Before You Go Blog Tour

Join HOLLOW TOURS for Before You Go By: Ella James! Feb12-18th!

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Sign Up with The Hollow Tours Feb 1-29 for our Book Tour of Creature Kid!

Stained Blog Tour

Join HOLLOW TOURS for Stained By: Ella James! Feb19-25th!

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Incarnate On Sale Jan 31, 2012 By Jodi Meadows Join us at HOLLOW TOURS for this Book Tour! Running Jan 1-29th with a Giveaway on the 30th!

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Join HOLLOW READERS March 1st as we post a Massive Review and giveaway for this amazing upcoming book by Jessica Shirvington

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Friday, December 20, 2013

Cover reveal and eBook Book Three Leland Dragons Series - Reclamation By Jackie Gamber

I have been patiently waiting for the release of the Third book in the Leland Dragon Series by Jackie Gamber. And the day has arrived. Today 12/19/13 I am excited to present the cover reveal and announce that the eBook is now available.



Synopsis:  Leland Province remains in danger. The sinister Fordon Blackclaw has returned from the shadows to strike at the heart of neighboring Esra, killing its Venur and making clear his intentions to retake what was once his: Mount Gore, seat of the Leland Dragon Council.
All around, the land grows weaker and weaker. Leland, once thought saved by Kallon Redheart, is without purpose, and within its borders, Murk Forest, a place of mystery and danger, has driven its inhabitants to seek aid. Esra is in flames, and the Rage Desert grows. Dragon and human alike struggle to find their way, and the wizard Orman can sense that there may be more at stake than the affairs of dragons.
Hope remains, yet it is not without obstacles. In Esra, Sela, the daughter of Kallon and Riza, found the well, a source of life, and made herself whole again. But her homecoming is not what she had imagined.
Old wounds buried deep must reopen if life is to continue. Dragons, humans, wizards, and shape shifters are all at risk as the peace between dragon and human has finally been broken.
War is here.
The stakes?
Perhaps the whole world.

To Buy: Book one
Book Two
Book Three 


As an award winning author, Jackie writes stories ranging from ultra-short to novel-length, varieties of which have appeared in anthologies such as Tales of Fantasy and Dragons Composed, as well as numerous periodical publications, including Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show, The Binnacle, Mindflights Magazine, Necrotic Tissue, and Shroud. She is the author of the fantasy novel Redheart, and writing an alternate history time travel novel. She blogs professionally for English Tea Store.com, where she reviews classic science fiction and fantasy novels and pairs them with the ideal tea-sipping companion. Jackie is a member of the professional organizations Science Fiction Writers of America and Horror Writers Association. She was named honorable mention in L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Award, and received a 2008 Darrell Award for best short story by a Mid-South author. She is the winner of the 2009 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award for Imaginative Fiction for her story The Freak Museum, a post-apocalyptic tale that looks closely at perceptions and outward appearances and how they affect the way we see ourselves. Jackie was signed to Seventh Star Press in September of 2010, to publish her full Leland Dragon Series.  For more information on Jackie, please visit her official website at www.jackiegamber.com


Read my review of Book one : Redheart
Read my review of Book two: Sela

Art from inside the book. Seventh Star Has amazing art. This art is by Matthew Perry.




More Information can be found at the publishers website. Seventh Star Press
Jackie Gamber can be found on Facebook and at her website. Jackie Gamber or Twitter.
More Information can be found at the publishers website. Seventh Star Press
Jackie Gamber can be found on Facebook and at her website. Jackie Gamber or Twitter.

