LITERAL ADDICTION Paranormal Book Club

[Archive] Series Spotlight and Giveaway for Rebecca Zanetti_6.17.13

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 14:25:08 -0400

[Archive] Spotlight, Excerpt and Giveaway for Cynthia Eden_6.17.13

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 14:22:30 -0400

[Archive] Spotlight, Review & Giveaway for Jim Steinmeyer & Who Was Dracula?_6.16.13

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:26:01 -0400

[Archive] Series Spotlight, Reviews & Awesome Giveaway for Sherrilyn Kenyon and CHRONICLES OF NICK_6.15.13

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:55:00 -0400

6/15/13
FEATURED AUTHOR EVENT

Series Spotlight, Reviews
&
Giveaway

for…

Sherrilyn Kenyon

Hellooooo my lovely Literal Addicts and welcome to your weekend! :)
I’m here today to promote for the amazing and talented Sherrilyn Kenyon and her most recent release, Inferno.

Sherrilyn Kenyon lives a life of extraordinary danger… as does any woman with three sons, a husband, a menagerie of pets and a collection of swords that all of the above have a fixation on. But when not running interference (or dashing off to the emergency room), she’s found chained to her computer where she likes to play with all her imaginary friends. With more than ten million copies of her books in print in 26 countries, she certainly has many friends to play with.

Writing as Kinley MacGregor and Sherrilyn Kenyon, she is the author of several series, including DARK-HUNTERS, BELADOR, , LORDS OF AVALON, LEAGUE, NEVERMORE, BAD (Bureau of American Defense), SEX CAMP DIARIES, BROTHERHOOD OF THE SWORD /THE MACALLISTERS and SEA WOLVES.

She is also the proud creator of the New Adult series CHRONICLES OF NICK, a DARK-HUNTERS spin-off.

Her books have appeared in the top five of the New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly, and USA Today lists.

While I cannot stress enough how amazing all of her books are and highly suggest that you check out her entire backlist ASAP (if you aren’t already a Kenyon Minyon), I’m here today to gush about her CHRONICLES OF NICK series.

For those of you new to Nick and the gang, here’s all the information you need to get you all caught up…

~*~*~*~*~

THE CHRONICLES OF NICK
The world of the Dark-Hunters is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. It’s dark. It’s gritty. It’s dangerous… And it’s a whole lot of fun and a lot of laughs. CHRONICLES OF NICK is the story of Nick Gautier’s life.
It’s a Young Adult spin-off series from the DARK-HUNTER novels, and even includes some Manga if you’re looking for even more.

Sherrilyn’s Note to DARK-HUNTER fans:
The Chronicles of Nick *is* Nick’s real and true past. There is a huge surprise (several actually) in the series that I don’t want to spoil, but when you read them, everything you think is an inconsistency will make perfect sense to you. More than that, you will understand exactly why Nick is the way he is and why he continues to hate Acheron the way he does.
Nick’s series will run until it intersects with Night Pleasures and then Nick will have his own novel in the Dark-Hunter world.

~*~*~*~*~

Infinity
CHRONICLES OF NICK Book #1

Add to your GoodReads Shelf

At fourteen, Nick Gautier thinks he knows everything about the world around him. Streetwise, tough and savvy, his quick sarcasm is the stuff of legends…until the night when his best friends try to kill him. Saved by a mysterious warrior who has more fighting skills than Chuck Norris, Nick is sucked into the realm of the Dark-Hunters: immortal vampire slayers who risk everything to save humanity.

Nick quickly learns that the human world is only a veil for a much larger and more dangerous one: a world where the captain of the football team is a werewolf and the girl he has a crush on goes out at night to stake the undead.

But before he can even learn the rules of this new world, his fellow students are turning into flesh eating zombies. And he’s next on the menu.

As if starting high school isn’t hard enough…now Nick has to hide his new friends from his mom, his chainsaw from the principal, and keep the zombies and the demon Simi from eating his brains, all without getting grounded or suspended. How in the world is he supposed to do that?

~*~*~*~*~

Invincible
CHRONICLES OF NICK Book #2

Add to your GoodReads Shelf

Nick Gautier’s day just keeps getting better and better. Yeah, he survived the zombie attacks, only to wake up and find himself enslaved to a world of shapeshifters and demons out to claim his soul.

His new principal thinks he’s even more of a hoodlum than the last one, his coach is trying to recruit him to things he can’t even mention and the girl he’s not seeing, but is, has secrets that terrify him.

But more than that, he’s being groomed by the darkest of powers and if he doesn’t learn how to raise the dead by the end of the week, he will become one of them…

~*~*~*~*~

Infamous
CHRONICLES OF NICK Book #3

Add to your GoodReads Shelf

*Read LITERAL ADDICTION’s 4 ½ Skull Review HERE

The world has fallen in love with Nick Gautier and the Dark-Hunters. Now Nick’s saga continues in the next eagerly anticipated volume…

Go to school. Get good grades. Stay out of trouble. That’s the mandate for most kids. But Nick Gautier isn’t the average teenager. He’s a boy with a destiny not even he fully understands. And his first mandate is to stay alive while everyone, even his own father, tries to kill him. He’s learned to raise the dead, divination and clairvoyance, so why is learning to drive and keep a girlfriend so hard?

But driving isn’t the primary skill he has to master. Survival is. And in order to survive, his next lesson makes all the others pale in comparison. He is on the brink of becoming either the greatest hero mankind has ever known - or he’ll be the one who ends the world. With enemies new and old gathering forces, he will have to call on every part of himself to fight or he’ll lose everyone he cares about. Even himself.

~*~*~*~*~

Inferno
CHRONICLES OF NICK Book #4

Add to your Good Reads Shelf

Buy from Amazon | B&N | BAM | Powell’s | IndieBound

*Buy an Autographed, Leather Boxed, First Edition HERE

The heat is on, and a new threat to humanity has risen…

Nick has his driver’s license and he’s not afraid to use it. But turning sixteen isn’t what he thought it would be. While other boys his age are worried about prom dates and applying for college, Nick is neck deep in enemies out to stop him from living another day. No longer sure if he can trust anyone, his only ally seems to be the one person he’s been told will ultimately kill him.

But life spent serving the undead is anything except ordinary. And those out to get him have summoned an ancient force so powerful even the gods fear it. As Nick learns to command and control the elements, the one he must master in order to combat his latest foe is the one most likely to destroy him. As the old proverb goes, fire knows nothing of mercy, and if Nick is to survive this latest round, he will have to sacrifice a part of himself. However, the best sacrifice is seldom the sanest move. Sometimes it’s the one that leaves your enemies confused, and you even more so.

And sometimes, you have to trust your enemy to save your friends. But what do you do when that enemy is you?

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha - Michelle L. Olson:
This series is like chocolate - even though I know I shouldn’t, one page, one chapter, is never enough - I can’t stop until the entire book is gone & I feel guilty for not doing the things I should, yet utterly sated & happy for having indulged.:)

Every book of this series gets better & more intense. This may have been my favorite yet… Nick explores what happens when he leans more towards the darker side of his nature in this installment and it’s not pretty - loved ones are put at risk (yet again), he gets in a huge bind (what’s new, right!?), demons are possessing people close to him, Death (a.k.a Grim) is manipulating things to go his way and working with some other unsavory folk, love is tenuous at best, some huge revelations are made about several big players, and Nick’s world is turned upside down. And then there was the epilogue… just wow! I cannot wait to see where Sherrilyn goes with this. I did not see that coming and am dying to see how it plays out.

In a word: Utterly fantastic!! An easy 5 Skull read for me and I think that everyone should read these books. They may be classified as Young Adult, but they read like a gritty Urban Fantasy and are must reads for all Dark-Hunter fans.

~*~*~*~*~

Illusion
CHRONICLES OF NICK Book #5

COMING 3/15/14!!

Add to your GoodReads Shelf

Pre-Order from Amazon

Be careful what you wish for…
You just might get it.
Nick Gautier is tired of his destiny. He doesn’t want to be the son of a demon who’s fated to end the world. Nor does he want to see another demon or other preternatural creature who wants to kill or enslave him. He just wants to be normal and have normal problems like everyone else.

But normality isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. When he gets sucked into an alternate reality where his mother has married his mentor and his Atlantean god best friend has become a human geek, he begins to understand that no life is free of pain, and that every person has a specific place in the universe… Even the son of a hated demon.

Most of all, he sees that his powers aren’t the curse he thought they were, and that the world needs a champion, especially one its enemies can’t imagine rising up to defend the ones he should destroy.

Old enemies and new friends square off for a major battle that will either restore Nick to his real world, or end him forever.

~*~*~*~*~

Do I have all of you new readers salivating? Do I have all fellow fans wishing it were March of next year already? If so, then I have properly done my job, and I can put a check in the “Success” column for today.
Seriously though, if you haven’t already checked these out, they are most certainly worth it! Even you YA naysayers out there… they’re just too gripping and action packed to be missed just because they happen to have lead characters that are in high school. There aren’t any of those pesky love triangles, and the only teen angst to be found is in the character of Nick himself and he’s like that as an adult in the DARK-HUNTER series, so push all of your ‘YA’ label thoughts aside and definitely give this series a chance! It’s what I like to call Young Adult for the Not So Young Adult, each installment is an auto-buy pre-order for me, and I yearn for the days when I finally get to sit down with them after release (and as you can see from my review above, I kind of get lost and put off everything else until they’re done too). Check them out!

~*~*~*~*~

CONTEST:
Because I love this series so much and enjoyed Inferno as much as I did, I wanted to do something special to commemorate the occasion. So… If you’ll help me spread the word about this release and series, I will give one lucky winner an amazing CHRONICLES OF NICK prize pack. What does this prize pack contain you ask. Well, I’m tempted to lie to you and tell you it’s something not quite as cool simply because I am very, VERY tempted to keep what I bought for myself, but because I love you all, I will offer it up for a prize.

I have a super awesome I Author’s Corner II page 6/15 – 6/19, follow the directions, take action, and mark as ‘Done’.

Good luck, and as always… HAPPY READING!!

[Archive] Spotlight, Excerpt, & Giveaway for Nicola Cameron_6.14.13

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:10:00 -0400

6/14/13
FEATURED AUTHOR EVENT

Spotlight
&
Giveaway

for…

Nicola Cameron

Hey everyone!

LITERAL ADDICTION is happy to be hosting for Nicola Cameron today to help promote and celebrate her latest book, Storm Season.

Nicola Cameron is an expatriate Chicagoan who has lived in England, Canada, Holland, and Sweden, and keeps a confusing amalgamation of languages in her head as a result. Currently located in the clavicle of Texas, she has finally mastered the proper use of “y’all,” much to her Chicago family’s dismay.

Despite a healthy interest in sex since puberty, it wasn’t until 2012 that Nicola decided to try writing about it. As it turned out, the skills she picked up during her SF writing career transferred rather nicely to erotic romance. When not writing, she wrangles cats, smooches her husband, makes dolls of dubious and questionable identity, and thanks almighty Cthulhu that she doesn’t have to work for a major telecommunications company any more (because there’s BDSM, and then there’s just plain torture…).

Keep up with Nicola online at all of these places:
Website /Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Evernight Publishing, Goodreads, Bookstrand, Amazon, and All Romance EBooks.

For those of you that are just now hearing about Storm Season and Nicola’s OLYMPIC COVE series, here’s some info to get you all caught up…

Storm Season
OLYMPIC COVE Book #1

*Book Trailer

Ian West had his summer all planned out — go down to Florida, stay in his family’s beach cottage on Olympic Cove, and work on his science ficton novel. But his plans get thrown for a loop when gorgeous twin sea gods Bythos and Aphros show up in the cove and inform him he’s their fated consort.
As if that wasn’t enough, something in the Gulf of Mexico is turning mermaids into legendary monsters and gods into demons. Now, Ian not only has to navigate the complicated waters of a ménage relationship with twin sea gods, he also has to stop an insane deity and save the whole damn planet.
No pressure.

EXCERPT
“So … you just waited for me? All this time?”
“Yes,” Bythos said. “And you finally returned to us, and dreamed of us as we dreamed of you.” With care, he slid an arm around Ian. “I meant what I said earlier. We will never harm you, and we will never force you into anything you don’t want to do. But we need you, Ian, just as you need us.”
“We do need you,” Aphros said, moving in to lay the softest of kisses on Ian’s shoulder. “You’re the sun and the moon to us. We’ve dreamed about you for so long. Please, Ian, let us love you.”
Ian shivered at the softness of the demigod’s lips as they feathered along his shoulder, tracing the curve to his neck. His desire bloomed again, a warm heaviness settling in his groin. “You dreamed about me?” he whispered.
“Every night,” Aphros said. “You have no idea how you tormented us with your skin, the sounds you made.”
“And your taste,” Bythos murmured, leaning in now and brushing the tip of his tongue over Ian’s skin. “I can’t describe how delicious you are. You taste like everything good in the world. Like home.”
“Like ours,” Aphros said.
Ian moaned at the sensation of their mouths on his neck, their hands wandering across his chest, plucking gently at his nipples. “Oh, God,” he breathed.
“Gods, actually,” Aphros said, lifting his mouth from Ian’s neck for a moment. “Well, demigods, but still.”
“Aph, shut up,” Bythos said, sliding a broad, warm palm around Ian’s jaw and pulling him closer. “We have better things to do.”

Not bad, right!!? In celebration of Storm Season, Nicola is doing a great tour Giveaway…

CONTEST:
Nicola is giving away a $20.00 Gift card to Amazon at the end of the tour.

To enter, find the Rafflecopter widget for today’s Event on our Author’s Corner page, follow the directions, take action, and mark as ‘Done’.
Good luck, and as always, HAPPY READING!!

Make sure that you follow along with the rest of Nicola’s tour as well!:

June 3 - Book Connisseur
June 4 - Book Lovin Mamas
June 5 - Books-N-Kisses
June 6 - Buffy’s Ramblings
June 11 - Books, Books & More Books
June 12 - United by Books
June 13 - Book Monster Reviews
June 14 - LITERAL ADDICTION
June 15 - Literal Hotties Naughty Book Reviews
June 16 - You Gotta Read Reviews

[Archive] Series Spotlight, Reviews & Giveaway for Larissa Reinhart_6.13.13

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:16:00 -0400

6/13/13
FEATURED AUTHOR EVENT

Series Spotlight, Reviews
&
Giveaway

for…

Larissa Reinhart

Hey everyone!

LITERAL ADDICTION is very happy to be hosting for Larissa Reinhart again today to help promote and celebrate her latest book, Still Life in Brunswick Stew.

About Larissa:
Larissa Reinhart loves small town characters, particularly sassy women with a penchant for trouble. STILL LIFE IN BRUNSWICK STEW (May 2013) is the second in the Cherry Tucker Mystery Series. The first, PORTRAIT OF A DEAD GUY, is a 2012 Daphne du Maurier finalist, a 2012 The Emily finalist, and a 2011 Dixie Kane Memorial winner. Expect HIJACK IN ABSTRACT and a Cherry Tucker novella in THE HEARTACHE MOTEL out in November and December 2013.

She lives near Atlanta with her minions and Cairn Terrier, Biscuit. Visit her website; her expat blog; or find her chatting with the Little Read Hens on Facebook; at her Facebook page;Twitter; and Goodreads.

For those of you that are just now hearing about “Portrait of a Dead Guy” and Larissa’s CHERRY TUCKER MYSTERY series, here’s some info to get you all caught up…

Portrait of a Dead Guy
CHERRY TUCKER MYSTERY Book #1

Buy now: Amazon Kindle | B&N Nook | Kobo | Amazon Paperback | B&N Paperback

*Read LITERAL ADDICTION’s Review HERE

In Halo, Georgia, folks know Cherry Tucker as big in mouth, small in stature, and able to sketch a portrait faster than kudzu climbs telephone poles — but commissions are scarce. So when the well-heeled Branson family wants to memorialize their murdered son in a coffin portrait, Cherry scrambles to win their patronage from her small town rival.
As the clock ticks toward the deadline, Cherry faces more trouble than just a controversial subject. Between ex-boyfriends, her flaky family, an illegal gambling ring, and outwitting a killer on a spree, Cherry find herself painted into a corner she’ll be lucky to survive.

Still Life in Brunswick Stew
CHERRY TUCKER MYSTERY Book #2

Buy now: Amazon Kindle | B&N Nook | Kobo | Amazon Paperback |B&N Paperback

Cherry Tucker’s in a stew. Art commissions dried up after her nemesis became president of the County Arts Council. Desperate and broke, Cherry and her friend, Eloise, spend a sultry summer weekend hawking their art at the Sidewinder Annual Brunswick Stew Cook-Off. When a bad case of food poisoning breaks out and Eloise dies, the police brush off her death as accidental. However, Cherry suspects someone spiked the stew and killed her friend. As Cherry calls on cook-off competitors, bitter rivals, and crooked judges, the police get steamed while the killer prepares to cook Cherry’s goose.

