Showers of Books Giveaway/Hop

Enter yourself in a chance to win THE SYMPTOMS OF MY INSANITY by Mindy Raf (HERE)

The Giveaway:
One lucky winner can choose one from any of these books.

Let the Sky Fall:  Seventeen-year-old Vane Weston has no idea how he survived the category five tornado that killed his parents. And he has no idea if the beautiful, dark-haired girl who’s swept through his dreams every night since the storm is real. But he hopes she is.

Seventeen-year-old Audra is a sylph, an air elemental. She walks on the wind, can translate its alluring songs, and can even coax it into a weapon with a simple string of commands. She’s also a guardian—Vane’s guardian—and has sworn an oath to protect Vane at all costs. Even if it means sacrificing her own life.

When a hasty mistake reveals their location to the enemy who murdered both of their families, Audra’s forced to help Vane remember who he is. He has a power to claim—the secret language of the West Wind, which only he can understand. But unlocking his heritage will also unlock the memory Audra needs him to forget. And their greatest danger is not the warriors coming to destroy them—but the forbidden romance that’s grown between them.

Mila 2.0: Mila 2.0 is the first book in an electrifying sci-fi thriller series about a teenage girl who discovers that she is an experiment in artificial intelligence.

Mila was never meant to learn the truth about her identity. She was a girl living with her mother in a small Minnesota town. She was supposed to forget her past—that she was built in a secret computer science lab and programmed to do things real people would never do.

Now she has no choice but to run—from the dangerous operatives who want her terminated because she knows too much and from a mysterious group that wants to capture her alive and unlock her advanced technology. However, what Mila’s becoming is beyond anyone’s imagination, including her own, and it just might save her life.

Mila 2.0 is Debra Driza’s bold debut and the first book in a Bourne Identity-style trilogy that combines heart-pounding action with a riveting exploration of what it really means to be human. Fans of I Am Number Four will love Mila for who she is and what she longs to be—and a cliffhanger ending will leave them breathlessly awaiting the sequel.

Etiquette and Espionage: It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners—and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's, young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage—in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

Set in the same world as the Parasol Protectorate, this YA series debut is filled with all the saucy adventure and droll humor Gail Carriger's legions of fans have come to adore.

Mind Games: Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future.

Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways…or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey.

In a stunning departure from her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy, Kiersten White delivers a slick, edgy, heartstoppingly intense psychological thriller about two sisters determined to protect each other—no matter the cost.

Clockwork Princess: Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

Tessa Gray should be happy - aren't all brides happy?
Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute.
A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her.   

Requiem: They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.

But we are still here.

And there are more of us every day.

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.

Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.

But we have chosen a different road.

And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.

We are even free to choose the wrong thing.

Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

The Elite: The hotly-anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestseller The Selection.

Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Iléa.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.  

How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the arrow buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to international entrants.
 
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Young Adult Giveaway/Hop

Don't forget to enter yourself in a chance to win HOOKED by Liz Fichera (here) until Feb. 1. 

Don't forget to enter yourself in a chance to win a FALLING KINGDOMS poster (here) starting Feb 1. 

NOTICE:  All my published work is currently down from retailer sites.  I'll have it back up ASAP.

The Giveaway:
The winner can choose from any one of these YA titles.

Splintered by A.G. Howard:  This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes: In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power--brutally transforming their subjects' lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined:

Cleo: A princess raised in luxury must embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of a magic long thought extinct.

Jonas: Enraged at injustice, a rebel lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country impoverished--and finds himself the leader of a people's revolution centuries in the making.

Lucia: A girl adopted at birth into a royal family discovers the truth about her past--and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.

Magnus: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, a firstborn son begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword...

The only outcome that's certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?

The Archived: Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous-it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da's death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.

Level 2:  Three levels. Two loves. One choice. Debut novelist, Lenore Appelhans has written a thrilling otherworldly young adult novel about a place that exists between our world (Level 1) and what comes after life (Level 2).

'I pause to look around the hive - all the podlike chambers are lit up as the drones shoot up on memories ... I've wanted to get out of here before, but now the tight quarters start to choke me. There has to be more to death than this.'

