Friday, June 29, 2012

Freedom to Read Giveaway Hop


Hey Firecrackers!  Thanks to Mundie Moms & I Am A Reader, Not A Writer for giving us another way to celebrate the awesome freedoms we have in this country!  
So grab your sparkler, tell Uncle Bubba not to aim the Roman Candles at the neighbor's cat and enjoy my stop on the hop.

How about 3, yes 3, ebooks to SPARK up your summer?!
Rapture (Fallen, #4) Sweet Evil (The Sweet Trilogy, #1) Embrace (Embrace, #1)


Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The Master behind the Madness at Forbidden Passions Reviews



Did you know that there is a REAL person behind the blogs that you follow?!  I swear it's true!!  Well I decided every once in a while I was going to bring that person out from behind the curtain and let you get to know them.  Today I have Catie from Forbidden Passions Reviews.  I've mentioned on several occasions that Catie and I have been partners in crime book/blogging BFFs for almost 2 years (Wow how time flys).  She so graciously agreed to be my first victim.  So with out further ado...


10 Non-blogging things about Catie:

1. I am the proud mother of two beautiful daughters and I am the   wife of a great husband. 
2. I perfer Vampires to werewolves.  
3. I do not drink coffie or soda. 
4.  It is not normal if I am in bed before 2 A.M. 
5. I like visiting the ocean.  
6. I collect anything labeled wierd.  
7. I used to dress in Goth.  
8. I have two cats, two dogs and two birds(one of those dogs is half wolf).  
9. I love old school music.  Only 70s & 80s. 
10. It is not normal if you find me without my kindle right next to me.

Catie posted something similar about me on her blog.  Her awesomeness never ends!!  So here's the link http://www.forbiddenpassionsreviews.blogspot.com/2012/06/10-things-to-know-but-not-use-against.html if you want to find out some goofy stuff about me.  Oh and if you don't follow one of us it'd be so wonderful of you to do so.  
  

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Midsummer's Eve Giveaway Hop


Are we at the end of June already?!  Slow down summer!!
Thanks to Uniquely Moi Books and I Am A Reader, Not A Writer for hosting this great hop.
So how about you splash into the Sookies Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris.  The entire ebook series plus the Sookie Stackhouse companion!! 
**Must be 17 or older to enter this giveaway due to the content of the books**


Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Indie Author Giveaway Hop



Thanks to Krazy Book Lady & I Am A Reader, Not A Writer


I have been anticipating this hop for a while now.  It's giving me a chance to share one of my favorite Indie authors with you.  I'm going to give one lucky winner BOTH books in the Moon Rising series by L.M. Pruitt.
Once you've entered this giveaway please scroll down to see another HUGE giveaway.  Thanks!
New Moon Rising (Moon Rising, #1) Harvest Moon Rising (Moon Rising, #2)


Monday, June 11, 2012

Character Interview with Sykes from Betrayed by Ednah Walters

I am dizzy with excitement today!  Why the EXTRA crazy you ask?  Because today I have an interview with the delectable Sykes from Ednah Walters' book Betrayed.   After the interview, once you've had your cold shower, I'll give you my review of the book and some great links to check out.




Jeannette (opens the door): Sykes, welcome to my…ooh...chocolate.

Sykes: I was told you were a chocolate-eating-sweet-tea-drinking-sassy bookaholic, so I found the best chocolate this side of the world.

Jeannette: Thank you. Please, have a seat. Would you like some tea?

Sykes:  I’ll pass, but I’ll have a hug. (Sykes hugs her)

Jeannette:  Let me guess. You love hugs?

Sykes:  The best excuse to get a pretty woman into my arms without their men getting antsy.

Jeannette (laughs and wiggles out of his arms): You are impossible and I’ll have you know I’m a happily  married woman. I was told you’d try to charm your way out of answering my questions.

Sykes (amber eyes widen as he gives her an innocent smile): Me? I tend to charm my way into…you know…things, not out of them.

Jeannette: Okay, you naughty man. Sit and let’s catch up. (Jeannette grins as he reclines on a chair, skin visible through various rips on his jeans, expensive canvas shoes a bit chaffed and a tank shirt that showed his masculine arms)

Sykes (wiggles his brows): You keep staring at me like that and I’ll forget you are married.

Jeannette (blushes): Okay. Let’s get started. Tell us, what is the one thing a girl can do to melt that tough guy exterior?

Sykes: Tough? Me? I think I need an image adjustment. I’m the easiest going guy around here. I mean, have you met Bran and Remy? *rolls his eyes* Talk about intense and anal.