Friday, December 13, 2013

The Bitches of Brooklyn by Rosemary Harris






From the author of the Anthony and Agatha-nominated Pushing Up Daisies and Dead Head.
Are they really bitches? That depends who you ask...four friends await the arrival of a fifth at a secluded Cape Cod bungalow where they spend an all-girls weekend every summer. But this year the fifth woman doesn't show. Instead she sends a note that reads -  "I've run off with one of your men."
Has she? Is it a prank? Do they run for the phone or try to enjoy the weekend without her? Fun, flirty and filled with Harris' trademark snappy dialogue and quirky characters forced to reevaluate their marriages, their friendships and their memories, The Bitches of Brooklyn has been called "a cross between Pretty Little Liars and Sex in the City."
Inspired by a classic Hollywood film, The Bitches of Brooklyn will appeal to readers of Jennifer Weiner, Cathleen Schine and Susan Isaacs and is for every woman who's ever had a best friend and wondered...is she really??
"Rosemary Harris is a GEM of a writer." Joanne Fluke, NYTimes best-selling author of the Hannah Swenson series. "Smart, sassy and sophisticated, The Bitches of Brooklyn may be the best female buddy book yet. I dare you to put it down." Elaine Viets, best-selling author of The Dead End Job series and Catnapped!
 

Want to read an excerpt? 

Chapter One
            As deliveries went, this one was somewhere between a balloon telegram and a bulletproof vest wrapped around a dead fish. Most gift baskets arrived with cards bearing congratulations or condolences. Rarely were they sent with the simple two-line message Jane Monaghan stared at, then read, in disbelief, a second time.
            A skinny delivery boy hovered in the doorway, the screen door flapping and creaking as he shifted his weight. Jane fumbled in her handbag for a tip. Why did she never have singles when she needed them? As she poked through the tissues, keys and various black electronics cases in her voluminous bag, the boy peered inside the house, curious about the women renting the old Beninger place. He remembered the first year they came. His mother had warned him to keep his distance and his father had slipped him a sly wink that he'd been too young to interpret.
            They weren't bad looking, neither young nor old, that gray area between youth and invisibility. Still good for a nooner, he fantasized, using an expression he’d heard his uncle Billy use, if he could cut one from the herd. Especially the small, dark-haired one sprawled on the loveseat near the fireplace. She had a nubby throw tossed over one leg but the other was exposed – tan, taut and barely covered by denim cutoffs. Still pretty hot, even if she looked old enough to have been his babysitter - and after all, what boy hadn't had that fantasy?
            The hot one and the boy made eye contact. Having been on the receiving end of similar looks for close to twenty years – longer than he’d been alive – it took Tina Ruggiero all of thirty seconds to read his mind.
            “Come back in a few years, sonny. You’re not entirely hopeless but, let’s wait until that acne clears up.”
            The boy’s naughty daydream evaporated, his face reddened and he reverted to bumbling, pimply errand boy. His eyes grew watery. He even seemed shorter, if that was possible. Jane abandoned her search for singles, shoved a five in his direction and kicked the storm door shut.
           