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha - Michelle L. Olson:

Still Life in Brunswick Stew is the second book in Larissa’s Cherry Tucker Mystery Series, and our super lovable Cherry is back and getting into more and more trouble! The poor girl just can’t help it.

Like book 1, Still Life in Brunswick Stew is a delightful, light-hearted Southern mystery with lovable characters, fantastic dialogue and a truly fun story; the characters simply come to life on the page, and light up the picture of these quaint Southern towns vividly in the mind’s eye.

Beyond the new mystery of book 2, it was fun to enter Cherry’s quirky mind and mull over the issues of her current relationship with Deputy Luke, while entertaining paranoia that her simple, stupid, and loyal as a Labrador ex Todd may actually be a genius in disguise, and master manipulator as well, all while acknowledging that she’s inherited a disease from her mother - a weakness & stupidity for handsome men.

This installment wasn’t quite as fast-paced as the debut novel of the series, but there were enough twists and turns to keep it interesting (especially at the end - I honestly didn’t see the final outcome coming!).

My only complaint about the book was that I felt like there wasn’t enough emotion displayed with regards to her friend’s death. Yes, Cherry was hell-bent on finding Eloise’s killer, but I didn’t feel like she grieved…

Still Life in Brunswick Stew is still a very good book & I would recommend it and its predecessor Portrait of a Dead Guy. - it’s a solid 4 Skull read! :)

In celebration of Still Life in Brunswick Stew, Larissa is doing a great tour Giveaway…

CONTEST:
Larissa is giving away a $20 Visa card and an e-book of Portrait of a Dead Guy (the first in the series) to one lucky winner at the end of the tour.

To enter, find the Rafflecopter widget for today’s Event on our New News Nook II page, follow the directions, take action, and mark as ‘Done’.
Good luck, and as always, HAPPY READING!!

Make sure that you follow along with the rest of Larissa’s tour as well!:
6/10- Mad Hatter Reads (interview and review)
6/11- United by Books (interview)
6/12- The Jeep Diva (interview)
6/13- Literal Addiction (spotlight and review)
6/14- Books-n-Kisses (interview)
6/16 - My Book Addiction (interview)
6/17- The Reading Cafe (evening review of Book 1)
6/18- The Reading Cafe - Series Spotlight & review)
6/19- Book Monster Reviews
6/20- Froggarita’s Bookcase (interview)
6/21- Bianca2b
6/23- Love In A Book

[Archive] Spotlight and Giveaway for Marie Hall_6.12.13

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 23:03:00 -0400

6/12/13
FEATURED AUTHOR EVENT

Spotlight
&
Giveaway

for…

Marie Hall

Hello my Literal Addicts!

LITERAL ADDICTION is happy to be promoting for Marie Hall today to help celebrate her book, A Moment.

Marie Hall has always had a dangerous fascination for creatures that go bump in the night. And mermaids. And of course fairies. Trolls. Unicorns. Shapeshifters. Vampires. Scottish brogues. Kilts. Beefy arms. Ummm… Bad boys! Especially the sexy ones.

On top of that she’s a confirmed foodie, she nearly went to culinary school and then figured out she could save a ton of money if she just watched food shows religiously! She’s a self-proclaimed master chef, certified deep sea dolphin trainer, finder of leprechaun’s gold at the end of the rainbow, and rumor has it she keeps the Troll King locked away in her basement. All of which is untrue, however, she does have an incredibly active imagination and loves to share her crazy thoughts with the world!

Connect with Marie:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Marie is the proud creator of the GRIM REAPER, KINGDOM, and MOMENTS series. While we highly suggest that you check out her entire backlist (and we’ll definitely be doing some more promotion for her other two series!), today we’re concentrating on her MOMENTS series, and its first release, A Moment.

For those of you not yet familiar with the book or series, we’ll fix that right now…

A Moment
MOMENTS Book #1

Genre: New Adult Sexy Contemporary College Romance

Add to your GoodReads Shelf

Buy from Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Smashwords | Kobo

Ryan Cosgrove and Liliana Delgado are on a collision course with destiny. They don’t know it yet, but before the night is over their lives will be forever changed.

Spending Valentine’s Day at a burlesque bar, hadn’t been Liliana’s ideal way of spending a Friday night. She’d much rather be back at campus, doing homework… until she meets Ryan. Tall, athletic, and gorgeous, Lili can’t keep her eyes off him, and despite his gruff manners and drunken disposition she’s intrigued.

Ryan’s got demons, and they’re deep, dark, and eating him alive. Regardless of his attraction to the petite brunette he’s tired of fighting, of pretending the last fifteen years haven’t been a daily struggle just to get out of bed every morning. That night he decides to end his pain, to leave it all behind and float away into the blessed darkness of oblivion. But fate has other plans for him, Lily finds and rescues Ryan, determined she’ll not only save his body, but his soul too.

This is their moment…

Sounds good, yes!!? :) Make sure that you check it out and the rest of Marie’s amazing books. For the rest of today though, Marie is hosting a Tour wide giveaway for US RESIDENTS.

CONTEST:
Marie is giving away the following prizes when the tour ends. US RESIDENTS ONLY!

GRAND PRIZE: $50 dollar gift card to either Amazon or B&N

2ND PLACE: an A Moment journal and a Kingdom Keychain

3RD PLACE: an eBook copy of The Kingdom Collection: Books 1-3 including Her Mad Hatter, Gerard’s Beauty, and Red and Her Wolf.

To enter, find the Rafflecopter widget for today’s Event over on our New News Nook page, follow the directions, take action, and mark as ‘Done’.

Good Luck and as always… HAPPY READING!!

Make sure to follow along with the rest of Marie’s tour as well…
6/04 - Brynna Curry’s In Shadow’s Guest blog
6/05 - United by Books
6/05 - Trine’s Review Cave
6/06 - Book Monster Reviews
6/07 - Jessie’s Book Place
6/08 - Cocktails and Books
6/09 - The Reading Café
6/10 - Got Fiction?
6/11 - I Am, Indeed
6/12 - LITERAL ADDICTION
6/13 - Intoxicated by Books
6/14 - Books-N-Kisses
6/15 - Fetch Me My Fainting Couch

[Archive] Series Spotlight, Review, AUTHOR AMBUSH & Giveaway w/ Katie MacAlister_6.11.13

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 09:27:00 -0400

6/11/13
FEATURED AUTHOR EVENT

Series Spotlight, Review, AUTHOR AMBUSH
&
Giveaway
with…
Katie MacAlister

Hello literal addicts and book monsters!!

LITERAL ADDICTION and Book Monster Reviews are honored to have the wonderful and very funny Katie MacAlister back with us today.
Katie has a great bio on her website, so we thought we’d borrow it for today:

ABOUT KATIE
For as long as she can remember, Katie MacAlister has loved reading. Growing up in a family where a weekly visit to the library was a given, Katie spent much of her time with her nose buried in a book. Despite her love for novels, she didn’t think of writing them until she was contracted to write a non-fiction book about software. Since her editor refused to allow her to include either witty dialogue or love scenes in the software book, Katie swiftly resolved to switch to fiction, where she could indulge in world building, tormenting characters, and falling madly in love with all her heroes.

Two years after she started writing novels, Katie sold her first romance, Noble Intentions. More than thirty books later, her novels have been translated into numerous languages, been recorded as audiobooks, received several awards, and are regulars on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. She also writes for the young adult audience as Katie Maxwell.

Katie lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and dogs, and can often be found lurking around online.

Speaking of online, you can find her at her Website, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on GoodReads too!

Katie is the proud creator of the DARK ONES, AISLING GREY: GUARDIAN, SILVER DRAGONS, LIGHT DRAGONS, NOBLE, and new TIME THIEF series. We highly suggest that you check out all of her books, but for today, we’re going to concentrate on TIME THIEF and it’s new release of the same name, Time Thief, which was just released on 5/7/13:

Time Thief
TIME THIEF Book #1

Add to your GoodReads Shelf

Peter Faa is a member of the Watch tracking down a murderer, and unfortunately, all clues seem to point toward his own estranged family of Travellers. Any of his cousins could be guilty, but which one? They’re all experts in the art of stealing time…

After surviving a lightning strike, Kiya Mortenson is determined to get just one thing in her life right. And if that means taking a job as nanny to five pugs on a campsite in the Oregon wilderness, then so be it. It doesn’t hurt that the job comes with some spectacular male eye candy, including her new boss’s gorgeous grandson. If only she didn’t keep having this strange sense of deja vu…

When Peter discovers his own family is stealing time from Kiya, all bets are off. While she may drive him crazy at times, it’s clear that it’s not just lightning that’s creating some serious sparks between them. And he’s not going to let secrets, lies, or a devious murderer keep Kiya from where she belongs: at his side.

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha - Michelle L. Olson:

*eARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Time Thief was a fantastically unique story with incredible, witty dialogue, fabulous characters, & great undertone.

I’ve met some delightful heroines in my time as a Katie MacAlister fan girl, but none as wonderful as Kiya Mortenson! She’s quirky, energetic, spontaneous, and easily loved. Her inner dialogue is hilarious, and while she had traits I wish I had, there was a lot about her that I could relate with as well. She’s just one of those heroines that you can’t help but root for.

Peter Faa,our hero, is Kiya’s opposite. He’s disciplined, determined, and stoic a lot of the time, but he’s got this incredible dry sense of humor and a heart of gold.

Our leading couple along with the supporting cast create a wonderful filling for this delightful new world. The Travellers and all of the history that Katie has created for them carve a new niche in the Paranormal Romance genre by being unlike anything I’ve encountered before, and something I am eagerly hoping to get lost in again very soon.

LITERAL ADDICTION gives Time Thief 4 1/2 Skulls and definitely recommends it if you’re looking for something fresh, funny, sexy and new.

The Art of Stealing Time
TIME THIEF Book #2

COMING 6/3/13!

Add to your GoodReads Shelf

Gwenhwyfar Byron Owens learned everything she knows about potions and spells from her two Wiccan moms, who are forbidden by Otherworld laws from teaching magic to mortals. But when their latest transgression results in the kidnapping of a mortal woman, Gwen figures the only place to hide them all is in Anwyn, the Welsh afterlife…

But Gregory Faa—a member of the Watch—is hot on their heels. A Traveller who has stolen time, he’s eager to prove himself worthy of the Watch, only he has a past with the dark-eyed Welsh beauty he’s been charged with bringing to justice. He’s tempted to just let Gwen disappear into Anwyn, until he realizes that she’s being pursued by a squad of goons and death’s minions.

Gwen is used to taking care of her moms and herself, so she can’t give in to her heart’s demand to trust Gregory, despite the fact that he’s as handsome as the day is long—and the days in Anwyn can last centuries…

Sound good, right!? Time Thief was awesome and we can’t wait for The Art of Stealing Time. For the rest of today though, how about we see what Katie had to say when we let her take over the sites for the day…

AUTHOR AMBUSH BY KATIE MACALISTER:

Greetings, gentle reader!

Since Time Thief is now out and about in the world, and folks are curious as to how they can recognize a Traveller (AKA time thief) when they see one, I thought a handy little guide is in order. Thus I present:

TOP FIVE WAYS TO TELL IF THE PERSON NEXT TO YOU IS A TRAVELLER

1. Does the person have an apparently unhealthy interest in lightning? Travellers don’t have just an affinity with lightning—in certain circumstances, they can also control it. Which is very cool in one respect, but can be a bit disconcerting in many ways, especially if you’re flying a kite.

2. Have you experienced a strong sense of deja-vu recently? Travellers tend to steal time in small amounts, leaving most mortals with the feeling that they’re experiencing a moment that they’ve already lived through.

3. Have you experienced a strong sense of deja-vu recently? Travellers tend to steal time…waaait a minute. That person over there, the one with the dark hair. See him? He’s likely a Traveller, and he’s just taken a few seconds of your life. Check your pockets. You should have been paid for your time.

4. Is the person singing, “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves” at any given moment? The likelihood is that he or she knows that the term “traveller” is one frequently used to refer to the Romany people (gypsies), and that Travellers are frequently confused for the Rom. Rumor has it that Travellers and the Rom share a common ancestor many thousands of years ago, but no one knows for sure.

5. Does the person in question bear a strangely beautiful flowery type marking on his or her skin? All Travellers have them—they’re generally called lightning flowers, but the technical term (for you Google fiends) is “Lichtenberg Figure.” Sometimes mortals who are struck by lightning get them, but they don’t last long. On Travellers, the lightning flowers are permanent.

6. Have you experienced a strong sense of deja-vu recently? Travellers tend to steal time in small amounts, leaving most mortals with the feeling that they’re experiencing a moment that they’ve already lived through. Kind of like right now. Hey, how did we get to point #6? I only remember doing five…

CONTEST:

To celebrate the release of Time Thief, we’re offering up an eCopy of the book from either Amazon or B&N to a winner from each site.

To enter, find the Rafflecopter widget for Today’s Event on our Author’s Corner page 6/11 – 6/15, follow the directions, take action, and mark as ‘Done’.

For another chance to win, be sure you head over to Book Monster Reviews and enter over there as well!

Good Luck, and as always…HAPPY READING!

[Archive] Series Spotlight, Review, Excerpt and Giveaway for Kym Grosso_6.11.13

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 08:36:00 -0400

FEATURED AUTHOR EVENT
6/11/13

Series Spotlight, Review, AUTHOR AMBUSH and Giveaway
with…
Kym Grosso

Hey everyone!

LITERAL ADDICTION is happy to be promoting for Kym Grosso today.

Kym Grosso is the author of the erotic paranormal romance series, THE IMMORTALS OF NEW ORLEANS.

The series currently includes Kade’s Dark Embrace (Immortals of New Orleans, Book 1), Luca’s Magic Embrace (Immortals of New Orleans, Book 2) and Tristan’s Lyceum Wolves (Immortals of New Orleans, Book 3).

In addition to romance, Kym has written and published several articles about autism, and is passionate about autism advocacy. She writes autism articles on PsychologyToday.com and AutismInRealLife.com. She also is a contributing essay author in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Raising Kids on the Spectrum.

Kym lives with her husband, two children, dog, cat and guinea pig. Her hobbies include autism advocacy, reading, tennis, zumba, traveling and spending time with her husband and children. New Orleans, with its rich culture, history and unique cuisine, is one of her favorite places to visit. Also, she loves traveling just about anywhere that has a beach or snow-covered mountains. On any given night, when not writing her own books, Kym can be found reading her Kindle, which is filled with hundreds of romances.

Connect with Kym:

Website: www.KymGrosso.com
Email: Kym.Grosso@AutismInRealLife.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KymGrossoBooks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KymGrosso
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5785692.Kym_Grosso

For those of you new to the IMMORTALS OF NEW ORLEANS series, we’ll help you out…

Kade’s Dark Embrace
IMMORTALS OF NEW ORLEANS Book #1

Buy from Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon Ca | B&N

After a series of girls are ritualistically murdered on the cold streets of Philadelphia, seasoned detective, Sydney Willows, is forced to work with sexy, alpha vampire, Kade Issacson. While working the case, Sydney finds herself inexplicably drawn to Kade, fighting the passion she feels towards him. Kade, determined to solve the case and mete out justice, is captivated by the independent, fiery detective. As he attempts to protect her from a very real murderer, Kade grows concerned that the beautiful, but very human detective, could easily end up dead should she tangle with supernatural forces that are beyond her control.

The investigation leads them into a dark and dangerous world, deep in the heart of New Orleans, where together, they search for the perpetrators of the Voodoo killings. Sydney soon becomes the target of the killer and ends up fighting for her life and love in the Big Easy. If she makes it out alive, will she give into the intoxicating desire she feels for Kade?

Luca’s Magic Embrace
IMMORTALS OF NEW ORLEANS Book #2

Buy from Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon Ca | B&N

Sexy vampire, Luca Macquarie doesn’t do love; especially not with humans. Yet, ever since he rescued Samantha Irving, he can’t deny the enigmatic attraction he’s developed for the alluring mortal woman. Concerned for her safety, he’s determined to bring Samantha back to her coven. His mission is to go find the novice witch and bring her home, nothing more, nothing less; falling for her is not supposed to be part of the plan.

