In Leah's Wake by Terri Giuliano Long

A Story of Love, Loss, Connection, and Grace
At the heart of the seemingly perfect Tyler family stands sixteen-year-old Leah. Her proud parents are happily married, successful professionals. Her adoring younger sister is wise and responsible beyond her years. And Leah herself is a talented athlete with a bright collegiate future. But living out her father’s lost dreams, and living up to her sister’s worshipful expectations, is no easy task for a teenager. And when temptation enters her life in the form of drugs, desire, and a dangerously exciting boy, Leah’s world turns on a dime from idyllic to chaotic to nearly tragic.      As Leah’s conflicted emotions take their toll on those she loves—turning them against each other and pushing them to destructive extremes—In Leah’s Wake powerfully explores one of fiction’s most enduring themes: the struggle of teenagers coming of age, and coming to terms with the overwhelming feelings that rule them and the demanding world that challenges them. Terri Giuliano Long’s skillfully styled and insightfully informed debut novel captures the intensely personal tragedies, victories, and revelations each new generation faces during those tumultuous transitional years.

Recipient of multiple awards and honors, In Leah’s Wake is a compelling and satisfying reading experience with important truths to share—by a new author with the voice of a natural storyteller and an unfailingly keen understanding of the human condition…at every age.

WINNER, Global eBook Award, Popular Literature, 2012

WINNER, Indie Discovery Award, Literary Fiction, 2012

Recipient of the CTRR Award for excellence

2011 Book Bundlz Book Pick

Book Bundlz 2011 Favorites, First Place

Excerpt

LEAH

Leah had totally lost track of time. She and Todd had been hanging out at the water tower for hours, perched on the hood of Todd’s jeep drinking vodka and OJ, admiring the beautiful night. This was the most perfect place in the universe. Big sky, lots of trees. In the valley below, lights began to blink out.

Leaning back on her elbows, Leah gazed at the heavens. “Look,” she said, mesmerized by the inky black sky, the billions and billions of stars. “The Big Dipper.” As she stared into space, time fell away, the past merging seamlessly with the future.

Todd set the flask on the hood of his truck and put his arm around her, drawing her close. So close she could smell the spicy deodorant under his armpits. Just being with Todd Corbett made her feel dizzy all over. Todd was, by far, the hottest boy she had ever laid eyes on. His hair was long on top, short on the sides. He had full lips, and the most fabulous blue eyes, like…like crystals or something. A Romanesque nose, the exact nose she’d once told Cissy she’d die for, only now that she’d seen it on Todd, she realized that particular nose was meant for a boy. Best of all, he had this incredible aura, all purple and blue, like James Dean or Kurt Cobain.

She curled her legs under her and laid her head on Todd’s chest.

Review

Terri Giliano Long's debut novel, In Leah's Wake is literary women's fiction. As such it is very geared toward family life, as a parent of teenagers myself, seeing the struggles Leah has to go through was difficult, though I pushed though.

The story I felt was good, and the flaws within the characters I believe added to their humanity, they weren't perfect, after all none of us are perfect. It was slow in some parts.

Overall it was an average read, I'd give it three stars.

The author is giving away a $100 Holiday Cash Amazon gift card to one lucky commenter. The more you comment through the tour, the greater chance you have to win. Follow it here.

About the Author

Terri Giuliano Long is a frequent blog guest, with appearances on hundreds of blogs. She’s written news and feature articles for numerous publications, including the Boston Globe and the Huffington Post. She lives with her family on the East Coast and teaches at Boston College. Her debut novel, In Leah's Wake, was a Kindle bestseller for more than 6 months. For information, please visit her website: www.tglong.com

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The Ghost and the Graveyard Spotlight + Giveaway

Left destitute by an unscrupulous ex-boyfriend, Grateful Knight takes her father up on his offer to live rent-free in a house he hasn't been able to sell. Desperate to make a new start, Grateful tries to overlook the property’s less desirable features, like the graveyard that stretches to her back door. On the bright side, the unbelievably gorgeous cemetery caretaker, Rick, is dead set on helping her feel at home. She vows to take things slow, considering her recent disastrous relationship, but is baffled when she literally can’t keep her hands off of him.

When things in Grateful’s house start moving on their own, another man enters her life—a sexy ghost with a dark secret. Magical forces are at work in the tiny town of Red Grove and they're converging on Grateful. Solving this ghostly mystery won’t be easy and with the caretaker becoming increasingly jealous of her spectral relationship, Grateful will be forced to choose between the ghost and the graveyard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt

I was thinking he belonged in a museum, a chiseled-by-the-gods man museum, when my brain was hijacked. I forgot about the road. I forgot where I was going. And a fantasy hit me so fast and hard, it could’ve been a memory.

We were in the shower. I was behind him, my arms wrapped around his torso. I rubbed lather circles down his chest, over his rock-hard abs, and lower. In my daydream, he moaned my name, and I was considering how to move myself around him without breaking the rhythm. The scene was so vivid, the lavender scent of soap filled the cab of my Jeep.

