Giveaway & Blitz:Breathe by Suzanne Cox

Breathe (Atlantis #1)by Suzanne Cox
Published: October 22nd 2012 by Suzanne Cox Books
17 year old science prodigy, Laney Brookes, is looking for two things: a cure for the flu virus that’s ravaging the world and the truth about what happened to her father. Using clues from her father’s secret journals, she and her two friends Kate and Carter follow what she thinks is the path to the answers. It’s a path that lands them in the lost world of Atlantis, a world struggling to survive. Laney finds more than just answers in Atlantis. She finds love. To get her friends and herself home, Laney will have to travel into enemy territory, led by Andrew a young Atlantean determined to return his people to power. In the process she’ll even unravel the mystery of her missing father. But first, she’ll have to figure out who the real enemy is. 

  

Author Bio:
I remember writing my first stories when I was about nine or ten years old. I've been writing ever since. In 2002 I decided to seriously try and get some of my work published. On February 14th of 2005 I sold my first book, A Different Kind of Man, to Harlequin Superromance. While trying to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up, besides a writer, I went to college (alot) and worked a variety of jobs. I have a bachelor of arts in English with a minor in secondary education, a bachelor of science in nursing, a master of science in career and technical education with an emphasis in adult education and most recently, a master of science in nursing as a family nurse practitioner. I was also a National Board Certified Teacher in career and technical education. Along the way I've worked as a high school English teacher and an elementary teacher. I've worked as a registered nurse on a cardiac unit, brain injury rehab unit, and several different medical-surgical units. I've also done stints as a home health nurse and a commnunity health educator at a hospital, and many years as an allied health instructor at a high school career and technology center. Presently, I'm working full time as a family nurse practitioner at an inpatient psychiatric facility.
If I'm not writing I like to spend time reading. My husband and I share our home with our four legged children. Our boy and girl in puppy dog clothes, Toby and Sassy, who masquerade as Miniature Pinschers. We are also owned by three cats Chase, Jackson, and Spots.  We are all terrorized by Gray Kitty, a stray who decided to stay and take over.
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Buy link:

Amazon

Giveaway:

US Only

• (1) copy of Breathe & (1) Marked.
• Sparkly nail polish that coordinates with the book cover.
• A stoneware necklace with concentric circle design from Breathe by Kaatee art.
• Metal bookmark

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Guest Post: Author Graham J. Sharpe

About the Author
At the age of 12, author Graham Sharpe regularly danced around the lounge to Kate Bush's “Wuthering Heights.” Today, he still hasn't decided what he'll do when he grows up. So far, the East Sussex, England-based writer has worked in an ice cream shop, trained as a hairdresser, studied sociology and psychology, written for and performed with a touring theatre company, and backpacked across far-flung countries with loose change in his pocket. Graham now combines travelling with writing and he completed his first novel, Purple, during the sleepless, jet-lagged hours spent in hotel rooms around the world. 

Character Development
by Graham J. Sharpe

Any good author knows that a successful book begins and ends with well-developed characters. While writing Purple and creating the different personalities, I hoped each of them would, in some way, represent the major themes in the book. It took me five years to write Purple and by the end I really felt as if each character reflected myself in some way. 

Underneath our own colour and our own skin we’re all the same. When I was young I was bullied because I’m gay, and it’s an experience I’ve never forgotten. I incorporated bullying into Purple through one of the main teenage characters. His name is Marty and he’s made fun of because he’s black and has
 an American accent. 

Being bullied is an embarrassing thing to talk about, because no one wants categorize themselves as a victim. Unfortunately, whether it’s physical, verbal, or mental, bullying happens to a lot of people, and I thought it would be easier for readers to identify with a character in a similar situation. Marty represents an important element of the story and I definitely feel an affinity with his struggles. 

