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Monday, July 22, 2013

Songstone by Lena Goldfinch: Blog Tour Kickoff and Giveaway!







Kita can meld song into stone. In a world with no written word, storytelling—the ability to meld (or magically impress) song into stone—is greatly honored. The village honors her master as their medicine man, but Kita knows he's secretly a sorcerer who practices black magic using drops of her blood. She fears he’ll use her beautiful gift for a killing spell, so she conceals it from him. Each day, his magic tightens around her neck like a rope. His spells blind the villagers, so they can’t see him for what he really is.

Not that anyone would want to help her. She was found in the forest as a baby and would have died if a village girl hadn't brought her home. But the villagers saw Kita's unusual coloring and decided she belonged to the mysterious tribe who lives in the forests of the volcano, a people feared for their mystical powers. So they fear her too. Now seventeen, she can barely admit her deepest longing: to know who she really is and where she belongs.

Then Pono, a young journeyman, arrives from the other side of the island. He's come to fulfill a pact between their villages: to escort a storyteller back to his village--a storyteller who'll be chosen at the great assembly. Finally, in Pono, Kita sees her one slim chance at freedom and she'll risk her life to take it.

A dark, twisty tale of sorcery, tummy-tingling romance, and adventure, inspired by the folklore of New Zealand's Māori people.


You can find Songstone on:

Amazon (Kindle) 
Barnes & Noble (Nook)
Kobo


In honor of the release of SONGSTONE, Lena is giving away this GORGEOUS necklace!







Saturday, July 13, 2013

Copper Girl Blog Tour: Guest Post from Jennifer Allis Provost

Sara had always been careful.
She never spoke of magic, never associated with those suspected of handling magic, never thought of magic, and never, ever, let anyone see her mark. After all, the last thing she wanted was to end up missing, like her father and brother.
Then, a silver elf pushed his way into Sara's dream, and her life became anything but ordinary.



A big welcome to Jennifer Allis Provost!

 First, a disclaimer; I am Jenn's cover designer! It was an amazing pleasure to work with her on her wonderful and lyrical book. It was a breeze to do this cover with all the amazing imagery built into the text. 
So without further ado, Jenn is going to tell you how the idea for Copper Girl sprang into her life behind a desk at an office cubicle.

Life Imitating Art

As you, dear reader, may or may not be aware, my urban fantasy Copper Girl hit the shelves on June 25. The titular copper girl is Sara Corbeau, an Elemental marked by a copper raven emblazoned across her back. (See the awesome cover image? It was created by one Lisa Amowitz, proprietor of this fine blog.) But, aside from being an Elemental, Sara also has an office job.

Sara’s job puts the bore in boring, and then some. She works for a firm called Real Estate Evaluation Services that specializes in the acquisition and liquidation of commercial properties. (Stop yawning.)

Her title is Quarterly Report Sorter, and, being that the reports in question are of a highly confidential nature, she doesn’t have clearance to read them. So she sits there, day after day, shuffling paper in alphabetical order. (I said stop yawning!)
Sara’s only reprieve is her lunch break, when she escapes the oppressively frigid air conditioning and naps in her car. Only, someone is watching her sleep – Micah, an Elemental from the Otherworld, who just happens to be able to slip inside Sara’s dreams.

If you’re wondering how I so expertly crafted such a desolate existence, it’s because I lived it. (Well, not the part with Micah.) While I will let the company remain nameless, I once worked at a job so boring I regularly fell asleep at my desk. In the winter, the heat was alternately completely off and trying to roast me alive, but in the summer the air conditioning was always attuned to a bone-chilling fifty degrees. And yes, I used to escape into summer’s heat on my lunch break, and wiggle the feeling back into my fingers and toes.

My unexciting occupation contributed more than tedium and frigidity to Copper Girl. I always parked in the back corner lot, a nice shady spot on the edge of a small wooded area. After a few lunch breaks spent outside, I noticed quite the unusual tree: two red pines, each trunk at least a foot in diameter, wound around each other.

I found that tree fascinating; after a few days spent staring at it, I wondered if it was a portal to the Otherworld. (Apparently, the endless monotony of my job was killing brain cells, as well.) That tree became the Lovers’ Pine, where Micah first brought Sara into the Otherworld.

Was Sara’s occupation based on mine? Yes and no. We both did suffer hours of repetitious work with no end in sight, and oppressive corporate heating and cooling systems. We both became fascinated by a funky tree. But Sara got to escape into a land of magic and wonder, while I remained at my day job. Hey, at least I got to write about her.


Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Always YA at Heart: Blog Tour: Breaking Glass by Lisa Amowitz - Interview, Review, Giveaway

A really great stop on the Breaking Glass Blog tour...

Always YA at Heart: Blog Tour: Breaking Glass by Lisa Amowitz - Interview, Review, Giveaway

BREAKING GLASS is finally here




On the night seventeen-year-old Jeremy Glass winds up in the hospital with a broken leg and a blood alcohol level well above the legal limit, his secret crush, Susannah, disappears. When he begins receiving messages from her from beyond the grave, he's not sure whether they're real or if he's losing his grip on reality. Clue by clue, he gets closer to unraveling the mystery, and soon realizes he must discover the truth or become the next victim himself.


Here is what readers are saying:

From Christy Mullins on Goodreads:
Breaking Glass was one of my most anticipated reads of the summer, so when I received an ARC in the mail, there was quite a bit of might have been a little bit of jumping up and down (which led to my husband thinking I was crazy…oh well, you all understand me). After I calmed down, I immediately dove into the mystery that is Breaking Glass.  
 read the rest of the review here:


From Emily at One Emily's Bookshelf:
One of the best things about being at BEA was meeting people, one of the best people I met was Lisa Amowitz, and I was nervous starting out Breaking Glass for fear I wouldn't like it, but I shouldn't have worried, because I loved, adored, was amazed by Breaking Glass.

From the first page I was hooked, Lisa Amowitz has a writing style that made me feel sad I had social engagements because all I wanted to do was sit down and read this book from start to end, the writing style is precise, it isn't bogged down with needless details, but yet it's at the same time full of information, we're told everything we need to know without it ever feeling like we're being force-fed information.
read the rest here..

From Shelley at Gizmo Reviews:
*Thoughts* (Hopefully without any spoilers!)

Breaking Glass was a surprise addition to my reading list for July. I thank Spencer Hill Press for sharing this book with me in lieu of an honest review. Breaking Glass is definitely a book that will keep you guessing right until the very end. Add into the fact that there was a paranormal aspect to the storyline and it wasn't a matter of if I was going to read the book, but when and how much I would like it. 

Also, YA Bound is sponsoring a Book Blitz. Here are the bloggers who are joining in:
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peaceloveandfangirl.blogspot.com





















pinkfluffyhearts.blogspot.com


jesusfreakreader.blogspot.com