Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Release Day Blitz: What If Anthology

Title: What If
Authors: Chelle Bliss, M. Mabie, Aly Martinez, Erin Noelle
River Savage, Hilary Storm, Shantel Tessier, Alice Tribue
Release Date: April 1, 2015
Cover Design: Louisa from LM Creations 

***100% of the proceeds for What If: The Anthology will
be donated to Autism Speaks. Releasing April 1, 2015***
Summary:
What If: The Anthology is a collaboration from some of today's hottest indie authors. What happens when one pivotal moment in a story changes?  Have you ever wondered how things might have been?

In these eight, never before released, novellas you'll see what happens when your favorite characters take a different path.

A twist on the fictional reality you've already read. A chance to see if the grass is greener on the other side.

What if one little decision changed everything? What if?

 











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Cover Reveal: Scars by Elena M Reyes

Title: Scars
Author: Elena M Reyes
Series: Marked #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Expected Release Date: April 19, 2015

Summary:
Abandoned.

Thrown away.

Invisible.

Every single one of those could be used to describe me. They can tell you my story—my sad past—without a single syllable passing through my lips.

I hate them—those who lied to me. They claimed to love me, but in reality they used me when convenient. My parents. Sister. And now Talan. Loving them has left me empty. Sad.

Alone.

Not anymore. Screw them. My love has turned to anger…hate. Now, what consumes me is the urge to destroy, to force them to see what they wrecked with their carelessness. My name will never be forgotten. Not after I have my revenge.

His tears will be my ultimate retribution.




Author Bio:
Elena M. Reyes was born and raised in Miami Florida. She is the epitome of a Floridian and if she could live in her beloved flip-flops, she would.
As a small child, she was always intrigued with all forms of art—whether it was dancing to island rhythms, or painting with any medium she could get her hands on. Her first taste of writing came to her during her fifth grade year when her class was prompted to participate in the D. A. R. E. Program and write an essay on what they’d learned.

Her passion for reading over the years has amassed her with hours of pleasure. It wasn't until she stumbled upon fanfiction that her thirst to write overtook her world. She now resides in Central Florida with her husband and son, spending all her down time letting her creativity flow and letting her characters grow.


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Marking Him #2
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Cover Reveal: The Rub Down by Gina Sheldon

Title: The Rub Down
Author: Gina Sheldon
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Expected Release Date: April 20, 2015
Cover Design: MGBookCovers

Summary:
Dark room
Luke Stratton spends his days making clients moan in pleasure. His hands hold the ability to drive a woman to the brink of ecstasy. As a rule, his professional touch is the only thing he gives any female client. Until a Boston marathon trainee seeks his services.

Bare skin
One year after the tragic Boston Marathon bombing, Alexa Williams must overcome horrible memories of that day. She struggles to put her fear aside to meet the challenge of the run. A rigorous training schedule leaves her body aching, and with Luke’s help, Alexa finds soothing release at The Rub Down.

Healing Hands
Will Luke hold onto his rules and let Alexa go, or will they be able to cross the finish line together?