Another major theme I wanted to touch on in the book was the generation gap between the young and the old. My personal opinion is that we’re very bad at looking after our elderly, especially in the western world. Thanks to my job as a flight attendant, I’ve traveled to more countries than I can count and I’m impressed with the way other cultures value their senior citizens. My partner’s mom lives with us and I always try to remind myself to sit down and take time to talk to her. Every time I do I learn something different. It’s inevitable that these conversations help to shape some of the characters I write.

In the novel, a purple storm circles the planet in minutes and steals everyone between the ages of eighteen and sixty-five. Having a society with just the young and the old created an opportunity for some unexpected relationships to develop, and they were great fun to write. There’s an elderly character in the book called Mr. Rupert, he works as a hairdresser, and he’s survived unimaginably difficult times. Eventually, he and Marty become great friends because they can relate to each other’s bad life experiences. You’ll hear a lot of people say, “Oh, old people don’t know anything,” but I hope those who read Purple will begin to see our senior citizens in a different light. 

I don’t think that I could pick a favorite character in Purple. They’re all so unique with their own stories to share and lessons to teach. I wanted each character to be real, down to earth and accessible, and I think that I’ve achieved that. In the next book, I’m looking forward to developing the characters even further and I can’t wait to discover what happens to them next. 

About the Book
Purple is a fantasy adventure set in modern-day London. After a purple storm sweeps around planet Earth, stealing millions of people, four teenagers struggle to make it alone. Drawn together by a series of bizarre coincidences they soon find themselves entangled with a bunch of interfering pensioners. Among the cast of players are flamboyant hairdresser Mr. Rupert, Pearl the loud-mouthed tea lady, and June, a psychic, who travels the world on her motorbike.

Excerpt: Mary of Aether by Jeffrey Aaron Miller

Blurb
Mary of the Aether is a Young Adult novel now available from Whiskey Creek Press!
A tale of mystery and magic. Mary Lanham lives an unremarkable life in an unremarkable small town, until the day a man in a long, gray cloak creeps out of the forest, and a centuries-old mystery begins to unfold. What is the terrible secret Mary’s father is hiding, a secret that has put both of their lives in danger? What is the truth about Mary’s past that has awakened a great evil? And how can she win the heart of the boy she loves when the whole world is falling apart?

Excerpt:

Aiden turned the knob and managed to force the door open about six inches before it gave a great squeal of protest and stuck in place. He slipped through, and she went in after him.

Beyond the door was a small den of dark wood paneling. A couch sat against the far wall, the stuffing bursting through the frayed upholstery, beer cans nestled in and among the cushions. Cobwebs draped from the corners like old curtains, and the whole place stank of musty decay. When Mary stepped inside, Aiden pushed the door shut behind her and set the deadbolt. Then he led her across the room to a narrow hallway, where they found more ruin, including a large hole in the drywall, a crumpled up t-shirt on the floor and a pile of trash. The floor was soft here; Mary felt it bowing under her feet with every step.

“I don’t like this place,” she said.

“Yeah, maybe we lost her already,” Aiden said. “Let’s take a peek into the living room and see if we can see her through the front windows.”

The hallway ended in three open doors. The one of the left led into the bedroom with the broken window. The one on the right led into a kitchen that was an absolute horror of filth, trash and even a couple of dead rats on the countertop. Straight ahead was the living room, an open space with peeling wallpaper and an old busted television on the floor, face down in a bed of its own glass. Windows on the far side of the living room gave a wide view of the front yard, the crumbling fence and Main Street. Cars passed, including the sputtering Studebaker of Thad and Ethel Fenster, who had apparently finished their chicken dinner at Cholly’s and were now driving home at a snail’s pace. There was no sign of Iris.

“She’s gone,” Mary said, feeling not quite relieved. Even if she was out of sight, she was there somewhere, and the traces of aether meant that Mary could never really get away. Papa had not prepared her for this. What was she supposed to do with all of these awful Lookers?

Aiden crossed the living room and stood at the window, gazing outside.

