Curse of the Sphinx blitz: excerpt & giveaway

Curse of the Sphinx by Raye Wagner

(Sphinx #1)

Publication date: 9 August 2015

Genres: Mythology, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis:

How long can a monster stay hidden in plain sight?

Seventeen year-old Hope Nicholas has spent her entire life on the run. But no one is chasing her. In fact, no one even knows she exists. With her mom, she’s traveled from town to town and school to school, barely staying long enough to meet anyone, let alone make friends. And she’ll have to keep it that way. It’s safer.

When her mother is brutally ripped away from her, Hope’s life shatters. Is this the fulfillment of Apollo’s curse, murder from the shadow monsters of the Underworld, or have the demigods finally found her? Orphaned and alone, Hope flees again, but this time there’s no one to teach her who to trust—or how to love.

Set in a universe where mythology is alive and well in the modern world, Curse of the Sphinx irresistibly blends action, suspense and romance.

An Excerpt from Curse of the Sphinx

Hope looked up from the bouquets to see the shadows at the back of the stall shift. A short man dressed in black advanced, his step both graceful and predatory.

This was not the same man she had seen by the Fish Market earlier, and yet his movements were eerily similar, as were his pale skin and dark eyes.

Her heart rate doubled, and instinctively, she stepped back. Her conversation with Priska came crashing back to her. She knew what this was.

“Leto! Hope!” Priska’s petite figure pushed through the crowd toward them. Time seemed to slow.

Leto took the change from the vendor and turned toward her best friend, her expression morphing from excitement to terror. The paper-wrapped bouquet slipped to the ground.

Hope’s eyes shifted from her mother to her aunt, and her muscles tensed even as her vision tunneled. Out of the corner of her eye, the dark figure was coming straight for them. She suppressed the cry that bubbled up her throat.

Priska crashed into them, grabbing at both of them with shaky limbs. Her head jerked side to side, her eyes bulging. “Holy Hades! WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THE GODS ARE YOU DOING HERE?”

Add the book on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25905676-curse-of-the-sphinx?ac=1

GIVEAWAY TIME

As part of the book-blitz with Xpresso Book Tours and courtesy of author Raye Wagner, there is ONE ebook copy of Curse of the Sphinx up for grabs. The winner will receive their copy after 26 October. The giveaway is open internationally.

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Below are some links to videos sent by the author, just a little something different: Greek Mythology in a modern world. :)

https://youtu.be/71fKi71mogU

https://youtu.be/mwDr0cyASkY

https://youtu.be/Ewy9jqDz8kw

https://youtu.be/XRNIjO1_8wQ

https://youtu.be/qULfb8lxP3I

Meet the author: www.smarturl.it/meetraye

Book trailer: www.smarturl.it/BNHRMS

Purchase the book from Amazon.

About the Author:

Raye Wagner grew up in the suburbs of Seattle, the second of eight children, and learned to escape chaos through the pages of fiction. As a youth, she read the likes of David Eddings, Leon Uris, and Jane Austen. Inspired by a fictional character, Raye pursued a career in nursing, and thought to help the world one patient at a time.

One summer afternoon, a plot dropped into her head, and she started writing.

Raye enjoys baking, Tae Kwon Do, puzzles, and the sound of waves lapping at the sand. She lives with her husband and three children in Middle Tennessee.

Origin of the Sphinx is her first publication, a prequel to the Sphinx series.

Connect with the Author:

http://rayewagner.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Raye-Wagner-173068689524889/timeline/?ref=hl

https://twitter.com/RayeWagner

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7127010.Raye_Wagner

The madness continues in Cameron Jace's Hookah + giveaway

Hookah by Cameron Jace

(Insanity #4)

Publication date: December 12th 2015

Genres: Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis:

A Plague Scarier than Death

Alice and the Pillar have to stop a Wonderland Monster who’d lashed out an incurable disease onto the world. Their biggest challenge is that the world loves this monster so much.

A Cure Larger than Life

The only way to save the world is to travel to the other side of the globe, and peek into one of Lewis Carroll and the Pillar’s darker pasts.