            “A day without a verbal castration is like a day without sunshine?”
            “Come on,” Tina said. “He deserved it – gawking like that. Half the people in this town think we're practicing witchcraft and the other half think we’re gay. Not that I don't think you're all cute. I just wanted to set the record straight.”
            Jane wasn’t sure the exchange wouldn’t have the opposite effect, convincing him she was a witch, only he’d spell it with a “b.” Which was fitting since that's what they'd been dubbed a long time ago when they were teens, The Bitches of Brooklyn. Were they really? Depended who you asked.
            “A new wrinkle has been added to our weekend,” Jane said.
            "Oh no please, not another one. I already have a new wrinkle, that's why I cut bangs."
            "I wondered what the new hairstyle was about."
            Jane carried the oversized basket to the wooden dining table where Clare Didrikson and Rachel Weiner, two of her closest friends, sat with their morning coffees.
            The table and chairs were like all the furniture in the rented house - ancient wood or wicker upon which thousands of summer memories had been made, or brand new, from the discount store, because who would buy good furniture for a house through which total strangers traipsed for three months out of every year? Or suffered from too much sun and too much damp. Jane pulled out a chair and read the card aloud to the group.
            "It's a joke," Tina said. She flung off the blanket and hopped over on her one good ankle to join them. "Just like her to bail at the last minute and then pull a stunt like this. She’s probably laughing her ass off somewhere, ordering the next fruit basket with the next cryptic message. Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes! Go to the hayfield, there’ll be a volcanic rock that has no earthly business in a Maine hayfield. She’s always so melodramatic. Can't she just admit something better came up?"
            It was not the first time their missing friend had cancelled at the last minute even though the dates were fixed well in advance. The four were always understanding but there was always a trace of resentment, too. As if the others were expected to understand that the fifth woman’s time was more valuable than theirs.
            The four women settled around the table in the weather-beaten Cape Cod bungalow they'd rented every summer for the last six years. They met for the same late summer weekend when husbands and partners were otherwise engaged, either of their own accord or dispatched so the women wouldn't feel guilty about leaving four men, one daughter, one veterinary practice, and two businesses for much girl talk and more alcohol in an ocean beach setting far removed from their Brooklyn beginnings.
            Initially, they had played "remember when" and speculated on what had happened to still-missing friends from the old neighborhood. That first year Rachel brought her laptop and their old high school yearbook, and between drinks and steamers they Googled and giggled over former boyfriends and teachers, most of whom had lost their hair, gotten heavy, or somehow morphed into ordinary mortals instead of the brooding geniuses and bohemian heartthrobs they’d once seemed. After that, it was agreed - no laptops at The Weekend.
            But it wasn't all about the old days. The five women had forged new friendships. What felt better than familiar but new - the safety net of people who knew your background and your history, but, because of the time spent apart, brought the freshness of anecdotes and stories you hadn't heard a hundred times before. And they’d helped each other professionally, with contacts and as trustworthy soundingboards.
            Clare reached over to read the card for herself, looking for...what? Some explanation hidden between the lines? Some tone or nuance conveyed in the elegant script of an anonymous clerk in a gift shop? She chewed on her lower lip but said nothing.
            Jane tugged on the purple ribbon at the top of the basket, untying the bow and noisily releasing the twisted cellophane. She flattened the ribbon and wound it around four fingers as if saving it for some future use, which wasn't likely since they'd all be home in a few days. A hidden staple pierced one slim, unmanicured index finger and she sucked on it while poking through the basket with her undamaged hand.
            "At least she sprang for the good stuff.” Jane held up a red foil-covered brick. “Real cheese, not cheese product."
            "And candy," Rachel said. "Just what we need."
            Tina and Jane plundered the basket, Jane moving through the items and inspecting ingredients. "Cream crackers, no partially hydrogenated anything so far." Jane was co-owner of a small bakery called Sweet Dreams and paid attention to such things. Tina wasn't so picky. Two grunts and an arched eyebrow told her the others were less appreciative of their missing friend's nutritional considerations. "Belgian chocolates. Scottish cookies," Jane said, still sucking on her punctured finger.
            "Please don’t get blood on anything," Tina said. "If there are shortbread cookies, I’ve got dibs. I don't care if they have lard in them but I draw the line at bodily fluids.”
            Despite Rachel's protestations, the chocolate would disappear first. No chance to melt or develop that mysterious white stuff around the edges. Then the cheese, the crackers and the fruit, one step up from artificial and typically chosen not for taste but for their ability to retain an unblemished appearance despite being shipped thousands of miles. All the food would go, even the boring sucking candies, and all that would remain was a tasteful brown basket, some purple ribbon and the note -
            Apologies for the short notice but I won't be making our little reunion this year. I've run off with one of your men.
December 2 – Book Mama Blog – Guest Post & Excerpt
December 4- Samantha March – Q&A & Excerpt
December 5- Annabel and Alice – Review
December 6 – eBook Addict – Q&A
December  10- Bookish – Excerpt
December 11- Book Suburbia – Excerpt
December 12 – eBook Addict – Review
December 13- Bees Knee’s Reviews – Review, Guest Post & Excerpt
December 16 – Everything Books and Authors  - Q&A
December 18 – The Outside Lane  - Review & Q&
December 19 – Storm Goddess Book Reviews – Review, Q&A & Exerpt
December 20 – Jersey Girl Book Reviews – Review, Guest Post & Excerpt

December 23 – Chick Lit Plus - Review

Author Bio:

Rosemary Harris has been a bookstore manager, a video producer and a public television exec. Her debut novel, the Agatha and Anthony-nominated, Pushing Up Daisies, was followed by The Big Dirt Nap, Dead Head and Slugfest, all titles in her Dirty Business mystery series.  She is past president of Mystery Writers of America's NY Chapter and Sisters in Crime's New England Chapter. Like some of the characters in The Bitches of Brooklyn she was born in Brooklyn but now lives in New York City and Fairfield County, Connecticut.