“I don’t see her,” he said. “I figured she wouldn’t follow us in here, an old lady all prim and proper like that.”

“She didn’t look prim and proper to me,” Mary said, skirting the fallen television to stand beside Aiden. “She looked horrible and mean.”

“Wonder what she was looking for,” he said. “Figure she wanted to rob us? She didn’t seem like the type to need money, but you never know. Maybe the big fancy black dress is all she has left in the world.”

Mary didn’t answer. She didn’t know what to say, and she wasn’t willing to outright lie to him. Tell him the truth, then, part of her said. He’s already a part of this. He needs to know.

But Aiden was already moving to the front door. A chain latch was in place, so he undid it and grasped the doorknob. “Let’s get you home,” he said and opened the door.

And there she stood, framed in the doorway as if she had been waiting for them. Her hands were still neatly clasped in front of her, and she had a little smile on her face. Mary screamed and stumbled backward, her feet slipping on bits of glass. She went down hard, hit the edge of the television and rolled onto the floor. Aiden cursed and tried to slam the door in the woman’s face, but she shouldered her way in, and the door merely thudded off her bony arm and flew back.

“Children should not play in abandoned houses,” Iris said. “They might get hurt.”

Available in trade paperback and e-book formats from Whiskey Creek, Amazon, Nook and Fictionwise. All links can be found at my website – jeffreyaaronmiller.com

Interview & Giveaway:Kiss of the Butterfly by James Lyon

Tell us a little about you and why we should read Kiss of the Butterfly?
Although I’m was born and raised in the U.S., I’ve lived in Germany, Russia, England, Massachusetts, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Utah, and California, and spent the better part of 18 years living in the lands of the former Yugoslavia, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia, Macedonia and Kosovo. I’ve travelled widely, from Africa to Latin America to the Middle East, and all over Europe. Currently I work in Sarajevo and bounce back and forth to Belgrade or the Dalmatian coast.

You should read “Kiss of the Butterfly” because:
-- Kirkus Reviews wrote: "In the glut of vampire-themed novels now on the market, Lyon’s debut stands out… skillful… authentic… fascinating… inspired… Lyon executes it perfectly... vivid... engaging... highly promising... sophisticated..." https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/unknown/kiss-of-the-butterfly/
-- It takes the vampire story back to its original roots. No pop culture, sparkly vampires.
-- It won’t insult your intelligence.
-- It’s a fun story.
-- You’ll never look at a butterfly the same way again. 

What inspired you to write this story?
Have you ever had an Indiana Jones moment? That’s the part in the film where Indy is looking through a dusty old book and stumbles upon a clue that sends him hurtling off on a new adventure. I had such a moment many years ago in a library at UCLA, when I was working on my Ph.D. in Balkan History, where I stumbled upon an obscure mention of Dracula’s campaign in Bosnia in 1476. I pursued the matter further, and over the years began studying folklore from the Balkans, only to discover that the word “vampire” comes from the former Yugoslavia, and entered English (and other western languages) from Serbia. I then began discovering metaphysical connections between Dracula’s 1476 campaign and events in the 1990s that were very intriguing and troubling. So I had to write about them.

Where your favorite place to relax and brainstorm?
On the deck of a sailboat, out of sight of land. Or in a mountain forest. Or in my study, surrounded by books.

What is your favorite Quote? 
“No matter where you go, there you are”.  – Buckaroo Banzai

What is your favorite T.V. show, right now?
Game of Thrones or Big Bang Theory.

The cover is so cool! Who designed it?
The cover was designed by the London-based graphic designer David Grogan, who does lots of best-seller covers for big publishing houses. There is also an alternate cover design, which can be found here
Go to the site and tell me which you prefer.

Tell us about your most loved character in your book?
Most people like Slatina the best, because he is a cross between James Bond and Gandalf. If they ever make a movie out of “Kiss”, I want him played by Ryan Gosling.

