Unveiling a new thesaurus book from Writers Helping Writers

Have you ever held onto a secret you've been dying to share, and then finally...you can?

For the last few weeks I've been helping Angela and Becca at Writers Helping Writers keep a BIG secret...what the next book in their thesaurus series will be.

It might seem strange to not tell one's readers what book you're planning to release...unless you happen to write books on Show, Don't Tell like Angela and Becca do! They couldn't resist the opportunity to show, not tell, by waiting for the cover reveal. They even created a *REDACTED* cover for it, which you might have seen floating around.

We're revealing the cover at long last!

*drum roll*

The next book in the descriptive thesaurus series is The Emotion Thesaurus Second Edition!

It's been 7 years since the original Emotion Thesaurus hit the shelves. Many writers have credited this unusual book with transforming their writing. This guide is packed with helpful lists of body language, thoughts, and visceral sensations for 75 different emotions, which makes it easier for writers to convey what characters feel.

Since 2012, many have asked the authors if they would add more emotions, so that's what Angela and Becca have done. This new edition has added 55 more emotions, bringing the total to 130.


There are other new additions to the book and in fact, it's almost doubled in size! I recommend checking out the full list of emotions (and some sample entries) HERE.

Here's a bonus tip from the new book, which has not been released yet BUT it up for pre-order (links below)

And more good news: this book is available for pre-order! You can find it on Amazon, Kobo, iBooks.and IndieBound.

One last thing: go grab some FREE writing education!

Angela and Becca are giving away a FREE webinar recording of one of their popular workshops on Emotion. So, head over if this is an area of struggle for you. It might really help!

Last but certainly not least, it gives me great pleasure to tell you that I've received an Advanced Reader's Copy AND I'll be providing a book review of THE EMOTION THESAURUS Second Edition in February.

You can also check Nadaness In Motion's book review of THE NEGATIVE TRAIT THESAURUS by Angela Ackerman and Becca Pugilisi.

Witching Hour: Sinister Legends anthology - Cover Reveal

Today, I'm featuring a gorgeous cover for an upcoming horror anthology. I don't know any of the authors in this collection but I hope to make their acquaintance soon.

Witching Hour: Sinister Legends

(Witching Hour Anthologies)

Publication date: 23 October, 2018

Cover design: Cover by Combs

Genres: Adult, Horror, Paranormal, Thriller

Synopsis:

Bloody Mary...

Bloody Mary...

Bloody...maybe we shouldn’t test that just yet.

Urban legends, fact or fiction, at the end of the day they’re all stories. We know not to spin around the room in the dark whispering her name. We've heard about the man with the hook and the terror that stalks the babysitter while she's home alone.

But there are other tales told around the fire at night. The man finding the steps into hell and sanity flickering away. Mind control experiments by governments, big and small. The woman married to the man of peculiar tastes. There are the haunted hospitals, sleep trials in Russia and more.

Slenderman and Bigfoot are nowhere within these stories; these are only the unusual and dark ones, slanted into truth.

In every legend, there is a seed of truth. Welcome to the Witching Hour.

Anthology Authors:

Jenniefer Andersson

Alyssa Brocker

Angie Brocker

JM Butler

Lenore Cheairs

Wendy Cheairs

Alana Delacroix

Charlotte Dhark

Trinity Hanrahan

Sienna Haslam

Morgan Heyward

Kristin Jacques

Add the book on Goodreads.

  

Pre-order via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, and Kobo.

Cover reveal for Purple Kisses by Priya Prithviraj

Today, I'm taking part in a cover reveal for PURPLE KISSES by Priya Prithviraj. The book, a poem with illustrations is having a new cover. It was launched earlier this year with a different cover and now it's time for a makeover.

I'll be reviewing the book on 27 September, so stay tuned for that.

Oh, the cover! Here it is

Behind the book... Meet the author and illustrator

Priya Prithviraj

Niveditha Warrier

Fairies And Frosting by Christina Bauer - Cover Reveal

Book: Fairies And Frosting

Author: Christina Bauer

(Fairy Tales of the Magicorum #2.5)

Publisher: Monster House Books

Publication date: 28 May 2019

Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Elle (never call her Cinderella) is trying to throw a surprise birthday party for her bestie, Bryar Rose. Trouble is, some unfriendly fae are working hard to ruin everything. Good thing she has a certain handsome Le Charme wizard on speed dial...

***An interim novella between SHIFTERS AND GLYPHS and SLIPPERS AND THIEVES***

About the Series

The Fairy Tales of the Magicorum series includes WOLVES AND ROSES (Book 1), MOONLIGHT AND MIDTOWN (Novella 1.5) and SHIFTERS AND GLYPHS (Book 2, Fall 2018). Eight full novels are planned in total.

Add the book via Goodreads.

