Posts By Lindsey Loucks
Pet the Cover: @JordanKRose’s The Demon Mistress
Hey, everyone! Today I have the pleasure of sharing something pretty with you! Here is a cover worthy of petting:
I love the colors in this one! Here’s what it’s about:
What’s a girl to do when she discovers her husband, who happens to be the Master Vampire for the New England Region, has been lying to her for, oh, say a hundred and eighty years?
Well, it all depends. If she’s accidentally released forty demons from some creepy old book, unintentionally announced the existence of vampires on The Internet, kidnapped a werewolf, enraged a lovesick vampire by stealing his approved mate, and attracted the attention of The High Commander for The Vampire Federation, not to mention gotten stoned and mastered the forbidden art of demon calling, she might be willing to call it even.
Or, she might plead her case at an Inquisition and hope like all hell, she isn’t staked before sunrise. Eh, a slightly busier night than usual, but nothing Eva Prim can’t handle.
About Jordan:
Jordan loves vampires. But if you know anything about Jordan, you already knew that detail. What you didn’t know was it wasn’t long ago that she began writing about them.
A few years back Jordan received a copy of Twilight from her husband as part of her anniversary gift. By the end of that week she’d read the entire series and moved onto Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. Eight weeks and eighteen vampire books later the idea for her first book, Perpetual Light came to her followed very quickly by Eva Prim.
In October of 2013 The Demon Mistress, the first Eva Prim Novel is available along with four short stories. For continual updates on Eva please join the Snack Of The Week Club at www.evaprim.com.
Coming November 2013 Black Magic Rose, Book One of The Alliance Series. Join Jordan’s newsletter for updates.
Jordan is a member of the national Romance Writers of America organization and several chapters.
When she’s not writing about one vampire or another Jordan enjoys spending time with her husband, Ken and their lovable Labrador, Dino on the beautiful beaches of New England.
Find Jordan at:
Find Jordan on her website at www.jordankrose.com.
Follow her tweets on https://twitter.com/#!/jordankrose
Friend her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jordan-K-Rose-Author/307285709309992
Follow her Pinterest boards at: http://pinterest.com/jordankrose/boards/
Friend her on Goodreads at: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5751865.Jordan_K_Rose
Leigh Baxton Saves The World…And Goes On Vacation?
Hey. Leigh Baxton here, the main character from Lindsey’s The Grave Winner. I’m taking over her blog today because she said she’d kill off everyone in the sequel if I didn’t. Yeah, I know. She’s been in kind of a bad mood lately. She may or may not be mad at me because I gave her the run-around on book two for so long because I didn’t want to relive all those nightmares again. Can you really blame me? Someone needs electroshock treatment on her brain or a ten gallon bucket of rainbows, unicorns, and chocolate, and her name rhymes with Pindsey.
Anyway.
She wants me to say where I’d like to go on vacation. Hello? Anyone in there, Ms. Pindsey? I don’t have time for vacation! There are bad, bad things crawling through Krapper, Kansas. Didn’t you learn anything in The Grave Winner?
Uh-oh, guys. She’s giving me that look she gives her cat when he barfs up a fur ball on her pillow. Okay fine. CODY, WYOMING. That’s where I’d go. After I checked and rechecked and checked and rechecked again that no one was trying to kill me or my family or my friends and that the dead were resting peacefully in their graves. Then and only then would I go.
Why Cody, Wyoming? That’s where Tram used to live. He just told me in book two that it’s where his parents live, too. He talked about them like he really missed them, and they sound like really great people. I guess they’d have to be to have a hot and mysterious son like Tram. Also, it’s where the sorceress named Two is from. Coincidence? I’d like to find that out.
Oh, and also? I’m finished telling Ms. Pindsey what happened in book two. She just has to make it readable or whatever. A couple songs are helping her with the flow and tying it all together. The songs are actually kind of cool. This one’s “Oh Death” by Jen Titus:
And this one’s a creepy little number called “Come, Little Children” by Erutan.
Okay, I’m leaving now. Don’t forget to leave your flowers and other gifts for your dead loved ones at home, people. And never go to the graveyard at night.
