ONE Release Day Blitz

Title: ONE

Author: Mari Arden 

Genre: New Adult

Release Day: September 4th 2013

Blitz Host: Lady Amber's Tours

Blurb:
Jules Hendricks has had a string of bad "firsts."

 Embarrassing first kiss. Traumatic first date. An obsessive first boyfriend she can't understand.

It's taken her years but she's finally able to leave her small town life behind for a new start as a freshmen at UW- Madison. For Jules this chance to be independent and rebuild her life is an opportunity she won't ever let anyone take from her again. She's determined to make something of herself without a man by her side, in front, behind or anywhere near her.

Reid "Pax" Paxton is the star quarterback for the UW Badgers. His brush with death makes him understand how precious life is, and how important it is to take life by the horns, unafraid. Jules knows he's dangerous for her. Dark hair. Smoldering eyes. Killer smile. That dimple. That body. Those arms. Pax is everything she's trying to run away from, but she can't help coming back for more. Slowly he begins to show a life together can be more than just a dream. It can be their reality. The truth about reality is it's not always sunshine and butterflies.

Sometimes it's a wasteland.

Sometimes secrets can't stay buried.

Sometimes your past will find a way to hunt you down.

 Excerpt:

**Warning: the contents of this book are intended for readers 18+ and older due to explicit adult situations.      

            "Do I make you nervous?" His husky drawl drips like chocolate covering a ripe, round strawberry. Does he make me nervous? Does a simmering volcano make an ant nervous?

            I swallow. "Nervous? I'm not nervous," I babble, refusing to look at him. I'm in physical pain. What's that thing I do where I take in air, and then let it out? Oh yeah, breathing. I need to do that.

            Like right now.

            I make a strangled sound and inhale through my nostrils, taking in the smoky air like a ravenous puppy finding milk. Instantly I feel Pax's heat next to me. Soon I'll be immersed in it, wrapped in it.

            Wrapped around him.

            So does that make me nervous? Only a hundred kinds of nervous.

            "Time to begin!" Cade yells, as he jogs back to Pax and I, flashing his pearly whites. He pounds Pax on the back. "Don't drop the ball," he grins.

            "As if I ever do."

            Cade turns to me. I see the second he registers my cleavage is exposed to the world. His eyes appraise me slowly. He gives me an appreciative grin. "Well, hello there."

            "Hi," I reply. "Um, should we start now?" I don't mean to be rude, but I'm a second away from vomiting every cell inside me, and call me crazy, but I'd prefer not to start off my year known as the Vomiter.

            "Yes," Pax glares at Cade. "Let's start." He inserts himself between us, blocking Cade's view of me. His firm, half naked body is next to my face. Pax's musky cologne combined with a sweaty scent unique to him assails my nostrils until my senses are reeling out of control.

            Cade chuckles, looking amused. I want to glare at him. I don't find anything amusing about this. "Ready when you are."

            Pax turns to me, his emerald eyes dark pools in the sunlight. This close I see every glorious inch of him, from the tiny stubbles of black hair covering the lower part of his face to the rippling six pack decorating his stomach like a tattoo. I don't dare look any lower. My pulse skitters. I forget to breathe. Something hard and hot unfurls in my belly. Unable to tear my gaze from him I watch helpless as his mouth drifts closer, until he' so close his breath mingles with mine.

            "Ride me."

Author Bio:

I'm Mari Arden (Mari rhymes with safari). Teacher by day, author by night. When I'm not living my double life I like to hike, take zumba classes, and try foods from all over the world. I write to soothe my soul and to, hopefully, entertain YOU. I write YA and NA including the YA series, "Fireborn". 

Adventurous? Come join my double life!

Links:
www.mariarden.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mari-Arden-author/493749174011347

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6897452.Mari_Arden

www.twitter.com/mariarden

Good Ground Book Blitz

Title:  Good Ground

Author:  Tracy Winegar

Genre:  Historical Romance

Publication Date:  July 30, 2013 by Omnific Publishing

Cover Reveal Organized By:  Literati Author Services, Inc.

Synopsis

Jim’s faith in God is tested by the death of his cherished wife and child. His life becomes barren, and he loses hope and the ability to continue.

