Thursday, December 31, 2015

Blog Tour: Wrath of Bones by AJ Aalto

Wrath and Bones
The Marnie Baranuik Files 
Book 4
A.J. Aalto
 
Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy 
Publisher: Booktrope Editions
 Date of Publication: December 28, 2015
 
ASIN: B018MNEBKQ
Number of pages:  486
 
Cover Artist:  Greg Simanson
 

Book Description:
 
Marnie Baranuik is confident that her new psychic detective agency will be a great success, and she has eight million business cards to prove it. But before the paint even dries on her open for business sign, she’s summoned to face the Demon King Asmodeus in His own playground, the revenant court, home of the undead nobility, to participate in a conclave of the most powerful immortals on Earth.
 
Orc prophets have forewarned her that danger is looming in the far north. In her most ambitious adventure yet, Marnie must harness her powers, gather trusted friends to wade into battle, and complete an international treasure hunt that would make Indiana Jones break into a cold sweat, before raising a new revenant house to rule from the Unhallowed Throne... and do it all without getting her heart or legs broken. Storms are brewing, threats are piling up, and the stakes are higher than ever, but Marnie is determined to dance with danger to the very end. There’s only one thing left to do: deal with it, Baranuik-Style.
 
Does anyone know if yetis like take-out? And when you're on a date with a mummy, who picks up the check?
 
Amazon      Amazon CA      Amazon UK

About the Author:
 
AJ Aalto is an unrepentant liar and a writer of blathering nonsense offset by factual gore. When not working on her horror novels, you can find her singing old Monty Python songs in the shower, eavesdropping on perfect strangers, stalking her eye doctor, or failing at one of her many fruitless hobbies. Generally a fan of anyone with a passion for the ridiculous, she has a particular weak spot for smug, pseudointellectual a**holes and narcissistic jerks; readers will find her work littered with dark, imperfect creatures and flawed monsters.

AJ cannot say no to a Snickers bar, and has been known to swallow her gum.
 
http://www.ajaalto.com/
   
https://twitter.com/AJAalto  
 
https://www.facebook.com/aj.aalto.5
 
https://www.goodreads.com/AJAalto  


Release Blitz: Sacrifice of Love by SM Stryker



Genre: Contemporary Romance
Cover Designer: Alpha Queens Book Obsession
Photography:Ian Sane Images www.iansaneimages.com
Release Date: December 20, 2015



Richard Stone devoted his life to work and family. When his parents died tragically, the life he'd known came crashing down, causing him to spiral out of control. That is until the postcard came. 

Nicole House was graduating college when the unthinkable happened. Brutally attacked, he life was forever changed. Leaving her family, dream job and the only life she knew behind, she moved, hoping she could escape her attacker and she shame that fateful night left her with. 

Two people who Never Expected Love are brought together
But will the demons secrets and fears of their past stop them from their future?



Amazon




Shelly (SM) married her husband 28 years ago. It was important to her to be able to stay at home to raise their four daughters.
She wasn't an avid reader, but picked up a book a few years back and it made her re-think about writing, more as a healing process than anything else.
Always wanting to write a story about her life, well at least part of it. She knew it would make a great story...or soap opera, but kids and sports and work and and and. She just never made the time to write. As she got older and her girls grew and left home, she started to rethink the idea of writing again.
Deciding not to put it off any longer, in 2014 she emailed a few of her favorite authors that gave her some very good advice. A year and a half ago she started. It was a labor of love; this was part of her, part of what she lived through as a child and older, it was a story that was all too common of one. 
Through lots of tears, she wrote her first book that had a large part of her life in the story, that book was Stolen Innocence. Now she finds that she has to write, this is her outlet her sanctuary, and in every book, she writes there is always part of her life written into it.
When not writing, she is with her photographer husband or with her children and grandkids. She loves the outdoors and being one with nature.









Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Blog Tour: Henchgirl by Rita Stradling



About the Book
Title: Henchgirl
Author: Rita Stradling
Genre: YA Fantasy
I had never thought my life was ideal, but it had been manageable.

