Blog Tour: Book Soundtrack: Silver and Gold by David Sakmyster

Silver and Gold

By-  David Sakmyster

Genre- historical thriller, historical fantasy, heroic, adventure

Published By- Dragon Moon Press

The Yukon Territory, 1895

A reclusive prospector comes to the aid of a Smithsonian explorer after she dares the frozen wilderness to capture a legendary beast known as the Sesquat. In his cabin, waiting out the storm, he regales her with the stunning and tragic tale of his life.

Historical Adventure

It's a life that takes him from the great gold rushes of California to the silver strikes of Nevada, and then on to the inescapable frozen lure of the Klondike. But it's also the story of a father and son striving to keep morally afloat as the surging tide of humanity sweeps upon their land to plunder its wealth. As this age fashioned the destiny of a nation, so too would it forge a hero...

The Gift that came with a Curse

A reluctant hero with the Midas Touch -- the boy, now a man,who must return to the world he's tried to avoid. To avenge his parents' murders, fight for the rights of his native people, and ultimately to embark upon his path into history.

The Legend

Teeming with fascinating characters and events from the times: from Samuel Colt to Herbert Hoover; from the Civil War to China's Boxer Rebellion; from icy maritime disasters to epic dogsled races, Silver and Gold is an ambitious historical adventure novel set against the backdrop of the Gold Rush era: an age defined by larger-than-life characters--arctic monsters, vile industrialists and noble heroes--all vying against the implacable wrath of nature.

  

Blog Tour: Book Soundtrack: The Silent Violent Few: Noir by Grayer Vaughan

The Silent Violent Few: Noir

The Silent Violent Few # 3

By- Grayer Vaughan

Genre- Romance, Fiction, 16+

"How will he still want me once he finds out what I've done?"

Alabama Crowne thought she had finally secured her freedom when the life she was destined to live came to a halt. Despite everything she left behind, there was one constant she would never be rid of as death claimed who she was in order to become who she was meant to be all along:  Cash Zachary Calloway.

 Leaving one life to create another didn't seem so bad until Finn Haines, the man she thought she knew, begins to become unhinged when secrets, lies and betrayal tempt them both into an epic end game of "name that Submissive".

Thinking she chose the right Calloway, Alabama takes a chance to build a life worth living as she is set to give birth to the next Calloway heir until facts about Finn's past lead her down a dangerous path filled with devious deviants of epic proportions.  

Unsure of who the father of her unborn child is, Alabama begins to struggle with her sanity, keeping her pregnancy hidden while she soon realizes that the only way out of the mess she created might be to return to the life she left behind as visions of her dead best friend Frankie lead her down a dangerous path of becoming the one thing she never thought she would: Mrs. Calloway.

Will the darkness she created claim the life she must live to be free or will her static inspiration become the dominant Noir she will need to save her from the violent death Goddess has planned?

Blog Tour: Book Soundtrack + #Giveaway: The Light Keeper Series by Kelly Hall

The Legend of the Light Keeper

The Light Keeper Series #1

By- Kelly Hall

Genre- YA Paranormal

After a hurricane destroys her home, Lily Jordan is ready for life to get back to normal. That would be easy if her mother’s recent engagement hadn’t landed her in a house along Southeast Texas’ most haunted ghost road. The secluded scenic road is steeped in rich history and legends, but when Lily is given an old diary on her birthday, will she find that those legends hold more for her future than she’s bargained for?

With the help of new friends, Hunter and Owen, and forbidden love, Talon, will she uncover dark secrets from the past and find the key to her own gifts? Is it fate or circumstance that brought Lily to her new home? Normal gives way to the paranormal in book one of the Light Keeper series where mystery and suspense keeps you guessing until the very last page.

