CURRENT GIVEAWAYS


My interview over at The Art and Craft of Writing Creatively is HERE

Purchase my book Images of America: Detroit Lakes HERE

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Book Promo: After the Echo by Scott Nicholson

AFTER: THE ECHO
(Book #2 in the After series)
by Scott Nicholson

It's six weeks after the shock.

The smoke on the horizon has diminished, and Rachel Wheeler and her two traveling companions head toward the mountains where Rachel's grandfather Franklin has built a survivalist compound.

However, the strange mutated people known as Zapheads seem to be changing from bloodthirsty killers into a force far more menacing. A secret military installation may hold the key to rebuilding civilization, but Franklin doesn't trust their intentions.

And the Zapheads are adapting to the new world faster than the human survivors, who must fight for their place in a future that may have no room for them.

Special launch price of 0.99 cents until 
April 1. 

 After: The Shock
(Book #1 in the After series)

A massive solar storm erases the world's technological infrastructure and kills billions. While the remaining humans are struggling to adapt and survive, they notice that some among them have...changed.

Rachel Wheeler finds herself alone in the city, where violent survivors known as "Zapheads" roam the streets, killing and destroying. Her only hope is to reach the mountains, where her grandfather, a legendary survivalist, established a compound in preparation for Doomsday.

Other survivors are fleeing the city, but Zapheads aren't the only danger. Rogue bands of military soldiers want to impose their own order in the crumbling ruins of civilization. When Rachel discovers a 10-year-old boy, she vows to care for him even at the risk of her own life.

And the Zapheads are evolving, developing communal skills even as they lay waste to the society they will eventually replace.

Special promo price of 0.99 cents until 
April 1.




Wednesday, March 27, 2013

WWW Wednesday (March 27, 2013)

 Hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?


All books are set aside when The Warden puts out a new BDB book!

What did you recently finish reading?


This one surprised me. A friend recommended it to me and I honestly wasn't able to put it down once I started reading it.
What do you think you'll read next?



Tuesday, March 26, 2013

ARC Review: Deadly Sting by Jennifer Estep




Series: Elemental Assassin, Book 8
By: Jennifer Estep
Publisher: Pocket Books
Release Date: March 26, 2013
Format: DRC
Source: publisher via edelweiss for an honest review

**WARNING** I do my best to keep all reviews as spoiler free as possible but because this is part of a series, some spoilers are unavoidable.

Well Estep really doesn’t waste much time. She instantly throws her heroine, Gin aka The Spider, back into the fray. I mean seriously, what could go wrong with Gin attending the opening night of the late Mab Monroe’s (who of course she killed) art collection and for the reading of her will. Or what could go wrong just in shopping for the perfect dress for the gala. In Gin’s world, nothing is ever easy. Every crime boss in Ashland is gunning for Gin and most of them know her true identity. When Finn and her walk into the museum (on an island), Gin notices right away that something is off. As always, her instincts are right. The giants have formed together and they plan to rob the entire museum but first they have to take out the Spider before she can spoil their plans.

Estep opens up old wounds when she introduces Own back into the mix. He also attends the gala with and “old” female friend who just so happens is wearing the exact same dress as Gin. There are many unresolved issues between Own and Gin. Their friends want them to work it out but it is kind of hard when the person you love (Gin) kills your ex. Estep does not let her readers have a second to think that everything is going to turn out perfectly. This wouldn’t be Gin’s world if it did. There are many bumps in the road but hopefully one day Gin will have the peace and happiness she deserves…it just isn’t going to happen anytime soon.

A great part of this book is the flash backs to when Gin made her first kill with Fletcher, her adoptive father. It brought insight into the makings of the Spider and that from a very young age she was taught that sometimes you have to hurt and use the people you love to kill the bad people.

Gritty, bloody, heartbreaking and at times quite humorous makes this series one of the best I have read and will continue to read. Jennifer Estep has created a series that the outcome is never what you think it will be and each new book injects a new twist or turn to keep the plot moving. She isn’t scared of hurting her characters to the point that us as readers have no idea if they will survive or not. The ending is bittersweet but I liked how Gin handled her revenge on a certain someone. Estep also leaves it wide open on who the next big baddie will be.


PURCHASE DEADLY STING

THE SERIES SO FAR


MY REVIEWS
Thread of Death (novella)


 

Top Ten Tuesday (March 26, 2013)


This is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where each week bloggers share a list of books for the prompt given.

This week the topic is: 
Top Ten  Books I Recommend The Most


1.  Lover Avenged (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 7) by J.R. Ward-this whole series is amazing but the reason I recommend Lover Avenged is because my favorite character, Rehvenge, is lead in this one.

2.  11/22/63 by Stephen King-very interesting look into what would happen if you could change the day Kennedy was assassinated.

3.  A Game of Thorns (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1) by George R.R. Martin-AMAZING first book in an amazing series.

4.  Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs-eerily good, that is all I can say.

5.  The Sumerton Women by D.L. Bogdan-invoked a lot of emotions in me so would recommend this one for any historical fiction fans.

6.  A Blood Seduction by Pamela Palmer-vampires dark and naughty...just the way I like them!

7.  Helpless by Daniel Palmer-your eyes will be opened to how technology can ruin your life quickly.

8.  Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel-creative zombie book.

9.  The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin-I swept away in Vinnie's adventures.

10. The Passage by Justin Cronin-another interesting zombie book.


What about you? What books would you recommend? Post below or leave me the link to your Top Ten Tuesday.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Stacking the Shelves (11)

What is Stacking The Shelves all about?