Oh, one more thing! Ms. Pindsey is giving away 2 signed print copies, 2 e-copies, and 2 signed bookmarks, all international!!! Check out the Rafflecopter below.
(This is part of PJ Blog Tours Indie Summer Group Blog Tour. For the full tour schedule, click here and don’t forget to enter to win a Kindle Fire HD and gift cards!)
Tiger Hunting In Kansas With @TracyMSimmons
Happy Labor Day to you all! Between your napping, travels, and/or barbeques, would you care to do a little tiger hunting with me? Yes, of course you would!
Actually, Tiger Hunting is a wonderful new adult story written by a fellow Kansan named Tracy Million Simmons. Fun fact – her niece just so happened to be my library aide last year, and it was through her that I learned about Tiger Hunting. I read the book, loved it (see my review here), and have since gotten to know Tracy. It turns out she’s awesome! Everyone should know her and read her book and beg her to crank the next one out. Oh, and also because she agreed to be interviewed by me!
Me: Did you learn anything today? If so, what?
Tracy: Today, specifically? It’s hard to tell. Sometimes lessons take a bit of time to sink in for me. I’ve been coming to the conclusion this past week that I am a much more productive girl when the schedule is packed and busy. I just made it through a rather relaxed week as far as schedule goes and rather than dedicate all my free time to writing, as I should have, I took a lot of naps.
Me: That’s okay, though. Naps help revive the brain! Where did the idea for Tiger Hunting come from?
Tracy: Tiger Hunting, quite literally, started with a dream. The opening scene to the book was something I scribbled in my journal years ago in the wee early hours of the morning as I was pulling myself from sleep. In 2009 I was looking for a fresh, new idea to work on for NaNoWriMo. I came across this description of a circus wreck in my journal and the dead dolphin on the road beside a Kansas wheat field. I decided to just follow it and see what happened. Tiger Hunting was eventually the result.
Me: I get ideas from dreams, too! What’s something about yourself that really annoys you?
Tracy: My inner critic can be pretty mean. I battle her frequently and sometimes have to resort to binding her mouth with duct tape in order to get anything done.
Me: I’ve learned that duct tape solves many of my problems. What’s the name of the book you’re reading?
Tracy: Saving Normal, by Allen Frances
The next fiction book on my to-read list is Expected, by Sarah England
Me: Pop or soda or soda pop or Coke?
Tracy: I call it soda, but I don’t drink it!
Me: Why do you write?
Tracy: If I didn’t write, I’m pretty sure my head would explode, and that would just be messy.
Seriously though, I think I write to figure out the world around me. My stories often start with things that perplex me about my fellow citizens. I make up characters to try to explain to myself why people behave the way they do.
Me: I agree with the whole head exploding thing. What’s the last song you listened to on purpose?
Tracy: Um… probably Thrift Shop. It’s got a beat that even I can dance to… and I’ve only got $20 in my pocket.
Me: HA! What makes you laugh?
Tracy: My kids. They are witty and wise and I like that they take the time to explain things to me when I just don’t get it.
Me: You just walked in the door after a long day. What do you do first?
Tracy: I sit down at my kitchen table, which is in the middle of the room our family calls “the project room” and I absorb the energy. I sit and listen and ask questions and try to catch up with what everyone is doing.
… and I eat cookies (or fill-in-the-black dessert), because there is usually someone in my house who has recently made a batch of cookies or is testing some new dessert recipe.
Me: I’m on my way to your house right now! Would you rather have hiccups for the rest of your life or feel like you need to sneeze but not be able to for the rest of your life? Why?
Tracy: Gosh. That’s a tough one. I think I’ll have to go with the sneeze because I inherited my hiccups from my mother. I rarely get them, thankfully, but when I/she would hiccup, it’s like full-blown chest spasms. I don’t know how to describe them except that they can be quite painful and for a full day after having had hiccups, I still feel them. It’s like recovering from a charley horse or pulled muscle. I can’t imagine life with them continually.
Me: They do hurt sometimes, don’t they? Do you have any strange writing quirks?
Tracy: Well… I’ve been known to summon the muse with essence of lavender, and long walks with no destination in mind often lead me to my most productive writing moments. I don’t know. Is that strange? Everything I do feels so oddly normal. My writing routine tends to change with the season and I am careful not to let myself get mired in one way of doing things.
