'A Green Ghost Tale' by Mandy Austin Cook

 

Something that had been hiding under Johnny's bed runs past him, stealing his baseball bat and glove. Since those are two of Johnny's most prized possessions, this means war. After careful investigation with a flashlight, he discovers a frightened creature in the attic. The baseball thief is a little green ghost named Peanut. Who would have thought that a ghost would be afraid of a human?

~~Preview the first chapter and purchase a copy here.~~

Mandy Austin Cook is a children's drama and voice instructor in Atlanta GA. "A Green Ghost Tale" is a compilation of stories that she told to her little sister and younger cousins on stormy nights when they were afraid of the dark. The stories were put into book form so that they could continue to be shared with her niece, nephew, and generations to come.

Cover Reveal! 'Banished From Grace' by Aria Willams

Banished from Grace (Banished from Grace #1)

by Aria Williams

Release Date: June 2013

Cover Reveal Organized by: YA Bound

Summary from Goodreads:

Nardia is a very special nurse, one with a unique gift. With the touch of her bare hands, she can heal any physical ailment. With the help of her angel guide, Benilde, Nardia has healed her way through countless centuries.

Life should be easy for this attractive (not to mention, immortal) woman, but throw in two handsome men, a coffee addiction and memory loss that dates back to the medieval ages, and you’ve got a life that’s more than complicated.

When she meets AJ at her favorite coffee shop, she can’t help but feel an immediate attraction to him. At the same time, she knows there’s more to his story than what he’s letting on. And then there’s the handsome Doctor Regan, who she feels a connection with, but is she trying to make it more than is really there in order to spare her the heartbreak of being with AJ?

Only adding to her problems is the new resident, Dr. Jeffries, who seems out to get her from day one, and a murder case she can’t help solve without revealing her own secrets.

Can Nardia uncover the secrets of her own past while still moving forward and saving those in need of her help in the present?

About the Author

Aria was born in the large county town of Orange situated in NSW, Australia. In 2011 she moved to Forest Reefs NSW and settled on nine acres with her husband and young family. 

Aria completed her Enrolled Endorsed Nursing studies over a year ago, while completing this course the idea for Fall From Grace came to her. This dream was put on hold till she finished her studies and settled into her new life in Forest Reefs. 

Aria travels to a residential care facility and cares for the disabled during the day and at night enjoys her passion of writing YA and paranormal romances. In her spare time she loves to play with her five Siberian huskies who give her great joy.

 Aria enjoys late night walks with her husband and family dinners involving her parents, four other siblings, their partners and her niece and nephews.
 

The inspiration for her writing comes from her four children, who never give her any quiet time but she would not change this for the world.

Website|Twitter</ a>|Goodreads|Facebook

Review of 'Stripped' by Brooklyn Skye

Stripped
by Brooklyn Skye
Release Date: 05/14/13

Summary from Goodreads:
“I like you.” His voice is low and soft, which I don’t deserve. I look away, down the rutted parking lot.
“Don’t…waste those words on me.”
He touches my cheek. “You just need someone to show you.”
“No.” I ease back again. “I don’t. So please, Torrin, stop trying to swoop in and save me. I don’t need saving.”

College freshman Quinn Montgomery will do anything to avoid the mistake her sister made—killing herself over a boy. But when she is forced into nude modeling at a local college to support her family after a bankruptcy, she begins to crack, just enough to let Torrin, the university’s top varsity oarsman, see that the real Quinn is not as feisty and unapproachable as she wants everyone to think. But letting someone in comes at a steep cost and, it turns out, Torrin is connected to Quinn’s family in more ways than she could ever imagine.

**My thoughts**

I read this book in one sitting. Quinn's story drew me in from the very beginning. She is hurt and confused and completely lost. In addition to losing her sister, she has lost her entire family, who in turn has had their entire reputation tarnished for yet another reason. In spite of all of this, she is doing whatever it takes to hold on to a weak thread of normalcy in her life, and to fulfill her sister's dreams. She has put up barriers to protect herself, not just from men, but from everyone. Even her closest girl friends don't even seem to really know her. 

She is also angry. Anger drives people to do all kinds of things. By baring her body in art class for money, she is also baring her soul, as it is the one time of the day that she can truly start to process everything that has happened in the last year. Enter Torrin, the beautiful young man who rocks her world even more, but in a good way, at least at first. I love his persistence in stripping down her barriers to get to the real Quinn who is buried inside. Any time any of us are drowning in emotion and turmoil, we could all use a Torrin to bring us back to the surface again.

Time flies by quickly. New secrets are revealed, each one just as devastating as the last. The question becomes, is Quinn now strong enough to handle each one of them?

It's a story of personal heartbreak, new love, and rebuilding a life that seemed forever shattered. I think anyone who has gone through trauma may recognize herself in parts of Quinn's character. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

About the Author

Brooklyn Skye is just your average awkward girl who's obsessed with words. She grew up in a small California town where she quickly realized writing was an easy escape from small town life.

Website / Twitter / Goodreads

***GIVEAWAY***
One signed paperback copy of Stripped (US only) or one e-book copy with authorgraph (INT)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

'Lucid' by Natalie Roers Super Book Blast!