Felicia Ward is dead. Trapped in a stark white afterlife limbo, she spends endless days replaying memories, of her family, friends, boyfriend ... and of the guy who broke her heart. The guy who has just broken into Level 2 to find her.

Felicia learns that a rebellion is brewing, and it seems she is the key. Suspended between heaven and earth, she must make a choice. Between two worlds, two lives and two loves.

Scarlet:  Cinder returns in the second thrilling installment of the New York Times-bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother and the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own.

As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, they find another when they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen who will do anything to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner.

The Madman's Daughter:  In the darkest places, even love is deadly.

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the truths we'll go to any lengths to protect.

Altered: When you can’t trust yourself, who can you believe?

Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.

Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the arrow buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to International entrants.
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Dreaming of Summer Giveaway/Hop

The Giveaway:
I am also giving away a copy of WARD AGAINST DEATH by Melanie Card (here).
One lucky winner can pick any one of these awesome summer reads:

Reached by Allie Condie: After leaving Society and desperately searching for the Rising—and each other—Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again: Cassia has been assigned to work for the Rising from within Society, while Ky has been stationed outside its borders. But nothing is as predicted, and all too soon the veil lifts and things shift once again.

In this gripping conclusion to the #1 New York Times-bestselling Matched Trilogy, Cassia will reconcile the difficulties of challenging a life too confining, seeking a freedom she never dreamed possible, and honoring a love she cannot live without.

Dunk by David Lubar: To the Bozo, the clown who sits inside the cage above the dunk tank, everyone is a "mark." Once he has zeroed in on his victim, the Bozo comes up with the perfect wisecrack something funny enough to make people stop and listen, and cruel enough to hook the mark. Now the mark is bent on revenge, and he'll buy however many balls he needs to hit the target and see the Bozo plunge into the water. It's a game that fascinates Chad, who lives on the Jersey shore, where the boardwalk turns into an amusement park every summer. He wishes he could shout at the world from the safety of a cage his dad ran out on him and his mom, and now everyone seems convinced that Chad will wind up a loser, too. He's determined to get a job playing the Bozo, something he knows he'd be good at. Suddenly, Chad finds himself thrown into a strange and twisted world, where humor has far more power than he ever imagined.

With a crackling plot and smart, funny dialogue, Dunk pulls readers along on a journey that exposes a universal truth: We all need to laugh. 

Life of Pi by Yann  Martel:  After the sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a wounded zebra, an orangutan—and a 450-pound royal bengal tiger. The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary and beloved works of fiction in recent years.

Universally acclaimed upon publication, Life of Pi is a modern classic.

Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia/Margaret Stohl: Is death the end . . . or only the beginning?

Ethan Wate always dreamed of leaving the stifling Southern town of Gatlin.

But he never dreamt that finding love with Lena Duchannes would drive him away. Lena is a Caster girl whose supernatural powers unveiled a secretive and cursed side of Gatlin, so powerful it forced him to make a terrible sacrifice.

Now Ethan must find a way to return to Lena - and Gatlin - as she vows to do whatever it takes to get him back. Even if it means trusting old enemies or risking their loved ones' lives.

Can Ethan and Lena rewrite their fate and their spellbinding love story in this stunning finale to the Beautiful Creatures series?

Ember by Jessica Sorenson: What if you knew when someone was going to die?

For seventeen-year-old Ember, life is death. With a simple touch, she knows when someone will die. It’s her curse and the reason she secludes herself from the world. The only person who knows her secret is her best friend Raven.

Then she meets Asher Morgan. He’s gorgeous, mysterious, and is the only person Ember can't sense death from. So when he pushes into her life, she doesn’t mind.

But when unexplained deaths start to haunt her town, Ember starts questioning why she can’t sense Asher's death and what he may be hiding. 

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire: INTENSE. DANGEROUS. ADDICTIVE.

Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand.

Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby wants—and needs—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match 

How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to national entrants only.

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Don't Forget to Enter the Other Giveaways: 

Lazy Days of Summer Giveaway/Hop

I'm also giving away a signed copy of Susan Dennard's SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY on my Feature Friday page, don't forget to enter that too! CLICK HERE.

