Monday, November 10, 2014

MISTLETOE KISSES TOUR

A themed tour through Prism Book Tours.

Welcome to the Launch for the MISTLETOE KISSES TOUR for
Christmas, Actually
Three Harlequin Heartwarming novellas
By Anna Adams, Anna J. Stewart, and Melinda Curtis

Introducing the Three Stories in Christmas, Actually

The Christmas Gift by Anna Adams

This anthology was born one night in January when Melinda Curtis and Anna J. Stewart and I (Anna Adams) were chatting on Skype, and Melinda suggested a holiday anthology. From there we went to setting, and then to the kind of stories we wanted to write. Christmas Town, Maine came to life and the Banning siblings began living. I hope readers will be moved as I am by Jack and Sophie’s story.

Sophie Palmer was confused when the pregnancy test came back positive, but one thing she knew—she already loved her unborn child. She didn’t expect former Army surgeon, Jack Banning to break all contact with them. He’s promised financial support, but he wants no other contact with her or their coming child.

He must have a reason. She’d known him and loved him for two years. At Christmas, she follows him to Maine to tell him she’s putting his name on the birth certificate.

She no longer loves him. He’s destroyed those feelings, and she will never give their daughter a reason to believe she can expect more than her father’s name, but Sophie can’t forget the soldier who lived by the code of “Leave no man behind,” the doctor who’s cared more for his patients than himself, the man who didn’t know how to be dishonorable.

Fatherless herself, Sophie doesn’t care about the financials. She’ll take care of her own, but she needs to understand why Jack’s become an impossible-to-love stranger.

The Christmas Wish by Anna J. Stewart

For as long as I've been writing, I never thought I'd ever write a novella. I'm a novel length kinda girl--I just write long books; sometimes very, very long. But when my friend (and writing Yoda) Melinda Curtis proposed the idea of interconnected novellas featuring a set of siblings, I couldn't say no. Especially not when she, Anna Adams and I decided to make it a holiday themed anthology. There's something magical about the holiday season, and writing Callie and Dean's story was a true pleasure. In all honesty, it was also the easiest thing I've ever written; probably because this story comes straight from my heart. 

When Callie Banning's student declares war on Christmas, it's up to her to teach the little girl--and her widowed father--to believe again. 

Normally when I start a story, the heroine is first to pop into my head. This time around, Dean Galloway entered the scene first. I could see him so clearly, shoulder length blonde hair, the brown leather jacket, the haunted twinkle in his eye as he struggled to raise his little girl on his own. And he came with a camera. No idea why, he just arrived that way. Like a gift. There's something incredibly appealing to me (and hopefully to readers) about a father who is so in love with his child he'll do anything--even move them all across the country--to keep them happy. Adding a tinge of grief to their story and Callie Banning was just the healing effect they'd been looking for. There are people who just fit from the moment they meet; not necessarily that clichéd "you complete me" fit, but that something special that makes life and love all that more exciting. The Christmas Wish is more than about celebrating the holiday season and rediscovering the magic those months bring--it's about finding where one truly belongs, both in home and heart. So come on, welcome to Christmas Town, Maine and meet the Banning siblings, who have a very special New Year coming their way.

The Christmas Date by Melinda Curtis

The Christmas Date is the third novella in Christmas, Actually – three holiday stories about three siblings living in Christmas Town, Maine, where tradition has it that a kiss on Christmas Eve in the town square gazebo will lead to wedding bells in the new year!

At a critique session, the Annas and I were talking about how we loved holiday stories. It was a natural progression to creating our own special town with heartwarming traditions.


In The Christmas Date, Gina Vernay was in an accident as a child and has a scar down her right cheek. Since then, Gina has always sat on the sidelines, lacking the self-confidence to shine. Wanting what many of her friends have – love, a family – Gina signs up for an online dating account. But her picture doesn’t show her scar. And she’s always too busy running The Tea Cup in Christmas Town to meet anyone, much less a man to share a kiss under the mistletoe in the town’s gazebo. But when one persistent on-line suitor arranges to meet her on Christmas Eve, Gina’s life turns upside down.

Will your heart be warmed by a sweet kiss under the mistletoe this year? 
Come along on the tour to find out!