You wake up one morning feeling kinda off and you look in the mirror. What paranormal creature are you?
A drowsy enchanted owl listening to an iPod.

Are there any projects in the works?
I’ve written the first chapter to the second book in “Kiss” saga and outlined the entire book. I’ve also written 60,000 words of a projected 120,000 word espionage/financial thriller.

If there was a question that you wished an interviewer would ask you...what would be the question and the answer
--Question: What food would you like to see invented?
--Answer: Garlic-flavored chocolate.

Thanks for stopping by Little Library Muse



Kiss of the Butterfly Synopsis
“I sense it even now. People thirst for it; the entire country is mad with desire for it. And now we are going to war with our brothers because they look like us, and because we can smell our blood coursing through their veins...”  A dying man’s cryptic letter to an enigmatic professor launches student Steven Roberts on an unwitting quest, shrouded in mystery, into the war-torn labyrinth of a disintegrating Eastern European country. Steven plunges into the maelstrom to unearth long-forgotten documents holding clues to an ancient Emperor’s deeply buried secret, an inconceivable and long-forgotten evil that has slumbered for centuries. Steven’s perilous journey stretches from Southern California’s sunny beaches, to the exotically dystopian city-scapes of Budapest, Belgrade, and Bosnia, as it plays out against a backdrop of events that occurred centuries before in the Balkans.

Kirkus Reviews wrote: “In the glut of vampire-themed novels now on the market, Lyon’s debut stands out… skillful… authentic… fascinating… inspired… Lyon executes it perfectly... vivid... engaging... highly promising... sophisticated...”

Meticulously researched and set against the background of collapsing Yugoslavia, “Kiss of the Butterfly” weaves Balkan folklore together with intricate historical threads from the 15th, 18th and 20th centuries to create a rich phantasmagorical tapestry of allegory and reality. It is about passion and betrayal, obsession and desire, the thirst for life and the hunger for death. And vampires – which have formed an integral part of Balkan folklore for over a thousand years – are portrayed in their original folkloric form, which differs dramatically from today’s pop culture creations.

Excerpt

Steven lay in bed groaning, trying to recover from the enormous meal. When they had entered the house, Vesna’s grandmother had immediately begun fawning over Steven. ‘Vesna has told us so much about you,’ she gushed, causing Vesna to blush fiercely and avert her eyes. But she continued: ‘she told us what a wonderful job you are doing in your research of our folk stories.’

Vesna interrupted: ‘Grandma, please.’ Then Vesna’s mother and father arrived home from work and they all sat at the table and ate. Still the grandmother continued to dote on Steven, offering him food until he felt he would burst, all the time asking him about his family, where he was from, what his parents did, what his interests were. When she asked him if he had a girlfriend, Vesna once again blushed and said: ‘Mama, make her stop, she’s embarrassing him.’

And then the grandmother asked: ‘Don’t you think our girls are pretty?’ causing Vesna to blush once more.

By the time they finished lunch the sun had set and Vesna walked him to a different bus stop, holding him under the arm all the way there. ‘It isn’t good to cut through a graveyard after dark,’ she said.

He wasn’t certain how to react to her hand under his arm. He had seen her and Tamara hold each other like this and had observed other women holding men like this, even though they were only friends. Did she like him, or was it simply a gesture of friendship? She was always so stern and critical of his work. When she placed her hand under his arm he felt a strong attraction to her, which he instinctively resisted. When she kissed him on the cheek just before he boarded the bus, he was pleasantly surprised.

‘I like her,’ he said to himself.

His reverie was interrupted by a sharp knock on his door. ‘Come in,’ he called.

Dusan stuck his head around the door. ‘Telephone for you.’

Steven said: ‘Hello.’

‘Stefan, is that you?’ He heard a faint female voice in English shouting across an ocean of static and interference. It sent a tingle up and down his spine. ‘Katarina, how are you?’ he shouted back.

‘Good. I can barely hear you. How are you doing?’

‘Pretty good.’