A Truth Madder Than Fiction

This time, the price of saving the world is too high. Alice will have to live with the consequences of the maddest logic of the world surrounding her.

Will Alice find who the Pillar really is? What he wants? Is she brave enough to handle the one Wonderland Monster she’d thought was a good friends? And even so, is the world ready the truth?

Add Hookah (Insanity 4) to your Goodreads to-read list: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25869874-hookah?ac=1

The first book in the series, Insanity, is available for FREE via Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Check out Nadaness In Motion’s review of Insanity here.

As part of the book blitz and courtesy of author Cameron Jace, there are two giveaways. Both are open internationally.

The first, exclusive to Nadaness In Motion, is for an ebook copy of Hookah (Insanity 4). The winner will receive their copy after 22 October.

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The second is a blitz-wide giveaway for books 1-4 in Jace’s Insanity series.

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Below is an excerpt from Hookah:

"Have you ever jumped out of a plane in a parachute, down to meet up with people who’d take selfies of your blood on their faces for breakfast?

I am doing it right now. And guess what, it’s nighttime, so not only am I free-falling, but I am also doing it in the dark. That’s what I call a bonus.

Throwing away the Pillar’s goggles, I hear the plane explode in midair above me.

Oh my god, this is for real!

“I’ve always wanted to blow up my employees,” the Pillar shouts all the way down. I am not sure how I can hear him. “But you’ll be fine. Just pull the red lever when I tell you to.”

In spite of all the madness, I feel unexpectedly fine up here in the air. Fine is an understatement. I feel euphoric. I want to feel like this every day. It’s ridiculous how much I am enjoying this, although I may get face-palmed by the earth in a few seconds.

Mary Ann, also known as Alice Wonder, 19 years old, dead and gone. I imagine the scripture on my grave says. But who cares? She was mad anyways.

Suddenly I realize that the madness hasn’t started yet. Not at all.

Down below, I can see something glittering. The vast land where we’re landing is nothing but an endless field of ridiculously over-sized mushrooms.

Big mushrooms growing everywhere, whitening up the black of the night.

Hookah is available for pre-order at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013JAUABG

Buy Hookah (Insanity 4) via Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

About the Author:

Cameron Jace is the bestselling author of the Grimm Diaries and Insanity series. A graduate of the college of Architecture, collector of out-of-print books, he is obsessed with the origins of folk tales and the mysterious storytellers who spread them. Three of his books made Amazon's Top 100 Customer Favorites in Kindle 2013 and Amazon's Top 100 kindle list. Cameron lives in California with his girlfriend. When he isn't writing or collecting books, he is playing music.

Sign up for his mailing list here: http://bit.ly/1sxp3p1

Author links:

http://cameronjace.blogspot.ca/

https://www.facebook.com/camjace

https://twitter.com/cameronjace

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/995289.Cameron_Jace

Bringing Setting into a Novel, guest post by Ann Summerville

Night and Day (Pecan Valley Mysteries)

By: Ann Summerville

Published: 27 May 2015

Genre: Cozy mystery

Synopsis:

Not all is what it seems in Pecan Valley and Bea can’t quite put her finger on what is wrong. She’s hoping Marge won’t become a permanent house guest and encourages her to look for a new home, but while they are scouting the neighborhood they end up looking for more than a house for Marge. What Bea wants to uncover is the unsavory dealings of a ruthless realtor and a murderer that might put Bea on the list of victims.

Guest post by Ann Summerville

In most books the setting is fictional, although a nearby major town might be described, and I often wonder where the author found ideas and descriptions.

My readers’ curiosity is no different. Although Pecan Valley is a fictional location, nevertheless, a similar town does exist.

Living west of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, I wanted to find a small local Texas town for Bea and her friends in the Pecan Valley series - somewhere with the charm of a courthouse square, streets of cozy restaurants and antique shops. It was after a visit to Chandor Gardens in Weatherford, with its unique history, that a story began forming. Next to the gardens is a house where Douglas Chandor met his future wife and on this I based Grandiflower House which is part of the estate where Bea lives.