But God plants in his heart the seeds of a new beginning and the will to go on through an orphan child. Jim nurtures this child with the same devotion that he invests in his land. The result is a son of whom any father would be proud. Jim’s gift continues through Ellis.

Ellis in turn cares passionately for his own farm, his friends, and eventually another lost soul. When he finds Clairey in the midst of a blizzard, he rescues her from her desperate life, and she grows into a capable a strong woman under his care. Jim’s legacy comes full circle.

All things grow in love. . .

About the Author

“By day, a school librarian. By night, a wife and mother. But in those quiet moments that are only mine, I write…” Born and raised on the flatlands of Central Indiana, Tracy moved to the highlands of Utah at the age of nineteen. She quickly discovered that her brand new, top-of-the-line hiking boots were a waste of good money because she was never quite able to acclimate to the altitude in the Rockies. Tracy claims to suffer from a type of disorientation she attributes to altitude sickness to this day. It seems to be a permanent affliction. Her husband Benjamin cohabitates in a home with Tracy and the four beautiful but precocious children they lovingly created together. Although to others, their home may seem alarmingly chaotic, it is an insanity of their own making. Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17668598-good-ground Purchase Links Good Ground is FREE on Amazon from 9/2 – 9/6. Amazon | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble A True Love Story What constitutes a true love story? In the beginning you meet someone, have an attraction or a common purpose and the relationship grows. While many of us experience that chemical reaction of seeing someone that you are drawn to because of physical appearance, you general move past that into meatier substance when you “fall in love”. I think of my parents who have been married now for forty-four years. Would my mom say that she thought my dad was dang fine? Sure. My grandparents who spent a life time together had their beginnings in a horseshoe game. My grandmother swore that when she saw the back of my grandpa’s head she knew that was the man she would marry. My own marriage of sixteen years began with a double take when I saw my husband for the first time walk by and I thought, wow he is really good looking. But then I think of the rest of the story, and I realize that these relationships may be steeped in infatuation but they moved on to bigger and better things. I do not profess to be an expert on love, but I will share with you what I believe love is. My grandma and grandpa lived in rural Tennessee. Grandma Ruby was the only child of Frank Amonette. Frank was a professed bachelor for a good portion of his life and when he finally settled down and married my great- grandmother he was growing older. When my great-grandma Mary died of breast cancer, his fear then was of being alone. He asked my Grandma Ruby to promise him that she would never marry. She would not agree to it, because even as a young woman she knew that it was a promise she couldn’t keep. Her father did not approve of my grandpa Douglas, for various reasons (I’m sure some of them good reasons). While my Grandpa Douglas was a good man he was human, had his weaknesses and made his mistakes. But she loved him anyway. Because my great-grandfather Frank would not give his blessing, they decided to elope. At one point, on their journey to exchange vows, grandpa Douglas carried my grandma Ruby through a stream so that she wouldn’t get wet. Doesn’t get much more romantic than that does it? But here’s the ever after part. They went on to have children, six of them. At one point my grandma Ruby experienced a very traumatic and difficult miscarriage. The two of them struggled to make ends meet on their tobacco farm while raising their family. The work was hard, the days were long. One of their sons as an adult was involved in an accident and consequentially became a quadriplegic. My grandparents lovingly took care of him until they died. They had many ups and downs throughout their fifty-nine years together. Similarly, my parents met, fell in love, and were married. Went on to have eight children! During that time my father worked hard to support his family. My mother worked hard to keep the house in order and provide meals for her family and make things stretch as far as they might. They worked together to raise us children and to do the best they could with what they were given.  They lost their first grandson shortly after he was born, a constant heartache, even now after nineteen years, for our family. They had another grandson diagnosed with autism. I have seen firsthand their struggles and the lengths they would go to in order to take care of their own. My own marriage has not been without its problems. My husband and I now have four children of our own. Our second, a son, was diagnosed with autism at the age of two. Finances and the stresses of work and family have been difficult at times. What is my point in telling you all of this? I guess it is to say that I believe true love happens after the happily ever after. It is grounded in joy and sorrow, in work and play, in pleasure and suffering, in passion and temperance. It is facing hard times and working through them together. We are older and weigh more and are wiser and more experienced. I still think he is sexier than ever and sometimes we still make love like it was the first time. I know him and he knows me, the good, the bad, and the ugly. And yet, despite the imperfection, we are solid. We love each other. We love each other enough to work through the moments that are truly bad, because we know that there is still good somewhere in the future.  This, for me, is a true love story, hanging on and hanging in with the person you have made promises to and choosing to stay in love despite the odds being against you.