  

Blog Tour: Book Soundtrack + #Giveaway: Warm Springs Trilogy by Christina Kirby

Safe at Home

Warm Springs Trilogy #1

By- Christina Kirby

Genre- Romantic Suspense

Driven by fear and desperate to protect her family, Samantha is forced to leave Chicago and everything she’s worked to achieve, only to start over by tossing a dart-at-the-map. The Georgia townsfolk’s true Southern charm is the unexpected prescription needed to heal her soul, and the sexy carpenter who touches her heart are distractions she didn’t plan on, but they might offer her a chance at a new life, if she can let go of her past.

Town heartbreaker, Spencer Malloy, isn’t looking for anything serious. His days are perfect working as a contractor, attending his nephew’s baseball games or taking him fishing. He never expects to fall for the big city girl, Samantha. She’s not his type, timid and closed off, but in her unguarded moments, he’s intrigued by the woman he can’t get out of his mind. The urge to get closer to her grows stronger each day, and when the shadow of evil resurfaces, he vows to protect Samantha, even if it means abandoning his home and joining her on the run.

When confronted by the man who’s bent on revenge, Samantha must choose between running again to save the people she loves, or if she has the strength, to stay and fight for her new life.

 

Book Blitz: Author Interview, #Giveaway + More: Nearly Almost Somebody by Caroline Batten

Nearly Almost Somebody 

by Caroline Batten

Publication date: March 26th 2015
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

 

She’s nearly perfect – He’s almost the one

When Patrick’s caught in flagrante with a local beauty queen, his father delivers an ultimatum: one more newspaper scandal and Patrick will be out on his ear. Desperate not to lose his job at the family veterinary practice,
Patrick needs to avoid trouble – and girls like Libby.

The Broken Ballerina’s a headline waiting to happen, but mourning her short-lived career as a dancer, Libby casts a Wiccan spell to summon a new love: Good-looking, honest, non-brown eyes, English, good with animals… in a nutshell, she summons Patrick.

But fighting Libby’s love spell will be the least of Patrick’s problems when an old lady dies from a ketamine overdose – ketamine stole from his surgery.

Witchcraft, Scandal, Murder...

Will anyone find their perfect Somebody?

 

 

 

Nearly Almost Somebody: Track List

© Caroline Batten 2015

1.       Take Me to Church – Hozier

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-tW0CkvdDI

 

2.       Chandelier – Sia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vjPBrBU-TM

 

3.       Whispers In the Dark – Mumford & Sons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNaM-N1NdGo

 

4.       Dog Days Are Over – Florence & the Machine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWOyfLBYtuU

 

5.       Lover’s Eyes - Mumford & Sons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWNq89joPrI  

 

6.       You And I – Lady Gaga
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9YMU0WeBwU

 

7.       Say Something – A Great Big World / Christina Aguilera

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2U0Ivkn2Ds

 

8.       Read All About It – Emeli Sandé

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q03E7oTc5qo

 

9.       I Will Wait – Mumford & Sons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGKfrgqWcv0

 

10.    Budapest – George Ezra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHrLPs3_1Fs

 

14 Things I’ve discovered on the road to becoming a self-published author

© Caroline Batten 2015

 

I’ve been writing since I first read a Sweet Valley High book and thought I could do better myself. Of course I couldn’t at the time, I was nine but over the years the years, I’ve also learned a few things.

Please note, these are my experiences and may not be typical – in fact, they may be as far from typical as appears feasible whilst still sitting somewhere within the realm of possible...

1.       If you look at self-publishing as a hobby, it’s cheaper than horse-riding, diamond mining or going to the movies once a month.

2.       A brilliant book does not mean you’ll bag an agent/six-figure publishing deal. A brilliant book, kick-ass cover, slick editing, and selling a hundred thousand Kindle editions might.

3.       Submitting to agents is a form of self-flagellation. Horsehair shirts cost less and are emotionally less devastating. (Plus you can write about the experience later, publish that book on Kindle, give it BDSM tags and sell more copies than you would the dystopian YA thriller you were originally touting to agents.)