In Night and Day, the third book of the series, Bea’s life in retirement is not as ideal as she had pictured. Her friend, Marge, with all her rules and idiosyncrasies, has moved in. Bea has given up on the two men in her life and joined a dating service, and her favorite coffee shop has a few secrets swirling around. As if that isn’t enough to deal with, a person from Bea’s past arrives in Pecan Valley. Someone who she fears might disrupt her family.

Excerpt from Night and Day:

But as Bea turned back toward the window, she saw someone she hadn’t seen in years. She had no doubt it was him. He had the same swagger, the same mannerisms where he repeatedly touched his hair as if worried there might be one strand out of place, and her heart sank. He’d returned. Perhaps moving back to Pecan Valley hadn’t been such a good idea for her after all.

She left the bolt of material on the counter, walked out to the street and turned in the opposite direction from where the man was walking. Her stomach felt like she was on a roller coaster and bile filled her throat. She shook her head as if to dislodge negative thoughts and did something she hadn’t done since she was in her twenties – she ran.

Check out Night and Day by Ann Summerville on Goodreads.

About the Author:

Ann Summerville moved from her native England to California before arriving in the Lone Star State. Her publications can be found in Lutheran Digest, Long Story Short, The Shine Journal, Doorknobs & Bodypaint, Associated Content, Trinity Writers’ Workshop newsletters and also their collection of Christmas stories.  Ann is currently working on the fifth book in the Lowenna series set in Cornwall.

Connect with the Author via her blog.

Buy the book via Amazon.

The Natural Order excerpt & giveaway

The Natural Order by R.J. Vickers

Publication date: March 14th 2015

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Tristan Fairholm is one of 15 juvenile delinquents selected to learn magic…for a purpose that is kept secret from them. When they at last learn that the magic they have harvested causes death and ruin in a bid to keep the world from collapse, they must make a choice: do they fight it? Or do they use it?

If you loved Harry Potter and The Golden Compass, you won’t want to miss this new YA fantasy!

Excerpt from The Natural Order:

From Chapter 6 - The Lemon Tree

It came as a surprise when Brikkens announced that he would be giving everyone a chance to try magic. 

At the unexpected announcement, Tristan lifted his head from the desk and blinked up at Brikkens, whose bulk was spilling over the arms of his sturdy chair. 

“Ah, Mr. Fairholm,” Brikkens said happily.  Pushing his glasses farther up his stubby nose, he leaned forward and peered at Tristan. 

“Yeah?” Tristan said sleepily.  He sat up straighter, smoothing his hair over his face. 

“Brinley Alldusk tells me that you’re rather good at detecting auras.  Is this true?” 

Tristan shrugged. 

“Well, come forward,” Brikkens urged.  “You will be the first to attempt a rudimentary spell, because out of everyone here, you are the most likely to succeed.”

Tristan was sure that Amber knew more than him, though he decided not to correct Brikkens.  Instead he rose and crossed the room to stand behind the professor.  No one was napping now—Leila eyed Tristan with doubtful curiosity, while Zeke sat forward in his chair and smirked.   

Brikkens dug into a pocket of the hideous maroon vest he always wore.  Then he grabbed Tristan by the wrist and pressed one of the golden marbles into his hand.  Tristan looked in surprise at the marble, cold and metallic against his palm; he had expected something a little more unusual, given that it was spun from pure magic. 

“Now what?” Tristan said.  “How am I supposed to use it?”  He tried not to look around the room—half of the students wanted him to fail spectacularly, while the others anticipated no better. 

Brikkens cleared his throat.  “Well, the key to magic is concentration.  To manipulate the power of this orb, you must isolate a single thought from within the complexity of your mind, and use this command to direct the magic.  Allow any unnecessary thoughts to intrude, and the spell will be broken—hence, the magic will drain away with no results.  Or, if you’re unlucky, the spell could go awry.” 

Swallowing, Tristan closed his hand around the icy marble.  

“Well, now, let’s see what you can do,” Brikkens said enthusiastically.  “The amount of magic stored in a single orb isn’t enough to do any real harm, so give us a show, my boy!” 