Dusan’s grandmother looked at Steven from the kitchen, obviously displeased with the level of his voice.

‘Marko asked me to call and see how you’re doing. He asked why you haven’t written.’ Her voice barely overrode the static.

He lowered his voice so not to offend the grandmother. ‘But I wrote several times, both to him and you. Last week I received two letters from Professor Slatina and three from you, all at the same time. It must be the war. Can you hear me?’

‘Yes, I can hear you,’ Katarina’s voice sounded tense. ‘You don’t have to shout. That’s what Marko was afraid of. How’s life in Belgrade? Are you okay?’

‘Yes, I’m very busy and I’ve found lots of information about….’

‘Have you been to Novi Sad yet?’ she cut him off in mid-sentence.

‘No, only Belgrade. As I said, I’ve found a lot of material about…’

‘Marko wants you to go to Novi Sad.’ She cut him off once again just before he could utter the word vampire. ‘He said you should work in the archives and libraries there, especially the Matica Srpska,’ she said, referring to the famous Serbian national collection in Vojvodina. ‘And visit my mother. I must go now. Stefan, please be very careful of what you say and who you say it to,’ she voice sounded worried. ‘I miss our talks.’

‘I’m being careful. Everything is okay. When are you coming this summer?’ But the line went dead before she could answer.

‘But am I being careful?’ he asked himself. His time with Katarina was now a faint and distant memory, overpowered by his afternoon with Vesna.

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Spotlight:Sweetest Taboo by Eva Márquez

About the Author:
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, daughter of European immigrants, Eva Márquez has spent most of her life outside of her home country. At the age of five, Eva accompanied her parents to the United States, where the family settled permanently. After graduating from university, she went on to complete graduate studies in International Relations in Spain. Eva received her Master of International Studies degree from the University of Sydney and went on to work in the global health field in Sub Saharan Africa and South East Asia. Eva currently resides in Southern Africa.

Her latest book is the YA/Adult Fiction, Sweetest Taboo.

You can visit Eva’s website at www.SweetestTabooBook.com

Synopsis:Isabel Cruz was fifteen years old when she met Tom Stevens. She was 15 when they started dating, and 16 when she lost her virginity to him. By the time she turned 18 and went to college, everything had fallen apart. This hadn’t been an ordinary love, though. Not a love between two dear friends, or even high school sweethearts. This had been the most taboo sort of love there was: a relationship between a student and her teacher. Isabel started her high school career as a normal student, but set her sights on Tom Stevens as soon as she met him, and pursued him with an intense – and sometimes reckless – fascination. When he finally approached her after swim practice and told her that he shared her feelings, it was the start of a forbidden and dangerous relationship.Join Isabel as she makes her way through this dark love story, hiding from teachers, lying to her parents, and defying the authorities to make a life with the man she loves. Watch as she discovers the wonders of love and romance, and the terrible betrayal of jealous friends. And cry with her when she learns the hard truth about life and the people in her world. Sweetest Taboo is inspired by the true and tragic stories of students who fall in love with their teachers, and live with the hard truths of forbidden romances. In a world full of after-school specials on sexual predators, this touching book seeks a different path, casting both student and teacher in a gentle light, and showing that true love may lie at the base of even the most illicit romance. 

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Review: Confessions of An Angry Girl by Louise Rozett

Author: Louise Rozett
Title: Confessions of an Angry Girl
Publication: August 28, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 272 pp
Source: Netgalley

Rose Zarelli, self-proclaimed word geek and angry girl, has some confessions to make…
1. I'm livid all the time. Why? My dad died. My mom barely talks. My brother abandoned us. I think I'm allowed to be irate, don't you?
2. I make people furious regularly. Want an example? I kissed Jamie Forta, a badass guy who might be dating a cheerleader. She is now enraged and out for blood. Mine.
3. High school might as well be Mars. My best friend has been replaced by an alien, and I see red all the time. (Mars is red and "seeing red" means being angry—get it?)
Here are some other vocab words that describe my life: Inadequate. Insufferable. Intolerable.
(Don't know what they mean? Look them up yourself.)
(Sorry. That was rude.)

