonathan K. Benton



Jonathan Benton always wanted to write books, having won first place in a short story competition when he was ten. Inspired by writes such as Ray Bradbury and Stephen King, Jonathan first discovered the crossover genre of literary/fantasy while reading Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes.

Jonathan grew up in New Zealand, dreaming of travelling to London and finally making the pilgrimage in his mid-twenties. Returning from England, he settled in Australia, the country he now calls home, and decided to take his writing seriously.




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A Wicked Kind of Dark


Robert Duncan no longer believes in magic. A mysterious call about a blood moon, however, leads him back to the magical world of his childhood and to Luthien, the beautiful girl with flame-coloured hair, who he loved and lost.



As Robert unravels the secrets of his childhood, darkness enters his life and an ancient evil awakens. To have any chance of defeating the dark forces that would destroy two worlds, Robert must find Luthien before the rise of the blood moon. He must, once more, believe in magic …



A Wicked Kind of Dark mixes vast and spectacular fantasy landscapes with gritty urban reality. A must-read for people of all ages who believe in the power of imagination, and the importance of never losing touch with your inner child.











Giveaway Details

$10 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Open Internationally

Ends 8/15/13




Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.




*An additional $10 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash is available to anyone who shares this giveaway on their blog.  See link in the rafflecopter form.






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Greetings programs!



It feels like I've been out of commission for months! I haven't had a chance to write a personal blog post with the array of contests, giveaways and blog hops flowing through. But now that I have some time, I wanted to write something to slowly help me get back into those cold publishing waters.



First off, apologies to those readers who have been waiting for new goodies to be released. I was juggling everything and eventually some balls dropped out of my hands and I fell head over heels into wedding planning and then wedding itself. After months of agonizing, it was the best day of my life with friends and family and even folks we didn't know who showed up! Turns out, my father-in-law invited some folks from the beach to share our day with us. We got to party with people from all over the world and even some who came from seminar on love and openness. Our vows inspired them and we even got great compliments on how natural we are together. It was an unexpected but beautiful surprise. I wish I had gotten their info to send them thanks!



It reminded me of how surprises can come from anywhere. I started this blog in 2006 and entered the professional publishing arena around the same time. Each day I would read publishing news and study the industry and noticed the oncoming ebook changes back then. I thought I had everything pegged, I knew the formula for a successful book that readers would enjoy and I would keep this up consistently. When things changed in the industry and when I received bad not so happy reviews, I got discouraged and confused. Taking a step back was definitely what I needed and in the process of wedding planning, I thought the wedding would be a disaster since nothing I planned in the beginning was coming to fruition.



The fact that the day turned out better than I expected with some wonderful surprises was a lesson for me. I may not be able to predict what will happen and I may not be able to hit one out of the park every time I release but there will always be those surprises that pop up unsuspectingly. Like a new reader that has discovered my work from a previous reader of mine. A new fan that gloms my backlist and waits for more. I'm no Nora R. by any stretch but the readers that I do have, I'm grateful for and I continue to write for you guys.



I have 3 releases coming up in the next week or so, including a book bundle. After that I want to focus on finishing the last book in my popular paranormal/contemp fantasy romance series (you know which one ;-)) and I want to finish a very fun romantic suspense novel that has been begging for attention on my hard drive and a contemporary romance that will hopefully be a fun summer read for my fans.



2013 is a year of changes for me and although I'm currently not settled in a place I can call home yet (that has been an adventure in itself), the writing waters are calling me and I'm diving in to answer!

Loving Day Blog Hop








A special blog post joining other celebrations to mark the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Loving vs.Virginia, which struck down anti-miscegenation laws in the United States.




Growing up, I was fortunate to have an array of friends from different cultures, colors and backgrounds. Naturally my choice of boyfriends, crushes and guys friends ventured into that territory as well. I loved writing since the age of 10 years old and my stories reflected couples of the interracial persuasion. As a woman of color, I didn't see many faces like mine in the books, plays and stories I read. I loved sci-fi, fantasy, historicals and eventually I veered into romance and I loved reading about the development of the couples from the first meeting to the eventual promise to love and venture through life together forever. My heroines looked like me. They were adventurers, businesswomen, kick-butt females, whip smart and varied in their personalities but they were usually women of color with men of different races.




As I wrote, I experienced these adventures right alongside my characters. While they were of different races and backgrounds, the differences of their races rarely served as the main conflict (maybe a side conflict or two ;-)) but took a side to showcase my complex characters. Eventually, after searching for my own prince charming, he arrived and I began to live my own real life novel. Writing has always been number one in my life. But now, as my life began to change in the past few years, my writing has stepped aside to allow for my upcoming life as a girlfriend, fiancee turned bride transforming into a wife. The adventures (or perhaps misadventures) of wedding planning is enough to fill a War and Peace sized volume of drama but I couldn't help thinking about the timing of our wedding and how close I will be to the landmark Loving case. 