Author Christina Bauer has a GIVEAWAY for YOU to celebrate the Cover Reveal!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pre-order Fairies And Frosting via Amazon, Kobo, or Google Play.

About the Author:

Christina Bauer knows how to tell stories about kick-ass women. In her best selling Angelbound series, the heroine is a part-demon girl who loves to fight in Purgatory’s Arena and falls in love with a part-angel prince. This young adult bestseller has driven more than 500,000 ebook downloads and 9,000 reviews on Goodreads and retailers. The first three books in the series are now available as audiobooks on Audible and iTunes.

Bauer has also told the story of the Women’s March on Washington by leading PR efforts for the Massachusetts Chapter. Her pre-event press release—the only one sent out on a major wire service—resulted in more than 19,000 global impressions and redistribution by over 350 different media entities including the Associated Press.

Christina graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School with BA’s in English along with Television, Radio, and Film Production. She lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and semi-insane golden retriever, Ruby.

Stalk Christina On Social Media – She Loves It!

Find her via her Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Website.

Cover reveal & Excerpt for Ruthless Magic by Megan Crewe

Today, I'm featuring the cover reveal for Ruthless Magic by Megan Crewe. The official release date for the book is 30 May 2018

On to the reveal! 

Synopsis: 

In the contest to keep their magic, the only options may be die... or kill.

Each year, the North American Confederation of Mages assesses every sixteen-year-old novice. Some will be chosen. The rest must undergo a procedure to destroy their magical ability unless they prove themselves in the mysterious and brutal Mages' Exam.

Disadvantaged by her parents' low standing, Rocío Lopez has dedicated herself to expanding her considerable talent to earn a place in the Confederation. Their rejection leaves her reeling—and determined to fight to keep her magic.

Long ashamed of his mediocre abilities, Finn Lockwood knows the Confederation accepted him only because of his prominent family. Declaring for the Exam instead means a chance to confirm his true worth.

Thrown into the testing with little preparation, Rocío and Finn find themselves becoming unlikely allies—and possibly more. But the Exam holds secrets more horrifying than either could have imagined. What are the examiners really testing them for? And as the trials become increasingly vicious, how much are they willing to sacrifice to win?

The start of a new series by USA Today bestselling author Megan Crewe, Ruthless Magic combines the magic of Harry Potter with the ferocity of The Hunger Games alongside a poignant romance. Fans of Cassandra Clare and Holly Black, look no further for your next urban fantasy fix!

Find Ruthless Magic by Megan Crewe Goodreads. Pre-Order  your copy and Grab the prequel MAGIC UNMASKED for FREE!

EXCERPT FROM RUTHLESS MAGIC

Hail pelted us, and the wind lashed at us from all sides. I could hardly breathe. The only solid thing was Finn. I curled my fingers into the damp fabric of his shirt and sang into the stiller space between us. “Como veían que resistía.”

Magic hummed from the vicious air into me. An image swam up of the grate I’d come across in the courtyard, between the buildings. A grate that led to something below.

I knelt down, pulling Finn with me, and pressed my free hand to the spongy ground. The wind tried to steal my next lyrics from my lips, but the magic raced through me all the same—through me and down, down, into an open space I sensed below us like a gasp of fresh air.

I did gasp then, and forced out a verse. I’d never magically transported another person with me before, but I had to. I had to.

The magic rushed up around us with the thrust of my words. I clung to Finn, singing the energy around him as tightly as I could. Then I propelled us downward with a lurch.

We surged through rough blackness that rasped over my skin and landed with a feet-jarring thump. I exhaled in a rush, dizzy in the sudden quiet. My eardrums ached from the pounding of the storm we’d escaped and the effort of the conjuring.

We crouched in total darkness. The surface beneath me felt like concrete. Cold dank air hovered around us with a faintly salty flavor that reminded me of the ocean.

My fingers were tangled in Finn’s shirt. His arm was still around me. In the dark, I was abruptly aware of the rise and fall of his rasping breath, the warmth of his chest, and the answering warmth it sent through me.

He was alive—we were alive—and in that moment, it felt like a miracle.

About Megan: 

Photo credit: Chris Blanchenot

Like many authors, Megan Crewe finds writing about herself much more difficult than making things up. A few definite facts: she lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband and son (and does on occasion say “eh”), she’s always planning some new trip around the world, and she’s spent the last six years studying kung fu, so you should probably be nice to her. She has been making up stories about magic and spirits and other what ifs since before she knew how to write words on paper. These days the stories are just a lot longer.

Megan’s first novel, Give Up the Ghost, was shortlisted for the Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic. The Way We Fall was nominated for the White Pine Award and made the International Literacy Association Young Adults’ Choices List, and Earth & Sky was an OLA Best Bet for 2015. She is also the author of the rest of the Fallen World series (The Lives We Lost, The Worlds We Make, and Those Who Lived), the rest of the Earth & Sky trilogy (The Clouded Sky and A Sky Unbroken), and the standalone contemporary fantasy A Mortal Song.