LUCID

By

Natalie Roers

BLURB:

Being hailed by critics as an intelligent new voice in young adult fiction, Roers' debut novel tells the anything but ordinary, coming of age story of a small town, teen aged, misfit named Travis Hunter.

 
Disfigured at birth and ostracized at school, Travis dreams of acceptance and secretly yearns for the affection of a beautiful young woman named Corrine. When a mysterious doctor promises to help Travis through something called lucid dreaming, Travis suddenly finds himself ushered into a secret society called "The Lucid", a collection of social outcasts like himself, who have created their own world inside of dreams.

 
When Travis discovers he is able to bring Corrine into these dreams, he gets more than he ever bargained for and soon finds himself learning the secrets of love and life in a fantastic unconscious world.

An instant classic, Lucid is a timeless story of self-acceptance with a fresh paranormal twist. 

Read an excerpt:

Corrine opened her hand wide and I touched my index finger to the back of the bird. The scales were very hard but smooth to the touch. It was the coolest thing!

But as its eyes turned up to me, I felt my stomach drop. The bird’s eyes were made of stone! They were dark green with blood red spots—exactly the same as the talisman.

“Isn’t it amazing?!” she exclaimed. “I made it!” Corrine swelled with pride at the proclamation.

“You made what?” I stammered, trying to collect myself.

“Here, I’ll show you how it works.” With the bird cupped in one palm, she took one of my hands with her own and placed it over the bird. “Think of something,” she whispered.

“What?”

“Close your eyes, and concentrate really hard on something. Think of anything you can hold in your hand.”

I gave her a sideways stare and reluctantly closed my eyes.

“Are you thinking of something?” she asked.

“Give me a second,” I said. It was hard to think about anything except her hand on top on my own. It was intoxicating-the warm sensation of where our skin made contact, the spaces between her fingers. I could hear her inhale and exhale, and I knew without even looking at her that her eyes were closed as well.

REVIEW SOUND BYTES

"Roers' debut novel heralds the arrival of an intelligent, heartfelt voice in the world of young adult fiction. The rich characters, emotional complexity, and confident prose are matched only by the landscape of dreams that Roers sets them against... a landscape brought vividly to life by the author's seemingly boundless imagination. This is a novel that respects its readers as much as its characters, and that's a beautiful rarity."
~ Mike Flanagan, Filmmaker, Absentia and Oculus
 

"Natalie Roers' debut novel is both riveting and relevant. More than a paranormal/fantasy/thriller, this is a complex tale that cuts to the very of heart of issues facing young adults today. Well sculptured characters and powerful imagery propel Roers' fascinating narrative."
~ Jason Tinney (Award-winning freelance journalist, musician, actor and the author of the story collection Bluebird.)
 

"Lucid is an interesting story and a fun read."
~ Amy Carol Reeves, author of Ripper and Renegade
 

"Natalie Roers' voice is amazingly confident for a first novelist. Her journalist's eye for human detail draws you in, and makes you care about the people who populate the LUCID world. The more I got to know them, both awake and asleep in the world of lucid dreaming, the more time I wanted to spend in their world."
~ Jeff Howard, writer for Film District and Focus Features.

 Buy links: Amazon \ Barnes & Noble

**The special price of $4.99 this month won't last long! Grab your copy today!**

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Natalie Roers is a veteran writer, voice artist, and on-air personality. A journalist by trade, Lucid is her first work of fiction. She is busy at work on her second novel and hopes to raise money and social awareness for worthy causes with each book she writes. Natalie plans to donate a portion of every sale of this book to her favorite anti-bullying organizations. She lives with her husband Cory, and son Austin, in Columbia, South Carolina.

LINKS:

Websites

jointhelucid.com

http://natasha-r.com/writer/

FB

https://www.facebook.com/natalie.roers?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/jointhelucid?fref=ts

Blog

http://jointhelucid.com/blog/

Goodreads

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16214486-lucid

Natalie will award a $10 Amazon or BN.com gift card to one randomly drawn commenter. Follow the tour for more chances to win!

'Chaotic' by C. A. Williams Book Blitz!

Book Info-

Title-Chaotic

Series- Book #1 of The Imperfect Perfection series

Genre-New Adult, Contains Mature Content, recommended for 17+

Publication Date-May 10th

Blurb-

 

Adelaide McGregor was spinning out of control, in a world of pain that no one knew anything about. She put up a front, displaying a picture perfect girl that everyone wanted to be, but no one was truly there for her. Then she was sent away to live near her grandparents due to bad behavior when her mother decided she just didn't want to deal with her any longer. Without a penny to her name and no where else to go, her life was uprooted to North Carolina. Everything seems to be changing for the better with her fresh new start until she meets a guy who flips her world upside down all over again. Sometimes you have to make it through the struggles of imperfection in life for everything to come out as complete perfection, but Della hasn't quite learned that lesson yet.