Jeannette: What kind of girl will it take to tame you?  Besides Lil, of course. 

Sykes: There will be no taming me. I’m me—take me as I am or leave me alone kind of guy. Lil is, uh… *sighs*…she would like to see me change, become more serious, but that’s not me.   

Jeannette:  If Bran wasn’t around, would you chase her?

Sykes (chuckles): Absolutely. I’m old fashion that way. I believe in doing the courting.

Jeannette (laughs): Nice. So how do you feel about southern girls?

Sykes: Classy. Charming. Love them. Actually, my secret is I love girls, period. It doesn’t matter what size, color or height. Girls…women are fascinating.

Jeannette: Once the war is over, if it ever is, what do you dream about doing?

Sykes (stops smiling and sits up): Is that a trick question? This war is never ending.

Jeannette: But what if?

Sykes (shakes his head): I’m a hunter. It’s what I do best. I can’t imagine doing anything else.

Jeannette: What do you do when not hunting?

Sykes: I hang out with Remy and the gang, or the girl I’m dating. 

Jeannette: Do you think, or hope, Ednah will do a spin-off series about you?  I gotta tell ya, I’m really hoping so.

Sykes (stares into space with nostalgic expression): It would be nice to meet a woman that can make me forget about…stuff. (Flashes a smile, the brief bad mood forgotten) Of course. She’d better find me a mate in a year or so. No, make it three years. I still need to find myself.

Jeannette: Does that mean you’re lost?

Sykes (winks): Would you like to find out? I’m free this weekend.

Jeannette (laughs):  Don’t tempt me. If you could meet one person past, present or future, who would it be? 

Sykes: In my world? The Goddess Xenia. In your world? Kurt Cobain. I love Nirvana.

Jeannette: Ok, tell us one thing, one secret, about Sykes that no one else knows.  Something that gives us a little more insight to the guy you are.

Sykes: Promise not to tell?

Jeannette: Promise.

Sykes: I’m a bookaholic just like you. Espionage…murder mystery…courtroom drama…poetry.  Only Remy knows about it and he swore not to tell. If the girls find out, it will spoil my image.

Jeannette: Which is what?

Sykes (grins):  A semi-illiterate, ignorant slacker. Haven’t you noticed how Izzy is always yapping at me to read more?

Jeannette (laughs):  I have. Well, I’m happy you are not semi-illiterate or a slacker. I promise to keep your little secret too.

Sykes (stands up): Thank you. Now I’ll have one more hug before I leave.  Duty calls.

Sykes holds Jeannette just a little longer then steps back. Am I allowed to kiss you too?

Jeannette: My hubby might start world war three if you did.

Sykes (laughs): Then I’d better go. I hope we meet again, Jeannette.

~Sigh~  Well, he melts me faster than hot pan melts butter!  Whew!!  Ok, please check out my review below and do your best to wipe the tongue streaks off your monitor.  Oh, come on!  You know you what you did.  Bahahaha!

Betrayed (The Guardian Legacy, #2)

Ednah Walters continues her impressive streak!  Just like Awakened, Betrayed has risen above other books in this genre.  She has created such an amazing world for her Guardians & demons where good and evil are not as simple as it seems they should be.  The complex relationships between Lil & Bran, as well as, Lil and her father are so pragmatic.  You can feel the push and pull of emotions as Lil figures out who she must trust.  It's so refreshing to have a heroine who has to learn to struggle with normal problems along with her not so normal ones.  I enjoyed some of the new characters in the series like Celeste, Solange & Dante.  I hope we see more of them.  I am on pins & needles waiting for the next book.  Anyone looking for a fresh & original read in the Angel/Demon world will enjoy this series.


Awakened (The Guardian Legacy, #1)  Betrayed (The Guardian Legacy, Book 1)

WAIT!!  There's more!


Ednah is hosting this spectacular giveaway!  There's also a list of the other blogs on the tour so you won't miss out on a thing.



Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Team Energy/Fire Giveaway Blast!

I'm gonna need my oven mitts for this one!  In honor of Betrayed being released, Team Energy/Fire is hosting a HOT, and I mean BLISTERING giveaway.  Sadly, they are not giving away Sykes as one of the prizes since he is off saving the world and leaving a trail of drooling women in his wake.  


I'm Featured on Ali's Bookshelf!

Just a quick post to let you know to dash on over to Ali's Bookshelf where she gave me the honor of doing a guest post.  I'm so excited!  This was my first time and she made it so easy and fun.  Thanks Ali!! 