Connect with Megan Crewe via her Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Tumblr | Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

One lucky winner will receive a $10
Amazon gift card and a pack of Ruthless Magic swag featuring the cover and
character art.

Ruthless Magic cover reveal giveaway

Dead as a Doornail by Tonya Kappes - Cover Reveal

Today, I'm featuring a cover reveal for a new mystery novel called DEAD AS A DOORNAIL by author Tonya Kappes

So excited about this one!

Ready…..

Set….. 

Reveal!!

Synopsis: 

Beauty is skin deep, but ugly goes clear to the bone. And doesn’t our Sheriff Kenni Lowry know that? Well, she knows a lot of things.

Lucy Lowell takes great pride in writing negative reviews in the local newspaper for anything that does not go her way. When Lucy is found dead, it appears to be from natural causes.

But Sheriff Kenni Lowry knows there is more to it because the ghost of her grandfather, the ex-sheriff, is standing over the body.

His presence can only mean one thing: Murder!

Since Kenni’s relationship with Deputy Finn Vincent has heated up, Kenni is having trouble conducting the investigation without Finn questioning her every move.

Can Kenni unravel the mystery on her own or will she have to tell Finn the real reason she knows it was murder—the ghost of her poppa?

It’s blowin’ up a storm and only Kenni knows how it’ll end.

Add the book on Goodreads.

Dead as a Doornail by Tonya Kappes
will be available on 15 May from Henery Press!

It is Available for Pre-Order Today!! 

Get it via Barnes & Noble and Amazon 

About the Author:

Tonya has written over 15 novels and 4 novellas, all of which have graced numerous bestseller lists including USA Today. Best known for stories charged with emotion and humor, and filled with flawed characters, her novels have garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. She lives with her husband, three teenage boys, two very spoiled schnauzers and one ex-stray cats in northern Kentucky and grew up in Nicholasville. Now that her boys are teenagers, Tonya writes full time but can be found at all of her guys high school games with a pencil and paper in hand.

Become a member of Tonya's STREET TEAM! It's a gathering place of readers who love Tonya Kappes novels and Tonya gives away prizes! To sign up for Tonya's STREET TEAM, newsletter, view book trailer, and upcoming news, check out Tonya's Website. 

Find Tonya on Facebook and Twitter.

Something of Substance by Tia Souders - Cover Reveal

Something of Substance
By: Tia Souders

Blurb

Seventeen-year-old Grace Michaels is determined to be thin, even if she dies trying.

Part of the in-crowd at Providence High, she is steps away from being asked out by the most desired guy at school, winning a prom queen nomination, and her parents’ approval. If she can just get skinny enough, be pretty enough, and popular enough.

But Grace is thin on the outside and fat on the inside. No amount of weight-loss ever seems enough. Convinced the melting pounds will solve her problems, every pound lost brings her closer to her goals. But flesh and bone can only hide the weight of her secret for so long before it kills her.

Fans of the emotional and thought-provoking contemporary YA fiction, such as Before I Fall, Tell Me Three Things, and All The Bright Places will fall in love with Souder’s heart-wrenching novel, SOMETHING OF SUBSTANCE.

…Coming 28 March 2018!
Be notified when SOMETHING OF SUBSTANCE releases – Subscribe to Tia’s mailing list: http://eepurl.com/deIqg5

Author Info

Tia Souders is the author of bestselling women’s fiction novel, Waiting On Hope and the upcoming award-winning young adult novel Better Than This (formerly titled Freedom Road). When she isn’t writing, she’s likely renovating their century home. She’s a wine-loving, coffeeholic, with a sweet tooth and resides on a farm in rural Ohio with her husband and children.

Author Links:  Website | Facebook | FB Street Team| Instagram

Snippet

  

Excerpt from Something of Substance by Tia Souders

I count the days until prom like I count calories. Ninety-eight days. Thirteen hundred calories.

I almost puke at the number.

Thirteen hundred. Maybe. I’m not even sure, which scares me more than the weight of the number.

How could I not keep track? And how could I go over? Do I really have no self-control? If I keep this up, I’ll be right back where I started—fat and unpopular.

My forehead beads with sweat and my fingers twitch, as I glance at my alarm clock—only three a.m. I turn on my side, then get up, knowing there’s no falling back asleep now. Not with all the numbers running through my head. Not with the fat I must’ve stored throughout the night resettling on my thighs like it found its way back home.

I tip-toe away, out of bed, afraid someone might hear me, which is unrealistic since my mother’s snore rivals a bass drum and my father sleeps like the dead. As for my sister, Kelly, she couldn’t care less what I do.