By day I pretended to be a human, going to a 'human's only' high-school, making human friends and trying to get the attention of Keanu Hale, my school’s quarterback. At night, I worked as a henchman, making sure no one got in the way of my grandfather’s hotel-empire which spanned across the Mabiian island chain. I was my grandfather’s most cherished weapon, I stole and manipulated emotions, I would even drain someone of their ability to feel joy if my grandfather ordered me to.

I won’t apologize for what I did, it kept my sisters fed and my grandfather from finding out that my mother squandered our monthly allowance on shopping and throwing extravagant parties. It kept my family alive. But more importantly, my job kept me from being trained to be a wife and married off to some rich and powerful dracon, a human-dragon hybrid, as all girls with one-eighth dragon blood are.

As I said, my life was just manageable, until Wyvern Manderson vacationed to my island. Wyvern Manderson, the rich, powerful, and famous for something or other, half-dragon jerk, just kept showing up, sabotaging my missions and ordering me around. On top of that, for some reason he was always angry at me.

Pretty soon I was suspended from further missions, facing eminent financial ruin and still had to see the jerk everywhere I went. When my friend Amanda from my human-high-school vanished, Amanda turned out to be Wyvern’s human half-sister he was keeping secret and protecting.

Taking on the mission to find Amanda might have been what I needed to save my family from losing everything, but to do it I would have to spend all day everyday with the jerk. To top that all off, Amanda was not the only girl who disappeared, and when girls started being discovered dead I realized that my sanity wasn’t the biggest thing I would be risking in this investigation; I might very well be the next to die.


Author Bio
Rita Stradling  lives with her husband and son in Northern California. Her six year old son wants to be a train when he grows up.  She has a BA in Art History and a particular interest in modern and medieval art.

Rita has an insatiable novel addiction and mostly reads young adult and adult: paranormal, urban fantasy and high fantasy.









Links




Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Release Blitz: Hunter Deceived by Nancy Corrigan

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He was born to kill her…but he’ll risk all to save her

Synopsis

Wild Hunt, Book 1

Every day, Harley fights the urge to embrace the dark heritage that could turn her Unseelie. Evil. Bad. A nightmarish monster like the ones that wiped out her family. The only thing keeping her on this side of Seelie is a promise made to the ghostly man who saved her that terrible night.
Whenever she’s tempted, she calls up a vision of his eyes. Hears his voice calling her back from the brink of madness. Years later, when she returns to the scene of her living hell, he’s her only hope for salvation.
Calan, the leader of the Wild Hunt, was created to protect mankind from the Unseelie Court, not love one of them. He never expected the rightness he felt with her all those years ago would explode into desire.
But saving her from a fate she can’t escape could damn them both…and leave the world open for destruction.
Warning: Contains a half-fae woman who could really use a Seelie version of AA to stay clean and monster-free. And a rider of the Wild Hunt who’ll take any risk to keep her safe from her enemies. Including himself.
Note: This book was previously published. It has been expanded and re-edited.

Excerpt

A long moment passed where they watched each other, two strangers on the verge of becoming so much more. The full impact hit her, left her a little shaky inside but not anxious. No, excitement sped her pulse. She licked her lips, already envisioning what they’d do together. “So, am I right?” He slid his hungry gaze to her breasts. The points stood erect, and the sheen of her skin betrayed how hot she’d gotten from touching herself. “Oh yes, I’ll fuck you, my Harley. Sometimes hard and fast. Other times so damn slowly, you’ll beg me to fill you up.” He met her eyes. “I’ll take you so often and in so many ways, you’ll want me to be the center of your world as you are now mine.” He released her wrists and covered one breast with his hand. The hard point pushed against his callused skin, and a jolt of electricity raced down her spine. He captured the tip she’d teased minutes ago. The small pinch arched her back. “Do you like that?” She flicked her gaze from his long fingers holding her nipple to his face and nodded. “Do it again.” One corner of his mouth rose. He rolled the tip, and she gasped. Another tug clenched her core. “Beautiful. I can’t wait to watch that look pass over your face when I fuck you.” She whimpered. The smile giving him a roguish look turned wicked. “You do want me to ram my cock inside you and make you come apart around my dick”—he ran the tip of his tongue over his upper lip—“don’t you?” “I…I…” She couldn’t get the words out. He released her hands and sat back so he knelt between her thighs. Her attention shifted from the desire stamped on his face to the long length of his erection molded by his pants. “Touch it.”