Today is Loving Day. 46 years ago, Richard and Mildred Loving fought to marry. Due to miscegenation laws that barred different races from marrying, the Lovings took to the courts in a case against the state of Virginia and eventually overturned the laws. It's hard to think of such a time that merely existed a few decades ago where a man and woman couldn't marry merely because they were different races. They loved each other, supported each other and cared so much about each other to fight racism, hate and injustice just to love. My first exposure to this amazing couple was via the mainstream HBO movie starring Timothy Hutton and Lela Rochon (which I later read was exaggerated) and even though some of it was fictional, I was still entranced by this couple that fought great odds. They were a reflection of my relationships and as we come to the date this year, there is something different. I will be marrying my version of Richard in just 4 days and a few days after that, my new home will be in Virginia. It's a surreal feeling knowing that I would be in the state where a federal court decision affected all 50 states regarding interracial marriage. Here I will be starting my new life as one half of an interracial couple. Overall, I am ecstatic to be marrying my best friend in this new life and I'm already getting new ideas for stories as a new wife.




After the honeymoon, the writing will be taking off again. I have a lineup of new releases that have been in the wings that will resume and some near the end of their release. 2013 is a year of lots of change and a return to the thing I love most as a career. Everyday I count my blessings for meeting the love of my life and doing what I love. A big thank you to all my readers who have been there on my writing journey reading each of my books and waiting for the next. Thanks for your patience, support and time. I look forward to diving back into the waters and to bring you guys a new round of stories, diverse characters and fun stories you can read over and over again. 




Website - http://www.raelori.com

Twitter - @raelori

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/RaeLori




Click to visit author TJ Michaels next up on the Loving Day Blog Hop!







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Loving Day (Pre-Release) Book Giveaway




   











I'm giving away some upcoming releases to arrive (tentatively) later this year! To enter, just leave a comment below along with your email addy and tell me which book you are interested in receiving when they are ready!

Blurb:




My
name is Gavyn.




Liam
doesn’t care that I only have one arm. He actually likes my red hair and
freckles. I might forgive him for kidnapping me.




My
name is Gavyn.




I
lost my Liam. I’ve lost them all. And now it’s my job to make sure they don’t
show up again.




My
name is Gavyn.




I
had a life with Liam, but he couldn’t give me what I need. Then I killed his
father. I don’t expect he’ll forgive me for that.




My
name is Gavyn.
















About the author:




Kacey Vanderkarr is a young adult author. She dabbles in
fantasy, romance, and sci-fi, complete with faeries, alternate realities, and
the occasional plasma gun. She’s known to be annoyingly optimistic and listen
to music at the highest decibel. When she’s not writing, she coaches
winterguard and works as a sonographer. Kacey lives in Michigan, with her
husband, son, crazy cats, and two bearded dragons. Visit
www.kaceyvanderkarr.com for more information.




Twitter:
@kacimari

Blog:
www.kaceyvanderkarr.com

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kacey-Vanderkarr-Young-Adult-Author/128956043852072

Sweet Mercy Review



Blurb: Set during the Great Depression and Prohibition

When Eve Marryat's father is laid off from the Ford Motor Company in 1931, he is forced to support his family by leaving St. Paul, Minnesota, and moving back to his Ohio roots. Eve's uncle Cyrus has invited the family to live and work at his Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge.

Eve can't wait to leave St. Paul, a notorious haven for gangsters. At seventeen, she considers her family to be "good people," not lawbreakers like so many in her neighborhood. Thrilled to be moving to a "safe haven," Eve soon forms an unlikely friendship with a strange young man named Link, blissfully unaware that her uncle's lodge is anything but what it seems.

When the reality of her situation finally becomes clear, Eve is faced with a dilemma. Does she dare risk everything by exposing the man whose love and generosity is keeping her family from ruin? And when things turn dangerous, can she trust Link in spite of appearances?







Review: Sweet Mercy is a book my fourteen year old self would have devoured years ago if it came out way back when. I would have kept that book on my keeper shelf and today I'm happy to add it right there. I'm a huge 1930s/40s fan from way back when and there years when I did nothing but projects related to the gangsters, style, clothing, music and way of life of the eras. I was excited to dive into author Ann Tatlock's coming of age tale set during the Prohibition era. The story definitely didn't disappoint.