Samantha doesn’t want to be a witch, yet that’s exactly what she is. After failing to elicit her magic, she escapes to the mountains in an attempt to resume a semblance of her previous human life. When an arsonist torches her cabin, Samantha’s worst fears are realized. Aware that her life is on the line, she reluctantly agrees to return to New Orleans with Luca.

In the Big Easy, Samantha and Luca embark on a spellbinding journey, searching for a mystical amulet that promises to release her obligation from an ancient, lethal vampire who’s been threatening her life. With cryptic clues and clandestine allies, will Luca and Samantha destroy the dangerous amulet before others acquire it, setting forth a chain of catastrophic consequences? And will Luca give into his erotic desire for the witch who magically captures heart?

Tristan’s Lyceum Wolves
IMMORTALS OF NEW ORLEANS Book #3

Buy from Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon Ca | B&N

An erotic paranormal romance…

Charismatic and powerful Lyceum Wolves’ Alpha, Tristan Livingston, is out for revenge after a devastating attack on his pack. Not only did he survive a building collapse, he orchestrated the rebuild of his chic, state-of-the-art nightclub within a week. Determined to mete out justice, he rescues a beautiful witness who may be the key to helping him find the perpetrators.

Dr. Kalli Williams, dedicated veterinarian, is hiding a secret that endangers not only her own life but the lives of wolves across the country. After being tortured by a savage vampire, she’s reluctantly agrees to help the sexy Alpha in his quest to identify suspects; ones who’d kill her on the spot if they knew she existed. As Kalli places herself in the hands of the dominant wolf, she soon finds she wants nothing more than to submit.

Tristan, committed to ruling his pack as a lone wolf, is inexplicably drawn to the mysterious and enticing woman, who seems more than human, but not quite supernatural. As he discovers her secret, he teaches her the meaning of trust, helping her learn how to be true to her nature. After living a lifetime alone, will he succumb to the visceral need to claim her, acknowledging the soul binding connection between an Alpha and his mate? And will he prevail against the menacing enemy who threatens to destroy Lyceum Wolves?

Warning: This book contains several erotic love scenes, including m/f/m menage, and is intended for adult readers only.

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk_NQu6h5pY

Our Review by LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha - Michelle L. Olson:

Just wow!

Tristan’s Lyceum Wolves, book #3 of the IMMORTALS OF NEW ORLEANS series was sexy and smart, with an amazing cast and a great story. I was absolutely hooked from the very beginning.

Where the first 2 books of Kym’s series were vampire driven, this one takes a little turn and concentrates on the werewolf pack of Philly, but we do get some insight into how things are going with Kade (the hero of book #1).

If you’re looking for a book (and series) that is chock full of action, uber steamy romance, intrigue, and a thoroughly gripping tale, I highly recommend this book and its predecessors.

Oh, and just a side note… That Epilogue! Kym, you dirty, dirty tease… ;-). I want Logan’s story NOW!

LITERAL ADDICTION gives Tristan’s Lyceum Wolves 5 Skulls!

EXCERPT:

She wasn’t sure where Tristan had gone when she exited the bathroom, but she was hungry and wasn’t waiting for him. Within a few minutes, she quickly found the kitchen and the ever-important coffee machine. She turned it on, popped in the coffee pod and started opening cabinets looking for mugs. Setting two cups on the counter, she opened the door to the refrigerator and pulled out creamer then continued looking through the clutter for the eggs. She felt ravenous, and needed protein. “Come on, where are you, little eggies? Tristan has to have eggs. Everyone has eggs,” she mumbled, talking to herself.

“Tristan does,” he told her with a grin, surprised to find Kalli rummaging around in search of food. Despite taking a cold shower, he was instantly hard again at the sight of her lovely bare ass which peeked at him from underneath his shirt. He wanted nothing more in that moment than to take her from behind and slide deep into her warm heat. The temptation was great, but he restrained his desires.

Kalli jumped at his voice, quickly turning around. “Hi, um, I was just going to make us something to eat,” she said nervously.

“By all means,” he agreed confidently, walking by her wearing only a towel around his hips. His erection tented the fabric, and he made no attempt to conceal it.

It was nearly impossible to ignore both the charisma and raw sexuality Tristan exuded. Slowly, Kalli’s eyes roamed up and down his lean torso, astonished at the audaciousness he exhibited while wearing practically nothing. His hair, dampened from the shower, fell shaggy over his eyes. Hardened abs rippled down toward his low slung towel. Struggling for the words that never came, she couldn’t help her natural reaction, which was to look him over one last time. Embarrassed, she just knew that he knew that she’d just looked at his groin area, which appeared to be growing. Oh God. She rubbed her hand over her eyes and smiled to herself. What was it about this man? Get it together, Kalli. Say something.

“Um, okay then, so the eggs.” She opened the refrigerator, careful to hold on to the shirt so it didn’t ride up again.

“Like what you see?” he asked seductively as he set a coffee mug next to her hand, proceeding to wait for the next cup to fill.

“What did you just say?” Shocked, she grabbed the egg carton and quickly stood up, banging her head. She turned around holding the package in one hand, rubbing the sore spot on her head with the other.

He set his eyes on hers, taking the eggs and putting them on the ledge. She backed into the counter as he caged her, pushing her body flush against his. “I said…Do. You. Like. What. You. See?” he whispered into her ear, accentuating every word.

She sucked a breath as a million pithy responses filled her head. But the hard bulge pressed against her body and her dangerously hard nipples made it impossible for her to speak coherently.

“Um.” God, she felt like a complete idiot. Eight years of college and all she had was ‘um’?

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he replied playfully, kissing her ear softly. He reached over to grab his coffee cup, which made him press against her even harder.

She sucked a breath at the welcome intrusion. There was a part of her that thought he might kiss her. Immobilized against his hard torso, he had her exactly where he wanted her, or rather, where she wanted to be.

Instead of kissing her, however, he wrapped his fingers around the clay handle and walked away with a broad smile across his face, without saying another word. He proceeded to sit down at the island, and switched on his i-Pad, checking his email as he pretended to ignore her. When Kalli turned around again to make the eggs, he let his eyes drift to her soft supple cheeks that strained to stay covered by his shirt. The hem teased higher as she bent over slightly to turn on the stove. Damn, this woman was killing him.

Tristan could not remember the last time he’d slept naked with a woman. Sure he’d fucked many, but not truly just slept with one. He’d stayed wolf as long as he could, treasuring her trust, teaching her that he wouldn’t hurt her. But now that she was healing and walking around his home like she belonged here, he felt the pressure in his chest along with the ache between his legs.

They’d forged a bond last night, and he didn’t want to rush forward and scare her off. At the same time, he knew she was withholding information. Something small, perhaps, but it was there. Bringing his full attention back to his tablet, he tapped out a quick email to Logan asking him to run a full security clearance on one “Kalli Williams”.

Hopefully I’ve done my job and have you all out there downloading furiously! The books are fantastic. Really!! You need to check them out…

CONTEST:

In honor of the tour, Kym is giving away the following prizes at the end:

GRAND PRIZE:
$50.00 gift card to Amazon and an autographed copy of KADES DARK EMBRACE (Book 1)

Open to International Readers - *International winner will receive the gift card and an eBook*

RUNNER UP:
signed paperback of KADES DARK EMBRACE (Book 1), a Mug, signed bookmarks and a Harley Davidson (Men’s Large) Wolf Shirt.

Open to International Readers - *International winner will receive a $10.00 gift card *

Don’t forget to follow along with the rest of the tour as well!!

6/01- Darker Passions
6/02- Toot’s Book Reviews
6/03- The Jeep Diva
6/04- Larissa’s Bookish Life
6/05- Bianca2b
6/06- Cocktails and Books
6/07- Curse of the Bibliophile
6/09- Urban Girl Reader
6/10- Mimmi’s Musings
6/11- Book Monster Reviews
6/11- Literal Addiction
6/12- United by Books
6/13- Close Encounters
6/14- Page Flipperz
6/15- Mad Hatter Reads
6/16- Book Lovin Mamas
6/18- Wicked Readings by Tawania
6/19- Booked & Loaded
6/20- I Smell Sheep
6/21- Vampires, Werewolves & Fairies, Oh My!
6/22- Bookin It Reviews
6/23- My Reading Obsession
6/24- Ramblings From This Chick
6/25- For the Love of Reading
6/26- Bitten by Paranormal Romance
6/28- You Gotta Read Reviews
6/30- Reading Between the Wines

As Always…Happy Reading!!

[Archive] Series Spotlight, Review, AUTHOR AMBUSH & Giveaway w/ Alexandra Ivy_6.8.13

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 23:34:00 -0400

6/8/13
FEATURED AUTHOR EVENT

Series Spotlight, Review, AUTHOR AMBUSH
&
Giveaway

with…

Alexandra Ivy

Hello everyone!! :)

LITERAL ADDICTION and Book Monster Reviews are very pleased to welcome Alexandra Ivy back to our sites today!

Alexandra Ivy is the pseudonym of Deborah Raleigh, who is the author of thirty three books and novellas for Kensington Publishing. Writing under the name Alexandra Ivy, Deborah published “When Darkness Comes”, the first book of the GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY series in January 2007. She has been an avid reader since she could hold a book in her hands, and has always dreamed of putting her own dreams down on paper.

Let’s take a look at Deborah’s bio (that was written by her), so we can learn some more about this fantastic author:

“I’m not exactly sure when I fell in love with books. Probably on my mother’s knee listening to her read Dr. Seuss to me. I do remember that I was barely old enough to cross the street by myself when I discovered the delights of the local library. Could anything be more wonderful than spending summer days surrounded by stacks of Nancy Drew mysteries? Over the years I fell in love with Victoria Holt, Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, and J.R.R. Tolkien just to name a few. I read poetry, essays, biographies, and plays. In fact, I read anything I could get my hands on.”

“Years later (no, I’m not admitting how many) I’m still an avid reader, and my tastes are still as varied as they were in my youth, which I suppose helps to explain why I enjoy writing regency historicals under the name of Deborah Raleigh, as well as my contemporary paranormals as Alexandra Ivy. For now that is enough to keep me busy, but who knows what the future might hold!”

“I do have a few other loves in my life besides reading and writing, the most important being my unbelievably patient husband, David, and my two sons, Chance and Alexander. Without their constant support and belief in me, I never could have been able to follow my dreams. They are truly my heroes.”

If you have not read the GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY yet, we highly recommend that you do. The characters are lovable and funny, and the plotlines are intriguing and suspenseful. You will be hooked after the first book!

We also suggest that you check out Alex’s IMMORTAL ROGUES and BAYOU HEAT series.

You can keep up with Alex online at her Website, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on GoodReads.

Today however, we’re here to promote “Darkness Avenged” and the GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY series, so let’s take a peek at those books…

When Darkness Comes
GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY Book #1

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Buy from Amazon | B&N

It’s been a hell of a day for Abby Barlow. In just a few hours, she’s survived an explosion, watched her employer die, had a startling dream, and now she finds herself in a seedy Chicago hotel with the sexy, unearthly Dante, a man she both desires and fears. For 341 years, Dante has stood as guardian to The Chalice, a mortal woman chosen to hold back the darkness. A terrible twist of fate has now made Abby that woman. Three hours ago, Dante would have used all his charms to seduce her. Now she is his to protect. And he will do so until his very death. A terrifying plan has been set in motion, one that will plunge Dante and Abby into an epic battle between good and evil - and a desperate race to save their love…

Embrace the Darkness
GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY Book #2

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IS HE HER MORTAL ENEMY

Lady Shay is the last of her kind. Half human, half Shalott, her blood is a precious aphrodisiac to vampires, who consider it more precious than gold. Though Shalotts are renowned assassins, a curse held over Shay lands her on the slave auction block, where her fate is uncertain-

OR THE MAN WHO WILL RISK IT ALL

Viper, the beguiling chief of a deadly vampire clan, can’t explain his longing to possess the beautiful Shalott who once saved his life, but now he is free to do anything he wants with her. Strangely, while he desires both Shay-s blood and body, he wants her to surrender willingly.

TO SAVE HER LIFE?
A hidden evil has been stalking Shay since she left the slave market with Viper. It is an evil that endangers the very existence of Viper’s kind, and there’s no reason he should court such danger just to protect a Shalott. But the love he feels for Shay is enough to make him willing to go to hell and back if it means spending an eternity with her in his arms.

Darkness Everlasting
GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY Book #3

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Darcy Smith always sensed she was different from everyone else - if only she knew how different. Possessing a secret strong enough to end an entire race of demons, Darcy unwittingly becomes a pawn in an epic battle between the vampires and the weres as she discovers a new world filled with ecstasy-and dark passions…Consumed with lust for Darcy, Styx - the Anasso of vampires - will do everything in his power to keep her out of the lair of Salvatore Giuliani, the deadly leader of the weres. But protecting the woman he loves could cost Styx the ultimate price…Salvatore Giuliani knows time is running out for the weres. Pushed to the brink of extinction, he will stop at nothing to make Darcy his ultimate conquest and queen - for she alone holds the key to his survival. But which of these men can Darcy truly trust? For all it takes is one bite to plunge her into a lifetime of servitude - or a lifetime of pleasure…

Darkness Revealed
GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY Book #4

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The One Man She Can’t Trust

Two hundred years have passed since Anna Randal gave herself to Conde Cezar in a night of relentless passion. Since then, Anna has become filled with unearthly power she can’t begin to comprehend. And the sexy, charming vampire responsible has eluded all of her efforts to track him down, until now…

Is The Only One

Cezar’s blissful encounter with Anna cost him two centuries of penance. But one thing hasn’t changed—his body’s response to her is as urgent as ever. Now, commanded by the Oracles to keep watch over Anna, Cezar finds himself torn between his need to protect her—and to possess her…

Who Can Keep Her Safe

Someone wants Anna dead. And as an ancient enemy prepares to wage a terrifying battle, Anna must decide whether to succumb to a dark, burning desire—and accept a destiny that could change the world forever…

Darkness Unleashed
GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY Book #5

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The Guardians of Eternity are vampire warriors without equal, bound by their loyalties and sworn to protect their charges from every danger…except those posed by their own hungry desires…

A scarred recluse, Jagr makes no secret of his disdain for others’ company. But now, as a member of Chicago’s powerful vampire clan, he has certain obligations to fulfill. The latest: track down a missing were pureblood and return her to her sister. The problem: Regan Garrett has no intention of complying. And though Jagr agreed not to harm an inch of this stubborn female’s distractingly tempting body, he’ll gladly kiss her into submission, awakening an urge he hasn’t felt in years. Hell, in centuries…

Regan vowed never to be at the mercy of another man. That goes double for arrogant, steel-muscled vampires with eyes of ice. All Regan wants is revenge against those who imprisoned her. She doesn’t need an ally. She certainly doesn’t need a mate. But soon Regan will have to choosebetween a lust for vengeance, and a passion as dark and dangerous as the night…

Beyond the Darkness
GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY Book #6

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He Would Do Anything To Claim Her

Salvatore Giuliani is not a happy werewolf. It’s his duty as leader to track down the pureblood females who can keep his people from extinction. But the moment he catches scent of Harley, a pureblood held by a pack of mangy curs, his savage need for her obliterates all other instincts. And the only thing worse than being captured is finding that beautiful, independent Harley defiantly refuses to become his mate.

And Everything To Keep Her

Harley has been taught to distrust all Weres, especially their arrogant king. She won’t be used for breeding or bonded against her will, not even to a man who makes every nerve tingle with awareness. Yet Salvatore is her key to saving the family she never knew she had—if she dares to succumb to his dark, predatory desire, and face a vicious enemy sworn to destroy them both…

Devoured by Darkness
GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY Book #7

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Tane is a Charon, sworn to hunt and kill rogue vampires. His new assignment seems like a waste of his talents…until he catches up with the Jinn he’s been sent to capture. Half human, half demon, Laylah has a vulnerable streak that strikes right through to Tane’s cold heart. He should be furious when she uses her powers to bind them together, preventing him from dragging her before the Commission. Instead he welcomes any reason to stay close enough to touch, to taste, to seduce…

Laylah doesn’t know why she was chosen to protect a child who may be the catalyst in a war between good and evil. But the mysteries of her past pale compared to the dangers approaching. Tane is devastatingly strong, breathtakingly sensual. And Laylah will have to trust in every ounce of that strength, because her enemies are drawing near, eager to destroy them both…

Bound by Darkness
GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY Book #8

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The Sylvermysts have a reputation as sinister cousins to the fey, and none are more mysterious than Ariyal and his tribe. To save his people from banishment, he faces a new challenge: Jaelyn, an elite vampire warrior sent to capture him. By rights, he should kill her on sight. Yet he cannot bring himself to hurt her—or to resist her…

Jaelyn is stunningly beautiful, utterly lethal—and always alone. Until Ariyal. From their first encounter, she knows that what’s between them is more dangerous than simple lust. And as they unite to thwart a terrifying prophecy that will mean the end of his clan and of the world they know, she will risk everything to fulfill her destiny by his side…

Fear the Darkness
GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY Book #9

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Her Visions Lead Her To Danger

Beautiful Cassandra is a Were, a prophet both vulnerable and defiant, blessed with visions that portend the fate of the world. A rare and delicate creature, Cassie must be protected at all costs. Enter Caine, a powerful cur turned pureblooded Were whose recent tangles with a demon lord have left him in serious need of redemption. Caine is duty-bound to keep Cassie out of danger—and that means resisting his potent urge to seduce her.