What snapped me out of it was a barrage of pebbles hitting the undercarriage. I slammed on the brakes, sending my vehicle into a reckless skid toward the edge of a stone bridge straight out of one of those Thomas Kinkade prints. Whether it was ace driving skills, gravity, or sheer dumb luck, I stalled at the precipice, all white-knuckles and shivering limbs. I suppressed a lingering fear of plummeting to my doom.

"Hey, are you okay?" the man called. He’d dropped his shovel and was heading toward me. His dark eyes narrowed in concern.

No way was I explaining what just happened. I couldn’t possibly tell him about my fantasy and I wasn’t a good enough liar to make up an alternate story on the fly. The hot sting of a blush crept across my face just thinking about it.

About the Author
Genevieve Jack grew up in a suburb of Chicago and attended a high school rumored to be haunted. She loves old cemeteries and enjoys a good ghost tour. Genevieve specializes in original, cross-genre stories with surprising twists and writes a best-selling young adult series under a different name. She lives in central Illinois with her husband, two children, and a Brittany named Riptide who holds down her feet while she writes.

Site | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Genevieve will be giving away the choice of a Kindle Touch, Nook Simple Touch or a $100 Apple Gift Card to the winner. Entering is easy just leave a comment. Want more chances to win? Follow the tour, the more you comment the more chances you have to win.

Buy The Ghost and the Graveyard at Amazon.

Kira: Daughter of the Moon by Beth Trissel + Giveaway

Logan McCutcheon returns to colonial Virginia after seven years in the hands of Shawnee Indians. But was he really a captive, as everybody thinks? He looks and fights like a warrior, and seems eager to return to those he calls friends and family.

Kira McClure has waited for Logan all those years, passing herself off as odd to keep suitors at bay––and anyone else from getting too close.  Now that he's back, he seems to be the only person capable of protecting her from the advances of Josiah Campbell and accusations of witchcraft.  And to defend the settlers against a well-organized band of murderous thieves.

Excerpt: 

  

“My secret in exchange for yours.”

    

Tantalizing.  He was drawing her into his snare, but she couldn’t resist asking, “How do you know I’ve a secret?”

“To begin with, you’re hiding in a tree.  What from, a wild beast?”

 

“Near enough.  You.”

   

He smiled.  “Was I to think you a large red bird, or overlook you entirely?”

   

Drawing her remaining shreds of dignity around her like a mantle, she said, “This isn’t one of my best hiding places.”

   

“Indeed?  Where are the others?” 

  

 “That would be telling.” 

  

The strengthening breeze tossed the branches around them as he considered.  “You never could keep secrets from me, Cricket.  I’ll discover them and you.”

  

An assertion she found both disturbing and oddly heartening.

  

His lips curved as if the deed were already done.  “Why were you hiding?  Am I so very frightening?”

   

“Oh––I feared you were some sort of warrior.”

  

The humor faded from his eyes.  “I am.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Married to my high school sweetheart, I live on a farm in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia surrounded by my children, grandbabies, and assorted animals. An avid gardener, my love of herbs and heirloom plants figures into my work. The rich history of Virginia, the Native Americans and the people who journeyed here from far beyond her borders are at the heart of my inspiration. In addition to American settings, I also write historical and time travel romances set in the British Isles.

Historical Romance novel Kira, Daughter of the Moon is available in print and eBook from:

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Beth-Trissel/e/B002BLLAJ6/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_2

The Wild Rose Press http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=438

Barnes & Noble http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?store=BOOK&WRD=beth+trissel

and from other online booksellers.

Catch me on my:

Blog http://bethtrissel.wordpress.com/

Website http://www.bethtrissel.com/

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/bctrissel

Twitter https://twitter.com/BethTrissel

Pinterest http://pinterest.com/bctrissel/

~Giveaway~

Beth will award a digital copy of "Through the Fire" to one commenter, a digital copy of "Red Bird's Song" to one commenter and a grand prize of a $25 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

To enter to win just leave a comment with your email address!

For more chances to win follow the tour.

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/09/virtual-super-book-blast-kira-daughter.html

Drasmyr Review + Giveaway

The Drasmyr book tour is orgainzed by  the wonderful team over at Goddess Fish, and when I saw this tour pop up I knew that I had to be involved.
Title: Drasmyr by Matthew D. Ryan 
Pages: 203
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Reading Level: 14+
Source: Received in exchange for an honest review in conjunction with a book tour.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Add to your shelf: Goodreads  Shelfari 

We vampires do not make easy prey. Our weaknesses are few, our strengths many. Fear is something we do not know, and death but a distant memory. So tread softly, pray to your god, and gird yourself with silver when the moons arise and night’s dark prince awakens. We fear not the wizard, nor the warrior, neither rogue, nor priest; our strength is timeless, drawn from darkness and we know no master save the hot lust of our unending hunger. We long for blood, your blood and no blade, nor spell, nor clever artifice, can keep us long from our prize. Feel our teeth at your throat, your life ebb from you, and know as darkness comes to claim you that the price of your folly is your everlasting soul.