The Giveaway:
One lucky winner can choose from any one of the books below!

Such a Rush:  A sexy and poignant romantic tale of a young daredevil pilot caught between two brothers.  When I was fourteen, I made a decision. If I was doomed to live in a trailer park next to an airport, I could complain about the smell of the jet fuel like my mom, I could drink myself to death over the noise like everybody else, or I could learn to fly.

Heaven Beach, South Carolina, is anything but, if you live at the low-rent end of town. All her life, Leah Jones has been the grown-up in her family, while her mother moves from boyfriend to boyfriend, letting any available money slip out of her hands. At school, they may diss Leah as trash, but she’s the one who negotiates with the landlord when the rent’s not paid. At fourteen, she’s the one who gets a job at the nearby airstrip.

But there’s one way Leah can escape reality. Saving every penny she can, she begs quiet Mr. Hall, who runs an aerial banner-advertising business at the airstrip and also offers flight lessons, to take her up just once. Leaving the trailer park far beneath her and swooping out over the sea is a rush greater than anything she’s ever experienced, and when Mr. Hall offers to give her cut-rate flight lessons, she feels ready to touch the sky.

By the time she’s a high school senior, Leah has become a good enough pilot that Mr. Hall offers her a job flying a banner plane. It seems like a dream come true . . . but turns out to be just as fleeting as any dream. Mr. Hall dies suddenly, leaving everything he owned in the hands of his teenage sons: golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson. And they're determined to keep the banner planes flying. Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business—until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers—and the consequences could be deadly.

The Prisoner of Cell 25: The start of an action-packed teen series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Richard Paul Evans.

To everyone at Meridian High School, fourteen-year-old Michael Vey is nothing special, just the kid who has Tourette’s syndrome. But in truth, Michael is extremely special—he has electric powers. Michael thinks he is unique until he discovers that a cheerleader named Taylor has the same mysterious powers. With the help of Michael’s friend, Ostin, the three of them set out to discover how Michael and Taylor ended up with their abilities, and their investigation soon brings them to the attention of a powerful group who wants to control the electric teens—and through them, the world.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Richard Paul Evans introduces a character whose risk-filled exploration marks the beginning of a riveting new series. With only his powers, his wits, and his friends to protect him, Michael will need all his strength to survive….

Daughter of Smoke and Bone:  Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Abarat:  “I know that many of you here have waited years for this Hour,” Mater Motley said, using that voice that, though it was barely conversational in volume, was somehow heard everywhere. “The waiting is over. Tomorrow there will be no dawn. Only midnight, absolute and eternal.”

And so begins a new chapter in the epic story of sixteen-year-old Candy Quackenbush and her journeys through the world of the Abarat, where every hour is an island in one eternal day, and nothing is as it seems.

Candy travels through the Abarat from island to island and across the sea with an unlikely band of friends: the escaped prisoner Malingo the Geshrat, the quarrelsome John Brothers, who all share the same body but never the same opinion, and the many other colorful characters they meet along the way.

The problem is that trouble finds Candy wherever she goes. And soon she discovers a secret plot, masterminded by the diabolical Mater Motley, who is obsessed with becoming Empress of the Islands. Her method is simple. She will darken the skies, putting out the suns, moons, and stars. She will bring absolute midnight.

The Faerie Ring:  The year is 1871, and Tiki has been making a home for herself and her family of orphans in a deserted hideaway adjoining Charing Cross Station in central London. They survive by picking pockets. One December night, Tiki steals a ring and sets off a chain of events that could lead to all-out war with the Fey. For the ring belongs to Queen Victoria, and it binds the rulers of England and the realm of Faerie to peace. With the ring missing, a rebel group of faeries hopes to break the treaty with dark magic and blood—Tiki’s blood.

Unbeknownst to Tiki, she is being watched—and protected—by Rieker, a fellow thief who suspects she is involved in the disappearance of the ring. Rieker has secrets of his own, and Tiki is not all that she appears to be. Her very existence haunts Prince Leopold, the Queen’s son, who is driven to know more about the mysterious mark that encircles her wrist.