Teaser

Harley 1

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BooksInTheSeries

HunterSacrificed300

Hunter Sacrificed, book 0.5…a free read
Hunter Forsaken, book 2.0…releases 2-16-16. Available for pre-order.

Giveaway


AboutTheAuthor

A true romantic at heart, Nancy Corrigan is convinced there’s a knight in shining armor for every woman (or man), but you won’t find damsels in distress in her stories. She adores pairing alpha heroes with women strong enough to match them and bring them to their knees. She also enjoys flipping the traditional roles in romances because her motto is—love and people should never be forced to conform to anyone’s norm. She holds a degree in chemistry and has worked in research but now focuses on ensuring quality. She considers it the perfect outlet for her as she’s the first to admit she has some OCD tendencies. It carries over into her writing life too. While engrossed in a novel, she has a habit of forgetting to eat and sleep. Fortunately, she’s married to her own knight in shining armor who understands her oddities and loves her anyway. They reside in Pennsylvania with their three children, dog, snake and guinea pigs. Her other interests include tattoos, animals, classic cars and all things spooky and sexy.

AuthorLinks

Website I Newsletter I Pinterest I Facebook Follow/Friend I Facebook Page I Amazon Page I Email


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Monday, December 28, 2015

Blog Tour: Fixed in Fear by T.E. Woods





About the Book
Title: Fixed in Fear
Author: T.E. Woods
Genre: Romantic Suspense / Thriller
The Fixer returns in the pulse-pounding Justice series—perfect for fans of Lisa Gardner, Karin Slaughter, and Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter thrillers—as worlds collide in an inferno of bloodshed, revenge, and holy terror.

I’ll probably never see my daughter again. And if I do, she’ll either be dead or in a jail cell.

Seattle Chief of Detectives Mort Grant cannot reconcile the memories of his vibrant, headstrong young daughter with the cold, deadly woman she has become. The head of one of the largest criminal enterprises in the world, Allie Grant seized power by wrenching it away from her lover, a notorious Russian gangster. How she maintains her control, Mort doesn’t even want to imagine.

Only two other people know the truth about Allie: the vigilante known as The Fixer, and Mort’s best friend, Larry, who’s undergoing a crisis of his own. Someone close to Larry, his last real connection to his beloved late wife, has been slain in a mass murder at a sweat lodge deep in the woods of Washington State. When word gets out, Mort immediately takes on the gruesome case.

But as Mort hunts down a pair of methodical killers, The Fixer does some deep digging of her own. And what she unearths will rock Mort’s family forever. Because The Fixer has set her sights on Allie Grant—and nothing will ever be the same again.