Me: What’s the one physical object you can’t live without?
Tracy: Ten years ago I would have had an answer for this. Twenty years ago I would have given you a dozen answers. Today—while there are many people I hate to imagine my life without—I can honestly say that I could walk out the door and get by with leaving all the physical stuff behind. I’d eventually be searching for a writing instrument and a piece of paper, of course, but any old pen or pencil would do. I mean, I do have favorites, and I love my laptop, but I’m not attached to anything in particular.
Me: Would you consider yourself a pioneer or a settler? Why?
Tracy: I’m definitely a pioneer. I’ve always viewed my life as a journey. I hate to think that I might get to a destination and allow myself to grow mentally stale or stagnant. Life is expansive, and if you want to experience it fully, I think you have to keep exploring, keep looking at the world in new and different ways. Or, perhaps better said, I have always hoped that when I arrive at that settled feeling, it will be because I have decided my time here is done and I will be ready to peacefully journey on to someplace else.
See what I mean, people! She’s awesome!
Here’s a bit more about Tracy and Tiger Hunting. You should go check her and her book out!
When Jeni returns to her childhood home in western Kansas, she never imagines that she’ll be hunting a white tiger escaped from the circus or competing with an ape for the affections of the boy she once loved. While she waits for the man she’s left behind to notice she’s not coming back, she reconnects with her family and works to pick up the pieces of her life.
About Tracy:
Tracy Million Simmons is a Kansas Arts Commission mini-fellowship winner, a Kansas Voices honorable mention, and a member and the yearbook editor of the Kansas Authors Club.
Tracy’s Links:
Blog: http://tracymillionsimmons.blogspot.com/p/blog.html
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TracyMSimmons
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TracyMillionSimmons
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7013437.Tracy_Million_Simmons?from_search=true
Hiccups and A Taylor-Made Life: An Interview With @KaryRader
Hey! One of my writing friends, Kary Rader, is now on tour for her recently released new adult novel, A Taylor-Made Life. Kary graciously agreed to answer my never-ending questioning tirade as part of her stop at my blog because she’s awesome. Also, be sure to read to the very bottom for a really cool giveaway!!
Let’s go!
Me: Why do you write?
Kary: The simplest answer is — Because I have to. I really don’t know what else I’d do. Writing is so much a part of who I am. At first it was a release for me to expel pent up emotions, but now it’s more. I want to bless and encourage with my words and stories.
Me: What’s the last song you listened to on purpose?
Kary: Michael W. Smith’s Breathe – it encourages me to give thanks for everything I have, to realize words on a page don’t mean anything unless they touch and inspire—and no matter what I write I can’t do that by myself.
Me: What is your favorite salty treat?
Kary: Any kind of nuts-pecans, cashews, sunflower seeds
Me: Where did the idea for A Taylor-Made Life come from?
Kary: Five years ago while I was pregnant with my youngest child, my husband was diagnosed with Stage IV melanoma cancer. It was a difficult and emotional time in our lives. He’s now well and cancer free, but last year when a friend’s daughter was diagnosed with cancer, all those emotions came flooding back. I felt so helpless. Through my prayers, I asked, “What can I do?” and God gave me the scripture Acts 3:6, “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee….” I write stories. That’s what I had and that’s what I gave – this story.
Me: Here’s a free plane ticket! Where would you like to go?
Kary: Up until two years ago, I would’ve said Australia or Europe, but now I’d have to say Richmond, VA to visit my sister.
Me: That’s so sweet! What are you going to do right after you finish this interview?
Kary: Fix my kids breakfast—but only this once. I’m really looking forward to school starting. Oddly enough, they’re not.
Me: School starts for me on Thursday. Adios, summer! Would you rather have hiccups for the rest of your life or feel like you need to sneeze but not be able to for the rest of your life?
Kary: Well, as you might imagine, I’ve put a tremendous amount of thought into this and can honestly say I’d prefer neither, but I do have a great remedy for getting rid of hiccups-a spoonful of sugar. I know it seems very Mary Poppins-ish but it really works. 🙂
Me: I’ve never tried that, but I always have the hiccups so I’ll have to see for myself if sugar works! What’s the name of the book you’re reading?