And Only He Can Save Her

As Cassie’s mysterious visions lead them in and out of danger, Caine believes he has found his true mate, the woman with whom he is bound for all eternity. Cassie is both charmed and frightened by Caine’s magnetism, and unsure if he—or her feelings for him—can be trusted. But Cassie can’t afford to doubt Cain now. A deadly enemy bent on destruction is closer than they realize—and only they can keep chaos from ruling the world.

Levet
GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY Book #9.5

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Gargoyles do not admire difference—and Levet is undeniably different. Of miniscule stature, rather beastly looks, and with fragile, delicate wings, even his family has shunned him, banished him from his beloved Paris. That he is the only gargoyle ever to help defeat the Dark Lord and his hordes of minions makes no impression. But now Levet has come home, determined to be restored to the official Gargoyle Guild. To do so, he must confront the most feared gargoyle in all of Europe. The one who tried to kill him as a child: his own mother…

With few allies, Levet’s survival may depend on the aid of two strangers: Valla, a beautiful but damaged nymph, and Elijah, the fiercely possessive, love-struck vampire clan chief to whom she can’t quite surrender—unless Levet has something to do with it…

Darkness Avenged
GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY Book #10

JUST RELEASED 5/28/13!

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The Search For A Traitor

As the demon world celebrates the defeat of the Dark Lord, the vampire Santiago’s mood remains bleak. He still yearns for sensual, raven-haired Nefri, who has inexplicably disappeared. But brooding for Nefri is a luxury Santiago does not have. His traitorous sire, Gaius, is unleashing a violent scourge upon the mortal world, and Santiago must stop him before it’s too late…

Leads To A Dangerous Seduction

To her dismay, the all powerful Oracles have sent Nefri on her own mission to find Gaius, and failure is not an option. Nefri’s search leads her to the vampire’s abandoned lair—and straight into Santiago’s path. It’s clear Santiago intends to seduce her, but then an ancient, banished evil reappears, threatening to thrust the world into a madness it cannot survive…

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha - Michelle L. Olson:

*ARC Received from the Author in Exchange for an Honest Review

Whew, talk about bang for your buck! 2 1/2 power couples, multiple villains, interweaving storylines, surprises around every corner… It was great!

I’ve been a GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY fan since the very beginning, & like any long running series, there comes a time where the books start to feel like filler. I was getting a bit worried about that with this series because while I was still enjoying the books, they didn’t keep me reading til all hours of the morning and ignoring everything else around me like they had…until this one! :)

I’ve always been a fan of Dante and Viper in the series, but was immediately drawn to Santiago when he was introduced way back in the series. He’s one of those uber confident, semi-cocky, sexy as sin alpha males that you just can’t help but fall for. Nefri is a very confident and strong female as well, and her story is intriguing to say the least - she’s an Ancient and has been behind the Veil for longer than Santiago has been alive and undead. When the two are paired together by the Commission to hunt down Santiago’s sire as he wreaks havoc on the world, things get incredibly interesting… in SO many ways. The things revealed in this book were so intense. It’s any GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY fans’ dream.

I loved this book and easily give it 5 Skulls. I do not recommend that readers jump into this book if they have not read the other books of the series though, there’s just too much history. Outside of that, HIGHLY recommended.

Wanting to bump them to the top of your TBR? We don’t blame you! Give us a moment though because Alex has ambushed our sites with another great little guest post.

AUTHOR AMBUSH BY ALEXANDRA IVY:

Top 10 Things Readers Should know About Santiago

1. He was once a Gladiator who was forced to fight for his life every night beneath the streets of Barcelona.
2. Was abandoned by his sire, Gauis, who he has never forgiven.
3. Was rescued by Styx from the Gladiator games.
4. He puts loyalty and honor above everything.
5. Doesn’t like to be in cramped, enclosed places after his years as a fighter.
6. He manages Viper’s club.
7. Thoroughly enjoyed women until Nefri crashed into his life, driving him crazy with her determination to keep him at a distance.
8. Prefers to be a lover, not a fighter.
9. Has more than once threatened to kill Levet.
10. Is willing to sacrifice the world for the woman he loves.

CONTEST:
In celebration of the release, Alexandra is giving away the following prizes on her tour:

GRAND PRIZE:
1 - $50.00 Gift card to Amazon

RUNNERS-UP:
2 - Winner will receive a $10.00 Gift card to Amazon or B&N (winners choice)

OPEN TO INTERNATIONAL READERS AS WELL. (International winner will get Amazon gift card)

To enter, find the Rafflecopter widget on our Author’s Corner page for this Event, follow the directions, take action, and mark as ‘Done’.

Make sure to follow along with the rest of Alex’s tour as well!:
5/27- The Jeep Diva (interview & review)
5/27- Under the Covers (guest post)
5/28- Books-n-Kisses (interview)
5/28- Musings From An Addicted Reader (series spotlight)
5/29- Cocktails and Books (interview)
5/30- Books, Books & More Books (series spotlight and review)
5/30- Mad Hatter Reads (guest post)
5/30- Vampires, Werewolves & Fairies Oh My! (series spotlight)
5/30- Scenes From A Chaotic Mind (series spotlight)
5/31- Book Lovin Mamas (guest post)
5/31- Bookin’ It Reviews (series spotlight)
6/01- Book Lovers Hideaway (guest post)
6/01- Page Flipperz (series spotlight)
6/02- Wicked Readings by Tawania (series spotlight)
6/02- Froggarita’s Bookcase (interview & series spotlight)
6/03- The Reading Cafe (guest post, series spotlight & review)
6/03- Redheaded Bookworm (series spotlight)
6/04- Paranormal Haven (guest post)
6/04- Darker Passions (series spotlight)
6/05- Romance Junkies (interview)
6/05- A Total Book Nerd (interview)
6/06- Jocelyn Dex Blog (mini interview & book spotlight)
6/06- All The Fun Starts After Dark (series spotlight & review)
6/06- Urban Girl Reader (series spotlight)
6/07- I Smell Sheep (guest post)
6/08- Book Monster Reviews (guest post)
6/08- Literal Addiction (series spotlight, review, & guest post)
6/08- United by Books (interview)
6/09- GraveTells (guest post)
6/09- Riverina Romantics (series spotlight)

As always… HAPPY READING!!

[Archive] Spotlight, Review & Giveaway for Rhyannon Byrd & Darkest Desire of the Vampire_6.6.13

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 15:53:00 -0400

6/6/13
Spotlight, Review & Giveaway
for…

Rhyannon Byrd

LITERAL ADDICTION is very happy to be promoting for the the wonderful Rhyannon Byrd once again today.

Rhyannon, who lives in the beautiful county of Warwickshire in England with her wonderful husband (who spoils her rotten *wink*) and their loud, but loveable offspring, is an avid, longtime fan of romance and fell in love with the world of paranormal romance as a reader. When she first tried her hand at writing what she calls ‘one of these dark, wickedly sensual tales’, she was completely hooked, and we ended up with one of our favorite authors!

You can keep up with Rhyannon online at her Website, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on GoodReads.

Her MAGICK MEN, PRIMAL INSTINCT, GRANGERS and BLOODRUNNERS series have all been hits, and she has a new series as well – DANGEROUS TIDES, which we just helped promote on 6/3/13.

We’re here today to help spread the word about another of Rhyannon’s new releases, Darkest Desire of the Vampire, an Anthology that she put out with Lauren Hawkeye on 6/4/13!

For those of you not yet familiar with Rhyannon’s work, we highly recommend everything that she’s written and suggest that you would check it all out HERE. For today though, let’s focus on the Darkest Desire of the Vampire:

Darkest Desire of the Vampire
Wicked in Moonlight by Rhyannon Byrd and Vampire Island by Lauren Hawkeye

Buy now from Amazon | B&N | BAM | Powell’s | Book Depository

Add to your GoodReads Shelf

Summer just got hotterWicked in Moonlight by Rhyannon Byrd

When Lainey Maxwell is attacked by werewolves while on vacation, vampire Nick Santos—a hard-edged, mysterious stranger—saves her, and gets bitten in the process. Holed up in a private bunker, Lainey and Nick embrace their most erotic dreams. But the full moon is drawing near—and their time is rapidly running out.

Vampire Island by Lauren Hawkeye

When Isla Miller arrives at a Tahitian resort, she senses that something is off. Everyone is too beautiful, especially Sloane Goldhawk.

As a vampire familiar with the island’s darker side, Sloane doesn’t think Isla’s the type to visit Ile de Nuit, known for its hot nights and hedonists. But Isla seems determined to prove otherwise.

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDIcTION’s Pack Alpha - Michelle L. Olson:
*eARC received from the author in exchange for a honest review

I’m a huge fan of Rhyannon Byrd and there are many of her stories that warrant re-reads, but this tale may be the most deserving of all!

Wicked in Moonlight is an amazingly emotional, sexy, action packed read, and the only problem with it was that it wasn’t longer. :)

Lainey is my favorite kind of heroine - strong, independent, feisty, and nowhere near perfect (unless you ask her mate). She’s a bookshop owner and fiercely loyal to everyone she loves.

Nick is… Yeah. He’s an Enforcer Prime, sexy as sin and has a heart of gold. And to make things even more interesting, he’s bitten by a werewolf and turns into this amazing hybrid.

Lainey and Nick’s story was amazing! Despite the necessary pace of the story given the length of the book, their tale never once felt rushed. I loved every single second, and can only hope that Rhy puts out Val and Seb’s stories quickly..

LITERAL ADDICTION gives Wicked in Moonlight a well deserved 5 Skulls.

Believe me, it’s as wonderful as it sounds!! Make sure you check it out ASAP. For now though, how about I give 1 lucky winner a paperback copy of Darkest Desire of the Vampire?

CONTEST:
To enter, find the Rafflecopter below 6/6 - 6/10, follow the directions, take action, and mark as ‘Done’.

Good luck, and as always… HAPPY READING!!

[Archive] Spotlight, AUTHOR AMBUSH & Giveaway with Kait Ballenger_6.5.13

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 15:13:00 -0400

6/5/13
FEATURED AUTHOR EVENT

Spotlight, AUTHOR AMBUSH
&
Giveaway

with…

Kait Ballenger

Hello everyone! LITERAL ADDICTION and Book Monster Reviews are happy to have author Kait Ballenger with us today!

Kait Ballenger is a full-time paranormal romance author, wife, professional bellydancer, graduate student, and soon-to-be-professor. She is the multi-published author of the EXECUTION UNDERGROUND paranormal romance series about an international network of supernatural hunters who fight to protect humanity alongside the powerful women they seduce.

With a B.A in English from Stetson University, Kait is currently a student in Spalding University’s M.F.A in Writing for Children and Young Adults program, where she studies dual-genre in screenwriting. She writes dark paranormal romance with drool-worthy heroes and kickass heroines as Kait Ballenger, and sassy YA urban fantasy under her maiden name, Kaitlyn Schulz.

When Kait’s not preoccupied with paranormal creepy-crawlies, she can be found slaving over endless amounts of schoolwork or with her nose buried in a book. She lives in Florida with her husband, their doggie-daughter Sookie (yes, like the heroine in Charlainne Harris’ books), and two mischievous cats Elliot and Olivia (yes, like the Law and Order characters), near the love and care of her supportive family. Kait believes anything is possible with hard work and dedication. One day, she will be a bestseller and have people name their pets after her characters too.

The prequel novella for Kait’s series, Shadow Hunter, is coming 6/25/13 in the compilation book After Dark, that Kait is doing with Gena Showalter. Book #1 of the EXECUTION UNDERGROUND series, Twilight Hunter, is set to be released on August 27, 2013.

You can keep up with Kait online at her Website, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on GoodReads.

For those of you new to Kait’s work, here is some info to get you all caught up…

After Dark

COMING 6/25/13!

Pre-Order Now from Amazon | B&N | BAM | The Book Depository

After Dark, an anthology

A timeless seduction. A unique temptation. And a whole world of dark desires…

From New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter
The Darkest Angel
Winged warrior Lysander has been alive for centuries, and yet he’s never known desire-until he meets Bianka. Spawned from the bloodline of his enemy, the beautiful but deadly Harpy is determined to lead the untouched Lysander into temptation. He may try to evade her attempts, but even the most iron-willed demon assassin can resist for only so long….

And from debut author Kait Ballenger:
Shadow Hunter
Vampire hunter Damon Brock’s first assignment with the Execution Underground is Rochester, New York, a city crawling with the undead. But he isn’t the only hunter in town gunning for vamp blood. Tiffany Solow is fierce and ruthless when it comes to slaying the monsters that destroyed her family-and she works solo. But being alone is no longer so desirable when she meets the mysterious hunter who wants more than just her turf. As they work to massacre the local covens, the line between good and evil blurs when they are forced to decide between their lifelong beliefs… and their newfound hearts.

Twilight Hunter
EXECUTION UNDERGROUND Book #1

COMING 8/27/13!

Pre-Order Now From Amazon | B&N | BAM | IndieBound | The Book Depository

Hunters of the supernatural, the Execution Underground are an elite group tasked with protecting humanity…but what happens when danger collides with desire?

Jace McCannon has one loyalty: the Execution Underground. Despite his mixed blood, his hatred for the werewolves he hunts is legendary. But in his search for a sadistic killer, Jace finds himself face to face with a stunningly seductive packmaster…and longing for a night with his mortal enemy.

Nothing can stop Frankie Amato from defending her kind—or catching the rogue responsible for killing women in her territory. For that, this alpha female needs Jace’s skills more than she wants to admit. But as their investigation exposes evil truths, need burns into a passion that dare not be fulfilled. For to do so will have deadly consequences for them both…

Do we have you all making sure you’ve got these on your TBR lists and pre-ordered from your preferred bookseller? Good, then we’ve done our job! :) For the rest of today, let’s see what Kait had to say when we let her take over the sites for the day…

AUTHOR AMBUSH WITH KAIT BALLENGER

Top Five Things Readers Should Know About The Execution Underground World

1). Unlike the heroes in most paranormal romance, the hunters of the Execution Underground are not supernatural creatures. In fact, the Execution Underground is made up entirely of humans—or at least, headquarters thinks it is. These elite men have been chosen to be trained as members of an international covert organization. The Execution Underground is like a supernatural police of sorts. They’re out to protect the best interests of humanity, which often means policing supernatural creatures, whether it be through monitoring to assure the general population’s safety, or when necessary, destroying any threat to human life.

2). The Execution Underground is made up entirely of male hunters. At this time, there are currently no female members of the Execution Underground. The reason for this is because the Execution Underground was founded hundreds of years ago, during a time in which women were not hunters. Over the years the Execution Underground established a brotherhood of sorts, and thus they are very set in their traditional ways. There are no current plans for any female hunters to be involved in the Execution Underground, but there is always a possibility of course.

3). The six men featured in the Execution Underground series are not the only hunters involved in the organization. The Execution Underground is comprised of an international headquarters based in the U.S with multiple divisions scattered throughout individual cities internationally as needed. Each division is comprised with a different number of hunters depending on the needs of that particular region. The series focuses on the six hunters who make up the Rochester, New York division of the Execution Underground. Though there are no current plans of books beyond the stories of the initial Rochester division members, the possibility is open to explore different cities, divisions, and hunters both in the US and around the globe.