Excerpt
“You got a visitor.” Daphne’s nasal announcement pulled Mort away from his monthly budget report. “I walked him up myself.”
Mort told her he could see that and did a double take when L. Jackson Clark, Ph.D., stepped into his office. He thanked Daphne and motioned his friend toward a battered leather chair. “This is what, Larry? The second or third time you’ve been to the station since I’ve known you? Did hell choose this particular Monday to freeze over?”
The stately black man with graying curls displayed none of his customary humor when he raised sad brown eyes toward his friend. Mort tossed his budget aside and shifted his tone to reflect the concern he felt. “What’s going on?” he asked.
Larry’s mouth opened and closed several times. He tapped his large hand on his knee and stared into nothing.
“Are you okay?” Mort leaned forward. “You just come back from the doctor or something?”
The internationally renowned scholar, a man accustomed to lengthy discussions on any number of arcane topics with the world’s greatest minds, remained silent. Mort got up and closed his office door. He grabbed a bottle of cold water from the minifridge behind his desk and carried it to his friend.
Larry stared straight ahead. “Carlton Smydon is dead.”
It took Mort a moment to place the name. “Your uncle? I guess I should say Helen’s uncle. Is that who you mean?”
“I had dinner with him last week.” Larry pulled the bottle of water from Mort’s hand and unscrewed the cap. “The man knew enough about world religions to sit on the faculty of any university. We spent the evening discussing how the various sects of Shinto view communal responsibility.” Larry’s voice sounded distant, as if he was focused on a memory he wanted to trace before it disappeared. “There were times I heard the lilt of Helen’s voice in him. After all these years.”
Mort let him linger in the moment. Their friendship had begun with a mutual passion for New York Times crossword puzzles and grew over two decades. They’d celebrated and shared successes and acted as each other’s confidant and adviser during troubling times. But despite the challenges and joys, it was the shared experience of widowhood that bonded them as brothers.
“Was it a heart attack?” Mort asked. “He wasn’t much older than you, was he?”
Larry stayed in that faraway place. “Carlton was only ten years older than Helen. She would have been fifty this year.” A smile came to him. “Imagine that. Helen at fifty. I wonder how the years would have changed her. My hunch is her eyes would still flash with that mischievous dare that was always twinkling in them.” He looked up toward his friend. “She’s been dead as long as she was alive. That hardly seems possible.”
Mort nodded. Larry was respected around the world for his writings. He advised kings and presidents. He attended Hollywood premieres, royal weddings, and had the pope’s personal cellphone number listed in his contacts as “Yeah, That Guy.” But Mort knew Larry would trade it all in a heartbeat to have the lifetime of memories Mort had shared with Edie. “How’d he die, Larry? When?”
Larry blinked his eyes rapidly, as though forcing himself into the present moment. “Yesterday. Or maybe Saturday. The bodies were found Sunday morning. That sweat lodge mayhem in Enumclaw. I read about it in the paper, of course, but I had no idea Carlton . . .” Larry drifted away again. “There was a fire. All of them dead . . . burned. The news reports say it’s being handled as a mass murder. Abraham called me this morning. Apparently the authorities contacted him looking to verify identification.”
“Abraham Smydon has never been one of your favorite people.”
Larry shrugged. “He was Helen’s father. Pissed beyond description when his darling daughter announced she’d fallen in love with a lowly assistant professor. He never forgave me for proposing marriage.” The black man’s face hardened. “And I suppose I’ve never forgiven him for insisting Helen be at that damned blowout he had for his fiftieth. If she hadn’t gone she . . . she might . . .”
Mort didn’t need him to finish his thought. He knew the history. Helen had kissed her young husband goodbye and boarded a ferry to Orcas Island twenty-five years ago to attend the weekend celebration of her father’s birthday. That was the last time he saw her alive.
All those years ago Abraham had asked his secretary to call Larry to tell him Helen had been killed.
This time was different. Abraham called personally, asking Larry to tend to his murdered brother.
“From what I’ve read, those bodies were badly burned,” Mort said. “What led anyone to think Carlton was there?”
Larry took a sip of water. “He was registered at the lodge. He’d signed up for the activity. Carlton was spiritually hungry. He traveled nonstop seeking experiences he thought might get him closer to the Ultimate.”
Mort knew that appetite was what connected Carlton to Larry. “How’s Abraham doing?”
“He’s seventy-five. Strong as a moose and still running that blasted seafood business. You remember me telling you Carlton is Abraham’s half brother, right? Abraham’s mother died when he was ten. Cancer. His father remarried a much younger woman, and Carlton came along a few years later. They were never close.” Larry shook his head. “My guess is Abraham is not racked with grief.”
In his thirty years as a cop Mort had the occasion to see all manner of corpses. He knew what fire could do to a body. “Where do they have him? I’ll go with you.”
“There’s no need,” Larry said. “Five people were killed. Carlton was the only African American at the lodge. One black body was found. Beyond that . . .” Larry lifted his left trouser leg to reveal a tattoo Mort had seen dozens of times. “Carlton adored Helen. They were only ten years apart. He was more big brother than uncle. We grew close after Helen’s death. The night after her murderer was convicted we got drunk enough to get matching tats.”
Mort nodded at the heart and the teardrop inked on Larry’s ankle. The name helen underneath.
“The body was burned primarily in the torso region,” Larry said. “I described the tattoo and the police verified the exact one on the body in the morgue. I let Abraham know, and he asked if I’d oversee cremation.”
Mort watched his friend, now with two loved ones murdered, sit wrapped in the numbness of grief. “I’m sorry, Larry. What can I do?”
“Do I have to ask, Mort?” Larry’s jaw tightened. “I need a cop. I need to know who murdered Helen’s uncle.”