Kary: I just finished Tangled by Emma Chase—the most fun I’ve had reading this year. It was like reading Ferris Bueller all grown up. A romance 100% from a man’s POV—a conceited, hilarious, pig of a man.
Me: I’ve heard of that book but haven’t read it yet. What scares you?
Kary: Nothing for very long because I know to whom I belong, and He is always with me.
Me: Pop or soda or soda pop or Coke?
Kary: Diet Coke
Me: Cats or dogs?
Kary: Cats
Me: Good answer! What’s the one thing you can’t live without?
Kary: My God – literally and figuratively in all things.
Here’s more about Kary and A Taylor-Made Life:
Kary Rader is a part-time Twitter sage, stay-at-home mother of three, and slave to the characters and worlds inside her head. Always creative, she’s drawn to stories with fantastical worlds and creatures. With a little bit of magic and divine guidance, there isn’t anything that can’t be accomplished with words. It’s the power of words that creates and destroys. Vanquishing evil and injustice while finding eternal love in the process is all in a day’s work. With the help of her critique partners and master cartographer imaginary places come to life.
Author Links:
Website/Blog: www.karyrader.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KaryRader
FB Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/KaryRaderauthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6998567.Kary_Rader
They lived the life they were given; they loved the life they made.
Cheerleader Taylor Smith doesn’t want to die a virgin. Unfortunately, if the terminally-ill leukemia patient doesn’t find a lover or a stem-cell match within months, her fear will become reality. When her cancer mentor is revealed to be a hottie entrepreneur from California, it seems fate might finally be on her side.
Tech-geek Gavin Taylor has everything he ever wanted, except someone to grieve for him when he’s gone. With his melanoma cancer beyond the help of his riches, he agrees to participate in a cancer patient mentoring program where he’s matched with a dying teen from Texas. Despite his immediate attraction, the Silicon Valley whiz intends only to provide friendship and happy memories to the beautiful, young woman who is determined to win his love.
When it’s discovered that his frozen sperm and her harvested eggs could lead to a cure, Taylor’s mother offers to be a surrogate. And Gavin must decide if he can risk the heart he has never given and a child he’ll never know to a girl he just met.
You can purchase A Taylor-Made Life here:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DU52U5K
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/334257
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18012643-a-taylor-made-life
Now it’s time for the giveaway! Here are the details, rules, and the Rafflecopter link:
Giveaway: $25 Gift Card to Amazon, a Charm Bracelet, a Crochet Hat, and SWAG for A Taylor-Made Life, and Queen of Jastain.
Giveaway Rules:
Giveaway begins August 1st and will end August 30th 11:59 EST. The winner will be announced by email.
Open to U.S. residents only
We are not responsible for items lost in the mail & have the right to disqualify anyone, at any time.
Personal information given by the applicant in the giveaway will never be shared. All information is deleted once the giveaway ends.
Good luck!
Ch-Ch-Changes: They’re Not Always a Bad Thing
Hurray! It’s time for MFRW’s YA blog hop, and I’m so excited to be participating! The theme for this hop is change, something that no one in the history of the planet can avoid. But change isn’t always a bad thing.
Take my main character, Leigh from The Grave Winner, for example (please don’t actually take her, though!) – one of the many changes she endures in this story is that her best friend’s brother suddenly takes an interest in her. She eventually realizes that this interest isn’t all that sudden, but her perception of him has changed now that she knows. She sees him for what he is – a hot jock who would do just about anything for her.
Of course, not all the changes that happen to Leigh are cute. She has just lost her mom, and as you can imagine, this leaves Leigh devastated. Her family now has to cope with the huge hole in their lives, and Leigh feels like she has to fill that hole with something. No, I can’t tell you what that something is. I can tell you, though, that it leads to very, very bad things…
Excerpts of all the YA authors’ books can be found here: YA_Hop_Excerpt_Book
Would you like a free e-book copy of The Grave Winner? Just leave a comment about how well you handle change or what the biggest change in your life has been so far and your email address! I’ll pick one random winner!