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Time Warper Blog Tour

Welcome everyone to the TIME WARPER Blog Tour!

The Time Warper Series is a YA/NA series written by Peggy Martinez. Contingency (book 1) was her debut novel and was first published back in June 2012. Since then, the book has been revised and was republished in December of 2012. Relativity (book 2) released in February 2013. Eventuality is the 3rd book of the Sage Hannigan time warper novels and is planned to release in January/February of 2014. The covers have recently undergone a facelift ... most of the changes are very cosmetic, but Contingency got an entirely new cover. 

I hope you enjoy learning about the books and their Author. 

Please check out the cover changes below and the blurbs of the books. 

There will be a giveaway at the bottom of the post. 

Thanks so much for stopping by the 

TIME WARPER BLOG TOUR! :)

CONTINGENCY (Book #1)

   Eighteen-year-old Sage Hannigan wants to get back to her own time, preferably one that hasn’t been destroyed by an underworld plot brewing in Edwardian-era South Carolina. How hard can it be?

All she has to do is:
1. Learn to use newly acquired warping skills to bend time to her will.
2. Take out a few rogue vampires.
3. Join an ancient secret society.
4. Figure out who is putting the time stream in jeopardy.
5. Find and maim whoever invented the corset.

   Sage never asked to be chosen by the Druid Priestess, Amerach, to become a Warper and she never asked to have the future hanging on her shoulders or to warp a hundred years into the past. She certainly never asked to meet Dr. Aldwin Blake, who would make her question her desire to get back to her own time. But if she fails her mission, people will die, history will change, and the present she wishes to return to will be no more.

PURCHASE CONTINGENCY ON AMAZON

RELATIVITY (Book #2)

   Three months after Sage Hannigan time warps a hundred years into the past and saves the future as we know it, she is still trying to come to grips with all the has gained…and all that she has lost. 

   All of her searching hasn’t turned up Cerberus Society or any creatures of the night and she’s beginning to wonder if she’s gone crazy after all. The only things keeping her grounded are her sparring sessions with Matt and her weekly ritual of scouring the city for low lives to kick the crap out of, and even that can’t keep her dreams free of the heartache and bitter sweet memories she has come to loath and…to cherish. 

   When blasts from the past; good, bad, and evil, come knocking on her door, will she be able to do what she has to even if it means having her barely-healing heart ripped to shreds?

PURCHASE RELATIVITY ON AMAZON 

EVENTUALITY (Book #3)

Sage Hannigan's journey continues in an action-packed follow up to Relativity. 

Coming January/February 2014

About the Author:

Peggy Martinez is a homeschooling mom of one boy and four girls. She has been married to her soul mate, Omar, since January 2000. She enjoys reading, writing, soap making, all things aromatherapy, and Twizzlers- lots of Twizzlers. She dreams of one day owning a small homestead, raising some chickens along with her children, growing a large garden, and eventually taking a dream vacation to Greece. It isn't too far fetched to think you could happen upon her and her husband having a conversation about religion, political conspiracies, a zombie apocalypse, or gangster movies.

 

Peggy on Amazon

Peggy on Facebook

Time Warper Series on Facebook

Peggy on Twitter

Peggy on Goodreads

Peggy on Pinterest

~Now for the GIVEAWAY~

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Ashes & Ice Trilogy Indiegogo Campaign Book Blitz

Title: Ashes & Ice

Author: Rochelle Maya Callen          

Released: February 4th, 2013

Genre: Young Adult

Blitz Host: Lady Amber's Tours

Synopsis:

She is desperate to remember.
He is aching to forget.
Together, they are not broken.
But together, one may not survive.

​Jade wakes up with no memory of her past and blood on her hands.

Plagued by wicked thoughts, she searches for answers. Instead, she finds a boy who doesn't offer her answers, but hope. But sometimes, when nightmares turn into reality and death follows you everywhere, hope is not enough.