11/11

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11/16

11/17

11/18

11/19

11/20

11/21

11/23 - Grand Finale

Christmas, Actually
Christmas, Actually
by Anna Adams, Anna J. Stewart, & Melinda Curtis
Clean Contemporary Romance
Paperback & Ebook, 202 pages
November 1st 2014 by Harlequin Heartwarming

Discover the magic of Christmas Town, Maine!

Three lonely strangers come to Christmas Town, Maine, and find love with three Banning siblings in the town that celebrates the holidays by decorating its square with lights and ribbons and a holiday pageant on Christmas Eve. Tradition has it that a kiss beneath the mistletoe that night means marriage for the couple in the new year.

The Christmas Gift by Anna Adams:
Jack Banning promised to support the mother of his unborn child… But she doesn't need money, she only needs him.

The Christmas Wish by Anna J. Stewart:
Callie Banning's student has declared war on Christmas, so it's up to her to help the little girl—and her widowed father—believe again.

The Christmas Date by Melinda Curtis:
Gina Vernay is about to meet her online mystery date…and she's in for the surprise of a lifetime!


About the Authors

Photo 34
Anna Adams wrote her first romance in wet sand. The Atlantic Ocean washed it away, but Anna kept going. Her stories are of love, like the proverbial stone in a lake, making ripples that spread and contract and involve. From Iceland to Hawaii, and points in between, Anna and her own hero share with children and family and friends who’ve become family. All this living and loving gives Anna plenty of fodder for stories of love set in real life. Come along and live them with her!


Anna J. Stewart can't remember a time she didn't have a book in her hand or a story in her head and credits her mother never saying no to a book for turning her into a writer. Anna lives in Northern California with an overly attentive cat named Snickers and is happiest when setting her heroes and heroines on their road to happily ever after amidst family, fun and laughter.


Melinda Curtis
Melinda Curtis grew up on an isolated sheep ranch, where mountain lions had been seen and yet she roamed unaccompanied. Being a rather optimistic, clueless of danger, sort she took to playing "what if" games that led her to become an author. She spends days trying to figure out new ways to say "He made her heart pound." That might sound boring, but the challenge keeps her mentally ahead of her 3 kids and college sweetheart husband.




Tour-Wide Giveaway

- Gift Card Prize Pack: $20 Amazon gift card and ebook of Christmas, Actually (open internationally)
- US Prize Pack: Paperback of Christmas, Actually and three Christmas ornaments (US only)
- 3 ebooks of Christmas, Actually (open internationally)
Ends November 30th

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Prism Book Tours

Friday, November 7, 2014

COVER REVEAL - THE MISSING - BY NECOLE RYSE


The Missing (The Birthright Trilogy Book 2)

by Necole Ryse 

Release Date: 12/16/14
Cover Designed by: Najla Qamber Designs

Summary from Goodreads:

Reeling from her boyfriend's disappearance, Raevyn Jones is shocked to learn that she is considered suspect number one. To make matters worse, rumors are swirling that golden boy, Jeffrey Donnelly, isn't just missing...he may never be coming back.


And Raevyn is being framed.

Her second semester at Benjamin Wallace Fitzgerald University, the nation's first Ivy League institution for African Americans, is full of twists and turns.

Soon Raevyn will learn not to trust anyone, not even the people she calls friend.





Book One:


The Legacy
Release Date: 06/17/14

Summary from Goodreads:

Nineteen-year-old Raevyn Jones has never worn a designer gown. She's never had access to unlimited champagne or chauffeured limo rides.

But when she is dropped in the midst of the Black Ivy League--against her will--she has to pretend that everything is normal, as if she belongs.

When her new friends start to question her sketchy past and her shaky legacy at Benjamin Wallace Fitzgerald University, Raevyn realizes she will have to rely on her street smarts more than ever before.

Raevyn starts to receive cryptic text messages and emails from an anonymous sender and she soon discovers that not only does someone want her to leave B.W.Fitz--someone also wants to end her life.




About the Author


Necole Ryse graduated from Towson University with Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications.

Bored with life as an adult, Necole decided to follow her dreams to write fiction and she hasn’t looked back. She joined theWinslet Press family to release her first novel, THE LEGACY.

She enjoys chocolate covered pretzels, Criminal Minds marathons, and all things Harry Potter. 


Author Links:
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Cover Reveal Organized by:

Thursday, November 6, 2014

A CHRISTMAS REUNION - RELEASE DAY BLITZ


HAPPY RELEASE DAY FOR
A Christmas Reunion, The Gift of a Second Chance
by Donna Hatch
Available FOR ONLY $0.99 in digital format everywhere ebooks are sold!

More About the Book

It's not part of a series but it might feel like to readers because I seem to be enamored with long lost lovers reuniting, and also with chance meetings at a wayside inn. I'm sure a psychologist would read something into that but hey, I don't question the muse.

I chose the heroine’s name Emily because the root Latin word is Emil, meaning rival. In A Christmas Reunion, there is a rival for the man Emily loves, but it’s not who she thinks. A secondary meaning for Emily is ‘to prevail’ which Emily does and wins back the man she loves, but not in a way she’d ever imagined.

First lines of book: Emily unfolded Bennett’s last letter, tempted to burn the harbinger of such sorrow, and read it yet again, as if some vain hope still remained in her heart that the cruel writing would magically transform into words of love.

A Christmas Reunion,
The Gift of a Second Chance
by Donna Hatch

Adult Historical Romance (Clean)
Published by The Wild Rose Press

Heartbroken that her betrothed has wed another woman, Emily is determined to pick up the pieces of her life and enjoy Christmas with her family. ​

Newly returned from war, Bennett holds a secret and will do anything to ensure Emily, his only true love, never discovers it...even if it means losing her.

Fate reunites the star-crossed lovers and reveals the truth that will either unite them or drive them apart forever.

Donna 2013 (1)About Donna Hatch

My passion for writing began at the tender age of 8 and I’ve been hooked ever since. Of course, I also wanted to be an actress and a ballerina, but one out of three isn’t bad, right?

In between caring for six children, (7 counting my husband), my day job, my free lance editing and copy writing, and my many volunteer positions, I manage to carve out time to indulge in my writing obsession. After all, it IS an obsession. My family is more patient and supportive than I deserve.


Blitz Giveaway

$25 Amazon gift card and an ebook of A Christmas Reunion

- Open internationally
- Ends November 12th

Prism Book Tours

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

THE SPIRIT HEIR BY KAITLYN DAVIS - REVIEW TOUR



The Spirit Heir (A Dance of Dragons #2)
 By:  Kaitlyn Davis

Description:

From bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis comes the second book in the thrilling A Dance of Dragons series--perfect for fans of Throne of Glass, Graceling, and Game of Thrones!

Drenched in darkness and surrounded by the echo of screams, Jinji waits deep in the dungeons of Rayfort, haunted by the memory of the knife stabbing Rhen, plagued by a foreign voice whispering through her mind. A few floors above, Rhen rests trapped in a coma, about to wake to a changed world—a world where his best friend is a woman, his nephew is the king, and an enemy army surrounds him on all sides.

But human wars are insignificant compared to the darkness gathering unseen. Memories of lives she never lived flash through Jinji's thoughts, hinting at a past that cannot be repeated. A mysterious phantom visits Rhen, carrying cryptic messages of the future. And somewhere out there, the shadow continues to lurk in silence.

Uncertain of their relationship and tempted by new feelings, Rhen and Jinji must find a way to work together. The fate of humanity rests on their shoulders and the real battle has only just begun…


MY REVIEW / THOUGHTS:

This series just keeps getting better.  When this book came up for review I jumped at it.  I loved the first book, and the second book was even better.  

Rhen has been stabbed and lies in a coma.  Jinji lies in the dungeons of Rhen's kingdom.  The world has changed.  Rhen wakes up to the knowledge that his best friend Jin is actually a woman.  He cannot separate the friend from the woman.  Rhen demands to know where she is and finds her in the dungeons.  Letting his King know that he owes Jinji his life, and that he needs to put her under the protection of the crown.

Rhen realizes that there is more to Jinji.  He trusts her with his life.  There begins to be more between the two of them and it is FABULOUS.  It is so fantastic to see a romance bud from friendship.  He trust Jinji implicitly and Jinji trust Rhen in return.  It was so much fun to watch their relationship.  I hate insta love.  This book brought two people together in the best way possible.  It was awesome.

Rhen and Jinji are plagued by mists, and voices in their heads.  Following this mist, and this voice may be what saves Rhens kingdom.  

Rhen is finally at peace with the power he yields.  Rhen and Jinji are finally at peace with their relationship.  Rhen knows he cannot live without her and Jinji knows the same.

Searching for some peace and answers in the storms that are passing, they come to a castle that is hidden.  Standing in the seas with answers that may help to save Rhens kingdom.

I love this story.  This book kept me on the edge of my seat from the beginning until the end.  UGH, the end.  Waiting for the next one in this book is going to drive me cray.   I must know what happens now.  So much happens at the very end of this book, that when it came to an end, I had that UGH scream release from my lips...hehe.  

The author did such a great job putting me in this book.  Sometimes I gloss over the world building and description because it gets too wordy for me.  NOT in this one.  I had to follow every single word to make sure I could soak up as much of this story as I could.

Jinji and Rhen are such fantastic characters.  I cannot wait to see where their story takes me in book three!  I cannot wait, but I must :(.  

Source:  I was given this book by the author in return for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any way for this review.  These are my own PERSONAL thoughts on the book.


MY RATING:



BUY LINKS:





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The Shadow Soul (A Dance of Dragons #1)
 By:  Kaitlyn Davis

Book One is Now Free!

DESCRIPTION:
(my review here)

GAME OF THRONES meets GRACELING in a new young adult fantasy by bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis. Told in alternating male and female perspectives, THE SHADOW SOUL has been hailed as "an amazing start to a new series that is going to have people of all ages wanting so much more." (Happy Tails & Tales Reviews)

When Jinji's home is destroyed, she is left with nowhere to run and no one to run to—until she meets Rhen, a prince chasing rumors that foreign enemies have landed on his shores. Masquerading as a boy, Jinji joins Rhen with vengeance in her heart. But traveling together doesn't mean trusting one another, and both are keeping a deep secret—magic. Jinji can weave the elements to create master illusions and Rhen can pull burning flames into his flesh.

But while they struggle to hide the truth, a shadow lurks in the night. An ancient evil has reawakened, and unbeknownst to them, these two unlikely companions hold the key to its defeat. Because their meeting was not coincidence—it was fate. And their story has played out before, in a long forgotten time, an age of myth that is about to be reborn…


BUY LINKS:






ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Kaitlyn Davis is the bestselling author of the Midnight Fire series, a young adult paranormal romance, and the A Dance of Dragons series, a young adult epic fantasy. 

Kaitlyn graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Johns Hopkins University with a B.A. in Writing Seminars. She's been writing ever since she picked up her first crayon and is overjoyed to finally share her work with the world. She currently lives in New York City and dreams of having a puppy of her own.

To stay up-to-date with all of Kaitlyn's new releases, sign up for her publication day newsletter here: TinyLetter.com/KaitlynDavisBooks



AUTHOR LINKS:



Twitter: @DavisKaitlyn



Tuesday, November 4, 2014

ANOMALY BY TONYA KUPER - BOOK TRAILER




                  



Book synopsis:

Reality is only an illusion.

Except for those who can control it…

Worst. Birthday. Ever.

My first boyfriend dumped me—happy birthday, Josie!—my dad is who knows where, I have some weird virus that makes me want to hurl, and now my ex is licking another girl’s tonsils. Oh, and I’m officially the same age as my brother was when he died. Yeah, today is about as fun-filled as the swamps of Dagobah. But then weird things start happening…

Like I make something materialize just by thinking about it.

When hottily-hot badass Reid Wentworth shows up on a motorcycle, everything changes. Like, everything. Who I am. My family. What really happened to my brother. Existence. I am Oculi, and I have the ability to change reality with my thoughts. Now Reid, in all his hotness, is charged with guiding and protecting me as I begin learning how to bend reality. And he’s the only thing standing between me and the secret organization that wants me dead…


Buy links:




  About Tonya Kuper:

Tonya Kuper

Tonya Kuper is the author of ANOMALY, the first in the Schrodingers Consortium Series, a young adult science fiction trilogy, releasing November 25, 2014 by Entangled Teen. She fell for Young Adult lit while earning her Master’s degree in Reading Education. She's a mom to two awesome boys, an alt music junkie, a Star Wars nerd, and in love with Sherlock.

Find Tonya online:
Twitter: @TonyaKuper



Goodreads Book Giveaway

Anomaly by Tonya Kuper

Anomaly

by Tonya Kuper

Giveaway ends November 15, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter to win

HOLD ON! BY PETER DARLEY - BOOK TOUR & EXCERPT


Romantic Suspense/Thriller
Date Published: July 9, 2014

DESCRIPTION:
Two lovers! A deadly conspiracy! A race to freedom! 

When Carringby Industries, a government-contracted arms manufacturer, is raided by what appear to be terrorists, the CEO’s secretary, Belinda Reese, is rescued by Brandon Drake, a dashing young AWOL soldier. Using an experimental test aircraft, he flees with her to his remote, isolated cabin in the mountains of Aspen. 

While assisting in the design of military weaponry, Brandon discovered a plot within his own government to attack its own facilities, under the guidance of immoral politician, Senator Garrison Treadwell. Belinda’s body was not found among the dead at Carringby Industries, and Treadwell suspects that Drake was responsible for rescuing her. In an effort to entrap him, Treadwell arranges for an all points bulletin to be placed on Belinda. 

Deeply in love, Brandon and Belinda attempt to escape from America, only to endure one harrowing experience after another as they try to evade and expose Treadwell’s corrupt faction. 

But on the run, with danger around every corner, Brandon makes a discovery so devastating that it shatters the very foundations of his reality.

Excerpt

[Belinda] dropped to the floor and pushed the door open only to be met with a wall of flame, causing her to instinctively recoil. She gave herself a moment to compose herself before seizing a break in the fire. 

Darting to the left, she found herself in the maintenance stairwell. Below her was an inferno. It wasn’t possible for her to go back down. 

In a desperate effort to escape the fire, she ran up the steps, but the smoke continued to engulf her. 

By the time she’d reached the next flight of stairs, only a few steps from where she’d started, she fell to her knees in a coughing fit. Her eyes stung, watering from the smoke, but she persisted. 

Despite her initial determination, she became convinced she wasn’t going to make it. She couldn’t see anything ahead of her, and her consciousness was slipping away . . .

She thought she could see a dark shape coming down the stairwell toward her, through the smoke. As it came closer, she could make out a human decked-out in black.It has to be one of them, she thought. 

Through her squinted eyes, she could see he wore a shiny black helmet, similar to the type worn on a motorcycle, although far less bulky. It seemed to cover his head with a slender, streamlined fit, and there was a reflective visor covering his face. 

In her weakened condition, she resigned herself to the belief that she was going to die. The fight was leaving her, and smoke inhalation stole her consciousness. She couldn’t be certain whether or not she was dreaming the man in the black helmet. 

And then, she felt strong, gentle hands cradling her face for just a moment. “P-please don’t kill me,” she mumbled.

“I’m not going to kill—” 

Belinda passed out.

She woke without a sense for how long she’d been out. Had she been unconscious for seconds? Or days? Why was everything upside down?

She felt a tight grip on her legs below the knees, and she was moving quickly with a jerking motion. The smoke seemed to clearing, and the blood rushed into her head, bringing her back to consciousness. She saw the white surface of the steps from her inverted position, and she suddenly understood. He was running up the stairwell while carrying her over his shoulder.

Moments later, the ground turned black and she sensed herself being turned upright in the freezing cold. In her dazed state, it took her a few moments to realize that she was outside. 

The stranger knelt down beside her and she shivered. “W-who . . . are you?” she asked.

“Your only way out of here.” 

“Where . . . where are we?”

“We’re on the roof. We can’t go back down. The place is a torch.”

Belinda couldn’t place his tone, but there was a masculine depth to it that was genuine and sincere.

“Please, trust me,” he implored her. “Can you stand up?”

“Y-yes, I think so,” she said, but her coughing resumed.

He waited for the attack to abate before speaking again. “I’m going to get you out of here. There’s only one way.” 

As he helped her to her feet, she realized how high up they were with the skyscrapers all around them.

“I need you to listen to me,” he said. “What’s your name?”

“B-Belinda. Belinda Reese,” she answered quivering, and hugged herself tightly against the chilling effects of shock and the brutal February wind.

“All right Belinda, I need you to come over here with me.” He motioned toward the edge of the roof. “There’s nothing to worry about, trust me.”

As a show of good faith, he walked toward the edge before her. Once he was standing on the ledge, he reached out and beckoned her to join him. 

Trembling, she placed one foot in front of the other, but she froze when she saw him taking a gun-like device from his tool-belt. 

“It’s OK,” he said in a reassuring tone. “This isn’t what you think it is. I swear to you on my own life, I’m not going to hurt you.”

With great trepidation, she resumed her steps toward him.

“That’s it,” he encouraged her. “Just a little closer.”

As Belinda stopped inches away from him at the ledge, he aimed the device toward a skyscraper opposite and brought a small targeting sight to eye-level. Although it bore a resemblance to a gun, it didn’t have a barrel, but rather a tennis ball-sized bulb held fast by his palm. 

He depressed a button on the top of the metallic casing and a thin, high-tensile steel cable jettisoned from the nozzle toward the building opposite. The cable reached the other side and a small steel claw at the end of line clasped a maintenance rail in the center of the roof. He pulled on the cable to ensure that it was secured, and stepped away from the edge.

He hurried across to a maintenance stairwell next to the entrance and climbed three steps. Once he was in position, he wrapped the wire around an iron step above him repeatedly. From the height of the roof’s ledge, the step would be approximately twelve inches above his own height. Reaching height. 

With a flick of a switch on top of the bulb, the cable was locked inside the casing.

Belinda watched him, bewildered. “What are you doing?” 

Intensely focused upon his task, he didn’t reply.

He returned to her and took another device from his belt–a black metal tube, approximately fourteen inches in length, from which he pulled out two hand-grips from either side. 

Belinda noticed a small pulley wheel on the underside of the tube, which he clipped onto the wire. He created a zip-line between the two buildings. 

Upon that realization, she panicked, believing that he intended for her to hang from the hand grips and glide across to the adjacent building. “I can’t do this. Please, I’m begging you. I can’t do it.” 

He stepped back up onto the ledge. “You don’t have to. I do. Now, take it steady and join me here.”

She raised her right leg so slowly that she thought she would never put it down, but eventually, the tip of her shoe settled onto the ledge. 

He gently placed his hand upon her shoulder. “All right, now grab hold of me.”

She permitted him to grasp her under her armpits and lift her onto the ledge. She trembled with vulnerability and vertigo. “Oh, God, please don’t let me fall.”

“You’re not going to fall.”

He carefully placed her arms around his chest. She immediately detected the solid base underneath his black, bullet-resistant attire. It was clear that, beyond the Kevlar; he was muscular, heightening her sense of safety with him. With shaking hands, she held onto him for dear life.

He gripped the pulley with his left hand and lifted the visor with his right. Belinda looked into his deep green eyes. He looked exactly the same to her as his voice sounded: strong, but kind. 

The moment ended and he pulled the visor back down into place. 

Holding the right hand grip, he looked at her again and gave her the most unnecessary piece of advice she had ever heard:  “Hold on!”

YouTube Video





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Peter Darley


Peter Darley (P.D. to his friends) is a British novelist, whose professional history is in showbusiness. He is a graduate of the Birmingham School of Speech and Dramatic Art, and he studied television drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA.) His television credits include guest-starring roles is UK productions such as BBC’s Crime Ltd, Stanley’s Dragon for ITV, The Bill, and Sky One’s Dream Team, and numerous TV commercials. He has also worked as a model, presenter, and voice-over artiste for ten years, and has acted as an agent for several variety acts.
His lifelong admiration of heroes, and love of roller-coaster-style thrills have been a huge influence on his writings.
He is a keen athlete and body builder, and lives with his partner in rural England.







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