Summary:
Leigh Baxton is terrified her mom will come back from the dead — just like the prom queen did.
While the town goes beehive over the news, Leigh bikes to the local cemetery and buries some of her mom’s things in her grave to keep her there. When the hot and mysterious caretaker warns her not to give gifts to the dead, Leigh cranks up her punk music and keeps digging.
She should have listened.
Two dead sorceresses evicted the prom queen from her grave to bury someone who offered certain gifts. Bury them alive, that is, then resurrect them to create a trio of undead powerful enough to free the darkest sorceress ever from her prison inside the earth.
With help from the caretaker and the dead prom queen, Leigh must find out what’s so special about the gifts she gave, and why the sorceresses are stalking her and her little sister. If she doesn’t, she’ll either lose another loved one or have to give the ultimate gift to the dead – herself.
Let’s Get Furry With @TFWalsh
Book Release: CLOAKED IN FUR by T.F. Walsh
To celebrate T.F. Walsh’s release of her paranormal romance, Cloaked in Fur, she has graciously agreed to stop by my blog so that we can grill get to know her.
Here we go!
Me: I think I already know the answer to this, but would you rather be a vampire or a werewolf? 🙂
T: Hi, Lindsey. Thanks for having me on your blog today.
If you asked me that back in high school, I would have said vampire for sure. But these days, I’ve grown fonder of werewolves.
Me: What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done?
T: It would have to be the time I got caught in Tokyo, Japan during their mega earthquake in 2011. There is a small funny moment in this. Hubby and I were up on level 36 of the hotel and I had just climbed out of the shower. As I was getting dressed, I said to hubby, “I think the hotel’s put a heater and massaging machine beneath the bathroom floor.”
He came to check. I moved into the hallway, and noticed the floor was still vibrating. Hubby said, “It’s nothing. Just a small earthquake. Japan has them all the time.”
Then, the big earthquake hit, the building swayed crazily, and I completely freaked out. Scariest thing ever!
Me: Oh, wow! That would be scary! The supernatural – is it real? Why or why not?
T: Now you’ve got me stumped. I go by the philosophy that something should exist beyond us, eg. Ghosts, but at the same time I struggle to believe it because I’ve never experienced it myself. But I do love hearing people’s personal ghost stories. Gives me the major creeps.
Me: What’s your favorite planet?
T: It’s a tie between Jupiter and Saturn. They’re both so intriguing in different ways. I’ll watch any documentary I find on Jupiter or Saturn.
Me: Okay, here’s a tough question. I know you love to bake, so what is your favorite dessert of all time?
T: That’s not too hard. I can never pass up a crème caramel. My all time favorite dessert. 🙂
Me: Yum! What’s the name of the book you’re reading?
T: Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead
Me: Where did the idea for Cloaked in Fur come from?
T: I grew up watching and reading everything on horror, especially if it included monster and creatures of the night. And even today, that passion trickles into my writing. There isn’t a story I write that doesn’t include a sinister dark foe that hides in the shadows. Cloaked in Fur was a combination of me wanting to explore how far someone would go to save their true love mixed with werewolves and strong pack loyalty.
Me: I can relate! Why do you write?
T: Like most writers, I have an overactive imagination, and writing is an avenue to express my ideas and myself. Plus, I don’t think I could do anything else. I love writing.
Me: Other than your release day, what is something you’re really looking forward to?
T: Well, my birthday is coming up really soon, and not only do I get spoiled by hubby, but it’s a great time when I get together with family and friends. And there’s no excuse for not eating cake. 🙂
Me: Happy early birthday! What scares you?
T: This will probably sound silly and contradictory to some of the above answers, but with my crazy imagination, I hate the dark. I always imagine monsters jumping out of the corners or grabbing my feet from beneath the steps. Of course, it’s illogical because those things don’t exist, but try telling my mind and fear that. Hubby always laughs at me.
Me: What’s the last song you listened to on purpose?
T: Young And Beautiful by Lana Del Rey
Me: I haven’t heard that song before, but it’s incredibly haunting! Did you learn anything today? If so, what?
T: Even when I’m not in the mood for writing, by sitting in a café filled with people, I’ll always produce something great. It’s the pressure. Always works.