4.       Having a blog is great - random strangers DO read your witterings. Some of them even buy your book.

5.       Signing up for authonomy.com does not guarantee you’ll be noticed by an agent the next day. It’s a website where you can learn key marketing skills such as, I’ll read your book if you read mine. Promise this one million times and you might hit the Editors Desk - this never leads to publication. Ever.

6.       Signing up for animoto.com does mean you can make your very own book trailer.

7.       Getting your first book professionally edited is a really good idea even if you’re not looking to self-publish. An editor will focus your style on the market/genre you’re really writing for, point out where your writing skills need work and you could end up with a manuscript an agent does want to read.

8.       Grammar and punctuation are not dark arts – they’re a skill every author can and ought to learn;

9.       Signing up for youwriteon.com does not guarantee you’ll be noticed by an agent the next day. It’s a website where you’ll receive reviews such as , ‘I hate chick lit and this shoe-based romance...’ and ‘I normally prefer steampunk erotica so this western romance...’

10.    Some people do make it big - with very little effort it can seem.

11.    Some people plug away for years and make pocket money.

12.    That book you finished - it isn’t finished. Typing ‘The End’ simply means the editing can start.

13.    Right now, on Amazon you can buy a book called Mail Order Tiger Bride Wars – it does what it says on the tin. That BBW shape-shifter piece of romance is currently ranked higher than #FORFEIT. Yet that doesn’t sting nearly as much an agent rejection letter because....

14.    Three million reads on wattpad.com say people really like my books.

 

And that’ll do, pig.  

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Caroline lives in the Lake District with her husband, small child and two Kune Kune pigs.

She daydreams of one day owning a pair of Louboutin's and having somewhere fabulous to wear them. Until then, she'll be found plodding up a mountain in her trusty hiking boots.

#forfeit is Caroline's debut novel. Her follow up, Nearly Almost Somebody is also available from Amazon.

Author Links:

http://carolinebatten.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Caroline-Batten/284115698322610

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7360573.Caroline_Batten

https://twitter.com/daisy_fitz

Caroline Batten - The Interview

 

Caroline is the author of #Forfeit and Nearly Almost Somebody, contemporary romances she likes to call “Chick Lit with Edge” – forget shoe-shopping and cupcakes, expect binge drinking, eating disorders and Class A drug-taking.

 

#Forfeit is the sordid tale of five friends who play a game of increasingly dangerous dares. Nearly Almost Somebody is filled with Wiccan love spells, murder and local scandal. Where do you get your inspiration from?

Anywhere I can. Music, films, the Antiques Roadshow.

 

Really?

Totes. It’s where I saw the antique forfeit ball that Daisy rolls in the book.

 

Tell us your usual writing routine.

I work full-time, we have a 6 year-old daughter and we’re renovating an old farmhouse - writing routine, you say? Lol. There isn’t one. When I’m in the zone, I’ll write whenever and wherever I can, but when I’m not... life does get in the way.   

 

Life? How much time do you spend procrastinating on Facebook?

Yeah. That.

 

Do you have a favourite snack when you are in your writing zone?

Does Prosecco with a sliced strawberry in count as a snack?

 

What was the first book you remember reading and enjoying?

Without a doubt, Jill’s Gymkhana by Ruby Ferguson.

 

Did you have a favourite literary hero/heroine as a child?

That would be the Jill with the gymkhana. The girl was a superstar. Practical, witty, sharp, utterly dismissive of all things soppy - including her own mother’s nauseating Enid Blyton style books. She dreamed of becoming the first female MFH and so introduced me at the tender age of nine to equality and sex discrimination. And she beats the rich girl in the gymkhana. Hurrah.  

 

What's the wine in that glass?

Er... Prosecco. Obvs. 

 

Have you ever given up on a manuscript because it just wasn't working?

No. A few times people told me to put Forfeit in a drawer and move on, but I couldn’t. I loved Daisy and Xander too much to give up on them and the story.

 

Do your sex scenes make you horny?