4). The Execution Underground usually finds its recruits through legacies, the sons of men who are already members of the organization, or those who have knowledge of the supernatural or rare human capabilities (such as being a ghost medium or having the ability to exorcise demons, etc). Because of this many members of the Execution Underground were recruited after someone they loved or cared for was hurt or killed by a supernatural creature, though this is not the case for all hunters. After recruitment the potential of hunters sign a contract binding then to the organization until they choose their retirement—which most of the time hunters never retire until they are forced to do so by H.Q. After this initiation and contract signing, there is no turning back. There is no deciding that the training is too hard for you or that you’re unable to become a hunter. This is because the Execution Underground maintains an extremely high level of privacy with their secret and privileged information as well as their hunting techniques. They do this in order to help keep the hunters already in their organization safe. Upon signing the paperwork, trainees are tattooed with a unique symbol on their shoulder blades or some other section of their body to mark them as a member. Then, the training begins. Hunters are trained in fighting skills for several years both in-house and field-training. Upon completion of their training, they receive an injection which gifts them with additional strength, speed, and healing capabilities which helps them keep up with the supernatural creatures which they hunt.

5). Though this series focuses on the male hunters, the heroines of the Execution Underground series are no damsels in distress. They are strong and powerful females. They’re both rogue supernatural hunters as well as supernatural creatures themselves.

CONTEST:
In celebration of the upcoming release of the After Dark Anthology, Kait is offering up a paperback of the book on each site.

To enter, find the Rafflecopter widget for today’s Event on our Author’s Corner page, follow the directions, take action, and mark as ‘Done’.

For another chance to win, stop by Book Monster Reviews and enter over there as well!

Good luck, and as always… HAPPY READING!!

[Archive] Series Spotlight, Reviews & Giveaway for Keri Arthur_6.4.13

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 17:58:00 -0400

6/4/13
FEATURED AUTHOR EVENT

Series Spotlight, Reviews
&
Giveaway

for…

Keri Arthur

Hello everyone! We are very happy to be promoting for the wonderful Keri Arthur again today (one of your Pack Alpha’s absolute favorite authors)! :)

Keri is a born and bred Australia girl and grew up sharing her life with dragons, elves, vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, and the occasional talking horse. This, of course, worried her family to no end. Though now that she’s successfully making her living dealing with those same type of creatures, they don’t think it’s so crazy anymore.
She’s a New York Times bestselling author, and has now written more than 25 books. She’s also received several nominations in the Best Contemporary Paranormal category of the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Awards, and won RT’s Career Achievement Award for Urban Fantasy (well deserved!).

Keri is the proud creator of the RILEY JENSON, GUARDIAN, MYTH AND MAGIC, NIKKI AND MICHAEL, RIPPLE CREEK WEREWOLF, SPOOK SQUAD and DAMASK CIRCLE series, as well as the RILEY JENSON spin-off series, DARK ANGELS.

Her latest release, Darkness Unmasked, DARK ANGELS Book #5 , was just released today – 6/4/13 - and we’re here to help her promote and celebrate!

ALL of Keri’s books are incredible, and we highly recommend that you check them ALL out! They’re full of intrigue, steamy romance, action, and amazing storyline. For the sake of this Event though, we figured we’d give any new readers the synopses for the books in the DARK ANGELS series, as well as some quick buy links and our gushing and emotion filled Reviews to get you all caught up…

Darkness Unbound
DARK ANGELS Book #1:

Buy from Amazon | B&N

*Read LITERAL ADDICTION’s 5 Sull Review HERE

Risa Jones is as extraordinary as her heritage. Born from a lab-enhanced clone mother and an Aedh father, she can not only talk to the souls of the dying and the dead, but she can see the reapers and walk the gray fields that divide this world from the next.
They are skill she rarely uses, however, preferring to concentrate on the business she shares with her two best friends. But when her mother asks her to help the parents of a little girl locked in a coma, she reluctantly agrees. What she discovers scares the hell out of her. Because the little girl’s soul no longer resides in her body, and it wasn’t death and the reapers that took her.
Someone had ripped her soul from her flesh.
As it turns out, a creature consuming the souls of the innocent–and not so innocent–is the least of her problems.
Because someone wants to rip open the gates that divided hell from earth, and Risa is a key component in their plans.
And the only person standing between her and disaster is a reaper who isn’t exactly on her side.

Darkness Rising
DARK ANGELS Book #2:

Buy from Amazon | B&N

*Read LITERAL ADDICTION’s 5 Skull Review HERE

Risa will go to any lengths to avenge her mother’s murder—even if it means making a pact with the most evil vampire she’s ever met. Lethal and powerful, Madeline Hunter is leader of the vampire council, and will put her resources behind finding the killer—for a price. The venerable vampire requires the assistance of Risa’s psychic powers. Quid pro quo.
Someone—or something—is targeting the elders of the local council, cursing the immortal vampires to rapidly age, sink into madness, and die. Risa must track down the vengeful being responsible. But Risa’s father, a rogue Aedh priest, also enlists her in a dangerous mission. And not even the great Madeline Hunter may be able to protect her from the shadowy forces that desire nothing less than Risa’s destruction.

Darkness Devours
DARK ANGELS Book #3:

Buy from Amazon | B&N

*Read LITERAL ADDICTION’s 5 Skull Review HERE

Half-werewolf, half-Aedh Risa Jones can enter the realm between life and death, and she can see the Reapers who collect the souls of the dead. Now, she is using her gifts—and the investigative know-how of a man who broke her heart—to find a cabal searching for the power to control time, reality, and fate. And this is besides her work for the Vampire Council, half of whom want her dead.
But for now the Council needs her alive. Someone is killing blood-whore addicted vampires, and Risa must find the guilty party. If she succeeds, she may finally convince the council to lift the execution order on her life. But before she succeeds, she must first survive…

Darkness Hunts
DARK ANGELS Book #4:

Buy from Amazon | B&N

*Read LITERAL ADDICTION’s 5 Skull Review HERE

Darkness Unmasked
DARK ANGELS Book #5:

Buy from Amazon | B&N

Shortly after her fight on the astral plane, Risa receives a phone call from Madeline Hunter, the leader of the vampire council, ordering her to investigate the death of Hunter’s close friend and lover - Wolfgang Schmidt. His body has been discovered wrapped in a web-like substance and has been completely drained. As the body count continues to grow, Risa must summon her gifts to find the dark spirit before it strikes again.

Meanwhile, as the search for the keys that keep the gate to Hell closed grows more intense, Risa begins to unravel mysteries that will have startling consequences for her.

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha - Michelle L. Olson:
*ARC received from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review

Keri Arthur has woven another compelling web of action, intrigue, mystery and suspense with Darkness Unmasked!

Being a chronic reader, it is my personal opinion that one of the highest compliments a book can receive is when it doesn’t matter what you should be doing, you’d rather be reading. And an even greater testament to the utter captivating nature of the tale when that statement is turned to action, wherein everything in ‘real life’ is pushed aside for the opportunity to be totally immersed in the magic of the story. This series has done that to me 5 times over now - the outside world simply disappears when I have a DARK ANGELS book in hand, and I don’t move until that last incredible page is turned…

This release is slightly darker and grittier than the previous installments. There’s just as much action, but the violence is more intense, the villainy more sinister, and the emotions more raw. The romance is slightly different as well. It was simply written, leaving much to the imagination.

With the journey this series has taken it is almost impossible to write a plot driven review without spoilers, and because I don’t do that, I will simply tell you that while a lot of series start to lag at the 5 book mark, somehow I feel like this thrill-ride is just getting started. There was a quote that about sums things up: Risa is at the climax of the story and is told, “Be careful, Risa Jones, there are more games being played than you realize.” :). I’ll also say that the twists that were introduced in this part of the story arc were diabolical in their brilliance & served to just further the emotional bond that Keri has been able to forge between her characters and the reader, as well as the characters themselves. No other books elicit the type of emotional response that these do for me; I always feel like I’m right there with them, and every single book has become a new favorite, leaving me emotionally spent and yet only wanting more.

Darkness Unmasked easily scored another 5 Skull rating from me. I highly recommend it, and the entire DARK ANGELS series - to everyone. These books have everything you want in a perfectly written Urban Fantasy - strong and well developed characters, superb world building, suspense and mystery with plenty of surprises, heart pumping action and intrigue, and just enough romance and witty dialogue to smooth out the edges.

Do we have you all hooked? Good, you should be, these books are absolutely fantastic and you really need to add them to your TBR and scope them out from your favorite bookseller ASAP. You can even Pre-Order Darkness Splintered, DARK ANGELS Book #6, which is coming 11/5/13 from Amazon and B&N already!

CONTEST:
In celebration of the release of Darkness Unmasked, we’re giving away a Team Azriel TShirt and Team Reaper button to a lucky winner (International entrants welcome).

To enter, find the Rafflecopter widget for today’s Event on our Author’s Corner page 6/4 - 6/8, follow the directions, take action, and mark as ‘Done’.
Good luck, and as always… HAPPY READING!!

[Archive] Spotlight and Giveaway for Rhyannon Byrd_6.3.13

Sun, 02 Jun 2013 17:45:00 -0400

6/3/13
FEATURED AUTHOR EVENT

Spotlight
&
Giveaway

for…

Rhyannon Byrd

Hello everyone!

LITERAL ADDICTION is very happy to be promoting for the the wonderful Rhyannon Byrd again today.

Her MAGICK MEN, PRIMAL INSTINCT, GRANGERS and BLOODRUNNERS series have all been hits, and she has a new series as well – DANGEROUS TIDES, which is precisely why we are here today.

Rhyannon’s latest release, Take Me Under, DANGEROUS TIDES Book #1, will be released tomorrow (6/4/13) and we’re here to help promote and celebrate!

Take Me Under
DANGEROUS TIDES Book #1

COMING 6/4/13!

Buy from: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

Ben Hudson had a thing for shy, sexy Reese Monroe from the moment he first saw her three years ago. Back then, she was married and living in Boston—two very good reasons for the Miami detective with a bad boy reputation to stay away.

But that was then…

Now Reese is divorced and moving to Florida, where her mother has rented her a small beach house—one that happens to be owned by Ben. Living right next door, he can’t get Reese’s soft curves out of his mind. He’s waited three long years to touch her in all the ways he’s been dreaming about, and this time he won’t let anything get in his way.

For Reese, Ben’s sudden advances are thrilling, but leave her stunned. With her limited experience in the bedroom, she never expects a man with such a wicked reputation to go after her. She knows she should be on guard, but he’s a temptation she can’t resist. And when trouble follows her down from Boston, threatening her life, Ben may be the only one who can help her.

Sounds wonderful, yes!!? I know!! :) Make sure that you check it out ASAP.

CONTEST:
In celebration of the release, Rhyannon is giving away the following prizes at the end of her tour:

GRAND PRIZE:
· $50 Amazon gift certificate
· signed copy of Take Me Under
· signed copy of Darkest Desire of the Vampire
· BIG swag Pack

RUNNERS-UP:
Three (3) runners up will EACH receive all of the following prizes below:
· signed copy of Take Me Under
· signed copy of Darkest Desire of the Vampire
· swag pack

To enter, find the Rafflecopter widget for today’s Event on our Author’s Corner page, follow the directions, take action, and mark as ‘Done’.
Good Luck!

Make sure to follow along with the rest of the tour as well:
5/31- Musings From An Addicted Reader (spotlight)
5/31- Romance Junkies (interview)
6/01- Ramblings From This Chick (interview)
6/01- Scorching Book Reviews (spotlight)
6/02- HEA Romances with A Little Kick (spotlight & review)
6/03- Book Monster Reviews (spotlight)
6/03- United by Books (interview)
6/03 - LITERAL ADDICTION (spotlight)
6/04- GraveTells (spotlight)
6/04- Wicked Readings by Tawania (spotlight)
6/05- The Reading Cafe (interview & review)
6/05- Cocktails and Books (spotlight)
6/06- Tiffy-Fit (spotlight)
6/06- Darker Passions (spotlight)
6/07- Love In A Book (interview)
6/08- Babbling About Books (spotlight)
6/08- Mimmi’s Musings (spotlight)
6/09- Under The Covers (interview)
6/09- Reader Girls (spotlight)
6/10- Book Lovin’ Mamas (interview & review)
6/10- Sassy Book Lovers (spotlight)
6/11- Flirting with Romance (interview)
6/11- Books, Books and More Books (spotlight)
6/13- Offbeat Vagabond (spotlight)
6/14- Reading Between The Wines (spotlight)
6/14- Riverina Romantics (spotlight)

[Archive] Series Spotlight, AUTHOR AMBUSH & Giveaway w/ Poppy Dennison_6.2.13

Fri, 31 May 2013 22:01:00 -0400

6/2/13
FEATURED AUTHOR EVENT

Series Spotlight, AUTHOR AMBUSH
&
Giveaway

with…

Poppy Dennison

Hello my Literal Addicts!

Today we are promoting for the fabulous Poppy Dennison, who I had the distinct pleasure of meeting at the Olde City New Blood CON in St. Augustine this last February.

Poppy is a sassy southern lady, who developed an obsession with things that go bump in the night in her early years after a barn door flew off its hinges and nearly squashed her. Convinced it was a ghost trying to get her attention, she started looking for other strange and mysterious happenings around her. Not satisfied with what she found, Poppy has traveled to Greece, Malaysia and England to find inspiration for the burly bears and silver foxes that melt her butter. Her love of paranormal continues to flourish nearly thirty years later, and she writes steamy love stories about the very things that used to keep her up all night. If her childhood ghost is lucky, maybe one day she’ll give him his own happily ever after.

She is the proud creator of the TRIAD series, as well as some wonderful single titles.

You can find out more about Poppy’s and her books on her website, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on GoodReads.

For those of you new to the TRIAD series, here is everything you need to know…

Mind Magic
TRIAD Book #1

Buy from Amazon | B&N | DreamSpinners Press

Magical species must never mix. According to the rules, Simon Osborne should ignore the children’s cries for help. After all, they’re werewolf cubs, and he’s an apprentice mage. But for once in his life, Simon breaks the rules and rescues the cubs, saving them from a demon intent on draining them of their magic.

Of course, all actions have consequences, and Simon’s bold move earns him the displeasure of his peers and the attention of the cubs’ alpha, a man named Gray Townsend.

The last thing Gray needs is a mage in his life, but Simon did save his son. Since Simon is now a friend of the pack, Gray doesn’t have much choice about it—or the forbidden attraction that goes along with it. Unfortunately for the alpha, he needs Simon’s help to track down the demon behind the kidnappings—before it strikes again. Simon and Gray must join forces to protect the pack, even as they struggle to resist the temptation that threatens to destroy them both.

Body Magic
TRIAD Book #2

Buy from Amazon | B&N | DreamSpinners Press

A pack is only as strong as its weakest member. Rocky Harris knows how the system works. He’s been on the bottom rung his whole life. But when his alpha consigns him to the High Moon Pack to help them improve security, he finds his beliefs not just challenged but outright assaulted.

Cade Montgomery’s confidence took a hit when the pack’s cubs were kidnapped on his watch. He’s prepared to do anything to protect his family, even if it means working with Rocky. Maybe Cade doesn’t trust Rocky, but with the turmoil surrounding pack Alpha Gray’s unpopular decision to break tradition and mate with a mage named Simon, Cade knows more threats are coming.

Then someone declares war on shifters and puts the entire pack in danger. Cade and Rocky will need each other’s strengths to survive the impending battle—and the power of their growing attraction.

Soul Magic
TRIAD Book #3

Just released 5/6/13!

Buy from Amazon | B&N | DreamSpinners Press

Blood runs soul-deep. Cormac hasn’t been the same since the night the High Moon Pack was attacked. With his magic weakened, he’s consumed by a bloodlust he hasn’t felt since he first became a vampire. His need to replenish his power makes him a danger to his last remaining family member, and his hunger makes him careless. And that’s just the beginning of his troubles. Feeding from pack beta Liam Benson was supposed to slake his appetite, not leave him craving more.

Simon Osborne and Gray Townsend are trying to fight a being history says shouldn’t exist—one with all three types of magic. The pack must use all of their resources to combat the mysterious triad, even turning to the shady Council of Mages for help. While Cormac struggles to reconcile his past failures with his current desires, Simon must attempt the impossible: an alliance between mind, body, and soul.

Intrigued? You should be! Make sure you check them out. For now though, how about we see what Poppy had to say when we let her take over the site for the day…

AUTHOR AMBUSH by Poppy Dennison:
The lovely rulers of Literal Addiction asked me for the Top 10 reasons to read my Triad series (Mind Magic, Body Magic, Soul Magic). Instead of coming up with reasons myself, I turned to my fans on Facebook and asked them for reasons. There reasons are varied and entertaining! Take a look:

10. Whitney Watkins: I like the mixture of different supes and the politics in involved.

This is actually a really good reason! Thanks Whitney! The Triad world begins with a rule breaker in the form of Simon Osborne, apprentice mage. Simon finds some werewolf cubs who have been kidnapped and breaks the rules to save him. See, in this world, mages have mind magic and shapeshifters have body magic. The rules are strict: the holders of these types of magic cannot interact. But Simon can’t just leave kids to their fate.