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Guest Post & Giveaway with Author Alison Deluca

Who loves Steampunk, raise you hand?!  It's possible you may not be familiar with this genre.  I, myself, have just discovered it recently.  Here is author Alison Deluca's  thoughts on it.

Like a rocket landing in the eye of a full moon, steampunk as a genre has become a recent force in the publishing world. Books such as The Windup Girl, Behemoth, and Corsets & Clockwork are available on Kindle and Nook. There is a large following, as well – Steampunk conventions are popping up in New York, Washington, and even New Jersey, of all places.

It’s not a new genre. Jules Verne and H. G. Wells were describing futuristic machines run by cogs and gears and steam over a century ago. But with cyberpunk losing steam, as it were, prominent authors like William Gibson revived steampunk in the late 80’s.

Recently, however, it really has taken off. Perhaps that is because readers are constantly looking for something new, and yet they are also searching for familiarity as well. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, after all, went over well, and the amalgam of garters and automatons seems to work nicely.

If you do a search in Amazon under the key word steampunk, you’ll see the books’ covers have similarities. There is lace, there are clockworks, there are things that wind up. Inside the books, dreadful and fantastical things happen to characters speaking in an outdated mode.

I feel that steampunk authors need to take care. It is not enough to dress up a tale with a few corsets and throw in a bag of cogwheels to make a story true steampunk. The plot itself needs to rotate, like a bathysphere, around the machines and the manners of the age.


Author Central: http://amzn.to/ADeLucaAuthorCentral

And continuing with my sweetness I have linked the books to goodreads so you can read all about them.  After watching the book trailers you're not going to be able to resist!

Watch the book trailer here: http://bit.ly/TNWEtrailer

Watch the book trailer here: http://bit.ly/DevilsKitchentrailer

The next book in this amazing series will be...TaDa!!
The Lamplighter's Special

And the BEST for last...

Giveaway sponsored by BBColl 

Book Bloggers Collaborative

Friday, June 1, 2012

Things I've Learned, SO FAR, on My Blogging Adventure

I started this blog on January 24th of this year.  I was thinking the other night of all the things I've learned, discovered and basically fumbled my way through in the last 4 months.  Believe me when I say I realize I've only scratched the surface.  I have so, SO much more to learn.


1.  It is incredibly easy to get over whelmed when starting a blog.  I didn't even know if I would keep doing it for almost a month.  This leads me to #2...


2.  I can NOT fathom doing a blog without my blogging big sister Catie at Forbidden Passions Reviews.  She has been AMAZING!  She has given me countless pieces of advice and help.  She let me, and still does, review books for her blog first.  I am so grateful she trusts me enough to put my thoughts on her blog.

Star Glitter Graphics - Glitterlive.com

3.  Finding a blog design means falling in love with your blog...for real.  Lori at Imagination Designs took all things I love and made the beautiful page you see before you.


4.  I don't have to review EVERY book I read.  I read for entertainment and because I love getting lost in another world.  I review the ones I obligate myself to, but not every book I glue my eyes to needs to be dissected or gushed over on my blog.  If I reviewed every book I read I would get burned out and lose my love for my favorite hobby.  I started a book blog so I could tell people about the books I love or the ones I think they should avoid like a bad rash.


5.  Blogging has opened my eyes to how big the book world really is.  It's an extraordinary, exciting and scary one too.


6.  HTML is like trying to read Japanese braille.  It's also like a field of landmines.  You don't want to mess with it unless you have you're bomb gear on and know which wire to cut!


7.  People are pretty nice.  I've sent some really dumb questions to other bloggers and they've answered them with such kindness and even added advice.  Heidi at Rainy Day Ramblings and Mary at Bookhounds YA are sweet, sweet ladies.

8.  I have made some really cool friends.  I've made friends in several states and even a few new countries.  I cherish these new friends, not just for the things we have in common, but for the interesting differences in their lives.  All the peeps at BBColl, you really know how to make a girl feel awesome!  Please take a few minutes when you can and check out the site as well as their own blogs.


9.  No one, and I mean NO one pimps like The Cabin Goddess!


10.  The awesome followers who read my posts and then make me feel all squishy inside when they leave a comment that shows me some love...why would I do this with out you?!


Ok, so if missed anyone that has helped me in anyway, I'm so, so sorry.  It was not intentional and you are more than welcome to give yourself props in the comments!  I know I have so freaking much to learn it's mind boggling.  Like how do you make it look like you crossed out the words with lines in them when make a post?  See always something new to teach me.  


 
Blog Design by Imagination Designs all images from the Magic Medley and Very Own World kits by Irene Alexeeva