Author Bio
T. E. Woods is as eager as her fans to return to the thrilling world of the Justice series. She’s busy writing the next installment and is developing a new series set in Madison, Wisconsin.


Links
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Thursday, December 24, 2015

Blog Tour: The Newbie and School Spirits by Leta Hawk




About the Books

The Newbie

Kyrie Carter can’t believe her luck when she wins a spot on a paranormal investigation with celebrity ghost hunter Drac Petery and his heartthrob brother Gabe. As the investigation begins, her main obstacles are her unsupportive teammates and her lack of ghost hunting experience. Her biggest critic is the ruggedly handsome but enigmatic Spook Steele, who takes an instant and intense dislike to the newbie and seems determined to see her fail. However, Kyr soon realizes that her flesh-and-blood rivals are the least of her worries. The investigation takes a dark turn when the team finds evidence of a decades-old murder mystery, and Kyr becomes the victim of the resident spirit’s violent attacks. The discovery of a family connection to the Berkeleys explains the spirit’s malevolence. Will Kyr be able to help the Peterys unravel the mystery and put the Berkeley mansion spirits to rest, or will she become another victim of the house’s tragic history? And will she be able to sort out her romantic feelings for the off-limits Gabe and her growing but unwelcome attraction to Spook Steele?

School Spirits

In Book 2 of Leta Hawk’s Kyrie Carter Paranormal Mystery series, a paranormal investigation on the campus of Willow Lake College leads to the discovery of a decades-old murder mystery. Kyrie Carter is thrilled to accompany her best friend JoEllyn to their alma mater, Willow Lake College, for a ghost hunt with the campus Paranormal Club. She is pleasantly surprised when celebrity ghost hunters Drac and Gabe Petery show up with their team. She is not so pleasantly surprised when her critical former teammate Spook Steele shows up with them. What begins as a routine investigation into campus ghost stories soon turns dangerous as Kyr encounters a malicious spirit in the bell tower of Appleton Hall. Upon further investigation, the team learns that a suspicious fire had claimed the life of a female student in 1958. After Spook becomes a victim of a similar fire in the bell tower while investigating, he and Kyr begin to suspect they are dealing with more than a simple haunting. Kyr and Spook put aside their differences and team up to piece together what happened in the bell tower. The mystery deepens as they discover that everyone—townspeople and campus administrators alike—seem determined to keep the truth hidden about the events of that night.


Author Bio

Leta Hawk has been fascinated with the paranormal since her first encounter with a ghost at four years of age. Her first novel, The Newbie: A Kyrie Carter Ghost Hunting Adventure, was self-published in the summer of 2014, and was re-launched through Booktrope as The Newbie: A Kyrie Carter Paranormal Mystery, Book 1. A writer since high school, she has written in various genres, including poetry, children’s stories, puppet skits, and novels. Leta currently lives in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania with her husband, two sons, and a dog (but no ghosts). When she isn’t writing, she serves as a Scout leader, Sunday school teacher, and Released Time School Coordinator, Song Leader, and Listener, and tries to keep up with her sons’ busy schedules.


Links




Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Blog Tour: Blood-Tainted Winter by T.L. Greylock



About the Book
Title: The Blood-Tainted Winter
Author: T.L. Greylock
Genre: Mythological Fantasy
Raef Skallagrim wants to take the sea road. His ship is fast and sleek, his crew skilled and eager, and they will seek out new lands and win fame in the eyes of the gods. But Raef’s father refuses to allow the journey and when a stranger brings word that the king is dead and a gathering has been called to choose a successor, Raef must set aside his dream for his duty to his ancestral lands and his father. 

