BLOG TOUR - GUEST POST: The Last Enchantress by Scott & Judith Powell

Being nineteen for over three hundred years bites, and being single in New York with magical powers isn't much better.

Eva is trying to live an everyday life in New York. When this fails, she takes a seemingly unmagical job as a translator for a wealthy American family in Spain. Eva cannot stay out of trouble for long as she runs into a friendly but hungry vampire named Louis. Eva feels drawn to this handsome, dangerous stranger who has problems of his own.

Louis's life was just fine until Eva walked into his church. She smells like heaven. Or is it hell, always smelling but never partaking? Surely she is the devil coming to collect on his lost soul.

Birth of The Last Enchantress

Judith Here the co-author of The Last Enchantress.

It was the day the stock market plummeted almost eight hundred points.  I had been writing seriously for over three months and had just gotten the idea for The Last Enchantress when Scott came home with bad news.  The bank he had worked for had let him go.  So I started to gather all my papers off the computer desk, all my research and all my notes. 

Scott stopped me and asked, “Is this the one?” 

I answered, “Yes it is.  This is it.”

“Well then I don’t want you to stop, I want you to write it.” 

“What about looking for a job?”  I asked

“I’ll still look but not when you are on the computer.  The book is the first priority,”  Scott said.

I insisted that he put his resume on Monster.com but he wasn’t sure what good this would do.  I continued to work on the book.  At first I only wrote ten pages a week.  Scott pushed me to write ten pages a day.  While Scott took over cooking cleaning and home schooling our children. 

When I finished he took over and started editing The Last Enchantress.  When he finished our check book was starting to look really bleak.  I turned to Scott and said, “Now you can have a job.”  One hour later a call came with a job offer.  It was just enough money to keep us going. 

Two months later another job offer came, better than the first. This time they found us on Monster.com.  Now over four years later The Last Enchantress is now competed and published as we had envisioned.

Check out a special sneak peek of The Last Enchantress click here: http://scottandjudithpowell.wordpress.com/508-2/

Scott Powell and Judith Powell are a husband and wife writing team.  Their books include The Last Enchantress available on kindle and Rebel available this fall check them out on their blog here: http://scottandjudithpowell.wordpress.com/.

RELEASE DAY BLITZ - GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY: Only Between Us by Mila Ferrera

Only Between Us by Mila Ferrera
Publication date: September 3rd 2013
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

Last semester, Romy escaped from an abusive relationship with the guy she’d thought was the man of her dreams. This semester she’s putting herself back together, determined to reclaim her passion for art and for life. When she signs up for a painting class at the local art co-op, the possibility of passion becomes very real -- in the form of her teacher, Caleb. Both mysterious and seriously hot, Caleb bares his soul on his canvases, and Romy’s fascinated by what she sees.

Caleb is just trying to keep his head above water. Caring for his traumatized, unstable sister is getting harder every day, and his paintings are so dark and bleak that no one is buying. Teaching classes at the co-op is no longer enough, and now he’s going to have to sell more than just his art to the wealthy, sex-starved women in his classes. But when Romy comes along, she makes everything more complicated. She sees the truth in his paintings -- a truth no one else has realized, until now.

Romy and Caleb might have a real shot together -- one that could heal them both. But when ghosts from their pasts re-emerge, determined to keep them apart, will they be strong enough to hold on to each other?

Author Bio: 

Mila Ferrera lives in New England, where she has a family and a job and does various normal, everyday things, all while plotting novels in her head. She has a passion for writing new adult/adult romance featuring psychological twists and tortured heroes. Her own psychology internship involved plenty of consultation, but alas, no sexy Swedish doctors, and her decision to make one up is what sparked her self-publishing adventures. She's the author of SPIRAL (available now), ONLY BETWEEN US (9/3/13), and EVERYTHING BETWEEN US (11/5/13).

Author Links: Website / Goodreads / Twitter

 On writing contemporary romance:

Although Only Between Us is only the second contemporary romance novel I’ve published, I’ve written several manuscripts in the fantasy and sci-fi genres. At first, I thought writing contemporary would be tricky … or maybe impossible for me. When you write fantasy, there is always a magical solution--and the potential for a unicorn to show up. With sci-fi, when your characters face problems, you can invent a gadget or, you know, clone some people. But with contemporary romance, it’s just you and your characters, who live in the ordinary world. And it’s the writer’s job to make them evoke extraordinary feelings in the reader … without including an alien invasion in the plotline. That’s a pretty daunting task in today’s fast-paced world, where we all have access to nearly limitless entertainment.