How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to international entrants.

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Freedom to Read YA Giveaway Hop

The Giveaway

One lucky winner can choose from any of the books below:

Just for Fins:  When Lily Sanderson decided to remain Crown Princess Waterlily of the mer kingdom of Thalassinia, she knew she couldn't just coast along in the current. But since she's spent the last couple of years on land, Lily's not sure she has the fins to lead a kingdom. Even her maddeningly pretentious cousin Dosinia seems to know more about ruling than she does.

But Lily has to dive in deep to keep her promise to Tellin, her mer bond in name only, who tells her his kingdom is suffering in the changing ocean climate. Lily knows this is a seven seas-sized problem. They'll need to create some serious waves to make the mer community aware and get it to join together to make things right. Lily has to lead the way, even if that means facing one of the iciest queens in the mer kingdoms.

Just when Lily thinks her double life on land and sea can't get any more complicated, an ancient mer law might separate Lily and her human boyfriend, Quince, after all. It feels as if the pair is up against a solid tsunami wave!

Chosen Ones: Life is bleak but uncomplicated for sixteen-year-old Tess, living in a not-too-distant future where the government, faced with humanity's extinction, created the Chosen Ones, artificial beings who are extraordinarily beautiful, unbelievably strong, and unabashedly deadly.

When Tess begins work at Templeton, a Chosen Ones training facility, she meets James, and the attraction is immediate in its intensity, overwhelming in its danger. But there is more to Templeton than Tess ever knew. Can she stand against her oppressors, even if it means giving up the only happiness in her life?

Melody Burning:  Beresford doesn’t remember much about his past or how he came to live in the chutes and crawl spaces of the posh high-rise that shares his name. But when rock star and teen sensation Melody McGrath moves to an apartment on the fiftieth floor, he knows he has to be near her. Although she doesn’t realize it, Melody is threatened by more dangerous forces than her manipulative stage mom and the pressures of life in the spotlight. The owner of the glamorous building has been hiding a fatal secret within its walls, and Beresford puts all his plans at risk. Will Beresford and Melody be able to escape with their lives (and love) intact?

Bestselling author Whitley Strieber makes his young adult debut with this pulsing romantic thriller.

Fix Me:  Orphaned as a child, terrorized by her abusive brother, and haunted by memories, Leia feels exposed, powerless, and vulnerable. When her tormented mind can stand it no longer, she escapes to the zoo, where she finds shelter and seeks refuge. The zoo is a sanctuary: a protective space for families, and a safe place for the traumatized to forget. But can she ever feel safe? Can she ever forget?

Once again, Rune Michaels brings us a harrowing psychological drama that raises questions about the very nature of humanity. This chilling tale will challenge our preconceptions of family, memory, and self, leaving readers wondering, are we the pinnacle of evolution—or are we just animals on display?

Bleeding Hearts:  As vampires from all over the world descend on the Drake farm for the Blood Moon gathering, security is ramped up. Lucy has been temporarily banned, for her own safety—and to allow Solange some time to adjust to her new existence. But their enemies realize how much Lucy means to the family, and plan to abduct her to use her for leverage against the new royal family. Instead, Lucy’s cousin Christabel is kidnapped by mistake—and Connor Drake immediately heads off in pursuit, but isn’t in time to prevent Christabel’s infection by the Hel Blar. He can’t save her human life, but he can still try to save her new vampire life, and is willing to put his own life on the line for the girl he has grown to care so much about. Can he save Christabel, the Blood Moon, and his mother’s newly forged Vampire Alliance?

Clarity:  Don't close your eyes. Except when the truth is too dark to bear.
Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch a certain object, and the visions come to her. It's a gift.
And a curse.

When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case -- but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother -- who has supernatural gifts of his own -- becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?

I'M ALSO GIVING AWAY A COPY OF OLDSOUL BY DAN HARING, TO ENTER FOR THAT GIVEAWAY, GO HERE.

How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter.  Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to international entrants.