Me: Awesome! What’s the one thing you can’t live without?
T: That’s simple. My husband.
Awwww! That’s so sweet! Here’s a bit more about Cloaked in Fur and T.F. Walsh.
As a moonwulf, Daciana never expected to fall in love with a human. Hell, she never imagined that she’d abandon her pack, endanger everyone around her, and break the worst rule possible. But she did.
A rogue werewolf is killing Daciana’s friends, and she sets on capturing the creature. She’ll do whatever it takes to stop the beast. The police and her boyfriend, Inspector Connell Lonescu, are starting to question her involvement in the murders, which is endangering the pack’s secret existence. But when the pack alpha kidnaps Connell, revealing the awful truth about the creature and its connection to the pack, Daciana must choose between saving the man she loves and saving her pack family from certain death.
Cloaked in Fur, a Paranormal Suspense With Strong Romance, is Available Now!
Buy Cloaked in Fur Here:
About The Author
T.F. Walsh emigrated from Romania to Australia at the age of eight and now lives in a regional city south of Sydney with her husband. Growing up hearing dark fairytales, she’s always had a passion for reading and writing horror, paranormal romance, urban fantasy and young adult stories. She balances all the dark with light fluffy stuff like baking and traveling.
Author Links
Pet @TFWalsh’s Cover for Cloaked in Fur
I have a great cover reveal for you today for T.F. Walsh’s paranormal debut called Cloaked in Fur, which releases August 5th.
Here it is!
I give you permission to pet it because you know that fur is going to be so soft. Go on and pet it, you know you want to.
Here’s the blurb and a bit more about the author:
Cloaked in Fur
As a moonwulf, Daciana never expected to fall in love with a human. Hell, she never imagined that she’d abandon her pack, endanger everyone around her, and break the worst rule possible. But she did.
A rogue werewolf is killing Daciana’s friends, and she sets on capturing the creature. She’ll do whatever it takes to stop the beast. The police and her boyfriend, Inspector Connell Lonescu, are starting to question her involvement in the murders, which is endangering the pack’s secret existence. But when the pack alpha kidnaps Connell, revealing the awful truth about the creature and its connection to the pack, Daciana must choose between saving the man she loves and saving her pack family from certain death.
Paranormal Suspense With Strong Romance
Publisher: Crimson Romance (add hyperlink to wording ‘Crimson Romance’: www.crimsonromance.com )
About The Author
T.F. Walsh emigrated from Romania to Australia at the age of eight and now lives in a regional city south of Sydney with her husband. Growing up hearing dark fairytales, she’s always had a passion for reading and writing horror, paranormal romance, urban fantasy and young adult stories. She balances all the dark with light fluffy stuff like baking and traveling.
Author Links
My Vacation: I Know Where the Hobbits Live
No, I didn’t travel to New Zealand, but you know where I did go? Washington, as in the state, not D.C. like I did last year. Which reminds me, why is it that when I say I’m vacationing in Washington, people look at me like they’re waiting for me to finish my sentence? For example:
Person: Oh, you’re going on vacation! How exciting. Where to?
Me: Washington.
Person: *lifts eyebrows and blinks expectantly*
Me: *sighs* The state of Washington.
Let’s all pull out our world atlases and look at the United States. See Washington? It’s Washington, right? Not the State of Washington? Can you find Washington, D.C.? If I was going to Washington, D.C., I swear on my life I would add the D.C. part right after I said Washington. Okay, /rant. I’m usually sooooooooooo easy-going, but that makes me want to light my face on fire.
Anyway. Let’s move on to the actual vacation. We flew out of the Denver International Airport, and let me tell you something: If going through security before made me feel kind of guilty, like maybe I was hiding something and I didn’t even know it, now it makes me feel like I’m definitely a terrorist. Security makes you walk through a new scanner thingy where you have to raise your arms over your head like you’re about to be arrested. Guess what? It beeped when I walked through. The buckle on the back of my shorts was made of metal, and I completely forgot about it. So I had to be patted down while I turned fifty shades of red.
Yes, I understand the point of increased security. I really do. But if I had taken that buckle off, my shorts would have fallen to my ankles and everyone would have seen my granny panties. No fun for anyone.