To learn more about Rosemary and all of her books visit her at www.rosemaryharris.com and Like her on facebook at www.facebook.com/RosemaryHarriswriter

Guest Post: 

Libraries were so important to me when I was growing up in Brooklyn, New York. I can remember working my way through all of the children's books and biographies when I was youngster, steered to appropriate books by the proverbial, gray-haired librarian. (But she was!) I started at the Clarendon Branch, my local library, and then when I was old enough I made my first visit to the BIG library on Eastern Parkway. Grand Army Plaza. It was like a temple. I still have that feeling when I walk into a library and I've visited so many of them since my first book came out.

A lot of readers may not realize but libraries play an enormous role in a writer's building a readership. Particularly these days when there are fewer and fewer bricks and mortar stores where people can discover new writers. So if I didn't love them before, I certainly would now that I'm a writer!

How did I come to build a library in Tanzania? My husband and I are strong supporters of Habitat for Humanity and it was on a Global Village build that we discovered Mvumi Village. We spent two weeks there with a team of other volunteers. In that time we fell in love with the village and the children at Chalula Primary School. Under the most difficult conditions - including no electricity, no running water, no regular mail delivery, these students were cheerful, intelligent and engaged. FYI, English is the second language in Tanzania, after Swahili, and many children also speak a local language. In Mvumi it is Kigogo.

But they had no books. One book for every six students we were told. And the books they had were frequently obscure and almost useless titles donated by well-meaning people all over the world - so their relevance to an eight year old in East Africa was dubious. Pest management in Georgia? Figure skating for beginners?

When my husband and I got home we thought about what we might do to help. A few phone calls and emails later we had organized a fundraiser.  The apartment and food were donated by friends, and the response was terrific. Our fundraiser was held in May 2006 and the building was completed in November 2006. (I wish we had contractors like that in Connecticut!)

Since then, with the help of organizations like Friends of African Village Libraries and the PenTrust (Poverty Eradication Network) we have been able to keep the library open and help it to be a resource, not just for the children of Mvumi Village, but their parents too. (The local goatherders meet there.) For more information or to make a donation - $80 pays for the two part-time librarians for one month, hint, hint - please visit my website www.rosemaryharris.com
 
Trade paperback and ebook available at Amazon and bn.com now!
http://tinyurl.com/kydqs39

 

 Giveaway

http://www.clpblogtours.com/2013/10/the-bitches-of-brooklyn-by-rosemary.html


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Be-U-Tee-Full Blog Tour



Be-U-Tee-Full Blog Tour

Dec. 2nd through the 16th

18511303Summary: One of Cali’s bestie friends, Lyvia, is feeling pretty icky. Lyvia had to get glasses, and she is sure the glasses make her look yucky. Lyvia does not even want to wear them, but Cali has a better idea, and a great lesson to teach her bestie: you are be-u-tee-full for simply being you.







My Thoughts:
This book was adorable. It was a great way to get the message across. This is wonderful for kids, pre-readers and beginning readers. The art in this book was phenomenal. I loved Cali and Lyvia. This is a great book to promote as the author called it girl power and self esteem. I look forward to sharing more of this series with my daughter. I read this with my daughter and she had a blast with it. 

My rating: 5 out of 5.


About the Creators:

1377428_450275455091659_133463328BWJourni Roe created Cali and the BF Crew in her heart, drawing on her own experiences as a spunky little girl with big ideas to create heartfelt stories that would empower children such as her own. “The world of Cali and the BF Crew is filled with acceptance, love, and courage only a best friend can give you honestly,” Journi shares. “Cali is the best friend we all wish we had grown up with.”





Pedro Pedro Perez, is the illustrative genius behind Cali and the BF Crew characters. Working meticulously with Journi, he brought the characters to life as if pulled right from her imagination. Pedro has worked on such movies and projects as Planet 51 and the popular Spanish TV series, Las Aventuras de Tadeo Jones. Pedro believes in the mission of empowering youth, keeping young at heart, and preserving our beaches, oceans, and marine life.