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Feature Friday: Esther Friesner

Have you ever met someone who is just a unique diamond-in-the-rough kind of person?  I've decided that's the kind of person Esther Friesner is.  Esther has been getting published in the SciFi/Fantasy realm for years, but she only just recently started writing historic YA novels, most specifically the Princesses of Myth series.  I've seen Esther on panels at Lunacon for years and I've always thought she was interesting to listen to.  This year I had the pleasure of being on a panel with her and that was quite a great experience.  This year I learned that Esther is a fellow Connecticut author, a lover of anime, and that she loves hamsters; but I didn't get to know the true Esther until I asked her to become a Feature Friday author and I read her info page on her website.  Holy moly what a fun info page to read!  It's a little too long to copy and paste onto the blog, but I encourage you to take a look here.  Even if you don't get a chance to read her bio page, I hope that this interview is enough for you to get a taste of Esther's personality and creative vision as an author. 

INTERVIEW:

A.L.:

All your heroines tend to be strong roll models for the readers you set out to write for. How much of this is intentional and how much is just your own inclination for that kind of character?

Esther:

It just happens because I like that sort of character and that sort of person. I hope I never set out to use a character as a lecture platform or a pulpit! I don't like reading what I call A Valuable Lesson characters and I doubt most readers do either. I also think that strong characters are more interesting, especially female ones, because it's never been easy--and still isn't--to be a strong woman in any society.

A.L.:

Your new book, Spirit’s Princess, is about a Japanese historical figure named Himiko. Can you tell me why you chose her?

Esther:

I don't remember when or where I first heard of Himiko. I know she's one of the illustrations in an Osprey "Men at Arms" series book. I do recall being fascinated to learn that she--not a warrior-queen but a shaman--managed to unite the warring tribes of Yayoi-era Japan, and that this was not just a legend since her existence is attested in the Chinese chronicles of Wei. Foreign historians gain nothing by glorifying the leader of another nation, especially not if said leader were purely imaginary. She was real, all right, a unifier and a peace-bringer. (BTW, she exchanged tribute with China and archaeologists have found evidence of this exchange. Very interesting!)

A.L.:

When it comes to choosing which YA book you write next, do you decide to choose an area, time period, or a particular historic figure/event first?

Esther:

I choose my heroine first, not her era or country, though to be more accurate, I choose at least three young women whose lives and histories interest me enough to set me wondering about what their girlhoods might have been like. Then I take my ideas to my editor and we pick one. The good part is, I am equally interested in writing about any one of the three or I would not suggest them, so it's win-win-win for me no matter which one, er, wins. :)

A.L.:

What kind of research did you do to prepare to write Himiko’s story?

Esther:

Books and Our Friend the Internet. There aren't many books available about Himiko, but the one I chiefly used was excellent. I am very thankful for all the online resources available concerning daily life in Himiko's time, Yayoi-era Japan. I also owe thanks to the Japanese Tourism Office in New york for maps and beautifully illustrated brochures. Finally, I am happy to say that I've been lucky enough to visit Japan twice and on my second trip was able to travel beyond Tokyo. I would love to do so again, and hope that my next journey will allow me to visit a reconstructed Yayoi village, about which I have only read online. It looks wonderful!

A.L.:

I’m assuming you’ll go along with the two-book-standard for Himiko, so we should expect a second book in her series, but after her, who do you think will be your next heroine?

Esther:

There is definitely a second book about Himiko, Spirit's Chosen.

And for my next heroine in the Princesses of Myth series, I am hoping to take readers to Ireland of the Iron Age in order to share the adventures of the girl who grew up to be the redoubtable Queen Maeve. She was quite the kickbutt character, probably able to give young Helen of Sparta powerful competition, but trust me, I've got some powerful surprises and twists in store for her! [Cue Author's Gloating Laughter here.]

A.L.:

Do you see yourself writing in another YA genre anytime soon?

Esther:

I'm having too much fun writing my YA historicals right now to turn to another genre, but you never know.

A.L.:

If you walked into a Japanese restaurant, what would you order?

Esther:

YUM! I love Japanese food.