Thoughts: This book first appealed to me because I liked the cover art but I was also intrigued by the subject matter. Rose as a character appears well-rounded, she has beliefs and morals. What made her most endearing is her snarky wit in combination with her innocence. She's shy to a point but can hold her own when she needs to and it was nice to see her develop throughout all her struggles with school, bullying and a little bit of romance with a certain bad boy. The biggest issue in the book is that Rose is mad at the world, her mother, her brother and the fact that her father is gone. Her mother is an emotional wreck withdrawing into her doctor self and even analyzing Rose in that way, instead of sharing in her grief. Her brother has left for college and he feels the need to take on the role of her father, so he asks bad boy Jamie Forta to look after her at school. He just doesn't expect Rose to fall for him and this is when things in her life get even more complicated because with this comes a nemesis in the form of a bobble head cheerleader, who intends to make Rose's life hell. 

Overall, I like Rose's attitude and her voice. Yes, she's angry but for a reason and sure she could channel that in a better way but she's young and hurting. She doesn't really have anyone to talk to, so in a sense she is alone in her grief, which makes her a relatable and believable character. The writing is well paced and developed.  I think this a good read about family and coping with grief. 

Audio Review: Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Narrator: Caitlin Greer
Title: Finale
Series: Hush, Hush #4
Publication: October 23, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Length: 9 hrs: 49 mins
Source: Publisher via Audiobookjukebox

Synopsis
Will love conquer all?
Nora and Patch thought their troubles were behind them. Hank is gone and they should be able to put his ugly vendetta to rest. But in Hank's absence, Nora has become the unwitting head of the Nephilim and must finish what Hank began. Which ultimately means destroying the fallen angels - destroying Patch.
Nora will never let that happen, so she and Patch make a plan: lead everyone to believe they have broken up, and work the system from the inside. Nora will convince the Nephilim that they are making a mistake in fighting the fallen angels, and Patch will find out everything he can from the opposing side. They will end this war before it can even begin.
But the best-laid plans often go awry. Nora is put through the paces in her new role and finds herself drawn to an addictive power she never anticipated.
As the battle lines are drawn, Nora and Patch must confront the differences that have always been between them and either choose to ignore them or let them destroy the love they have always fought for.

Thoughts: The story picks up with Nora having to prove to the Nephilim that she is a worthy leader to take down the fallen angels but that comes with the price of having to keep her relationship with Patch a secret. This is not easy for them as they just got back together after Nora's amnesia state made her forget him in the last book. So, now she has a tough task of trying to end a war before it even starts and the fact that she is new at this gig...she's at a disadvantage because she doesn't know how to fight or how to handle her new found abilities in addition to being the unknown maker of peace. Dante, who was Hank's right hand, suggests that they pretend they are dating in order to give her more appeal in the eyes of the Nephilim as he has some pull since he is high up in the ranks. She reluctantly agrees but so much secrecy and lies are circling around her she has no clue who to trust or what to believe. She never expects to be betrayed but Nora must learn to trust in her heart and find her strength to save them all. 

The narrator did a great job of portraying the different characters by giving them each their own unique voice and sound. This made it easy to decipher who was speaking especially when multiple characters were in the scene. The production and sound quality were great and I think this book translates well into the audio format. I've listened to this entire series and I'm really sad to see this story end, I loved Patch with his dark and mysterious ways. Patch is not a bad male lead, he is willing to give up everything for Nora and he wants to protect her even when she becomes someone he should hate...the new Black Hand. Though Nora grated on my nerves occasionally in how she handles situations, I am satisfied with the ending except for one heartbreaking moment that you will have to read to find out. Overall, a good listen about betrayal, sacrifice and love that I would recommend to fantasy lovers 16 and up.