Okay, back to the vacation part. My parents were the reason I was vacationing in Washington, and my BF reminded me why I’m definitely their daughter. My parents are hobbits, you see. They live to eat, but neither are overweight. They live in a cozy home with a fireplace and walls full of bookshelves. They go a lot of places, but they prefer to stay at home with their books and cheeses and cakes. They don’t, however, have big hairy feet. Yep. I’m definitely my parents’ daughter.
Oh, and we also went to Mordor. It was a perilous journey full of climbing, hiking, dodging snakes, and following the leprechaun to a patch of four leaf clovers. You might think I’m kidding, but I’m really, really not.
See? They’re a little dried up, but they still count.
This is the foresty part on the way to Mordor.
I didn’t get a picture of the snake because I was too busy running away, in case you were wondering.
Okay, so we weren’t really going to Mordor. We were actually in Wallace, Idaho, which is close to where my parents live. The largest forest fire in the history of the United States swept through this small town and destroyed a third of it in 1910. Wallace resident and forest ranger Edward Pulaski saved thirty-eight men from the fire by leading them to safety into an old mine. The path we walked winds around the above stream and leads close to the mine. On the way there, we saw towering trees with black marks scorched right up the sides of them.
We couldn’t go inside the entrance to the mine. 🙁
We also visited Manito Park in Spokane, Washington. It was gorgeous.
This…whatever it is looks like furry red cat tails!
The view from the Japanese Gardens. So pretty!
Since I come from a family of hobbits, it should come as no surprise that we ate. A lot.
This giant sundae was one of the many, many things we devoured. That’s my mom behind it wondering if we have big enough spoons.
It was so much fun to visit with my parents, but because I’m a hobbit, I also enjoyed coming home.
Have you gone on any summer adventures? Do you know where any hobbits live?
Winners, and a #NewAdult #CoverReveal by @KaryRader
Drum roll, please! I have the winners of the Summer Lovin’ Blog Hop. Would you like to know who they are?
The winner of the shiny Kindle Paperwhite is Maria Maltais!
The winner of the huge swag pack and the $25 gift card is Kristi Chambers!
The winner of the $5 gift card to the book store of their choice is Connie Phillips!
Congratulations to all the winners!
Okay, time to switch gears to a New Adult cover reveal by author Kary Rader. Commence the cover petting in 3, 2, 1!
I love it! Here’s the blurb:
Cheerleader Taylor Smith doesn’t want to die a virgin. Unfortunately, if the terminally-ill leukemia patient doesn’t find a lover or a stem-cell match within months, her fear will become reality. But when her cancer mentor is revealed to be a hottie entrepreneur from California, it seems fate might finally be on her side.
Tech-geek Gavin Taylor has everything he ever wanted, except someone to grieve for him when he’s gone. With his melanoma cancer beyond the help of his riches, he agrees to participate in a cancer patient mentoring program where he’s matched with a dying teen from Texas. Despite his immediate attraction, the Silicon Valley whiz intends only to provide friendship and happy memories to the beautiful, young woman who is determined to win his love.
When it’s discovered that his frozen sperm and her harvested eggs could lead to a cure, Taylor’s mother offers to be a surrogate. And Gavin must decide if he can risk the heart he has never given and a child he’ll never know to a girl he just met.
About Kary:
Kary Rader is a stay-at-home mother of three, avid reader and slave to the characters and worlds inside her head. Her book Queen of Jastain, published by Crescent Moon Press released this past April. Kary is currently in the process of self-publishing a book that is close to heart, and is sure to touch the lives of all the readers that encounter it. A Taylor-Made Life releases this summer. (Look for the cover reveal coming soon!)
Always creative, she’s drawn to stories with fantastical worlds and creatures. With a little bit of magic and divine guidance, there isn’t anything that can’t be accomplished with words. It’s the power of words that creates and destroys.
Vanquishing evil and injustice while finding eternal love in the process is all in a day’s work. And with the help of her critique partners and master cartographer imaginary places come to life.