The story begins in 1981 with an older Eve Marryat returning to the lodge of her youth owned by her Uncle Cyrus (aka Uncle Cy). She is on a search for an old music box in the attic, a sentimental piece that ties into her youth and her story. Her grandson wishes to hear about that summer and soon we are whisked back to a seventeen year old Eve returning back to Mercy, Ohio after a harrowing life in St. Paul. Mercy's quiet, laid back slower moving town appears to Eve's young mind in contrast to St. Paul's gangster laden haven. Eve meets many different characters working at the lodge from the starry eyed, happy-go-lucky Marlene and her intended named Jimmy, the handsome Marcus with whom she shares the pangs of first love, the "red eyed devil" named Jones who is a more complex person than she is lead to believe, the mysterious yet street smart "bum" named Link and the variety of lodge workers, visitors, movers and shakers. It's a sweet story with an innocent narrator who slowly begins to see the world around her is more grey than she imagined.



I love the prose of this story and how Miss Tatlock gave a voice to each character. Each has their own personality and background which made me feel like I was right there meeting them along with Eve. I couldn't help but be sucked into the writing and story. This is one of those books I will definitely be visiting in the future.


Recommended for YA fans both young and old who love 1930s historicals and sweet coming of age stories.

Four Famous Gangsters

And how they influence Sweet Mercy




by 




Ann Tatlock 




Instead of creating a better and safer America, Prohibition led to an explosion of organized crime. The once-legal business of producing, importing and distributing alcoholic beverages became the territory of criminal gangs. Four of these gangsters made their way into Sweet Mercy.




Al Capone – Undoubtedly, everyone has heard of Al Capone, otherwise known as “Scarface.” Head of what became known as the Chicago Outfit, he made his fortune in bootlegging, racketeering, prostitution and gambling. He had the dubious distinction of being named Public Enemy No. 1 by the Chicago Crime Commission in 1930. He was a ruthless murderer and is believed to be the mastermind behind the Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929. When Capone was finally arrested and sentenced to Alcatraz, it was for the relatively benign crime of tax evasion. (Al Capone has a cameo appearance inSweet Mercy.)




George “Bugs” Moran – Bugs Moran was Al Capone’s greatest rival in the bootlegging industry, never hesitating to hijack Capone’s booze whenever possible and sell it himself. Moran led the Northside Gang in Chicago, whose members often came to loggerheads with Capone’s men. For years the two gangs treated each other to shootouts, torture, kidnappings and murder. This culminated in the Valentine’s Day Massacre, in which seven of Moran’s men were gunned down in a warehouse in cold blood. Moran was supposed to have been there but he stopped for a haircut on the way. (In Sweet Mercy, young girls moon over the handsome Bugs Moran.)




Dean O’Banion – The owner of a flower shop in Chicago, his main business was bootlegging. He was aligned with Bugs Moran and was therefore a rival of Al Capone. A family man, teetotaler and former acolyte and choir boy for Holy Name Cathedral, a church he loved all his life, O’Banion was eventually murdered by Al Capone’s men. (One of the off-screen characters in Sweet Mercy is modeled after O’Banion.)




George Remus – A Cincinnati lawyer, George Remus specialized in and became rather famous for criminal defense, especially murder. But when Prohibition came around, he saw another way to add to his already considerable wealth. He became a bootlegger, and a very successful one. In 1925, Remus was arrested and indicted for thousands of violations of the Volstead Act, for which he served time in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. (The Cincinnati bootlegger in Sweet Mercy is based upon George Remus.)









Ann Tatlock is the author of the Christy Award-winning novel Promises to Keep. She has also won the Midwest Independent Publishers Association “Book of the Year” in fiction for both All the Way Home and I’ll Watch the Moon.Her novel Things We Once Held Dear received a starred review from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly calls her “one of Christian fiction’s better wordsmiths, and her lovely prose reminds readers why it is a joy to savor her stories.” Ann lives with her husband and daughter in Asheville, North Carolina.












Website * Facebook * Goodreads

Teenager Marjorie Emery eluded death. As she struggles to
get her life back on track, she believes her efforts are paying off. Yet, when
a black dressing, unfriendly, and incredibly handsome hottie walks into her
classroom, she’s forced into a tailspin. Marjorie has no idea how much his
presence is going to shatter what little tranquility she’s achieved.




Kyran Rousseau’s gloomy nature has a name, one that is
potentially fatal under the right circumstances. His family harbors secrets and
does everything to protect Kyran. While, he does’t want to ruin Marjorie’s normal life, love has a way of changing
his plans.




Falling for Kyran is the least of Marjorie’s worries. With a
faceless threat hunting her and a boyfriend who's as dangerous as he is good
looking—how can Marjorie and Kyran keep all hell from breaking loose before
it’s too late?





Genre: Young Adult



Release Date: 7th
July, 2013



Author: Kristy
Centano








About the Author:




As a child, Kristy used to lose herself in an imaginary
world by the means of a good book. Now that she’s all grown up, she gets to
create her own fictional realms and make them come to life in ways that most
readers might not expect.