LUST. LOVE. LOSS. Sometimes, all that is left are Ashes and Ice

Excerpt 

“Have you ever been in love?”

            I spill my popcorn on my lap. “I, uh, what?” I say, swiping off the kernels. The question catches me off guard.

            “You know, in love.”

            “No. No, I haven’t.” I shift on the couch, needing more space between us. “What about you?”

            “Nah.” She flicks her hand toward me as if she is brushing away nonsense, but the hard look in her eyes says something different.

            “Why?”

            She points to the TV screen and the couple making out there. “Figured if you had been, then you could explain that to me.”

            The guy sweeps the girl up and carries her into bed before they… you know. “Uh, sex?”

            She bursts out laughing. “That too. But I was talking about what  it feels like to be, you know, in love. Totally, without question. Like, does that,” she points to the screen again, “exist?”

            “Yeah, I think it exists.” I think of mom and dad—the way they kissed every morning, hugged a few moments longer than anyone else, laughed so hard they cried, and cuddled, shutting out the world, looking more content than these fakers on the screen. “It exists. And in real life, it’s better than that crap.” I say, suddenly uncomfortable by the moaning coming from the TV.

            “I thought you said you've never been in love?”

            “I haven’t. But I've seen it. And I haven’t ever seen anything come close to that in the movies.”

            She opens her mouth as if about to ask a question, but then closes it and smiles, accepting my answer. “Well, it’s good that there may be something in life to look forward to.” She drops a kernel of popcorn in her mouth.

            “May be?”

            “Well nothing is guaranteed. Who knows, I may die an old spinster.” She’s smiling, but her eyes aren't.

            I think about the movie store guy’s possessive eyes, Jesse’s chair fiasco, and Dominic’s leering, my heart. “I doubt that.”

Ashes & Ice Trilogy Indiegogo Campaign Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1413311408889707/

Indie Campaign Fund Site: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/fund-the-ashes-and-ice-trilogy-dark-ya-fantasy

Autrhor Bio:

Rochelle grew up dreaming up stories. When she entered high school, she tucked away her creative side and jumped head-first into academics, work, and service projects. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Political Science and Communication when she was twenty years old. After years away from her writing, Rochelle picked up a pen and started fleshing out a character sketch that she outlined when she was twelve. That sketch was the start of the Ashes and Ice story. Rochelle lives in the DC metro area with her husband and daughter. By day she works as a behavioral therapist. By night, she is a dreamer and is busy tapping out new stories on her keyboard.

Links:

Web/Blog: http://www.rochellemayacallen.com/

Twitter: rockyiswriting

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15864513-ashes-and-ice

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Rochelle-Maya-Callen-Author/478176392210312

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Rochelle-Maya-Callen/e/B00C3YE28C/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ashes-Ice-Rochelle-Maya-Callen/dp/0988204215/ref=la_B00C3YE28C_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366718898&sr=1-1

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ashes-and-ice-rochelle-maya-callen/1114308388?ean=2940016192550

Dressed in White Blog Tour

Title: Dressed in White

Author: Jessica Gibson          

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Tour Host: Lady Amber's Tours

Synopsis:
Lorelei Peters had everything she had ever dreamed of. Amazing friends, a sexy boyfriend, and a job that she absolutely loved.

Dillon Brockwell was all she had ever wanted. Handsome, successful, and he loved her as much as she loved him. Life was going along the way it was supposed to, until someone from Dillon’s past shows up and shatters everything to pieces.

Can Lorelei and Dillon get through all the craziness and make it down the aisle? Or will lies of omission be enough to derail them forever.

My Review: I will start by saying that romance is not my favorite genre but Dressed in White was so much more than I ever expected. This was such a great story. I became completely connected to Lorelei's character it was if I truly were beside her felling the rollercoaster ride of emotions that she was taken on. I talked to her as if she could hear me telling her to listen to her gut feelings we have those for a reason. She and Dillon go through so many restarts so to speak that you begin to wonder if they will ever get it together. Dillon's past comes busting in like a tornado that cannot be stopped. Will it ruin it all for Lorelei? Does she call it quits or can she stay and fight for the one man she has really ever loved? These questions I can't give you the answers to as I may spoil the book for you. Now if you really want these questions answered then go get a copy of  Dressed in White because Jessica Gibson does an excellent job of giving you the answers to these and many other questions! 