9. Wulf Francu Godgluck: like I said you will fall for Simon …hard! (you just wont be able to stop your self) and Poppy draws you in and the story keeps you transfixed till the last page and leaves you begging and screaming for more !

That’s so sweet, Wulf! I’ve got to confess that I have a soft spot for Simon. He’s such a sweetheart, but he has some real hang ups. Being a mage in this world is a solitary business. Simon doesn’t know what he’s missing until he meets the High Moon Pack and realizes how lonely he is.

8. Jules Akers: Wolves, mages, & hot sex! Oh my! Sexy cover models? A silver wolf hero? It has suspense, angst, and also a cute kid!

Oh yes, there are wolves. Gray Townsend is the alpha of the High Moon Pack and he’s definitely a “silver fox”. There’s something about a mature man that just melts my butter. Gray is in his thirties and has a ten year old son he adores. He’s a fair leader and doesn’t take a lot of crap, but he’s not your typical alpha with a “my way or the highway” attitude.

7. Jackie McKenzie: I liked the way these men fought the system to be together. They didn’t bow to popular opinion and basically thumbed their nose at those that didn’t like it. I thought it was wonderfully written to show the true love between the MCs of each novel and to tie in the MCs from the other novels. I also thought it was genius that to defeat the bad guy the 3 different types of magic had to band together when they had been told differently for as long as they could all remember. I have to also say, the kids in these books were awesome!

Well, they are romances, Jackie! Gotta have true love. Gray and Simon don’t have that insta-love that happens in a lot of shifter books. They have to work for it, and their story continues through all three of the Triad books. Gray doesn’t bow to popular opinion. He and Simon both fight to do the right thing for their pack and their family. *sigh* I love a man who loves his family. Is there anything sexier?

6. Traci Kurtz: Mages, Vampires & Werewolves OH MY!!!!!……….And a very funny scene using the word screamer.. lol

LOL! Yes, there are vampires too! Vampires in this world have soul magic and when vampire Cormac arrives on the scene, things definitely take a turn for the better. And what is this screamer you speak of? I mean, it’s not like there’s a pack of werewolves with super-hearing who might hear an alpha-mate who likes to—oh wait, yes there is! I’d say poor Simon, but he gets Gray to make him scream so…I think he wins.

5. ZAllora Allora: You’ve created an interesting world and readers would enjoy playing in it… Cormac (oh hush he totally ROCKS) the others are great too… a whole new generations of magical beings and so many more stories…. (damn and i just said i wouldn’t be harassing her for more since i am only on the first book… oh well) MORE!!!! Poppy More

You guys and your Cormac obsession! Who knew my smart and sexy vampire would find a dedicated group of fangirls to nag me into writing more? But I suppose I can consider writing a little more for you, since you’re all so sweet about it.

4. Karen Hatfield: The kids, definitely the kids

My personal favorite thing about the books is the kids! I’m blessed with five precocious nephews and a beautiful baby niece whose antics inspired Garon and Riley in the books. I’d never read a paranormal romance where the kids played an important supporting role and I was determined to write one myself. I’m thrilled that my fans connected with the cubs as much as I do.

3. Sharon Schofield: sexy shifters!! sexy mage!! sexy vamp!! and two cute cubs!! perfect!

I’ve got to confess: there’s something incredibly sexy about shifters! Okay, so that’s not really much of a confession. There are a lot of sexy shifters in this book: Gray, Cade, and Liam are just the start! The three best friends all have their own book in the series, but there are other shifters in this world I can’t wait for you all to meet! (And yeah, I already said it, but the cubs really are so cute!)

2. Tess McDonald: because once you start reading them you don’t want to put the book down and then you just HAVE to read the next one straight after, a must read series>

There’s a good point: the series is complete! Those of you who don’t want to wait for the next book…guess what? You don’t have to! There are a couple spin-off books planned, but you’ve got the trilogy ready and waiting for you! I always love to read series once they are complete!

1. Marilyn Blimes: Because I love them. Who needs any other reason?
Well, there you have it. Because Marliyn said so. It works for me!

How fun!! Unique, quirky, and definitely made me want to check out the books ASAP. You too!? I hope so! :)

CONTEST:
In celebration of the release of Soul Magic and promote the entire TRIAD series, we’re offering up winner’s choice of book from the TRIAD series in either Kindle or Nook format.

To enter, find the Rafflecopter widget for today’s post on our Author’s Corner II page 6/2 – 6/6, follow the directions, take action, and mark as ‘Done’.

Good luck, and as aways…. HAPPY READING!

[Archive] Series Spotlight, Reviews, Q&A and Giveaway for Deborah Harkness_5.30.13

Wed, 29 May 2013 12:49:00 -0400

5/30/13
FEATURED AUTHOR EVENT

Series Spotlight, Reviews, Q&A
&
Giveaway

for…

Deborah Harkness

Hello everyone,

We are incredibly happy to be helping the wonderful Deborah Harkness promote and celebrate the Paperback release of the 2nd book in her ALL SOULS TRILOGY, Shadow of Night!

Deborah has a wonderful bio on her website, so we thought we’d borrow it for today’s Event:

ABOUT DEBORAH
“I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and have lived in western Massachusetts, the Chicago area, Northern California, upstate New York, and Southern California. In other words, I’ve lived in three out of five time zones in the US! I’ve also lived in the United Kingdom in the cities of Oxford and London.

For the past twenty-eight years I’ve been a student and scholar of history, and received degrees from Mount Holyoke College, Northwestern University, and the University of California at Davis. During that time I researched the history of magic and science in Europe, especially during the period from 1500 to 1700. The libraries I’ve worked in include Oxford’s Bodleian Library, the All Souls College Library at Oxford, the British Library, London’s Guildhall Library, the Henry E. Huntington Library, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Newberry Library—proving that I know my way around a card catalogue or the computerized equivalent. These experiences have given me a deep and abiding love of libraries and a deep respect for librarians. Currently, I teach European history and the history of science at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

My previous books include two works of non-fiction: John Dee’s Conversations with Angels: Cabala, Alchemy, and the End of Nature (Cambridge University Press, 1999) and The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution (Yale University Press, 2007). It has been my privilege to receive fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies, the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the National Humanities Center. And I was honored to receive accolades for my historical work from the History of Science Society, the North American Conference on British Studies, and the Longman’s/History Today Prize Committee.

In 2006, I took up my keyboard and entered the world of blogging and Twitter. My wine blog, Good Wine Under $20, is an online record of my search for the best, most affordable wines. These efforts have been applauded by the American Wine Blog Awards, Saveur.com, Wine & Spirits magazine, and Food & Winemagazine. My wine writing has also appeared on the website Serious Eats and inWine & Spirits magazine.

My career in fiction began in September 2008 when I began to wonder “if there really are vampires, what do they do for a living?” A Discovery of Witches is the unexpected answer to that question. The book debuted at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list, and was also a bestseller in the UK, France, and Germany. Thirty-eight foreign editions and translations will be published. The story of Diana and Matthew continues in the #1 New York Times Bestseller Shadow of Night. I am currently working on the third book in the All Souls Trilogy.”

Connect with Deborah online at her Website, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on GoodReads!

For those of you unfamiliar with this remarkable series, here is everything you need to know…

A Discovery of Witches
ALL SOULS TRILOGY Book #1

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A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.

Deep in the stacks of Oxford’s Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION’s Guest Reviewer, Cheryl W:
I was lucky enough to win one of the advanced reader copy versions of Deborah Harkness’ A Discovery of Witches, to be released in 02/2011. When I completed the first chapter and woke up the next morning I decided that I had to write my thoughts for the review as they occurred. One of the things that crossed my mind when I first heard about this book was wow. This book is written by a scholar. I researched the author via her university home page because I was curious about her background. When I finished the first chapter I was still in the wow stage and my thoughts were; this is a bridge between scholars and great urban fantasy writers. I love when I get to have both! I wish as a techie scholar I could combine my two loves of computers and urban fantasy. This book was everything I hoped it would be!

I read this slowly despite how I typically devour most books. With some books I slow down intentionally because I realize that I do not want it to end quickly. A Discovery of Witches is that type of book. It is the type of book you develop a relationship with as you read it. I think that there will be people that will fall in love with it as they read it just as I did. I hope that even those that feel that it may not be for them still find something that they can take from the book. It is very intricate. The story is well developed, extremely well written and the characters are very well developed. But, it was not a quick read for me because, I did not want it go fast. For me it is a book that you spend time with and do not forget the places it takes you as the characters are being drawn. The history it discusses is thought-provoking. One of the things I liked was how Diana developed with regard to her powers and her family. Politics were a strong part of the story. With regard to the politics one of the most intriguing things I found was who is involved in the politics. I am trying to keep this review spoiler free. But, as the blurb on the back states we have multiple beings involved in this book and they have a very long history with each other. One of the things that make this book so amazing is the historical backdrop for all of the creatures. I found myself looking forward to learning more about all of the beings. I really look forward to more written by Deb Harkness. I had a hard time deciding how to end my review but it does not spoil anything to shout; “I can’t wait to see what happens next”!

Shadow of Night
ALL SOULS TRILOGY Book #2

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IT BEGAN WITH A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES.

Historian Diana Bishop, descended from a line of powerful witches, and long-lived vampire Matthew Clairmont have broken the laws dividing creatures. When Diana discovered a significant alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library,she sparked a struggle in which she became bound to Matthew. Now the fragile coexistence of witches, daemons, vampires and humans is dangerously threatened.

Seeking safety, Diana and Matthew travel back in time to London, 1590. But they soon realise that the past may not provide a haven. Reclaiming his former identity as poet and spy for Queen Elizabeth, the vampire falls back in with a group of radicals known as the School of Night. Many are unruly daemons, the creative minds of the age, including playwright Christopher Marlowe and mathematician Thomas Harriot.

Together Matthew and Diana scour Tudor London for the elusive manuscript Ashmole 782, and search for the witch who will teach Diana how to control her remarkable powers…

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha – Michelle L. Olson:
Shadow of Night, the second installment of Deborah Harkness’s ALL SOULS TRILOGY was a wonderful pastiche of factual history and entertaining fiction, all woven together to create a work of art worthy of any intellectual reader.

Shadow of Night picks up where A Discovery of Witches leaves off, though new readers who are jumping in to this book without having enjoyed the debut novel will have no problems catching on.
Written in several parts, the novel follows Matthew and Diana as they travel back to Matthew’s past in 1590 in search of several things – a witch skilled enough to instruct Diana and hopefully give some answers regarding the incongruence of her magic, and the complete ‘book of origins’ being the main two. As they assimilate themselves in Elizabethan times, some big secrets are revealed, relationships and loyalties are both forged and tested, and they undergo the delicate dance of completing their mission without utterly altering the present reality.

It’s very difficult to write a comprehensive review for this book without spoilers, so I’ll just keep it surface level and say that Shadow of Night is not a light-hearted, quick read (especially not at 584 pages). It’s a well developed, beautifully written, and intricate tale built around some incredible factual research and set in a complex yet compelling world of wonder. The characters are well developed and the twisted facts in the fiction had me doing research into the true lives of the individuals Deborah bases her characters on days after finishing the book, smiling all the while in acknowledgement of the sheer creative cleverness involved.

So in short, LITERAL ADDICTION gives Shadow of Night 4 ½ Skulls. If you’re looking for a book that mixes fact with fantasy fiction, utterly entertains and yet intellectually challenges, and sticks with you long after you’ve turned the last page, this series is definitely for you.

Amazing right!!? They really are and we highly suggest that you check them out ASAP.

What about book #3 you ask? Well, here is what Deborah had to say about that:

“I don’t know when book #3 is going to be out. My US publisher sets the release date for the US and then other dates will be set around the world. I actually don’t have much to do with it, except for one big thing of course: I must finish the book before Viking can design, edit, otherwise produce it AND set the release date. Guess what: I’m not finished. Creativity is not a linear process. It requires inspiration. It doesn’t adhere to schedules. It foils your best-laid, most reasonable, geometrically perfect plans. It doesn’t necessarily thrive in solitude or a boot-camp environment, so the advice to “drop everything and write constantly for the next 2 months” isn’t exactly useful. I know exactly what happens in book #3, so you don’t have to worry about that but the devil is always in the details. New people crop up unexpectedly–and you want them to because so far those unexpected characters include Gallowglass and Hamish. My muse habitually ignores me when I have loads of free time on my schedule, and pesters me incessantly when I’m busy. So when on my way to Canada for the International Festival of Authors, I wrote five pages in the airport in about one hour. One week earlier, when I was at home with acres of blank space in my calendar, I rewrote a single chapter (in its entirety!) three times and am still not satisfied with it. So you are going to have to be patient. I know many readers want the book YESTERDAY. Trust me, I will tell you when I have more information to share. When details about the final volume in the trilogy are available, including the title and release date, they will be announced…”

While we’re all waiting (im)patiently for more news on the finale of the trilogy, you can find out more about the film adaptation of the series and/or shop for All Souls Trilogy jewelry.

In the meantime, you can read the Q&A with Deborah that we have posted here today, and mark your calendars, sign up for, and get all the details on the Live Chat that Deborah is doing with her editor and fellow author, Carole DeSanti on June 4, 2013 at 2pm EST/11am PST (more information below following the Q&A)…

A CONVERSATION WITH DEBORAH HARKNESS

Q: A Discovery of Witches debuted at # 2 on the New York Times bestseller list with publications following in 37 countries. What has been your reaction to the outpouring of love for A Discovery of Witches? Was it surprising how taken fans were with Diana and Matthew’s story?”
A. It has been amazing—and a bit overwhelming. I was surprised by how quickly readers embraced two central characters who challenge our typical notion of what a heroine or hero should be. And I continue to be amazed whenever a new reader pops up, whether one in the US or somewhere like Finland or Japan—to tell me how much they enjoyed being caught up in Diana’s world.

Q: Last summer, Warner Brothers acquired screen rights to the trilogy, and David Auburn, the Pulitzer-Prize-winning writer of Proof, has been tapped to pen the screenplay. Are you looking forward to your novels being portrayed on the big screen? What are your favorite casting ideas that you’ve heard from friends and readers?

A. I was thrilled when Warner Brothers wanted to translate the All Souls trilogy from book to screen. At first I was reluctant about the whole idea of a movie, and it actually took me nearly two years to agree to let someone try. The team at Warner Brothers impressed me with their seriousness about the project and their commitment to the characters and story I was trying to tell. Their decision to go with David Auburn confirmed that my faith in them was not misplaced. As for the casting, I deliberately don’t say anything about that! I would hate for any actor or actress to be cast in one of these roles and feel that they didn’t have my total support. I will say, however, that many of my readers’ ideas involve actors who have already played a vampire and I would be very surprised if one of them were asked to be Matthew!

Q: SHADOW OF NIGHT opens on a scene in 1590s Elizabethan England featuring the famous School of Night, a group of historical figures believed to be friends, including Sir Walter Raleigh and playwright Christopher Marlowe. Why did you choose to feature these individuals, and can we expect Diana and Matthew to meet other famous figures from the past?

A. I wrote my master’s thesis on the imagery surrounding Elizabeth I during the last two decades of her reign. One of my main sources was the poem The Shadow of Night by George Chapman—a member of this circle of fascinating men—and that work is dedicated to a mysterious poet named Matthew Roydon about whom we know very little. When I was first thinking about how vampires moved in the world (and this was way back in the autumn of 2008 when I was just beginning A Discovery of Witches) I remembered Roydon and thought “that is the kind of identity a vampire would have, surrounded by interesting people but not the center of the action.” From that moment on I knew the second part of Diana and Matthew’s story would take place among the School of Night. And from a character standpoint, Walter Raleigh, Christopher Marlowe, George Chapman, and the other men associated with the group are irresistible. They were such significant, colorful presences in Elizabethan England.

Q: In SHADOW OF NIGHT, we learn more about the alchemical bonds between Diana and Matthew. In your day job, you are a professor of history and science at the University of Southern California and have focused on alchemy in your research. What aspects of this intersection between science and magic do you hope readers will pick up on while reading SHADOW OF NIGHT?

A. Whereas A Discovery of Witches focused on the literature and symbolism of alchemy, in Shadow of Night I’m able to explore some of the hands-on aspects of this ancient tradition. There is still plenty of symbolism for Diana to think about, but in this volume we go from abstractions and ideals to real transformation and change—which was always my intention with the series. Just as we get to know more about how Elizabethan men and women undertook alchemical experiments, we also get to see Matthew and Diana’s relationship undergo the metamorphosis from new love to something more.