Prologue
     Crisp white linens covered Tamlyn’s spread limbs, and soft candlelight cast shadows across her features.
     “Harder, Luke, harder. You know I love when you’re rough with me.” She squirmed under my touch, her voice drowning out the soft background music. After two years in our relationship, I was accustomed to her giving me directions.
     “Tamlyn, you know I’ll bruise you if I go at you any harder, and you won’t be able to walk tomorrow.” I spoke in a low, even tone, trying not to disrupt our rhythm. Every stroke of my fingers on her bare skin served a specific purpose. Tamlyn liked it hard and fast, but I preferred giving it to her gentle and slow.
     “Right now, I don’t care. My body needs this. Needs you. Danny can’t give me what I need anymore.” She opened her eyes to peer up at me. “I’m too used to how you make me feel.”
     “Oh, stop, Tam. You and I both know that Danny’s good. I’ve never heard a woman complain about him.” My hands glided over her smooth calves. “His style’s different from mine, but he knows how to get results.”
     Tamlyn wasn’t the first woman Danny and I had shared. In fact, we often swapped clients. In our line of business, it was common practice. We thought it was beneficial to the women who came to us.
     “I know, but you know my needs and meet them every. Single. Time I see you.” She moaned when I gripped her hips. “I hate when you have to leave town. I seriously can’t survive without seeing you at least once a week.” Tamlyn tilted her hips to increase pressure right where she wanted me. “I even asked my husband, and you know I hate doing that. He tried his very best to do exactly what you taught him, but I swear I only moan so his feelings aren’t hurt.”
     “Derek looked like he knew what he was doing when I taught him how to take care of you.”
     A few months ago, Tamlyn brought her husband to see me. She wanted him trained to satisfy her body’s needs in my absence.
     “Now hush, our time’s almost up, and I’m not through with you yet. I haven’t heard you scream my name,” I said as I moved into position to finish her off.
     To gain better leverage for what I planned next, I placed my knee on the edge of the table. As my fingers trailed her inner thighs, Tamlyn squirmed beneath me. This was my favorite part, and I was going to make sure she enjoyed every second of it. As I reached my destination, her moans grew louder.
     Then the door to the room slammed against the wall.
     “You cheating bastard.” My girlfriend, Jennie, stood in the doorway, red-faced and screaming at the top of her lungs. Before her crazed presence registered in my mind, she lunged for Tamlyn.
     All hell broke loose.



Author Bio:
Gina Sheldon is a devoted wife, busy mom of twin girls, and the proud owner of a small business. She often travels the very streets of Boston she writes about in her debut novel, “The Rub Down.” One thing she refuses to leave home without is her Kindle. Their relationship borders on obsessive. As a beta reader and blogger, Gina shares her love of books with others, and her love of words has now carried her into the field of self-publishing. When she’s not reading or writing, she can be found surrounded by family and friends, enjoying a glass of wine, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, or both.


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Scarred by Marie Long

Title: Scarred
Author: Marie Long
Series: Anderson Brothers #1
Genre: New Adult Romance
Release Date: March 3, 2015
Summary:
Sometimes, love comes with a price…

The past is always gonna try and bring you down, but you gotta fight. Fight hard for what you love. Fight to win is what twenty-two-year-old Dominick Anderson believes, but his life is a struggle. Growing up with an abusive father has made Dominick slow to love and trust, and he relies on his brother Kevin to keep him on a straight path. Dominick fights his demons every day, every night. Now a sophomore at the University of Washington and working a steady job at a mechanic’s shop, Dominick wants to create a better life and find the future his father never wanted him to have.

Dominick suppresses his identity and feelings until he meets Denise Ramsey. Smart, stunningly gorgeous, and sharing his love for motorcycles, Denise is everything Dominick longs for in a girl but knows he can never have. When a past love threatens her life and brings out Dominick’s suppressed dark side, he must decide if she’s worth the risk.

#1:
     She grabs my arm and pulls me across the main room toward another, smaller, black-lit room full of couches, padded benches, and beanbag chairs. A few couples occupy the neon-glowing couches, while others lounge around in the other seats. I manage to finish my drink before Denise swipes the ice-filled cup from my hands and tosses it in the garbage. She pushes me backwards onto an oversized beanbag chair and plops on top of me. She plants her lips onto mine and kisses me hard. My hands fall to her hips as I welcome her forcefulness. Her dress gives off neon sparkles under the overhead black light. The music shifts again and the thumping, possessive beat returns, making the room vibrate. She cups my face with her hands, kissing me deeper, and I feel her tongue prod my lips.
     Oh, fuck yes.