*Blushes* A wise friend once told me to write books that I wanted to read because chances are someone else would want to read them too. Another wise friend, Kitty French told me to write sex scenes as though no one would ever read them. Put the two together...

 

Zoe’s a bit of a loose-moralled minx–

She’s great, right? I loved writing her scenes.

 

Will we see more of her in your next book?

You’re not the first person to ask that.

 

And?

No. Sorry.

 

What can your readers look forward to?

Afterglow should be out later this year. It’s about backpackers getting up to no good in Bondi Beach.

 

You said, ‘should be.’ Does that mean you’re not in the zone yet?

*Is watching cat videos on Facebook* Sorry, what?

 

You went to a Book Signing earlier this year. Are you planning any more?

Yes. Dublin and Birmingham this July, then Aberdeen in August. Oh, and Dublin again in 2016.

 

Is there any of that Prosecco left?

Yes. But I’m not sharing. :p

 

Any advice for aspiring authors?

Drink less.

Blitz-wide giveaway (US/CAN)

• A signed paperback of Nearly Almost Somebody + swag

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

Blog Tour: Author Spotlight + Book Soundtrack: Blood and Shattered Glas by Tyffani Clark Kemp

 

 

Blood and Shattered Glass

Book # 1

By- Tyffani Clark Kemp

Genre- Adult Psychological Romantic Thriller

Publication Date- January 5th, 2015

Four months ago, a traumatic accident put Trista in the psych ward. They were supposed to help her deal with the events that transpired, but something happened to her in there. Something changed her and Jeremi Lloyd can’t figure out what it is. As her guardian, it’s Jeremi’s job to make sure Trista is taken care of. During the day, Trista is happy and content with the best fiancé in the world, but at night, horrible nightmares plague her sleep.

But Jeremi has a huge secret, one the doctors say Trista isn’t ready to handle. It’s a secret that could shatter what little bit of happiness and stability Trista has been able to find.

When Jeremi learns that strange things are happening at the psych ward where Trista was being helped, he starts to wonder if her nightmares and her mental instability aren’t really her fault. And he wonders if the secrets he’s keeping are worth it.

As the answers begin to surface in ways neither Trista or Jeremi could have imagined, so does a level of danger that could be the end of them and their friends. Can they figure out the truth before they’re both committed?

  

Amazon UK/ Amazon CA

 

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT

Tyff, please tell us about yourself using 3 verbs, 1 quirk and a pop culture addiction.

Striving, Stressing, Understanding, I won’t drink water from the bathroom because I think it has germs in it, and I love anime so much I could watch it all day every day.

What author/reader conventions have you attended in the last 3 years-which was your favorite & why? I have attended ConCarolinas twice, UtopYA, Authors After Dark, and Indie Girl Con. ConCarolina’s has been my favorite so far.

What’s the last song you listened to? I have no idea. It was some Trance song on Pandora.

How do you come up with character names?  How do you come up with novel titles? Names and titles are important to me. I do a search for meanings that fit my characters. In Blood and Shattered Glass, the main character’s name is Trista, the female version of Tristan (like Tristan and Isolde). I chose it because Trista is very very sad, though I can’t tell you why. Tristan and Isolde is a sad story.

Do you have any advice for anyone that would like to be an author?

Don’t give up. When you get to the middle of your first book and it’s hard and you’re tired and you feel like it’s shit and you’re shit and what the hell is this shit?! Keep going, because when you get to the end you’ll never be the same person again. You’ll never write a book the same way again, because you’re no longer a beginner. You’re an accomplished writer.

BOOK SOUNDTRACK

 

1. End of The Road - Boyz II Men
2. Till It Happens To you - Corinne Bailey Rae
3. Trouble Sleeping - Corinne Bailey Rae
4. Breathless - Corinne Bailey Rae
5. Call Me When You get This - Corinne Bailey Rae
6. Sunshine - Lupe Fiasco
7. Is This Love - Corinne Bailey Rae
8. New Day - Philip Wesley