I would order the following: miso soup; assorted sushi (I prefer roll style and my preferred kinds include, but are not limited to: tuna, salmon, yellowtail, cucumber, any combinations of the above featuring avocado, scallions, other veggies, and roe, but I am open to sampling new and untried varieties); rice balls, especially stuffed with ume (pickled plum); oshinko (assorted pickled vegetables); seaweed salad; udon (a specific type of noodle); green tea; sake.

Please note that I would not order all of these for one meal. I just don't want to leave out any of my favorite dishes. (Except I fear I might have done so anyway. There are so many good things! When shall we go?)

A.L.:

If you could give one piece of advice to budding authors, what would it be?

Esther:

May I give more than one?

Don't give up.

Recognize that your work is valuable and that you deserve to be paid for your talent and effort.

Don't take rejection personally. You are not being rejected, it's just that one piece of your writing was not a good "fit" for that particular editor/publication. Try submitting it elsewhere. Write more. If your submission receives a criticism from one editor, it might be no more than a matter of that person's taste, but if your submission receives similar criticisms from more than one editor, you might want to consider rewriting it.

Don't fall for any of the "We want to publish your book/be your agent!" scams out there. Reputable agents do not charge fees for trying to sell your work to a publisher; they receive a percentage of the money you receive once they do make that sale for you.

Beware of "contests" that charge entry fees.

If you aspire to become a professionally published author, remember the wise words of James Macdonald: "Money flows toward the writer."

A.L.:

What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a historical novel?

Esther:

The hardest part is making sure that I don't let my heroines act like 21st century young women who are playing dress-up. This means that sometimes they may accept as normal certain parts of their culture that we would find horrible.

Case in point: All three of the cultures about which I have written so far--ancient Egypt, Minoan-Mycenaean Greece, and 3rd century Japan--were slave-owning societies. It would be artificial for my heroines to declare "Slavery is wrong!" unless they first had the opportunity to think about it and the personal experiences that would bring them to this realization naturally.

And I get to give them those experiences. :)

A.L.:

Out of your three YA heroines (Helen, Nefertiti, and Himiko) which is your favorite? Likewise, whose story was the most interesting/fun to write?

Esther:

No contest: All of the Above, for all different reasons.

Never ask a mother to name her favorite child. :)

A.L.:

Some of your best baddies have been women; do you like writing female baddies more than male? Or is this just a coincidence?

Esther:

It's coincidence. I am an Equal Opportunity Baddie-Employer! I will admit, it can be a great deal of fun to write a really juicy villain's part. (Dracula is so much more interesting than Van Helsing!)

If you delve into history, you'll find plenty of examples of notorious baddies both male and female. Unfortunately, when they're a part of history rather than historical novels, they do real damage.

A.L.:

If you could be a particular female character (mythical/real) who would you be? Why?

Esther:

Off the top of my head, I'd pick Eleanore of Aquitaine. She was an independent ruler, she had the most marvelous real-life adventures, she traveled widely, and she lived into her eighties or nineties.

She could have had better luck with her husbands, though. Can I be Eleanore without that part of her life where her second husband, Henry II of England, imprisons her for years and years? Yes, it was a very comfortable imprisonment, but still--!

But she did get out eventually, and went on to make her own happy ending.

Or so I like to imagine, and for me, imagination's what it's all about!

Esther Friesner

Web: http://princessesofmyth.com/

THE GIVEAWAY!
For this Feature Friday giveaway we have a real treat!  Esther has provided two advanced reading copies of her new book, Spirit's Princess, as well as some autographed book plates.  The giveaway will run from April 20th to the 25th as part of my Showers of Books Giveaway Hop.

Spirit's Princess: Himiko the beloved daughter of a chieftain in third century Japan has always been special. The day she was born there was a devastating earthquake, and the tribe's shamaness had an amazing vision revealing the young girl's future—one day this privileged child will be the spiritual and tribal leader over all of the tribes. Book One revolves around the events of Himiko's early teen years—her shaman lessons, friendships, contact with other tribes, and journey to save her family after a series of tragic events. Once again, Esther Friesner masterfully weaves together history, myth, and mysticism in a tale of a princess whose path is far from traditional.