We are all book lovers and the need to share our enthusiasm is sometimes overwhelming. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

If you’re anything like me, you are probably hoarding books and even though you are excited about your latest book arrival, it might be a while before you get to review it and Stacking The Shelves is a good way to express your undying enthusiasm for those titles!

How to participate? Just head on over to Tynga's Reviews and sign up!

FOR REVIEW



 
WON
from Kelsey @ Ketch's Book Nook



Friday, March 22, 2013

Author Interview: Nina Berry


I would like to welcome Nina Berry to Kelsey's Book Corner today! She was gracious enough to answer a few questions for my readers!

Q: How would you describe the second book in your OTHERKIN series, OTHERMOON?

A: I think of OTHERMOON as THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK of the OTHERKIN series. It’s darker, and it goes deeper into the character relationships (but no light saber battles, sorry.) The Tribunal is down and out at the end of OTHERKIN, but in OTHERMOON it comes back with a vengeance, armed with tools the OTHERKIN could never have anticipated, bigger and badder than ever, baby. Which means the consequences for our heroes are more dire, and the ending…Well, I don’t want to spoil it, but I got pretty upset while I was writing it, and a few readers have jokingly told me they hated me a little, but couldn’t wait for the next book. This is exactly the reaction I was looking for. Sometimes writers need to be a little evil. 

Q: Did you have the plot for OTHERMOON in mind when you wrote the previous book in the series, OTHERKIN?

A: I had the overall story for three books in mind when I wrote the first book, so the answer is—yes, sort of. I planted little story seeds in book one, and I had to be sure to stay true to my plans for them or endure the wrath of readers. But I figured out the details of the plot came after the first book was done. Then some things changed in the writing. Nice surprises sometimes occur as you write, so I try not to be too locked down.

Q: How did you go about topping the exciting action in the first book?

A: I didn’t try to go bigger with the action itself, but I did try to go deeper with the emotions behind it. Action’s a great way to reveal character, and I hope I did that with what happens in OTHERMOON, particularly at the end.

Q: A villainous character in the first book gains more dimension in OTHERMOON. Did you plan that from the start?

A: Every so-called bad guy has his reasons for what he does. So I knew generally how I was going to flesh out the three main Tribunal characters in book two. As I wrote OTHERMOON, I came up with the specifics. When I wrote one particular scene, where a “bad guy” character shows us his most vulnerable self, I kind of fell in love with him. Big fun. The more three-dimensional characters are, the more enjoyable it is to write them.

Q: Things heat up a lot romantically in OTHERMOON. Was that also fun to write?

A: Romantic scenes can be a blast to write, or they can be super embarrassing, depending, for me, on where I am when I’m writing them. When I’m alone, I can really get lost in them. But recently I was writing a very romantic scene for book three while I was at my dad’s house. That was tough! It’s not like he’s looking over my shoulder or anything, but I got weirdly self-conscious with him sitting nearby. So I put that scene down and wrote something less “hot” while I was there.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nina Berry grew up bodysurfing in Hawaii, learned to throw snowballs at the University of Chicago, and now lives and works in Hollywood, pretending to lead the glamorous life. She got a screenplay optioned, wrote for a TV show called Ghost Stories, made it to the finals of the Disney TV Writing Fellowship, and became a semi-finalist in the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship. Inspired by novels she loved as a teen, she sold her debut YA paranormal novel OTHERKIN to KTeen in 2011. When not writing, Nina loves to travel, read, and tweet links about saving big cats in the wild.  

AUTHOR LINKS
 Homepage  /  Twitter  /  Facebook

OTHERKIN SERIES


MY REVIEWS



Thursday, March 21, 2013

ARC Review: Othermoon by Nina Berry



Series: Otherkin, #2
Publisher: KTeen
Release Date: January 29, 2013
Format: ARC
Source: publisher for an honest review

In Berry’s follow up to Otherkin we are instantly thrown back into the action. The Tribunal have broken into each of the shifters homes, not to kill them, but to still their hairbrushes. Right away Dez is on alert and with the strange incidents happening with her mother, she knows that they need to assemble at the school and figure out what is going on.  Dez has grown into her shifter abilities but as a result she has become even more stubborn. I have a feeling that is a natural trait with all tiger shifters and maybe that is the reason that most shifters are not fans of tigers.

Dez does continue to make mistakes but in her head they are for the good of the people she loves. Her love of Caleb becomes blurred when Caleb’s half-brother and Tribunal baddie, Lazar, steps back into the picture. This time Lazar wants to help the shifters. He supposedly has seen the light and wants nothing to do with his father. Instead he wants help from the shifters to escape the Tribunal but the other shifters except for his sister, Amaris who has already escaped and is helping the shifters, don’t believe him and think it is a trick.

I think if it wasn’t for Caleb’s sudden jealous streak there would not be a love triangle. Unfortunately, as with most YA books, there is one now but it doesn’t deter from the main part of the storyline. I did find myself seeing Lazar as not the enemy but as a tortured soul who is truly looking for a way out from under his father’s tyrannical rule. The only part that was hard for me to accept was how easy Dez trusted Lazar who previously tried to kill Dez and her family.

At times the action does read a bit heavy but all in all Berry does an excellent job in keeping the action rolling page after page. With each new revelation I was riveted to the pages wondering what will happen next. 


PURCHASE OTHERMOON

THE SERIES SO FAR



BLOG CREATED JUNE 20, 2010