Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Announcement time!!!

Hi guys!!!! Now I know that lately it seems as though my blog has become one of the many review blogs floating around the blog-o-sphere, but that is really only because I've been reading some pretty outstanding books. Plus, it gets my name out there for when I do things like what I'm about to share with all of you!!! 

In the last month, I have been working on a super secret project. *gasps* WHAT?! Yes, you definitely read that right. I have been working on something that IS NOT You Just Know. You guys have no idea how excited I am to finally share it with you! YAY!!!

Are you ready? I am! Here we go!!!

This project I have been working on started out as a short story that I was going to publish after one round of editing, but I was wrong. After I had committed to putting this thing out there, I wanted it to be perfect. Absolutely perfect. Perfect cover, perfect text, perfect everything. So... I worked my booty off to make it that way and after hiring the PERFECT cover designer and having the most rocking editor get her hands on it, I have managed to produce a NOVELLA! Whoa! 

And now for the cover and blurb! 

When I was thinking about what I wanted in a cover designer, one name kept flashing in bright pink neon lights in my mind... Sarah Hansen from Okay Creations! This woman is the best damn cover designer I know. I'm quite sure there are others out there, in fact I know there are, but Sarah has this knack for taking the smallest of details and turning them into exactly what the author sees in his/her mind. That is exactly what she did for me, and here's what she came up with...


Perfection!!!!! Now as you may have guessed, the title for this novella is Walking Away, and if you'll hang in there I'm dying to tell you what it's about.


Blurb:

Twenty -five year old Coraline Renfro is in mourning. She and her long time boyfriend, Blake Parrish, have broken up and Cora hasn’t been dealing with it well. She’s shut herself off from the world around her, and buried herself in her work. Tired of being alone, Cora accepts a date from a colleague, and slowly begins to move on. When Blake comes calling again, will Cora take him back or will she show him how it feels to have a door slammed in his face and his hopes and dreams of a future with her dashed?

I am SO excited for you guys to finally read this book. I feel like I've been working on it for ages, when in reality it's only been a month! You're probably wondering when you'll finally be able to download Walking Away on your Nooks or Kindles, and I'm relieved to tell you that it can be yours on December 14th! WOO HOO!!! I can't wait to find out what you guys think of the story, and I really hope you guys will love it. 



Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Love and Skate

Love and Skate
by Lila Felix


On the rink she’s tough, she’s a leader, she’s fast and she’s the epitome of a rebellious girl. But Nellie’s been hurt, only once, but it was enough to make her look at life through different eyes and off the rink she’s a timid girl who loves with no pretenses.

A long time ago Owen Black was betrayed by the girl he thought he loved and the guy he called his best friend. The anguish set off a domino effect of negativity in his life and he never has fully recovered. He meets Nellie Forrester and thinks he can let it go for her. 
But how can you love someone when the wounds from your past are still wide open?


I cannot even begin to tell you guys just how much I loved this book. It is literally beyond words, but I am going to try. 

I absolutely, 100%, positively, L-O-V-E-D this book! Now, I know I say that a lot, but as we all know, you will only find reviews written by me for this blog, ONLY if I LOVED the book. Therefore, that explains why you are now reading this review. Now, according to Amazon, I can only give a book 5 stars, but in the case of this book, I feel that all the stars in the universe should be awarded to this story. 

Love and Skate is steamy, it's beautiful, it's heartbreaking, and it has a resolution unlike any other. I wanted to literally crawl into this book and wrap both Nellie and Owen in my arms and tell them that they could get through anything. I wanted to kiss Falcon smack on the lips (Don't judge me, read the book, you'll see) on several occasions, because the guy was just too much of a mess and he made me giggle. I found myself wanting to nail Nellie's mother to the wall, and believe me, you might want to as well. That woman is... well, she's... Okay, just read it for yourself. You'll see. And I absolutely adored Owen's parents, and now I have this need to find out Sylvia's recipe for lemon cheesecake and make it for myself!

It's hard to find too many things that I can share with you that won't give anything away, so let me share with you one of my favorite lines in this book. I think I laughed for a good 3 minutes afterward...

"We spent the next day skating. Well, I skated and Owen tried but honestly he looked like the Hulk trying to glide on a Hot Wheels car."<----Funny stuff, right??? This book is filled with stuff like this. I swear.

Now, I will admit that there were a few times when I wanted to scream at them that they were moving too quickly, but in all honesty, if things had happened any slower, it wouldn't have captured my heart the way it did, and it certainly wouldn't have left me aching when the inevitable happened. I literally finished the book with tears in my eyes. Unshed ones, but tears are tears, right? 

Again, I'll tell you that this book sank into my heart and touched my soul. And it made me was a new tattoo, spider bite piercings and blue, pink, and purple hair! I'm not even kidding. It's my second favorite book of the fall (2012) and I hope you will all give it a try! You'll thank me. You have my word!

Also, be sure to check out the links below to get to know more about Lila Felix and her books! You'll also find the purchase links for Love and Skate below as well. Thanks for stopping by!!! 














Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Incendiary Cover Reveal



Ladies and gentlemen, Amy Bartol has stopped by the blog by way of my friends over at SupaGurl Tours to reveal to you the cover for her upcoming release in the Premonition Series, Incendiary. You guys have absolutely NO IDEA how super excited I am about being a part of this cover reveal! I am so ready for this book to be out, that I can barely contain myself! Amy is an absolutely wonderful author, and a fabulous friend. I love her to pieces. 

The Premonition Series is definitely at the top of my reading chart for this year. There's something truly magical about these books. Is it the angels? Is it the Gancanaugh? Is it Reed or is it Brennus? Really, I can't say. What I can say though is if you haven't read these books then you are totally missing out. 

Before we get to the cover for the newest book Incendiary, allow me to share with you a bit about Amy Bartol. 


This is Amy. Isn't she beautiful?

Bio:

I live in Michigan with my husband and our two sons. My family is very supportive of my writing. When I’m writing, they often bring me the take-out menu so that I can call and order them dinner. They listen patiently when I talk about my characters like they’re real. They rarely roll their eyes when I tell them I’ll only be a second while I finish writing a chapter…and then they take off their coats. They ask me how the story is going when I surface after living for hours in a world of my own making. They have learned to accept my “writing uniform” consisting of a slightly unflattering pink fleece jacket, t-shirt, and black yoga pants. And they smile at my nerdy bookishness whenever I try to explain urban fantasy to them. In short, they get me, so they are perfect and I am blessed. Please visit me at my website:  http://www.amyabartol.com.


Okay, okay, I won't drag it out any longer. I know you guys are dying to see it, so...

Ready?!?!?!

Set....

COVER!!!!!!


Gorgeous, right?!?!?!

And this is the back. 

Blurb:

Cold, fine drops of rain fall softly on my cheeks as I emerge from the darkness of the ship’s interior to the gray, overcast sky of the main deck. Pulling my dark pea coat tighter to my body, the wind lifts red tendrils of my hair. I walk slowly to the railing overlooking the water.
I catch my first sight of the Irish coastline; its craggy landscape makes me shiver in dread. I find it difficult to imagine now how the Gancanagh had made this their home for so long without anyone realizing it. The cold, moss-covered edifices practically scream their presence. As I study the shadows between the falling-down stone, I imagine creeping shapes of undead Faeries grasping the rock, waiting for our ship to draw nearer to their position.
Tipping my face up, I let the rain wash over me. It bathes away the frigid sweat of fear that has broken on my brow. “You don’t know how fiercely beautiful you are, do you?” A quiet voice behind me asks, causing me to stiffen and fix my eyes on the rocks along the shoreline.


I know I've said it a few times throughout this post, but it needs to be said again. I absolutely cannot wait for this book!!! Now, I must tell y'all that the paperback version of Incendiary will be released on November 30th, and the eBook will release on December 7th. Neither of those dates will arrive quickly enough for me. In the meantime though, please be sure to visit the links below to find out more about Amy and her truly beautiful books!!! Thanks for stopping by and being a part of this reveal with me!!!!





Monday, November 5, 2012

From Where I Stand Cover Reveal

I am so incredibly honored to reveal to you guys the cover for my friend Robert Zimmermann's book of poetry due out soon. I absolutely cannot wait to add this book to my collection of books of poetry. I am an absolute sucker for it, but that could be because I'm terrible at writing it. *laughs* 


So anyway, on to the cover...




I am totally over the moon about the colors!

Blurb:

From Robert Zimmermann comes From Where I Stand, an emotional debut poetry collection.  Zimmermann explores strained parental relationships, loss of life, and the despair associated with grief.  Alongside these darker themes, he delves into the small areas of life that often go unnoticed but become the hope we are searching for.

Expected release November 2012

Example’s of Robert’s poetry can be found in the poetry section on his blog. He also has poems published by Albany Poets.


_____

QUOTES:

"Rob writes with an incredible sense of observation and feeling made all the more poignant by his struggles. Every verse is genuine and every poem is a journey toward understanding the soul of a poet." - Ben Ditmars, author of Night Poems.

“Zimmermann has achieved something rarely seen in modern poetry. Each poem is a personal and detailed story that will strike the heart of the reader with a torrent of emotion.  Zimmermann balances the dark and light beautifully and without a hint of hesitation.” - Jessica Fortunato, author of The Sin Collector Trilogy.


"Rob's poetry has a very real tone to it and in some ways creates a tragic yet poetic story." - Paulina Ulrich, author of the Flightless Bird Series.


"Honest, heartfelt and moving" - Amber Jerome-Norrgard, author of In The Gloaming

_____



And now please let me tell you a little about Robert...


Bio:





Robert has been writing poetry since the eleventh grade. His writing started as impulsive rambling, but soon became a passion. A few years later he attended SUNY Potsdam where he received a B.A. in Creative Writing.
His main focus is poetry, but at times you can find him dabbling in short fiction. Robert has also created the blog A Life Among The Pages, where he posts his writing as well as book reviews.

When he’s not reading or writing, Robert enjoys spending time with his dog, Deuc. Deuc ran out of the woods in August 2011 and the two have been inseparable ever since.


Thank you all for stopping by and sharing Robert's cover reveal with me. I was incredibly honored to have done this for him. I truly hope you will all buy your copy of this book the second it's available. Don't forget to follow the links below to learn even more about Robert.