When I come to a stop in front of the full-length mirror on my bedroom door, I don’t even take the time to assess my silhouette in the moonlight. Instead, I lift the soft cotton of my t-shirt. My eyes home in on my ribs, barely visible under a layer of fat, then move to the paunch above the drawstring of my pajama bottoms. I poke at the skin there and grimace at the cushion I find. All I see are the two cookies I ate at Cara’s house last night and I wonder how many calories were in each bite. Fifty? Twenty-five? I have no idea and my ignorance scares me. I had fun and felt too safe, too included. I let those feelings cloud my judgment and lull me, blanket me into false security, where I allowed myself to lose control.

Stupid.

As I lower my shirt, I silently berate myself, then drop to the floor and lie on my back. With closed eyes, I cross my arms over my chest and start sit-ups. I count as I go. One. Two. Three. I do this until the memory of the cookie fades and my abdomen aches. When I can do no more, I stand back up and bend forward in a deep lunge. I ensure my knee touches the ground each time, my legs at perfect ninety-degree angles. Ten laps around my room, I tell myself, then I’ll try and go back to sleep.

I once read sleep burns more calories than lying awake, something about your body recalibrating your metabolism. I don’t buy it. Regardless, there’s no way sleep burns more than lunging, so as my thighs begin to burn and catch fire, I allow the sensation to ease the fluttering in my chest and the rise of bile in my throat.

Right lunge. It will be okay. Left lunge. I’ll be okay.

I won’t gain ten pounds from two cookies.

But I could gain one.

When I finish, slightly sweat-damp and out of breath, but feeling a tiny bit better, I get back under the covers of my bed. Though I’m too hot with the thick comforter pulled up tight under my chin, I leave it there because it will make me sweat. And while perspiring won’t burn excess fat, it might help me lose water weight, giving me the tiniest bit of peace to help me relax into the mattress and slip off into a light slumber.

As part of the cover reveal, there is a giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hummus and Homicide by Tina Kashian - Cover Reveal

When Lucy Berberian quits her Philadelphia law firm and heads home to Ocean Crest, she knows what she’s getting—the scent of funnel cake, the sight of the wooden roller coaster, and the tastes of her family’s Mediterranean restaurant. But murder wasn’t on the menu . . .

Things are slow in the off-season in this Jersey Shore town, but Lucy doesn’t mind. She doesn’t even mind waitressing at the Kebab Kitchen. Her parents have put in a new hummus bar, with every flavor from lemon to roasted red pepper. It’s fun to see their calico cat again, and to catch up with her old BFF, who’s married to a cop now.

She could do without Heather Banks, though. The Gucci-toting ex-cheerleader is still as nasty as she was back in high school . . . and unfortunately, she’s just taken over as the local health inspector. Just minutes after eating at the Kebab Kitchen—where she’s tallied up a whole list of bogus violations—she falls down dead in the street. Word on the grapevine is it’s homicide, and Lucy’s the number one suspect . . .

Recipes included!

Ready…..

Set…..

Reveal!!

Coming February 27, 2018 from Kensington Books!!

You can pre-order your copy today!!

Amazon B&N kobo Google Play INDIEBOUND

Hexen's Cross by J. Kowallis - Cover Reveal

Today, I'm taking part in a cover reveal for Hexen's Cross by J. Kowallis. The cover just blew me away! Can't wait to get my hands on this book.

Hexen’s Cross
J. Kowallis
(Hexen Series, #1)
Publication date: 1 February 2018
Genres: Adult, Paranormal

The magic calls her. 
A prophecy binds her. 
The ancestors guide her.

Dr. Taran Grim, a young professor of occult studies, knows the written history of witches better than anyone in her field. And she should. She’s one of them.

After a mysterious stranger arrives at her office inquiring about the mythical staff of Woden, Taran’s curiosity reveals a millennia-old prophesy directly tied to her. The answers wait in Bryden, England and the only person who can help her gain access to the hidden valley is the descendant of Ruhmactir, and a member of the shape-shifting Geri clan: Collens “Coll” Donovan.

But the Donovans have secrets of their own, and Taran’s underdeveloped magic is wreaking strange havoc on her life. If she can’t manage her magic and strike a truce with Coll, they’ll fail to prevent the prophesied event known as Deireanhexe: the end of the hexen race.

Add to Goodreads

Author Bio:

J. Kowallis, the only girl of four children, grew up in northern Utah with a head full of wild stories (most often unreal). At the age of 9, she wrote her first poem, a dedication to E.B. White's Charlotte's Web. It was so intriguing, her Third Grade teacher requested to keep the original (THAT is a true story!). Between living in fictional worlds, she managed to graduate from Weber State University’s creative writing program. She now lives in Utah with her Mini Schnauzer, Etta, and spends most of her time still bouncing between this world and the fantastical while enjoying delectable über-dark chocolate and lavender baths. She enjoys dreaming about, flying to, and writing about distant lands (real or unreal).

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter