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Showing posts from 2014

“Things Every Southern Woman Should Know How to Make”

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Alice clicked on the headline, mildly curious about what yet another stranger thought should be in her kitchen repertoire. Pictures of China plates mounded with crispy fried chicken, greens, cobbler, and a pile of biscuits a mile high flooded the screen, all set off with a pitcher of sweet tea beaded with condensation. The table was set; an apron draped off to the side next to a box labeled “Gramma’s Recipes” in fine calligraphy. She closed the browser and put away her tablet. She was born a Georgia peach, but she couldn’t make a cobbler to save her life. Did that mean she wasn’t southern? Or maybe just not “Southern.” For Alice, there was no recipe box full of family traditions. Her younger years were filled with rental homes in different states and her father’s voice coaxing her toward a text book rather than a cookbook. Metalworking and fabrication held more interest than learning to flambé or sauté. Did it make her less of a woman that her cooking skills consisted of fresh salads
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TAKEN BY STORM Blog Tour! Interview with Tamara Mataya

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Hi, Everyone! Today, I’m stoked to take part in the lovely Tamara Mataya’s TAKEN BY STORM Blog Tour! TAKEN BY STORM is available from Swoon Romance now! And don't forget to check out the Giveaway! TAKEN BY STORM is the latest electrifying love story from bestselling author Tamara Mataya. Leilani’s plan was simple: Return for her father’s wedding, house sit for the happy couple while they went on their honeymoon, then get the hell outta dodge. She’d thought the worst thing would be returning to the town she grew up in (and despised). She was wrong. A flash flood hits the small town, stranding firefighter, Ryan, and a few strangers at the local bar. Worst of all, Leilani, his old high school rival – and last night’s scorching one-night-stand – is one of the people stuck in the bar. With waters rising, they need to stick together and wait for rescue. The power grid’s knocked out, and cell phones aren’t working. W
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Release Day! Stacey O'Neale's FRAGILE REIGN

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I'm excited to take part in Stacey O'Neale's release day launch for FRAGILE REIGN! Check out the book below and be sure to enter the amazing giveaway! It’s been a week since all hell broke loose… Rumors of King Taron’s weakened powers have left the air court vulnerable. Kalin is desperate to awaken her akasha powers, except she doesn’t know how. Tension within the court is at an all-time high. Pressure is mounting for her to ascend to the throne, but a halfling has never ruled over any court. To solidify her position, the council has advised her to marry Sebastian—a high ranking air elemental she’s never met and her betrothed. Will Kalin sacrifice her relationship with Rowan to strengthen her court? Rowan and Marcus return to a fire court in turmoil. Liana’s death has fueled the fire elementals’ distrust against the air and woodland courts. The unbalanced elements have set off natural disasters all over the mortal world. Rowan takes the throne to restore
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I WISH Blog Tour! Interview with Elizabeth Langston

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Hi, folks! Today, we’ve got an interview with Elizabeth Langston, author of I WISH, her new YA series. I WISH arrives today from Spencer Hill Press!     What Lacey needs is a miracle. What she gets is a genie with rules.   Lacey Linden is hiding the truth of her life—a depressed mom, a crumbling house, and bills too big to pay. While her high school classmates see a girl with a ready smile and good grades, Lacey spends her evenings seeking ways to save her family. On a get-cash-quick trip to the flea market, Lacey stumbles over a music box that seemingly begs her to take it home. She does, only to find it is inhabited by a gorgeous "genie." He offers her a month of wishes, one per day, but there's a catch. Each wish must be   humanly possible . Grant belongs to a league of supernatural beings, dedicated to serving humans in need. After two years of fulfilling the boring wishes of conventional teens, he is one assignment away from promotion to a
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Waiting…

Waiting sucks.   When something excites me, I usually want it RIGHT NOW. Like when the PS4 came out. I wanted one really bad, and my brain was screaming, “GET IT NOW!” However, my sensible side said, “Wait. Let them work out any bugs. At least wait until they have game you actually want to play.” So…I’m still waiting. Waiting for writing things makes me twitchy. I squirm when I’m waiting for feedback, contest results, or replies to emails. Especially the last one because waiting on anything to do with publishing is torture. I obsessively refresh like everyone else when I’m dying to see a query response or edit note in my inbox. And when my inbox remains frustratingly empty? I mentally whine and wait some more. If I’ve learned anything since deciding I really wanted to slog through the query trenches, it’s patience. No matter what level you’re at, there’s waiting to be done. A writer waits on an agent to scoop them up. An agent waits for an editor to sa
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Waiting on Wednesday: A.R. Kahler's MARTYR

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Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases we are eagerly awaiting! Title: MARTYR (The Hunted: Book One) Author: A.R. Kahler Publisher: Spencer Hill Press Expected Publication Date: October 28, 2014 Three years have passed since magic destroyed the world. Those who remain struggle to survive the monsters roaming the streets, fighting back with steel and magic—the very weapons that birthed the Howls in the first place. Tenn is one such Hunter, a boy with the ability to harness the elements through ancient runes. For years, the Hunters have used this magic to keep the monsters at bay, but it's never been enough to truly win the war. Humans are losing. When Tenn falls prey to an incubus named Tomás and his terrifying Kin, Tenn learns there's more to this than a fight for survival. He's a pawn in a bigger game, one with devastating consequence
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THE DARK CARNIVAL WELCOMES YOU

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          Step right up, folks! The show is soon to begin. But while you wait in line, enjoy your fritters and this sample of the terror to come...         And over here--yes, this way--you can see the entrance to the Tunnel of Love. Don't be shy, folks! Cozy up to your loved one and take a peek!     And the Tunnel of Love loomed ahead of us. I didn’t think they even made those things anymore. I hadn’t seen one at one of these fairs—well, my whole life. It was something you’d only see in a fifties movie, or some old black and white photo. And like anything classy, none of the loudmouth teenagers that frequented the fair were anywhere near it. The shadows around the Tunnel of Love were empty. I wrapped my arms around her and headed towards the dark entryway. The tunnel seemed even more like it was dropped out of another time as we got closer to it. Two giant cutout swans with chipping white paint formed a heart with their great n
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Cover Reveal! THE DARK CARNIVAL Anthology

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Hello, Ladies and Gents!   Everyone gather round! Closer. Even closer.   Can you smell it? Buttered popcorn. The gossamer perfume of cotton candy, and over there, you can just make out the calliope music from the carousel.   The carnival has come to town, my friends, though the thrills you seek might be altogether different from the ones you get...   Welcome to the great Pen and Muse's DARK CARNIVAL!   In this anthology, several authors and illustrators explore the dark and hidden dangers that lie within a carnival that has come to town. But it is no ordinary carnival. It's THE DARK CARNIVAL.   And when The Dark Carnival comes to town, there's no promise that anyone can leave...alive.       A round of applause for the talented authors ready to terrify you!    Kat Daemon, Kristen Strassel, Julie Hutchings, C. Elizabeth Vescio, Mark Matthews, Brian W. Taylor, Kim Culpepper, Eli Constant, Mari Wells, J. Elizabeth Hill, Nicole
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Music Ramble: TRANSMISSIONS by Starset

I don't listen to the radio much. Usually about two hours a day, on the way to work and on the way home. And usually in that two hours, I hear the same five bands over and over until I want to punch someone in their Metallica... Um, face. Lately, though, they've been playing some new bands, and I've been pretty happy. Excited, even. One song in particular, My Demons, was sticking with me, so I decided to check out the album. I'm freaking in love. TRANSMISSIONS by Starset is glorious symphonic rock, and I can't get enough of it. Especially the song Dark On Me. Not only does it give me major feels, but it's stirring story possibilities, and that's always fantastic. Let It Die has a total mad scientist feel, which is only boosted when I listen to the remix, and my writer brain is going nuts with it. The whole album is beautiful, and while I have my favorites, there's not a song on it that I don't like. So, if you like your rock with violins an
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Cover Reveal! THE GHOST OF YOU by Amanda Burckhard

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Today, I’m incredibly excited to show you the cover for Amanda Burckhard’s THE GHOST OF YOU, coming 12/30/14 from Swoon Romance. But first, as always because I can, a look at what’s inside! Emmy has everything she’s ever wanted: a hot boyfriend she adores, great friends, a promising future, and even a well-connected family. But one night rips it all away. A car accident shatters her world, claiming the lives of her twin brother and her best friend. In the wake of the accident, her friends drift away, her family falls apart, and her boyfriend cheats. The grief is more than she can handle, so she finds escape at the bottom of a bottle of painkillers. Taking the pills makes her brother alive again, if only in her head. Seeing and talking to her brother as if he were still alive is the only thing that keeps her going. Until Logan King moves to town. Logan sees past the mask of pristine popularity she wears in public and he’s the only one who can tell she hasn’t moved on. His
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