5/5

Excerpt:

“Come on in, you don’t have to stand outside.” I busied myself with finding a vase and clipping the ends off the flowers, preparing them for the water.

“This is weird, right?” His voice was soft and closer than I had anticipated.

I turned to find him right behind me in the kitchen. “Yeah, it’s a little weird.”

“I don’t want this distance between us.” His hands cupped my cheeks.

I wanted him to kiss me, to tell me that all of this would work out, no matter what. I needed it.

He didn't kiss me; though, he looked into my eyes, searching for answers to his unspoken questions. “I don’t know what I can give you right now Dillon.”

“Lor, every kiss that I miss tears me apart. Every night spent apart from you, without you next to me, it killed me. I told myself when I came here I wouldn't do this, but I can't seem to help myself.” His lips crushed against mine in a hungry frenzy of passion. I gasped as he gripped my waist and sat me on the counter.

His lips burned a trail down my neck and back up again. I needed him, this, all of it. Who was I kidding? I couldn't live without him any more than I could live without oxygen.

He pulled away and stood on the other side of the room. “Sorry about that. I’ll be good from now on.” The look on his face told me his words meant nothing; he had no intention of being good.

Author Bio:

Jessica Gibson is a recovering bookaholic, she's down from four books a week to a more reasonable one. It was that love of words and creativity that made her dream about writing her first book. That dream was hidden for years, always put on the back burner, filed away in the "someday" section, until her husband Matt gave her the kick in the pants she needed to actually get off her butt and write.
Jessica and Matt live in Southern California and have a serious addiction to reality tv shows like Pawn Stars and American Restoration. They have one son and hope to add to the family in the near future.
Aside from writing, she runs an online event planning business called the Release Day Diva. In addition to novels, Jessica writes and maintains the blog Book on the Bright Side. Keep up with Jessica and her latest releases and events on her blog.

Links

Website: www.releasedaydiva.com

Blog: www.thisauthorslife.blogspot.com

Book Blog : www.bookonthebrightside.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica-Gibson/120212814747940

Twiter: @jessicajgibson

The Devil's Third Cover reveal

The Storm and The Darkness Review

Title- The Storm and the Darkness

Series- The House of Crimson and Clover Book # 2

By-Sarah M. Cradit

Genre: Paranormal/Suspense Thriller

Pages: 357

Blurb-

Ana Deschanel has made a terrible mistake. The only chance of protecting the other people involved is to flee New Orleans, the only home she has ever known, for the quiet solitude of Summer Island.

Summer Island, Maine (population 202) is not the tranquil escape Ana imagined. The locals are distant and cold, especially her neighbor, the reclusive veterinarian Jonathan St. Andrews. Her only lifeline is the kind but odd caretaker Alex Whitman. Showing up at all the right moments, he warns her she is completely unprepared for a Maine winter. As the first winter storm approaches to whispers of an island shutdown- Ana realizes that she may soon be cut off from the rest of the world.

After a surprising encounter with Jonathan’s brother, Finn, Ana finds herself braving the storm to return something to him. Unprepared for the Maine storm, she slips and falls onto the jagged rocks along the shore. The St. Andrews brothers find her in the nick of time, but she remains unconscious. As the storm worsens, the St. Andrews brothers learn there are other, more sinister forces at work closer than they ever imagined.

With no help from the outside world, they must find a way to protect themselves from both the storm, and the growing darkness that looms across the island.

My Review: This book was terrifyingly terrific! The Storm and the Darkness is in one of my favorite genres to read. I was captivated by the entire story! Ana left not knowing who to trust and no where to turn made for and excellent plot. The plot thickens as winter arrives and it just continues into a blizzard of scenes that leave you breathless. I am completely in awe with this series. My heart is hoping beyond all hope that there is more to come as my mind races thinking this can't be the end. Sarah Cradit has spun one heck of a story that my mere words can only describe as fabulous! I will be looking for more books by Sarah as I am sure they will be very pleasing to this reviewers soul! For sure this one is my cup of tea!

5/5