#2:
     Chauncey’s is pretty busy by the time we arrive. With the place being only blocks away from campus, it’s one of the most popular bars, and our favorite hangout spot. Kevin finds a space across the street to park, and we get out, hustling across the street as rain pelts us.
     “You know, you look ridiculous wearing those at night.” I point at his sunglasses.
     Kevin adjusts his ball cap and stuffs his hands in the pockets of his brown hoodie. “I don’t give a fuck. I’m not in the mood to deal with fans right now.”
     Dim lights and the smell of stale beer welcome us as we enter. The groups of college students that frequent here are standing or sitting around in their usual spots. Kevin and I find two empty stools at the bar, near where a bunch of frat guys are playing darts.
     “You’re Miss Dee Dee tonight, li’l bro,” Kevin says with a smirk, and then points out the vodka to Olivia, the bartender.
     I roll my eyes. It’s an inside joke Kevin and I have whenever we go out and drink. The one who’s named “Miss Dee Dee” first is responsible for driving, so they’re not allowed to get hammered.
     “Whatever you say, Miss Daisy,” I say, and order my usual.
     Olivia fills three shots and slides them in front of Kevin. He downs the first one in a single gulp, and then winces and hisses through his teeth.
     I spin around in my stool so my back’s against the counter and watch the crowd at the dartboard. I recognize a few guys from Xi Rho Nu. The girls watch each guy who takes aim like predators assessing their prey. I look sidelong at Kevin, who quaffs his second shot. “Hey, Kev. You still single?”
     Kevin looks up. “What the hell kinda question’s that?”
     “An important one, ’cause . . . well, I met this girl at the club the other night, right? Name’s Trinity. Pretty sexy. Thing is, she’s one of Denise’s friends. She knows you and I are brothers.”
     “Mmhmm.” Kevin downs his third shot and then signals Olivia to fill up three more.
     “She’s cool,” I say. “But I don’t think we’d make a pair, y’know?”
     “What? You can’t like her?”
     “Not anything more than friends. I mean she already knows I have a thing for Denise. But the moment I mention your name her panties practically drop.”
     Kevin smirks. “I tend to have that effect on the honeys.” Three more shots slide his way. He picks one up and tips his head back, emptying shot number four.
     “She’s a good girl who’s looking for love, bro. You should talk to her.”
     “Naw. I’m done with relationships for a while. Not after the shit I went through with the last one.”
     I shake my head. “Seriously, I don’t think she’s anything like that. She’s Denise’s best friend, and from what I’ve seen, Denise doesn’t hang out with skanks like Justine.”
     “Justine was worse than a skank.” Shot number five disappears quicker than I can blink.
     “Trinity loves the fact that you play basketball,” I say.
     “You told her that?”
     “Yeah. And she thinks it’s hot.”
     “Does she, now?” He traces his thumb across his smiling lips.
     “Yup, and she said she wants to watch you play sometime.”
     “Play what?”
     “Basketball!”
     He nods absently. Has the vodka already started to kick in?


Author Bio:
Marie Long is a novelist who enjoys the snowy weather, the mountains, and a cup of hot white chocolate. She's an avid supporter of literacy movements like We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) and National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).


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Release Day: Such a Secret Place by Cortney Pearson

Title: Such a Secret Place
Author: Cortney Pearson
Series: Stolen Tears #1
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Release Date: April 1, 2015
Summary:
Raids splatter across the news–Arcaian soldiers are stealing magic left and right, using it against the people they steal it from.

When sixteen-year-old Ambry Csille’s brother gets taken in one of these raids, her utter fear and panic should be enough to invoke tears in any normal world. But for Ambry, tears are a thing of the past.

Because of a spell, people can no longer feel emotion; not enough to cry, and definitely not enough to defend themselves against the tyrannical soldiers stealing her people’s magic. A rare vial of enchanted tears chooses Ambry to reverse the spell, and soon she finds herself the target not only of the Arcaians, but of battle-scarred Talon Haraway, who wants the tears for his own reasons.

All Ambry wants is to rescue her brother, but when her tears get stolen, Ambry determines to work with Talon to get them back. Any day the Arcaians could drink her tears. Any day they’ll succeed at draining her people’s magic completely, and all hope will be gone—not only for her brother, but for her world.



Anyone who has read my books knows I’m a big fan of inanimate objects becoming characters in a story. In PHOBIC it was Piper’s haunted house – a place that literally interacted with her and tried to control her. Piper’s house was ALIVE, and it would lock her in or trap her friends in the psychotic basement below. In fact, the house, in a sense, was the enemy of the story.

In SUCH A SECRET PLACE, the inanimate-object-as-a-character is Ambry’s vial of enchanted tears.

These tears are the most powerful ever shed. But they don’t just sit around in Ambry’s pocket. The tears hound her. They throw major tantrums, burning the hands of anyone else but Ambry who holds them. And if she doesn’t keep them constantly with her, they let her know just how they feel about it:
I hesitate. My hand lowers, the humming pounds harder, and I can swear the tears say my name, a sort of woozy voice in the form of a feeling piercing straight into my chest. When my fingers close over the warm jar, peace washes over me. The heaviness, the headache. Gone.

In a strange way Ambry becomes attached to the tears as well, feeling as protective of them as a mother would of her own child. When they’re stolen from her, she determines to get them back. The fact that they call to her comes in pretty handy, especially considering how so many people seem to be after them:
One hand on the open screen door, he speaks over his shoulder, not even bothering to face me. “I hope you know how to get home, because I don’t have time to take you there.”
He continues to ramble on, something about broken promises and the mess I’ve made, but the tears rasp a complaint against my spine, and I rotate.
“They’ve moved,” I say without thinking. “That way.”
“What?”
“The tears,” I say, pointing west into the navy blue sky. “They’re going that way now.”
Talon shuts the screen door and stares me down. His eyes are deeper in the darkness. “You’re telling me you can sense them?”
I gaze at the gumball moon, the valley of Waenton, the houses and sparse city lights in the distance. “Why aren’t they driving him crazy? They drove you crazy.”
“I don’t know. But you’re saying…” He puts a hand on my shoulder and turns me away from the hum, toward him. His eyes trap my gaze. “You’re saying you could lead me to them again?”
“You’re joking, right? You just made it pretty clear you can’t stand me. So no, I won’t. I’m going home.”
Except the tears nudge in my gut. Even though I want to, I can’t abandon them. I don’t understand it, but they need me. 
So many great stories do this. Another inanimate object-as-a-character we all loved: 
Wilson, from the movie Cast Away. When Tom Hanks gets stranded on that island for four long years, all he has for company are the packages from the flight that got stranded with him. We grow to really love Wilson. 

Or how about The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants? The pants don’t do anything but get worn and mailed between the four friends as they have their summer experiences, but they stand as something so much more than pants. 

Tell us a little bit about The Stolen Tears series, and especially Such a Secret Place. Where did you get your idea?
The idea of a world where tears are magical came to me while I was jamming out to a song by Shiny Toy Guns. I don’t remember which song (I wish I did!) but the idea just bulldozed into my brain and wouldn’t let me go!

The series is about a girl who finds a vial of magical tears and has to use them to break a spell. These tears are the most powerful ever shed, and so naturally many others are after them as well and Ambry has to protect them while trying to decipher who to trust.

Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Yes! I remember drawing pictures and scribbling underneath them before I even knew *how* to write, then going around to my family members and telling them my stories.

What inspires you?
Music, definitely. I ALWAYS write with music on, and I usually fit it to the mood of the scene I’m trying to write. Reading stories or watching movies like mine helps too. I was stumped the other day, but while watching Divergent with some friends inspiration struck and I suddenly knew how to fix a spot I’d been struggling to write.

Do you listen to music when you write?
I do! It helps me block everything else out, strangely enough.

On that note, what’s your favorite Pandora station/type of music?
Lately my writing stations are Film Scores radio, Birdy radio (for romantic, swoony scenes), and I’m really liking Ed Sheeran’s stuff and a band called Superhumanoids.

Any other hobbies besides writing? 
I read a lot, mostly. Pretty standard, lol. I also love to play the clarinet.

Scenario: It’s the end of the world. Aliens are invading and you have two minutes to hurry and grab your three favorite things before rushing off to safety. What do you grab?
Assuming my family is already coming with me, my top three items would be--
The flash drive with all my writing on it
My clarinet
My copy of Jane Eyre

Author Bio:
Cortney Pearson is a book nerd who studied literature at BYU-Idaho, a music nerd who plays clarinet in her local community orchestra, and a writing nerd who creates stories for young adults. Cortney lives with her husband and three sons in a small Idaho farm town.


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