Those thoughts were in my head when I started to write Spiral, and I struggled with anxiety about the story (especially because it covers some pretty tough topics). But I think I may have gotten out those first-romance jitters, because I ended up writing Only Between Us in 14 days (also, I have a day job). I wrote Everything Between Us, which comes out in November, in the 14 days after that. I fell so in love with the real, flawed, ordinary lives and problems of the characters that I couldn’t stop writing, and I didn’t want to leave them when I was finished.

The cool thing about that experience—and in reading all the new adult novels I’ve read since embarking on this wild journey—is that it reminded me how compelling non-magical, day-to-day, ordinary life can be. I mean, as a psychologist, I do know that, but I’d been writing speculative fiction in part because I thought I needed a break from all that reality. I guess it turned out that inventing my own was just as fun.

Why do you write or read contemporary romance? Which are your favorites? (Mine so far include Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park, Easy by Tammara Webber, and Faking It by Cora Carmack, and I’m currently reading Slammed by Colleen Hoover)

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BOOK BLITZ - EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY: Ruin (Summer in Winter #1) by C.J. Scott

Ruin by C.J. Scott
(A Summer in Winter Novel 1)
Publication date: August 2013
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

Kate Bell isn’t perfect. Not even close. The things she got up to in college would cause her parents to fall off their pedestals in shock. Home for the summer vacation, Kate settles in for a long, boring break in the tiny backwater of Winter with folks who still treat her like she’s twelve.

Then Ben Parker arrives and suddenly Winter gets interesting. He’s hot, mysterious and good with his hands. Kate falls for him instantly, but her cop father warns her to stay away. But how can she stay away from someone as compelling as Ben? Someone who thinks she’s perfect just the way she is?

When Ben’s secrets catch up to him, not only is Kate’s heart in danger of being broken, but Ben’s entire future could be ruined.

EXCERPT 

"So Ben Parker, if I want you and you want me...what's the problem?"

"You don't like to beat around the bush, do you?"

"We don't have time for that. We only have one night."

"Yeah," he said softly. "Don't I know it."

I turned so that I was fully facing him, one elbow on the railing. "Is that why you're reluctant? Because you're leaving tomorrow?"

"No. Yes. Partly." He shook his head. "It's complicated. I'm complicated."

"You're a guy. You can't be too complicated." I smiled and he smiled back sadly. "I'm listening if you want to explain all your complications to me."

He shook his head. "I can't."

"Look," I said. "I get that stuff has happened in your past that you want to forget."

He straightened. "What makes you think that?"

"You're traveling around the country with only one bag and no money. Not only that, but you got off the bus in a place with no jobs. If I wasn't mistaken, I'd say you're trying to lose yourself."

He leaned on the railing again, his hands dangling over into nothing. He looked out to the garden, but it had grown darker in the last few minutes, and it was difficult to make out more than just shapes. "You'll make a great criminologist, Kate. I have no doubt you'll go far in whatever you decide to do."

"Thanks. That's very sweet of you. But it has nothing to do with the question at hand."

"The question?"

I leaned over until my lips were near his ear. My breath fanned his hair. "Will you kiss me, Ben?" It was the wine talking. It had to be. I'd never been so brazen with any man before. I never made the first move, never took a chance on being rejected.

But I knew Ben wanted me. I just didn't know why he pushed me away.

***To read the extended version of this scene and discover what Ben has tattooed on his shoulder, check out C.J.'s website http://www.cjscottbooks.com

Author Bio: 

C.J. loves reading stories that take her away to another world. If she’s in the middle of an amazing book, she’ll keep reading while cooking or cleaning (when she can be bothered doing either).

She likes interesting artwork but can’t paint, sketch or make anything more complicated than a snowman from plasticine. She enjoys beautiful gardens but hates gardening. She also hates housework, cooking (see above) and writing about herself.

C.J. loves connecting with readers. The best place to interact with her and other fans is via her Facebook page. That’s where she posts teasers and other stuff from her books.

Author links:

Website / Goodreads / Facebook

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BLOG TOUR - GUEST POST: The Red Sun Rises by Victoria Kinnaird

Today is my stop on The Red Sun Rises pre-release blog tour. There is an awesome guest post that Victoria has written so make sure to have a read of that while you're here. Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Eren Anderson is a freak among freaks. At 17 years old, he doesn’t fit in with his peers in the tiny town of All Hallows and despite being born into it, he most certainly doesn’t fit in among The Order of Our Mother, the secret nature worshipping society that has harnessed the ability cast spells and believes vampires are not only real, but their deadliest enemies. Eren is turned into a vampire after an attack by the local coven master, but that is the least of his worries...