Writing has always
been a passion of hers but she never had the opportunity do so until now. After
trying out numerous options, she realized that writing was what she loved the
most and so she decided to give it a shot. As it turns out, her very active
imagination helped her achieve her goals of creating believable plots with some
ordinary, and some not so ordinary characters that move the stories along in
one way or another.




As she keeps achieving her dreams of becoming a published
author, she divides her time in between four children and a very understanding
husband.

http://kristycenteno.com

http://booksbycenteno.com

www.twitter.com/KrissyGirl122

Author Rachael Renee Anderson



Rachael Anderson is the author of four books: Divinely Designed, Luck of the Draw, Minor Adjustments, and The Reluctant Bachelorette. She's the mother of four and is pretty good at breaking up fights, or at least sending guilty parties to their rooms. She can't sing, doesn't dance, and despises tragedies. But she recently figured out how yeast works and can now make homemade bread, which she is really good at eating.




Blog * Facebook * Twitter


















Working It Out

A chance encounter . . . 

Grace Warren's life is safe and predictable—exactly the way she likes it. But when she gets roped into going to an auction to help out a friend, everything changes. She meets Seth Tuttle—a guy who unexpectedly kisses her then disappears, leaving her flustered and upset. If she never sees him again, it will be too soon.



A chance for love . . .  

Weeks later, when Seth limps into Grace's rehab clinic post surgery, she immediately recognizes him. Unfortunately, he's every bit as frustrating and annoying as she remembered. Yet there's something about him that makes her second-guess her carefully placed boundaries even though he's everything she's sure she doesn't want in a man. But maybe Seth is exactly what Grace has needed all along—assuming she's willing to risk safe and predictable for a chance at love.








Giveaway Details

Enter to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 5/31/13



a Rafflecopter giveaway

New Release from author T. Michelle Nelson
With a doting husband and a new job training a vampire military, Lily Drake was living up to the prophecies of being the best. Her life was seemingly perfect, until tragedy strikes bringing her a loss she's not sure she can endure.




The hard-working super mom / vampire slayer, Lily Drake, has just learned problems still exist even after you become immortal.




As everyone knows, even if you find the perfect guy, you don't always get a happily-ever-after. Lily may have found temporary happiness being a newlywed, but the honeymoon is over. When she finds her husband going out for late night bites with another woman, Lily has to fight to try and regain what she wants most, love and a happy family.




If Lily thought being a single mom was hard, she’ll find being married can be a bloody mess.





Now available! Visit http://www.tmichellenelson.com/order.html to order your copy today!








Life and Death of Lily Drake – Have you read the first book yet? You wouldn’t want to miss Lily Drake kicking some serious vampire butt. J




Check out more about this series here! – Life and Death of Lily Drake




About the author:




T. Michelle Nelson is a native of Benton, Kentucky and a graduate of Murray State University holding a degree in Education.  Currently she resides in picturesque Mount Vernon, Ohio, which is also the setting of her Lily Drake series.  The first book in the series, Life and Death of Lily Drake, is available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Kobo, and your other favorite online book stores in paperback as well as e-reader formats.  The second book, 'Til Death Do Us Part, is being released by Inkspell Publishing in April of 2013 and currently, T. is working hard to finish her third book.

When she isn’t writing, you can usually find her singing out of key while playing Rock Band with her husband and son, watching B-Horror movies or wrestling with her two ill-behaved fur babies, Buddy Perro and Bunchie. 







Author T. Michelle Nelson is also hosting a photo contest giveaway!




Contest Rules and Prizes:

* Take a photo of yourself with a copy of Life and Death of Lily Drake  or 
'Til Death Do Us Part   (can be paperback or with your Kindle or Nook or whatever e-Reader you use).  
* Send the photo to [email protected] with the subject line: "Photo Contest."  (By submitting your photo, you are agreeing to allow www.TMichelleNelson.com the right to post it to the website. Please only send photos of yourself and no nudity or otherwise totally profane pics.)  
* Photo contest begins April 12, 2013 and deadline for all submissions will be April 30, 2013 at midnight EST.  
* Submissions will be posted to www.TMichelleNelson.com on May 6th and winners will be chosen by votes.  
* Contestants will have until May 13th at Midnight EST to vote, and winners will be posted May 14th.  
* Prize packs will be sent out within one week from that date.  
The two most popular photos will win a Lily Drake Swag Pack including....

Custom Signed Bookplates
Lily Drake T-Shirt
Mousepad
Postcards
Bookmarks 
Coffee Mug

Contest open to residents of the US and Canada only.




Enter here