Q: SHADOW OF NIGHT spans the globe, with London, France, and Prague as some of the locales. Did you travel to these destinations for your research?

A. I did. My historical research has been based in London for some time now, so I’ve spent long stretches of time living in the City of London—the oldest part of the metropolis—but I had never been to the Auvergne or Prague. I visited both places while writing the book, and in both cases it was a bit like traveling in time to walk village lanes, old pilgrim roads, and twisting city streets while imagining Diana and Matthew at my side.

Q: Did you have an idea or an outline for SHADOW OF NIGHT when you were writing A Discovery of Witches? Did the direction change once you sat down to write it?

A. I didn’t outline either book in the traditional sense. In both cases I knew what some of the high points were and how the plot moved towards the conclusion, but there were some significant changes during the revision process. This was especially true for SHADOW OF NIGHT, although most of those changes involved moving specific pieces of the plot forward or back to improve the momentum and flow.

Q: A Discovery of Witches begins with Diana Bishop stumbling across a lost, enchanted manuscript called Ashmole 782 in Oxford’s Bodleian Library, whose secrets Diana and Matthew are still trying to uncover in SHADOW OF NIGHT. You had a similar experience while you were completing your dissertation. What was the story behind your discovery? And how did it inspire the creation of these novels?

A. I did discover a manuscript—not an enchanted one, alas—in the Bodleian Library. It was a manuscript owned by Queen Elizabeth’s astrologer, the mathematician and alchemist John Dee. In the 1570s and 1580s he became interested in using a crystal ball to talk to angels. The angels gave him all kinds of instructions on how to manage his life at home, his work—they even told him to pack up his family and belongings and go to far-away Poland and Prague. In the conversations, Dee asked the angels about a mysterious book in his library called “the Book of Soyga” or “Aldaraia.” No one had ever been able to find it, even though many of Dee’s other books survive in libraries throughout the world. In the summer of 1994 I was spending time in Oxford between finishing my doctorate and starting my first job. It was a wonderfully creative time, since I had no deadlines to worry about and my dissertation on Dee’s angel conversations was complete. As with most discoveries, this discovery of a “lost” manuscript was entirely accidental. I was looking for something else in the Bodleian’s catalogue and in the upper corner of the page was a reference to a book called “Aldaraia.” I knew it couldn’t be Dee’s book, but I called it up anyway. And it turned out it WAS the book (or at least a copy of it). With the help of the Bodleian’s Keeper of Rare Books, I located another copy in the British Library.

Q: Are there other lost books like this in the world?

A. Absolutely! Entire books have been written about famous lost volumes—including works by Plato, Aristotle, and Shakespeare to name just a few. Libraries are full of such treasures, some of them unrecognized and others simply misfiled or mislabeled. And we find lost books outside of libraries, too. In January 2006, a completely unknown manuscript belonging to one of the 17th century’s most prominent scientists, Robert Hooke, was discovered when someone was having the contents of their house valued for auction. The manuscript included minutes of early Royal Society meetings that we presumed were lost forever.

Q: Unlike Twilight’s Bella and Edward—hormonal teenagers who meet in the halls of a high school—your leading characters Matthew and Diana are established academics who meet in the library of one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. This is a world where vampires and witches drink wine together, practice yoga and discuss philosophy. Are these characters based on something you found missing in the fantasy genre?

A. There are a lot of adults reading young adult books, and for good reason. Authors who specialize in the young adult market are writing original, compelling stories that can make even the most cynical grownups believe in magic. In writing A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES, I wanted to give adult readers a world no less magical, no less surprising and delightful, but one that included grown-up concerns and activities. These are not your children’s vampires and witches.

LIVE PHONE IN BOOKTALK:
Deborah and her editor Carole DeSanti, the author of The Unruly Passions of Eugénie R, are doing a virtual book event on BookTalk Nation June 4th at 2pm EST. Fans can join by phone and buy personalized copies of the book.

Go to http://booktalknation.com/book.html?author_id=70&book_id=103&event_id=61 and reserve a space by entering your email address.

You can also order signed and personalized copies of A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night from that page.
We hope that lots of you will join, and please help us spread the word. :)

CONTEST:
Speaking of books…

In celebration of the release and this Event, how about we give all of our US RESIDENT visitors a chance to win a copy of Shadow of Night and some Alchemical buttons from Deborah’s Publisher?

To enter, find the Rafflecopter widget for today’s Event on our Author’s Corner page 5/30 – 6/5, follow the directions, take action, and mark as ‘Done’.

Good Luck!!

[Archive] Series Spotlight, Excerpt, and Giveaway for Cynthia Eden_5.28.13

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:10:00 -0400

5/28/13
FEATURED AUTHOR EVENT

Series Spotlight, Excerpt
&
Giveaway

for…

Cynthia Eden

Hello my lovely Literal Addicts!

Today I’m promoting for the beautiful and talented Cynthia Eden once again to help spread the word and celebrate the release of Avenging Angel, THE FALLEN book #4, which was just released TODAY – 5/28/13!

USA Today Best-selling author Cynthia Eden has written over twenty-five novels and novellas. She was named as a 2013 RITA® finalist for her paranormal romance, Angel in Chains, and, in 2011, Cynthia Eden was a RITA finalist for her romantic suspense, Deadly Fear.

Cynthia is a southern girl who loves horror movies, chocolate, and happy endings. She has always wanted to write (don’t most authors say that?), and particularly enjoys creating stories about monsters-vampires, werewolves, and even the real-life monsters who populate her romantic suspense stories.

She is the proud creator of the BOUND, NIGHT WATCH, MIDNIGHT, DEADLY, THE FALLEN, LOVED BY GODS, SHADOW AGENTS and PURGATORY series, as well as numerous incredible single titles.

You can keep up with Cynthia online at her Website, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on GoodReads.

I highly suggest that you check out Cynthia’s entire backlist, but for today, I’m going to concentrate on THE FALLEN series, and get any new readers all caught up…

Angel of Darkness
THE FALLEN Book #1

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He Fell For Her

Nicole St. James was a nice woman. An innocent, pretty, twentysomething schoolteacher with her life ahead of her. But as the angel of death, it’s Keenan’s job to take that life away. So when a vampire attacks Nicole, Keenan is not supposed to snap and take out the vampire instead. It cost him his wings—but she’s worth it.

Except when Keenan catches up to his pretty schoolteacher, she’s not so innocent anymore. Hot red lipstick, tight black shorts and long white fangs—she’s ready to kick the asses of anyone who helped turn her into a damn bloodsucker. Unless that ass is unusually shapely and attached to a certain fallen angel. Even with all of heaven and half of hell after them, someone will have to teach Keenan about the fun kinds of sin…

Angel Betrayed
THE FALLEN Book #2

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A Little Bit Of Angel Lust

Sammael—call him Sam—was an angel once. An angel of Death. But the dispassionate, watch-from-above thing just wasn’t working for him when it meant watching evil torture innocent souls day in and day out. It might have cost him his wings, but these days he gets to apply the direct method on the bad guys. Problem is, what’s making his life difficult is a bad girl…

Seline O’Shaw needs protection, and with the hounds of hell on her tail, she’s not going to quibble too hard about where she gets it. Sam’s virtue is questionable, but he’s smoking hot, massively powerful, and owes her a favor. So what if she’s getting a little case of angel lust? There are some damn deadly sins after her hide…

Angel in Chains
THE FALLEN Book #3

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Mortal Sin

As a fallen Angel of Death, Azrael is cursed to walk the earth alone in search of redemption. One night, as he wanders the streets of New Orleans, he discovers a woman surrounded by panther shifters. No longer able to contain the anger simmering within, Az summons his dark powers and attacks, determined to protect this innocent human from certain death.

Only Jade Pierce is no delicate flower. She’s spent years learning to survive and fight the evil forces sent by her ex-lover who refuses to let her go. But after seeing Az in action, she figures she could use a little supernatural help. And so she plans a course of seduction guaranteed to arouse his interest and his angelic passions…

Avenging Angel
THE FALLEN Book #4

JUST RELEASED 5/28/13!!

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Earthly Delights

With a messed up family background and a tendency to grow claws and fangs, Tanner Chance isn’t exactly the boy next door. But he’s a decent cop, and he keeps himself on the side of the good guys. Convenient, because when he rescues a survivor of a horrific shifter attack he finds himself instantly smitten—with an honest-to-goodness angel, as innocent as she is irresistible.

Marna may be angelic, but she’s not stupid or weak. She can take care of herself. Tanner is more temptation than protection anyway. Or so she thinks, until someone wearing her face starts taking out some of New Orleans’ more unsavory paranormals. With police and predators both gunning for her blood, Marna has no choice but to trust Tanner…even though what’s sparking between them is hotter than anything holy.

EXCERPT:

“Avenging Angel” By Cynthia Eden

The delicate angel had broken.

Did she even realize that tears slid down her cheeks? Tanner Chance kept guard by her side. His hand was on her arm, stroking her.

He couldn’t seem to stop touching her.

They’d found her body in the swamp. At first, he’d thought that she was already dead.

So much blood.

Then she’d moved, and he’d realized just what his sick freak of a brother had done.

Sliced the wings right off an angel.

Her lashes lifted and her eyes, the palest blue he’d ever seen, locked right on him. No, those eyes seemed to see right through him. Tanner cleared his throat. He was a cop. He’d spent too many years seeing blank expressions like that on the faces of victims. “You…you’re safe now.” He’d keep her safe. “You just need to rest.”

She didn’t speak, and he didn’t know what else he was supposed to say to her. He never knew what to say to the victims. He just knew how to make the bastards who hurt them pay.

He was very good at delivering justice. But this time…

An angel.

She had to hate him. She knew who he was. Knew that his brother was the fucked-up asshole who’d tortured her. Tanner cleared his throat and finally managed to tell her, “I’m not like him.”

Her eyes never left his.

And he was still touching her. Her skin was the softest he’d ever felt. The smoothest. Her flesh was golden and perfect.

Or, it had been, until claws had ripped into her back and torn that flesh wide open.

Her breath exhaled softly. “When I’m stronger…”

Tanner leaned closer because he could barely hear her words. “What is it? What do you need?” Anything. He’d do—

“When I’m stronger, you should…stay away from me.”

He glanced at her small hands. They’d had to bind her wrists when they strapped her down. Not to hurt her, but to keep the little blond angel from hurting them.

The angel before him—Marna—she wasn’t some sweet and gentle guardian angel.

She was an angel of death. One who could, and had, killed with just a touch.

He could touch her all that he wanted. That was the way the game worked with angels. But the instant her hand touched him…

Dead.

If she wanted him dead, all she had to do was touch him, and she could send him straight to hell.

She smiled at him. The smile made her seem even lovelier and then the angel said, “When I’m stronger, when I’m free…get as far away from me as you can.” The faintest of pauses then, “Because I’ll have my vengeance.”

She didn’t look so broken anymore.

“Remember…to run, shifter.”

He didn’t move, and he damn well kept touching her. “I’m not the running kind.” Not anymore. The scared kid he’d been had died long ago. Now he fought any bastard who came his way—and he made sure to win his battles.

His angel kept her cold smile and told him, “Wait and see…you will be…”

I hope that I’ve gotten some new readers chompin’ at the bit to try out this series and the rest of Cynthia’s work, and if you’re already a fan, I hope that I reminded you just why you are. :)

CONTEST:

In celebration of the release of Avenging Angel, and to help spread the word, I’m offering up an Autographed Copy of the previous book - Angel in Chains (Book #3) - to a lucky US RESIDENT winner from LITERAL ADDICTION.

To enter, find the Rafflecopter widget for today’s Event on our Author’s Corner page 5/28 – 6/1, follow the directions, take action, and mark as ‘Done’.

Good luck, and as always… HAPPY READING!

[Archive] Spotlight and Giveaway for DARK NIGHTS DANGEROUS MEN_5.23.13

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:13:00 -0400

5/23/13
FEATURED AUTHOR EVENT

Spotlight
&
Giveaway

for…

The Authors of Dark Nights Dangerous Men

Hello my lovely Literal Addicts! I have an awesome shotgun post for you today…

6 of our favorite authors have joined forces to put together an amazing eCompilation called DARK NIGHTS DANGEROUS MEN which was just released on 5/17/13. And…it’s on sale for just $.99 during Release Week (NOTE: may not be $.99 for Amazon UK & Canada)!!

That’s 317,000 words for under a $1.00, how can you go wrong!?? :)
For those of you new to some of these authors, here’s a little bit about each one of them and where you can find them online, and then I’ll tell you a bit more about this incredible release…

Elisabeth Naughton
Bestselling Author Elisabeth Naughton writes full time from her home in western Oregon where she lives with her husband and three children. Her books have appeared on every major bestsellers list, including the New York Times, the USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, Digital Book World and IndieReader, and have been nominated for numerous awards such as the prestigious RITA® awards by Romance Writers of America, the Australian Romance Reader Awards, The Golden Leaf and the Golden Heart. When not writing, Elisabeth can be found running, hanging out at the ballpark or dreaming up new and exciting adventures.

Elisabeth is the proud creator of the ETERNAL GUARDIANS, and FIREBRAND series, as well as the STOLEN TRILOGY and several amazing single titles and Anthology contributions.

You can keep up with Elisabeth online at her Website, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on GoodReads.

Cynthia Eden
USA Today Best-selling author Cynthia Eden has written over twenty-five novels and novellas. She was named as a 2013 RITA® finalist for her paranormal romance, ANGEL IN CHAINS, and, in 2011, Cynthia Eden was a RITA finalist for her romantic suspense, DEADLY FEAR.
Cynthia is a southern girl who loves horror movies, chocolate, and happy endings. She has always wanted to write (don’t most authors say that?), and particularly enjoys creating stories about monsters-vampires, werewolves, and even the real-life monsters who populate her romantic suspense stories.

She is the proud creator of the BOUND, NIGHT WATCH, MIDNIGHT, DEADLY, THE FALLEN, LOVED BY GODS, SHADOW AGENTS and PURGATORY series, as well as numerous incredible single titles.

You can keep up with Cynthia online at her Website, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on GoodReads.

Katie Reus
Katie Reus is the USA Today bestselling author of the MOON SHIFTER, RED STONE SECURITY and DEADLY OPS series, as well as several dark and sexy single titles.

She fell in love with romance at a young age thanks to books she pilfered from her mom’s stash. Years later she loves reading romance almost as much as she loves writing it. However, she didn’t always know she wanted to be a writer. After changing majors many times, she finally graduated with a degree in psychology. Not long after that she discovered a new love. Writing. She now spends her days writing dark paranormal romance and sexy romantic suspense.

You can find Katie online at her Website, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on GoodReads.

Alexandra Ivy
Alexandra Ivy is a New York Times and USA Today Best-selling author who isn’t sure exactly when she fell in love with books. She does remember that she was barely old enough to cross the street by herself when she discovered the delights of the local library, and would immerse herself in Nancy Drew Mysteries during the Summer months. After that, she fell in love with Victoria Holt, Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, and J.R.R. Tolkien among many others.

She’s still an avid reader, and her tastes are still as varied as they ever were, which may explain why she enjoys writing regency historical under the name of Deborah Raleigh, and contemporary paranormals as Alexandra Ivy.

Alex is the proud creator of the GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY, IMMORTAL ROGUES, BAYOU HEAT and SENTINEL series, as well as her books written as Deborah Raleigh.

You can keep up with Alex online at her Website, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on GoodReads.

Laura Wright
USA Today Bestselling Author, Laura Wright is passionate about romantic fiction. Though she has spent most of her life immersed in acting, singing and competitive ballroom dancing, when she found the world of writing and books and endless cups of coffee she knew she was home. Laura is the author of the bestselling MARK OF THE VAMPIRE series and the USA Today bestselling series, BAYOU HEAT, which she co-authors with Alexandra Ivy. She also has the LLANDARON, THE THOMPSONS, and NO RING REQUIRED series, and many awesome single titles.

Laura lives in Los Angeles with her husband, two young children and three loveable dogs.

You can keep up with Laura online at her Website, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on GoodReads.

Joan Swan
A triple RWA Golden Heart finalist as well as a double Daphne Du Maurier finalist, Joan is a lover of craft and closet-hoarder of writing craft how-to books.

In her day job, she works as a sonographer at UCSF Medical Center, a location with an intensity that makes her slightly insane…which works well with the writer in her. Not to mention all the character material she has access to–and she’s not talking about the patients (well…mostly).

Joan has been married twenty years to her own personal hero, a veteran firefighter, and has two beautiful daughters. They live in the heart of wine country on the gorgeous Central Coast of California.