That was it?  Had the professor given better instructions the week before, when Tristan had been dozing off?  Why hadn’t he paid better attention? 

Tristan took a steadying breath and looked around the room, hoping for inspiration.  The curving walls shone white and empty, as blank as his thoughts, but as he turned his gaze to the ceiling, he remembered their first day of class.  Brikkens had changed the color of the domed ceiling…but first, Eli had suggested he grow a tree. 

Cradling the marble in the palm of his right hand, Tristan dug in his pockets with his left.  After a moment he unearthed a handful of debris from botany; mixed into the dirt and pebbles were a few likely-looking seeds.  He dropped the whole handful onto the clean marble floor behind his back.

Now what?  The students were beginning to lose interest.  When Brikkens had done his magic show, he’d blown on the marbles before dropping them, so Tristan did the same, just to be safe.  Then he closed his eyes and tried to marshal his thoughts. 

Slowly he managed to dull his awareness, until his mind was empty aside from the single desire.  Grow, he thought, trying to be stern.  I don’t know what kind of plant you are, but you’re getting plenty of sunlight and water and… 

The marble began to change in his hand, growing warmer and warmer, while at the same time becoming less substantial.  Tristan opened his eyes just to see that it was still there, and his concentration shattered.  The marble hadn’t moved, though it was starting to cool already.  He was losing hold of the spell. 

Okay, Tristan continued, ignoring the thrill of anticipation that ran through him.  He squeezed his eyes shut once again.  This time you’re actually going to grow.  He pictured a seed unfurling its leaves, easing its root into the earth, stretching a stalk towards the sky…. 

The marble was getting hot again, until it was like holding a naked flame.  Now grow.  He turned his hand over and let the weightless magic vapor slide away. 

Shoulders tingling in excitement, Tristan opened his eyes and looked across the polished round table.  Damian and Zeke were sniggering, and Eli had turned to mutter something to Trey.  Leila shrugged and mouthed, it’s all right. 

All at once, the room grew silent.  Zeke sat up straighter in his chair, and Hayley’s round eyes widened until her eyebrows disappeared beneath her bangs.  Tristan didn’t know what they were looking at.  Could they see his scars?  He pressed his hair into place again. 

Then something nudged Tristan in the back of the knee.  He jumped and whirled around—there was something shooting up from the ground. 

His seeds were growing. 

Shocked, Tristan stumbled away from the cluster of plants.  The tallest was a pale, delicate tree that shivered as it grew, sending out leaves and new branches that uncurled faster than a lizard’s tongue.  There was another plant blossoming to its rear, a tangled dark bush with thorns.  As the bush crept its way up the tree’s thickening trunk, it budded and then erupted in scarlet blooms. 

When the tree unfolded like an umbrella beneath the domed ceiling, Tristan’s spine tingled with power.  In that instant he could feel magic coursing through his veins and hovering in the air, just beyond his grasp.  This magic wasn’t frightening or confusing—no, it was subtle and potent and good.  

Add the book to your Goodreads' to-read list: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25654020-the-natural-order?ac=1

GIVEAWAY TIME

As part of the book blitz with Xpresso Book Tours, there is a giveaway for ONE ebook copy of The Natural Order. The giveaway is open internationally and the winner will receive their copy after 15 October.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Purchase the book via Amazon and Barnes and Noble

About the Author:

R.J. Vickers grew up in beautiful Boulder, Colorado, earned a BA in Writing and Publishing at Emerson College, and was shortly thereafter whisked off to New Zealand by her Kiwi partner.

She now lives in Christchurch with her fiance, Daniel, where she works as a part-time chef. When she's not writing, she loves hiking and adventuring throughout New Zealand.

R.J. Vickers is the author of The Natural Order, the first book in a new young adult fantasy series. She swears by NaNoWriMo, and has written seven short novels during the typing frenzy that is November.

Author links:

http://www.rjvickers.com/

https://www.facebook.com/rjvickersauthor?ref=hl

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13986777.R_J_Vickers