When factions split at the gathering to choose a successor, Raef finds himself mired in bloodshed and treachery. Forced to make an uneasy alliance with a man he does not trust, Raef must navigate the tides of a war among three kings while seeking revenge for cold-blooded murder. 

But winter has come early to Midgard, and even the gods will feel the cold.

The eBook will be free on Amazon from December 18 to December 22 – just in time for Christmas!

Author Bio
T L Greylock is the author of The Blood-Tainted Winter, the first installment in a new Norse saga, The Song of the Ash Tree.  She drinks tea (English breakfast with milk), wears neon colored socks, and once held an epic pigeon racing tournament in the gardens of The Tuileries.

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Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Blog Tour: Immurement by Norma Hinkens




About the Book
Title: Immurement: The Undergrounders Series Book One
Author: Norma Hinkens
Genre: YA post-apocalyptic sci-fi
The earth’s core overheats. The sovereign leader vanishes. A young girl is the survivors’ only hope.

What little land is habitable is patrolled by cutthroat gangs of escaped subversives, but that’s not the greatest threat facing sixteen-year-old Derry Connelly, her brother Owen, and a ragged band of Preppers holed up in a bunker in the Sawtooth Mountains. Mysterious hoverships operated by clones are targeting adolescents for extraction.

Owen, is one of the first to disappear. To save him, Derry must strike a deal with the murderous subversives, and risk a daring raid to infiltrate the heart of the extraction operation.

But will the rookie leader falter when forced to choose between her brother and a clone who ignites something inside her she didn’t know was possible?


Author Bio
Norma Hinkens is an author who takes a fiendish delight in pushing reluctant characters over cliffs to find out what they're made of. Epic odds, seemingly impossible missions, pasts that haunt, intrigue and misadventure. She’s happiest when wrangling provocative big picture ideas that are never black and white when you turn them inside out. It's all about the tension in the journey.
Norma grew up among rich storytelling traditions in her native Ireland. A Celtic bard at heart, she's happiest wielding her wordsmithing sword with as much wit and eloquence as a bard can muster. She currently resides in California with her husband, three children and Chihuahua extraordinaire. She is the author of the YA Undergrounders Series: Immurement, Embattlement and Adjudgement.

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Book Excerpt

“What do you think he meant about saving Owen?” Trout looks at me curiously. “I thought he was dead.”
“He is,” I say, too sharply.
The room falls silent. My brain screams a million thoughts at me. I clench my trembling fingers into fists. It all seems unreal—the kind of heart-stopping nightmare you wake up from, gasping for air, soaked in sweat.
After what Won said, Im questioning everything. What if Ive made a terrible mistake? What if Owen's still breathing when Lyong finds him? What if they take him to Sektor Sieben and hardwire some kind of circuit board into his brain? I jam my hands into my hair and blow a few listless puffs of air over my face. Im suddenly burning up in the bunker. I turn around and walk unevenly back to my seat, legs bending like reeds.
Big Ed scratches the back of his neck, throws me an uneasy look. The Council members look at me expectantly, but I avert my gaze and sink back in my chair, undone and disconnecting. I have nothing to offer them. All I ever wanted was the chance to step up and be somebody, but that dreams become my burden. Do they think I can just take over where Owen left off? Lead a teenage flash mob to take on the Schutz Clones.
And now that the Sweepers know we have some kind of resistance movement going, theyll be ready for us when we go back. I groan and bury my face in my hands. When we go back. Its like I have a subliminal death wish.
I save your brother. Wons words sear my brain. Even more agonizing because the lie preys on my tattered emotions. Theres nothing Won can do that will bring Owen back, but I cant stop speculating about what he meant. I know what Wons idea of saving brain-dead participants entails, and the thought of Owen being subjected to anything like that makes me want to put Wons head on a spike.
I rub my hands vigorously over my face as if to scrub the grisly images of Sektor Sieben from my mind. It may be too late to save Owen, but there are others. I owe it to Mason to try and free the rest of the clones. And then theres the deviations—I felt their silent pleas. The Sweepers have to be stopped.
But how?