Joan is the proud creator of the PHOENIX RISING and COVERT AFFAIRS series.

You can keep up with Joan online at her Website, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on GoodReads.

Now that I’ve reintroduced you to the wonderful authors of this new release, how about I tell you a little bit more about the compilation!?

DARK NIGHTS DANGEROUS MEN

RELEASED 5/17/13!

6 Bestselling Authors, 6 Sexy Reads…

From romantic suspense to paranormal romance; from a full length novel to a bite sized novella, whatever you’re looking for, we’ve got the story for you!

STOLEN FURY
by Elisabeth Naughton

To unearth a centuries-old secret, an archaeologist must team up with the rakish thief who’s stolen both an ancient relic and her heart…

BOUND BY BLOOD
by Cynthia Eden

Married to the enemy. In order to save her clan, vampire princess Morgan LaBeaux will do anything…even marry werewolf alpha Jace Vaughn. She may have to trust him with her life, but Morgan vows to never give the wolf her heart.

NO ONE TO TRUST
by Katie Reus

When Elizabeth Martinez is shoved into the cross hairs of one of Miami’s death-dealing drug lords she has no choice but to depend on former Marine Porter Caldwell, her ex-boyfriend and the one man she’s tried desperately to forget.

RAPHAEL
by Alexandra Ivy

The brilliant and dangerous diplomat of the Pantera shapeshifters, Raphael has devoted his life to discovering the key to the infertility that is threatening the extinction of his puma race. Creating a vast network of spies worldwide, he never expected to discover that the answer might be beneath his very nose. But when Ashe, a beautiful human female, crosses his path, his most primitive instincts are stirred. Unable to resist, he takes her to his bed, and is shocked when she becomes pregnant with his child. It’s a miracle that might prove to be the salvation of his people, but only if he can keep her safe from the mercenaries determined to kill her.

PARISH
by Laura Wright

Untamed and undeniably sexy, Parish, leader of the Pantera hunters, rarely leaves the magic of the Wildlands to deal with the humans he despises. But with the prized and risky Pantera birth on the way, puma shifter, Parish must travel to New Orleans to find and bring back a human doctor. The moment he sees the lovely, talented and all too human Dr. Julia Cabot he cannot resist the wild, potent drive to make her his. Betrayed and destroyed by love, Julia will not let her heart choose her path again. But as she and Parish fight to save the life of an unborn child, a fierce and overwhelming bond develops between them, threatening her frozen heart with the secret hope and ultimate temptation of love and family.

INTIMATE ENEMIES
by Joan Swan

An emergency physician on leave returns to Baja Mexico in search of answers in the deaths of her mother and stepbrother and uncovers buried secrets that threaten her life and a man who threatens her heart.

Salivating yet!? You should be… That’s 6 incredible stories, by 6 fantastically talented authors, and all for the price of the loose change you can probably find in your couch or washing machine. Go and grab your copy today and spread the word about this amazing release…

CONTEST:
To help spread the word, the authors are offering up 3 $5 Amazon GiftCards to 3 lucky winners from LITERAL ADDICTION.

To enter to win, find the Rafflecopter widget for this Event over on our Author’s Corner page 5/23 – 11:30AM 5/25, follow the directions, take action, and mark as ‘Done’.

Good luck, and as always… HAPPY READING!

[Archive] Spotlight, Review, AUTHOR AMBUSH & Giveaway with Kelley Grealis_5.20.13

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:56:00 -0400

5/20/13
FEATURED AUTHOR EVENT

Spotlight, Review, AUTHOR AMBUSH & Giveaway

for…

Kelley Grealis

Hey everybody!

LITERAL ADDICTION and Book Monster Reviews are very happy to have Kelley Grealis with us today!

Kelley Grealis was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. She has a B.A. in Accounting from Baldwin-Wallace College and a Masters of Businss Administration from Cleveland State University.

She has loved all things vampire since she was a little girl, and it was that passion combined with thirteen years of Catholic schooling, that inspired her to write The Descendant.

Kelley lives in a Cleveland suburb with her husband.

Connect with Kelley online at her Website, on Facebook, on Twitter, on GoodReads, at her Blog, or at the Independent Author Network.

As mentioned, Kelley is the proud creator of The Descendant, THE DESCENDANT VAMPIRE series book #1, which was released on 5/24/13. We’re here to help Kelley celebrate the 1 year anniversary of the release! Book #2, The Search, will be coming soon… :)

For those of you that haven’t yet heard about Kelley’s ‘Vampire Tale of Biblical Proportions’, here is everything you need to know:

The Descendant
Book #1 of THE DESCENDANT VAMPIRE series

Buy from Amazon | Amazon UK | Smashwords | B&N

Allison Carmichael wakes from a car wreck with no memory of the past three years. She doesn’t recall her husband’s death or how she alienated her friends, and she definitely doesn’t remember anything about her new boyfriend Vincent Drake – a charismatic man with a penchant for rare and unique possessions. In fact, the only things familiar to Allison are her seemingly common ailments – insomnia, lack of appetite, erratic body temperature – which have gone undiagnosed and are worsening.

But Vincent knows exactly who, and what, Allison is – a mortal descendant of the first vampire. He is a vampire who has watched over Allison and her ancestors since the biblical times of Cain and Abel ensuring their secret is kept. Once he realizes Allison’s symptoms are accelerating and transforming her, he’ll stop at nothing to have her.

Allison discovers that she is a descendant and the first of her kind to exhibit signs of vampirism. She must decide between risking her mortal death if she cannot control her symptoms or fully transforming into a vampire and damning her soul for eternity. A decision made even more difficult when Allison discovers that Vincent has manipulated her life, and everyone in it, so that he can have the one thing no one else in the world has – the first descendant-turned-vampire.

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha - Michelle L. Olson:
I keep saying that I hate doing this - making comparisons to other series and shows - but I seem to be doing it more and more often in my reviews lately if the thought strikes me upon finishing a book, only because it just seems like it would be helpful for readers, and references to well known others is a decent way to do it. Obviously this is all just my opinion… With that said, this story had a very Vampire Diaries (the show), meets Twilight (for grown-ups), meets the Marked series ‘feel’ for me. HOWEVER, it was incredibly unique in its history and set up; I’m only referring to the ‘feel’ of the read.

Kelley introduces the vampires in this story as having ties to Biblical figures, and I found that fascinating. In addition, the plot was interesting, and the mystery, suspense and intrigue were well written.

Our heroine begins the book thinking she’s going through a massive mid-life crisis and nothing seems to be filling the hole she feels in her soul. While dealing with that and some major health issues that the doctors just can’t figure out, her life starts to turn upside down and her mercurial moods are affecting things at work and at home. And then things get really good…

She wakes up in the hospital having fragmented memories of both her past and what happened to get her there, but with the help of her best friend and our hero, Vincent, she starts to regain the life she’s lost. Only things aren’t quite adding up the way she thinks they should in her head, and the weirdness just keeps multiplying.

I would love to tell you more but I just can’t without spoilers, so I can only tell you to take the plunge and read The Descendant. A side note: this book is not a fluffy vampire tale. I found myself angry for most of the story, and would say that Kelley can make a reader tap into a character’s feelings of betrayal like no other. ;)

LITERAL ADDICTION gives The Descendant 4 Skulls and would recommend it if you’re a vampire lover looking for a refreshing spin on the norm.

Sounds good, yes!? Make sure you check it out. For now though, in celebration of the 1 year anniversary of the release of The Descendant, we let Kelley take over the site for the day. Let’s see what she had to say…

AUTHOR AMBUSH BY KELLEY GREALIS:

Happy 1st Anniversary to The Descendant – Let’s Celebrate with a Margarita!

Time flies! I can hardly believe that one year ago this week, I published my first novel, The Descendant (A Vampire Tale of Biblical Proportions). And in typical Kelley fashion, once that book was published, I wondered if I could do it again. The answer is YES as The Search, Book 2 in The Descendant Vampire Series, will be published later this year.

I was asked to kick off The Descendant Anniversary Blog Tour with a guest post. You’d think that being a writer, I could come up with a topic, but I couldn’t. I kept thinking – what would readers and fans want to know about me? So I asked them on my Facebook author page! The following post contains some topics that my fans suggested!

Why did I become a writer & why did I choose to write about vampires?

I’ll answer the first part of the question here; the second part will be answered in an interview that will post later this week.

I wrote a lot when I was younger, mostly poetry. Somewhere between the 6th and 8th grades I attempted my first novel but I didn’t make it past the first five pages. Fast forward to 2009; it was a combination of events that reignited my passion for creative writing.

In 2009, I was going through what I now call my career midlife crisis. I realized that professionally, what I did for my day job, simply didn’t fulfill me. At that same time, I had just finished reading a popular series of books, the premise of which was so simple that I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it myself. I stewed over this fact for a couple of hours before declaring to my husband that I was going to write a book. And I’ve been writing ever since.

How long did it take me to write The Descendant and what were some major milestones?

2009
June - Started writing The Descendant

December - Finished writing The Descendant. Queried literary agents in hopes one would land a publisher for me

2010
January – March - Received rejection letters from literary agents. Scratched head and realized something wasn’t right

April - Attended writing clinic. Realized I wasn’t the grammar queen I thought I was. Realized I wasn’t formally trained in the craft of writing

May – August - Attended creative writing classes

September - Rewrote The Descendant

October - Rewrote The Descendant

November - Rewrote The Descendant

December - You get the picture :)

2011
May - Hired an editor

June – August - (im)Patiently waited for my edits

September – October - Worked on edits and further rewrote the story

November – December - Queried agents…AGAIN

November – December - Received form rejections…AGAIN

2012
January - Attended a writer’s conference in NYC. Learned startling statistics about my odds of landing a literary agent. Decided to self-publish my book rather than it sit in a drawer and collect dust

February - Hired a graphics designer to create cover. Hired people to format my paperback and ebook files (I’m soooo not tech savvy)

May 24 - The Descendant was published in paperback!!!!

What is my favorite margarita recipe?

A fan asked therefore I shall deliver! This recipe is compliments of Cabo Wabo Tequila (thank you, Sammy Hagar!) & is one of my favorite recipes! Cheers!!

2 oz. Cabo Wabo Reposado Tequila

2 oz. Lime Juice, freshly squeezed

1 oz. Triple Sec

Combine the ingredients in a shaker half filled with ice. Shake well. Strain into salt-rimmed glass.

Thanks for stopping by this leg of the anniversary tour! Check out the tour schedule and I hope to see you at the other stops. I’d love to hear from you, so please leave a comment using the link under the Rafflecopter widget over on the Author’s Corner page!

Have a fang-tastic day!!

CONTEST:
Kelley is giving away the following prizes on her tour:

Grand Prize: $25 Amazon gift card & signed paperback of THE DESCENDANT

Runners-up: TWO (2) runners-up will receive an eBook of THE DESCENDANT plus a Descendant can koozie & bookmarks

To enter, find the Rafflecopter widget for Kelley’s Event over on our Author’s Corner page (or at any of the other Tour stops), follow the directions, take action, and mark as ‘Done’.

Good Luck, and as always… HAPPY READING!

Make sure to follow along with the rest of Kelley’s Anniversary tour as well:

5/20- Book Monster Reviews (guest post)

5/20- LITERAL ADDICTION (guest post & review)

5/21 - Wicked Readings by Tawania (spotlight & review)

5/22- Romance Junkies (interview)

5/22- The Reading Cafe (spotlight & review)

5/23- Jocelyn Dex Blog (spotlight & review)

5/23- Musings From An Addicted Reader (spotlight & review)

5/24- Books-n-Kisses (interview & review)

5/24- Urban Girl Reader (interview)

5/25- Paranormal Book Club (spotlight)

5/26- Page Flipperz (Spotlight)

[Archive] Spotlight, Review and Giveaway for Barb Hendee_5.19.13

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:08:00 -0400

5/19/13
FEATURED AUTHOR EVENT

Spotlight, Review, & Giveaway

for…

Barb Hendee

Happy Sunday everyone!

We are very happy to be promoting for the fabulous Barb Hendee again today to help get the word out about her new series, THE MIST TORN WITCHES. Book #1 of the series was just released on 5/7/13 and is already receiving rave reviews, including ours!

Like most writers, Barb worked at many jobs in her life, including teaching pre-school until she completed her master’s degree in Composition Theory. Between 1993 and 2006, she taught college English while writing fiction on the side, some independently and some with her husband and life-long partner J.C.

Over the years, they’ve lived in Washington State, Idaho, Colorado, and now moved just south of Portland, Oregon. She loves the Northwest, and says it’s a great place to write.

They have a lovely and talented daughter, Jaclyn, who lives in Houston, Texas along with their wonderful and talented son-in-law, Paul.

The duo sold “Dhampir”, book #1 of their NOBLE DEAD SAGA in 2001, which changed their lives considerably. It was published in January 2003, and they’ve published a book in the Noble Dead Saga every year since. In May of 2006, they were both able to quit their teaching jobs and move into full time writing.

In 2008, Barb sold the idea for her VAMPIRE MEMORIES series to their editor, Susan Allison, at Roc Books. She’s very grateful that their books have found an audience because they love to write fiction more than anything else in the world… and Barb says she’s not really good at anything else. :)

Now, Barb is bringing us the new MIST TORN WITCHES series, which takes place in the Noble Dead world, but with new and amazing characters like she gave us in her VAMPIRE MEMORIES series.
For those of you not yet familiar with Barb’s work, once again we HIGHLY suggest that you check out her entire backlist, but for today, we’re going to tell you all about The Mist Torn Witches…

The Mist Torn Witches
Book #1 of THE MIST TORN WITCHES series

Add to your GoodReads Shelf

National bestselling author Barb Hendee presents a dark, fascinating new series set in the world of the Noble Dead Saga… the story of two sisters who will discover they have far more power than they ever envisioned…

In a small village in the nation of Droevinka, orphaned sisters Céline and Amelie Fawe scrape out a living selling herbal medicines in their apothecary shop. Céline earns additional money by posing as a seer and pretending to read people’s futures.

But they exist in a land of great noble houses, all vying for power, and when the sisters refuse the orders of a warlord prince, they must flee and are forced to depend on the warlord prince’s brother, Anton, for a temporary haven.

A series of bizarre deaths of pretty young girls are plaguing the village surrounding Prince Anton’s castle. He offers Céline and Amelie permanent protection if they can use their “skills” to find the killer.

With little choice, the sisters enter a world unknown to them — of fine gowns and banquets and advances from powerful men. Their survival depends on catching a murderer who appears to walk through walls and vanish without a trace — and the danger around them seems to grow with each passing night.

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha - Michelle L. Olson:
*ARC provided by the Author in exchange for an honest review

Let me just start out by saying that the writing of Barb Hendee never fails to amaze me…

Mist Torn Witches combines the same type of incredibly vivid characters and heart that I’ve come to know and love from Barb’s Vampire Memories series, with the superb fantastical world, danger & action that I seek out & devour in Barb & JC’s Noble Dead Saga. The combination in this series debut was an utterly compelling & captivating new Fantasy with characters I can’t wait to follow for a good long time, & an intriguing & mysterious world I will happily get lost in again & again!

Our leading ladies, Celine and Amelie, are exactly what I love in my heroines - they’re independent, strong, perfectly flawed, and despite the fantasy, undeniably ‘real’ and relatable. Following their journey as they each followed their head and/or their heart, as they made mistakes and learned from them, as they loved and lost and grew as people was wonderful. You couldn’t help but feel what they felt and root for them at each turn.

The story was steadily engaging with the perfect arc and never a lag. It had just the right amount of twists and turns, a wonderful number of surprises, and plenty of action. And while it is a fantasy series, there was no cliffhanger. It wrapped up nicely, but left a world of possibilities for the next books; exactly what a good serial debut should do!

LITERAL ADDICTION gives The Mist Torn Witches 5 Skulls. I am so happy to have another Hendee obsession to follow. :)

We certainly hope that we’ve got a bunch of you adding this amazing book to your TBR lists and ordering it from your favorite booksellers! We also hope that we’ve got you all checking out the rest of Barb’s amazing work as well.

You can keep up with Barb online at her Website, on Facebook, on Twitter, at her Amazon Author Page, and on GoodReads!

CONTEST:
In celebration of the release of The Mist Torn Witches, we are giving away a copy of the book with a clear, signed bookplate from Barb.

To enter, find the Rafflecopter widget for today’s Event over on our Author’s Corner page 5/19 - 5/24, follow the directions, take action, and mark as ‘Done’.

Good luck, and as always… Happy Reading!