~~Buy it on Amazon~~

About the author-

I am a stay at home mom to two crazy little boys, with another baby on the way.(Finally Pink!) I've been married to my high school sweetheart for almost six years now and he is my biggest supporter. I've always had a love for books since the time I first started reading and started swapping books with my mom when I got a little older. My love for reading turned into a love for writing and I've enjoyed every second of it.

 

Links - 

Goodreads \ Facebook \ Blog 

~~Join the Facebook Blog Event 5/26-6/1~~

~~Join the Facebook Blitz Event 5/15~~ 

The Prophecy Series by Michael A. Rothman

The Riverton family had been enjoying a simple summer vacation when, through a fluke of nature, they found themselves in a strange new land.

The Riverton brothers quickly realize that in this world, they have gained unusual powers. Powers that their parents fear will attract the attention of Azazel himself – the merciless wizard who brutally controls this world. 

The two brothers soon learn that an ancient prophecy has finally been initiated by their arrival in Trimoria. As the heirs of this prophecy, they are destined to lead the armies of men, dwarves, elves, and even a misfit ogre against the prophesied demon horde.

Only one thing stands in their way.

The evil wizard who has learned of their presence, and has sent assassins to wipe them from existence.

Buy links: Amazon \ Barnes & Noble \ Indiebound

The TOOLS OF PROPHECY is the second volume in an epic saga which describes a prophecy that has placed the Riverton brothers in the lead roles of a struggle to save their world from being overrun by unspeakable horrors. This destiny requires that they face off with the demons that nearly destroyed their world over five centuries ago.
In the first book, the population of wizards had been practically eradicated by the former tyrant. The Rivertons are now charged with creating an Academy of Magic, recruiting qualified students, and furthering their own training with secrets that have long been held by the reclusive elves.

Despite their youth, a mysterious spirit has engaged them in an epic struggle to gain mastery of their newfound skills, help raise and train two armies, and stay alive long enough for their final showdown with destiny.

The only things that stand in their way are the assassins hired to destroy them and the Demon Lord’s minion who holds a personal grudge and intends to witness the young boys’ deaths..

Buy links: Amazon \ Barnes & Noble \ Indiebound

 

The Riverton brothers have completed their training, and despite their own personal skills, they worry about the forces arrayed against them. Knowing the barrier that’s kept the people of Trimoria safe for over five centuries is weakening, the brothers ready their ragtag army of humans, dwarves, and elves for battle.

In the meantime, on the other side of the ancient barrier, a growing army of demons have readied themselves for the final battle against the people of Trimoria.

As the barrier weakens, Ryan is struck by bouts of debilitating madness. As the barrier crumbles, so does the hope of Trimoria’s citizens.

Buy links: Amazon \ Barnes & Noble 

**My thoughts**

I am not usually a fan of fantasy books, but I decided to check out this series. I am so glad I did! It is an epic tale of a family that gets lost in a new land after a chance earthquake, only to arrive with new powers they knew they had, and are heirs to a prophecy that must be fulfilled. I was actually drawn in from the very beginning of the first book, and found myself reading while making dinner and staying up way too late. There is plenty of action and intrigue. You may even find yourself educated in some ways that can help you in the real world. I think even some middle grade readers will enjoy this, all the way through adults.

About Michael Rothman - website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads

I am an Army brat and the first person in my family to be born in the United States. This heavily influenced my youth by instilling a love of reading and a burning curiosity about the world and all of the things within it. As an adult, my love of travel allowed me to explore many unimaginable locations. I participated in many adventures and documented them in what will be a series of books, the first of which you have just read.

Some might put these books in the Fantasy genre, and I never had issues with this label. After all, the adventures were, without any doubt in my mind, fantastic. I simply quibble with the label of “Fiction” that some might put on these tales. These tales should be viewed as historical records, more along the lines of a documentary

I’ve learned one thing over the years. Magic is real. Keep exploring, and you too will find your magic.

'Heavenly Hell' Facebook Event with author Aria Williams and Release Day Diva 5/8

You'd think being stuck in the body of a beautiful seventeen year old girl forever would be a gift. But when you are fallen, it is more like a curse.

Indiana was a beautiful angel, enjoying the perks of Heaven, until she was tricked by a demon to fall in love with him. She was forced to fall from Heaven and remain in her seventeen year old form, banished to Earth, for all of eternity. 

Now, unable to cope with her banishment, she is a seemingly normal seventeen year old girl by day, while she spends her nights punishing men for the wrongs they have committed against women.

Although Indiana has lived on Earth for thousands of years, she recently settled into a small town, where she has finally been able to make some lasting friendships. When a handsome, mysterious boy comes to town, Indiana knows something is not right. He might end up her ally, or she might end up in the fight of her life. 


Buy it on Amazon! Paperback \ Kindle

Come and play with author Aria Williams Wednesday, May 8th from 6-10 PST! We have tons of games and prizes. It's going to be a great time and you won't want to miss it!

Stalker links:

http://www.facebook.com/aria.williams.79

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Aria-williams/100705483442018

Twitter https://twitter.com/Ariawil

Blog http://arialwilliams.wordpress.com/

 Hope to see you all there!!

Brought to you by the Release Day Diva