In a post-Twilight world, “The Red Sun Rises” is a YA novel intended to give vampires their bite back but it should not be read as simply another vampire novel. “The Red Sun Rises” is a story about growing up, responsibility, falling in love, facing your fears and taking fate into your own hands.

Releases September 6th through Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing

Author Bio: 

Victoria Kinnaird is 25 years old and lives in Glasgow, Scotland. She graduated from the University of Strathclyde in 2009 with a Bachelor of the Arts degree in Journalism, Creative Writing and English Lit. Victoria has been writing since she was 15 years old. "The Red Sun Rises" is her debut novel and she has been writing it on and off for five years. She loves rock music, and all 11 of her tattoos are related to bands that she loves!

Author Links: Facebook / Event Page

Guest Post:

            Everyone knows someone like Eren Anderson. He’s the gorgeous, troubled and rebellious boy next door with a heart of gold hidden underneath his half smoked pack of cigarettes and leather jacket.
            Boys like Eren always have that one friend who is sweet and loyal, almost to a fault. Oh, and of course that friend is always not-so-secretly in love with the not-so-bad boy.

            For Eren Anderson, protagonist of my debut YA novel “The Red Sun Rises”, that friend, the one who is not-so-secretly in love with him is the 6 foot 2, curly haired and brown haired Andy McAbrahms.

            I started writing “The Red Sun Rises” give years ago. I grew up surrounded by gay friends and drowning in Anne Rice books at a time when gay kids were starting to raise their voices. I have been writing about gay characters for as long as I have been writing, so it came as no surprise that when Eren showed up in my head one day, demanding a story of his own, he became the apex of an all male teen love triangle.

            It was important to me to represent the relationships between Eren, Andy and Eren’s vampire boyfriend Corbijn in a way that felt real. Eren, Andy and Corbijn represent three very different stories, three different facets of homosexuality that I felt deserved to be represented.

            First, there’s Corbijn. He’s pretty comfortable with his sexuality - after all, he was raised in a coven house by a centuries old vampire who believed that Corbijn was a reincarnation of a former lover. Needless to say, there’s not much that Corbijn is uncomfortable with. Corbijn has never questioned his sexuality, never struggled with it and has never been attracted to girls. He mentions his sexuality as part of a longer sentence.

            Andy could not be more different. Andy was born into The Order of Our Mother, a nature worshipping secret society who have the ability to cast spells. They believe that homosexuality is not natural and it’s something that is seldom discussed. To say Andy struggles with his sexuality is a bit like saying it’s cold at the North Pole. Not only is Andy gay in a society that does not tolerate homosexuality, he’s in love with his very unavailable best friend. One of the themes of “The Red Sun Rises” is focused on taking your fate into your own hands and Andy is a perfect example of this. He is a strong young man, tall and proud and brave and I really think he will be the character that people love the most.

            Eren is where the issue gets fuzzy. Sexuality is a complicated thing and not something that Eren has the time or the desire to dwell on. Although he has a girlfriend at the start of the book, it is quickly established that when he’s bullied (it’s a common occurrence) it’s gay slurs that are used against him. Andy, on the brink of coming out, asks Eren if people assuming he’s gay bothers him. Eren replies: “No. What bothers me is when they think they have a right to make some sort of comment about it.” Eren then goes on to explain that although he is mostly attracted to girls, from time to time he sees a guy that gives him “this swooping feeling” in his stomach. Cue Corbijn, who makes Eren’s stomach swoop in a rather spectacular way. Eren, impulsive as always, follows his heart (and his hormones) into a relationship with Corbijn. He doesn’t question it, doesn’t stop to think about it and finds himself breaking more rules than usual.

            Here’s the thing about love triangles - the person on top always knows about it. Eren is no exception. He knows that his best friend is in love with him. He’s always known and he’s skirted round the issue for years. Why? Because he’s scared that Andy could not handle the inevitable rejection. He would rather leave a whole lot unsaid than lose Andy. Selfish? Yes. Understandable? I hope so. I’m kinda banking on people liking Eren!

            When I knew that “The Red Sun Rises” would be a paranormal book, complete with vampires and magic, I knew it would have to have roots in something real. Eren, Corbijn and especially Andy, are my roots. They are the human element in a story about superhumans. They fall in love, they get their hearts broken, they learn what it means to love someone and in that process, hopefully readers will see elements of their own lives.

            Anyway, I do think I’ve rambled on enough! It has been an absolute pleasure being on the YA Book Addict blog. I hope you have enjoyed learning more about the love triangle at the heart of “The Red Sun Rises” and I hope you enjoy the book!