Read Goodreads Reviews
Buy Now on Barnes and Noble
Buy Now on Amazon

Showers of Books YA Giveaway Featuring Esther Friesner

 

THE GIVEAWAY!

For this giveaway we have a real treat! Esther Friesner has provided two advanced reading copies of her new book, Spirit's Princess, as well as some autographed book plates. The giveaway will run from April 20th to the 25th.

Spirit's Princess: Himiko the beloved daughter of a chieftain in third century Japan has always been special. The day she was born there was a devastating earthquake, and the tribe's shamaness had an amazing vision revealing the young girl's future—one day this privileged child will be the spiritual and tribal leader over all of the tribes. Book One revolves around the events of Himiko's early teen years—her shaman lessons, friendships, contact with other tribes, and journey to save her family after a series of tragic events. Once again, Esther Friesner masterfully weaves together history, myth, and mysticism in a tale of a princess whose path is far from traditional.

Read Goodreads Reviews
Buy Now on Barnes and Noble
Buy Now on Amazon 



TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter.  Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be two winners (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winners via email. This contest is open to international entrants.

Autism Awareness Blog Hop/Giveaway

This giveaway/hop is to help bring Autism Awareness to the readers at large. I have a couple of friends as well as some friends who have family with Autism, so it's a close thing to me. Even I didn't entirely understand what it was until I did some research. This morning, I wrote up a nice big informative blog post and was quite proud of myself. Then I tried editing it, somehow managed to delete it, and then didn't hit the undo button in time for the auto-save to make the deletion permanent. GRRR... Unfortunately, I don't have enough time to re-post what I had, so I have to do just do links. :( Sorry guys. If any of you would like to share information or stories, please feel free to leave a post!

These are my top sites for information and assistance:
Autism Fact Sheet
Wikipedia
Autism Speaks
Autism Society

THE GIVEAWAY:
The winner can select any one of the following novels:

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. This hop runs from 4/11/12 to 4/17/12. Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner asking for their choice. This contest is open to international entrants.

Charity Giveaway/Hop Featuring The Endangered

This was a hard blog/hop to prepare for!  There are so many things I care about and there are so many wonderful charities out there.  However, in light of my recent completion of my cyberpunk, I chose to go with a charity that advocates wildlife conservation.  My choice for this giveaway/hop is The Wildlife Conservation Network.  This is a smaller group that hasn't been around for very long (since 2002); but I like where it has gone so far and I think it has a lot of potential.  One of the reasons I chose this charity is because it's not as well known as say...the World Wildlife Fund; thus, it has far fewer contributions on a yearly basis.  Another thing I like about this organization is its Mission:

Founded in 2002, Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN) is dedicated to protecting endangered species and preserving their natural habitats. We support innovative strategies for people and wildlife to co-exist and thrive. We partner with independent, community-based conservationists around the world and provide them with the capital and tools they need to develop solutions for human-wildlife coexistence. WCN's conservationists actively engage local people as effective stewards of their environment and work in a culturally-respectful manner to ensure that conservation skills and values will be passed on to future generations.

Anybody get warm fuzzies at the prospect of an organization that focuses on co-existence?  I like that.  Because while I like the environment and all the wildlife, I also understand that people tend to put themselves first.  This organization understands that too!  I'm also a fan of community based initiatives.  Getting down to the level of the local people, teaching them stewardship and not undermining their cultural values is a huge aspect of advocacy.  Plus, I like the idea of passing it along to the kids!

To learn more, check it out in Charity Navigator.

OKAY, now for the giveaway!  In honor of the awesome work this charity is doing to help preserve certain endangered species, I'm giving away books featuring endangered species!  The winner can chose one of the following:

Tigers: Any one book from The Tiger Saga by Colleen Houck.

Wolves: Any one book from the Nightshade series by Andrea Cremer.

Polar Bears: Ice by Sarah Beth Durst.

Mute Swans: Princess of the Wild Swans by Diane Zahler or The Swan Maiden by Jules Watson.

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. This hop runs from 3/30/12 to 4/4/12. Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner asking for their choice. This contest is open to international entrants.