Website: http://www.karyrader.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KaryRaderauthor?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KaryRader
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18012643-a-taylor-made-life
Because Kary is so cool, she’s offering a giveaway! Here are the details:
Prize: A signed copy of Kary’s book Queen of Jastain, and E-ARC of A Taylor-Made Life and a charm bracelet.
Giveaway Rules:
- Giveaway begins June 21st and will end June 24th 11:59 EST. The winner will be announced on June 24th on Kary Rader’s Facebook page.
- Open to U.S. residents only
- We are not responsible for items lost in the mail & have the right to disqualify anyone, at any time.
- Personal information given by the applicant in the giveaway will never be shared. All information is deleted once the giveaway ends.
Just click on the Rafflecopter below!
Summer Lovin’: In Which I Get All Mushy Because of the Heat
Crescent Moon Press authors are ready for summer! We’ll be blogging about our summer loves, our romances, and how much we love summer! Have you ever had a summer fling? Do you have a favorite book about summer? What’s on your summer reading list? What are some great beach reads? We’re blogging about all of it!
Visit our blogs below and enter to win some great prizes between June 14 -17.
Grand Prize: A Kindle Paperwhite & some of our eBooks to read on it!
1st Prize: A $20 Amazon gift card, and a Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, more eBooks, bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, and more!
This is just some of the awesome swag!
Other Prizes – You’ll have to hop around the other blogs to find out what they are!
Drop by our blogs between June 14 & 17 and enter the rafflecopter!
Good luck & hope to see you there!
Okay, here’s my summer lovin’ post!
Schooooooooool’s out for summer! But that’s not the only reason I love this time of year. Sure, I have more time to catch up on life and I can write until my fingertips are bloody, but summer fills me with smiles for other reasons, too. The soaring temperatures, the freedom to do whatever I want, the excited stir in my stomach – it all reminds me of one summer long ago when love grabbed me around the waist and hasn’t let go since.
Yes, the ewey, gooey love stuff is about to begin, but you can handle it.
One summer in high school, my crush had a birthday party and invited me. After some high-pitched squeezing, I went, of course, and I sat next to a guy from out of town who I’d never met before. He was the drummer in my crush’s band, but that was all I knew. As we sat there, he kept showing me pictures of recent concerts he’d gone to and cracking me up with every bizarre thing that fell out of his mouth. He was strange in a just-like-me sort of way, and he had the prettiest green eyes I’d ever seen. And that smile…wow. I was a total goner. (He must’ve been a goner, too, because he’s sitting just a few feet away as I type this, many years after this happened.)
But anyway, he lived out of town, about six hours away to be exact. So, I would only get to see him during summers when he came to visit his dad (who happened to live in town) and to visit and practice with his band. Summers became the best time ever for that exact reason.
In between summers, we wrote letters back and forth. Real letters with paper and pencil since these were the pre-email and pre-texting days. If you guessed that I’m at least five hundred years old, you’re absolutely right!
I still have all the letters he sent me. He’d write about random things he was doing or planning to do, school projects, or odd things he’d seen. He would illustrate his letters with funny drawings in the margins. Getting one of his letters in the mail was almost as great as summer.
I graduated high school and went to college where he lived, and then we didn’t have to rely on summers or letters anymore after that. We had the rest of our lives.
Your turn! What’s your favorite summer memory? Leave your answer with your name and email for a chance to win a $5 gift card to the bookstore of your choice!
Here’s the link to the Rafflecopter: a Rafflecopter giveaway
Don’t forget to hop around the blogs below for more chances to win!
Shawna Romkey Author blog
Constance Phillips, A Writer’s Musings
Katie O’Sullivan;
Summer Lovin’ – On Olympus…
Kate’s Blog
Kary Rader
Lindsey R. Loucks
Summer Lovin’, postcards, and maybe bookmarks
Jody A Kessler Summer Lovin’ Mountain Style
Official Website of Maer Wilson
Author Jean Murray ~ Wicked Romance Blog
Summer Lovin’ Heat
Hildie McQueen’ s Author Site
Loni Lynne’s Blog Site
Author Avery Olive Blog
Wendy S. Russo
Cindy Young-Turner
Michelle Clay – The Darkside of Romance
the Marvelous Misadventures of Mrs. t
Shannon Eckrich