Links:


Tour Schedule:

Date
Blog Name/Link
Type of Post
Dec. 2nd
Jitterbug PR
Opening Post
Dec. 3rd
Review/Promo
Dec. 4th
Review/Promo
Dec. 5th
Review/Promo
Dec. 6th
Review/Promo






Dec. 11th
Review, Promo
Dec. 12th
Review
Dec. 13th
Review
Dec. 16th
Review/Promo



Monday, December 2, 2013

The Kingdom of Vosh: The Chained Princess By Jason C. Conley Blog Tour

KingdomofVoshTourBadge450X300
   
JasonCConleyAbout the Author: In 1999, Jason Conley drew a picture of a young woman’s face. It eventually became the cover of the book you now hold. When not consumed by writing or art, Jason canoes, fishes, and hikes the rolling hills of Tennessee with his family. There are secrets to this world we live in. Some faintly whispered, others hidden in plain view. Some of those secrets have been carefully placed throughout this book. Truth and fiction, it is what we try to discern between every day, though I wonder is it even recognizable anymore? Do we know the truth or are we simply told what to believe in and what is real? It is a journey we are all on. It will be up to you to decide which parts are which. Break loose of those chains and look around you, because the truth… will set you free.  
KingdomofVoshCover
Book Synopsis: Secrets have been formed in the dark corners of the kingdom. Change is in the air and whispers of new ideas and technologies have swept the land. Unfortunately, the King is old and simple and his daughter is concerned only with worldly possessions. A man by the name of Buul, a man long forgotten, has returned to pay a visit to the King on the King’s birthday. He has not come empty handed and will be the King’s undoing. The King, in moments of panic and war, can trust no one with the protection of his daughter. He quickly decides to entrust her life with a creature most vile and uncommon and chains her to a Vork. He does not leave her empty handed though. His last gift to the Princess is an amulet with powers even he does not comprehend. The land’s only chance, the only one loyal to the King’s memory, is the daughter that cares nothing of the Kingdom of Vosh.


My Thoughts:

I love Fantasy and sometimes it is hard to find good, new, original plots. But Mr. Conley has written an awesome fantasy tale.  I truly felt like I was whisked  away. This was not only a great fantasy story but it has steampunk, a little dystopian, psychology, and political/sociology undertones. Jasper is a princess that is used to having it her way, this tale is really a growing up tale for her.  I highly recommend this to all fantasy readers. Amazingly well written and wonderful characters to boot.

My Ratings:
4 out of 5

Author Links:
Website: www.thekingdomofvosh.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheKingdomOfVosh
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jconley78/kingdom-of-vosh/  

Amazon Links for The Kingdom of Vosh  
Print Version http://www.amazon.com/The-Kingdom-Vosh-Chained-Princess/dp/1937035433  
Kindle Version http://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Vosh-Jason-C-Conley-ebook/dp/B00DDU70AC






Tour Schedule and Activities  
November 20 Watch Play Read Review  
November 20 Beagle Book Space Contest
November 21 Sapphyria’s Book Reviews Guest Post
November 22 Jess Resides Here Guest Post  
November 23 Lost Inside the Covers Review
November 24 Armand Rosamilia, Horror Author Guest Post  
November 25 The Official Writing Blog of Dee Dee Davies Guest Post  
November 26 Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews Guest Post  
November 27 Spellbindings Review  
November 28 Workaday Reads Guest Post
November 29 Bee’s Knees Reviews Review  
November 30 Azure Dwarf Review  
December 1 Vampires, Witches, & Me, Oh My! Guest Post  
December 3 Little Red Reviewer Interview  
December 4 Myriad Musings Guest Post/Interview  
December 6 Come Selahway With Me Guest Post  
December 7 Breath of Life Review  
December 9 Book in the Bag Review  
December 11 Angela Meadon Blog Review  
December 13 Deal Sharing Aunt Review  
December 15 SpecMusicMuse Review/Interview  
December 16 Word to Dreams Review  
December 18 A Haunted Head Interview  
December 19 Bookishly Me Review
December 20 The Dan Brien Project Guest Post  
December 23 Sheila Deeth Blog Review    




The book/eBook being reviewed was provided for an honest review, and that no compensation was provided. 

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