I change shape and take to the air. It is a clear, cold night, with no clouds to hinder my vision. Below me, the dark canopy of the forest bears an even darker scar; the trail of the old river and its sister road to town and Arcalian.

Despite my near limitless power, I am cautious about openly wandering in a human city on a clear night. I have had run-ins with them before and I have no wish to draw undue notice. I soar in a long gliding circle to free my mind for concentration.

It takes but a moment.

Then the storm begins to build, drawing in clouds from the distant sea. They roil and churn in the darkening night, reaching forth with long writhing tendrils as if to grasp the town with a shadowy hand. A chilling gust of wind sweeps through the forest trees and the mists boil forth from the valley floor. All told, I spend an hour circling the town while the storm gathers its strength. Then, as the first lightnings begin to flash and the rains begin to fall, I descend on shadowy wings into the heart of Drisdak, the city on the Sea of Sorrows.

The mages guild is easy to find; its rancid stench of magic can be smelled from blocks away. It’s a tall building, made of stone, looking more like a miniature keep than a guild house. Five circular towers loom up from a central stone edifice. I have no doubt that Arcalian can be found in the highest tower in the room of the guild master, undoubtedly basking in the luxuries my services provided.

There are many different types of vampires in fiction today, there's the sparkling vampires in Twilight, the warrior vampires in The Black Dagger Brotherhood, the Atlantian vampires in Argeneau novels to name just a few. Each is different in their own right. The vampires in Drasmyr are not like any of these.

This is much more true to the legends we grew up on (well, at least I grew up with), the Dracula myth. It also includes mages, though in other myths you might call them witches.

Though this is classified as a YA novel, I myself didn't get that vibe, adults would easily enjoy this book along with teens 14 and up. There is also quite a bit of action going on. 

Matthew D. Ryan tells a dark haunting story, with a strong plot, engaging characters with a mystery wound within it's pages. I found it very difficult to put this book down. This is one author that I will be keeping an eye on.

This title is currently free at B&N, Smashwords, and Amazon. Go get your copy today. 

Matthew D. Ryan is awarding a package of metal miniatures of vampires/vampire hunters to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. This giveaway is only open to US and Canada residents.

So leave a comment and follow the tour for more chances to win here. The more comments you leave across the blogs, a greater chance you have to win. 

 Matthew D. Ryan is a published author living in upstate New York on the shores of Lake Champlain. He has a background in philosophy, mathematics, and computer science. He also has a black belt in the martial arts and studies yoga. He has been deeply involved in the fantasy genre for most of his life as a reader, writer, and game designer. He believes he saw the legendary Lake Champlain Monster (a.k.a Champy) once and he has a cat named Confucius.

VBT: Crimson Footprints

Crimson Footprints by Shewanda Pugh
Publisher: Delphine Publications
Pages: 361
Blurb: When an insecure, bi-racial woman begins a cloak-and-dagger love affair with a Japanese American man, she is intent on keeping her bigoted family in the dark—albeit with devastating consequences. On the night of her brother’s murder, Deena Hammond stumbles upon Takumi Tanaka, lost and on the wrong end of a .32. After rescuing him from the certain fate driving through the hood in a Porsche will bring, a sweet kind of friendship begins. A balm for her grief. Maybe, Deena likes to think, it happened the day her white mother killed her black father. Or maybe, it was always a part of them, like DNA gone bad. Whatever the case, Deena knows that her family would never approve, hell, never acknowledge her fast-growing love for Takumi. And had he never made love to her that way, in that unraveling, soul-searching sort of way, she could’ve done the same. But love’s a devil that way. So, their game begins. One where they hide what they are from everyone. Anyone. And Tak understands this—for now. After all, Deena’s career hinges on the favor of her mentor and boss, his hard-ass of a father. And the Hammond family is already stretched thin with grief. Yet, each step Deena takes toward family and career brings her closer to an acceptance she’s never had. And away from him.

A slender, striking man of Asian descent was on the wrong end of Anthony’s .32. With arms raised, his hands were splayed in a show of defenselessness. His expression was calm, despite the growing crowd of onlookers and the pistol in his face. Behind him, an old woman made the sign of the cross.

“Anthony!” Deena cried, rushing towards them. Her brother cast a single sideways glance but kept his gun level.

“Get back in the house,” he said.

Deena turned her attention to the Asian man. She was struck by his eyes, wide and heavy-lidded. His mouth was generous, his square face softened by layers of thick black hair. He had boyish good looks and a long, lean athletic frame.
Japanese.
She was certain he was Japanese.
Deena turned to her brother. “Will you put that thing away?”
The two stared at each other, older sister, young brother, eyes narrowed. When he didn’t move, Deena stepped between the gun and the stranger, her eyes level with the barrel. Anthony lowered the gun with a sigh and Deena seized the opportunity to snatch it.
She turned to the stranger. “I assume that’s your car,” she said, nodding towards a sleek gray convertible parked haphazardly, a shiny nickel in a murky puddle. He nodded, his glossy black tresses falling into wide almond eyes.
“Yeah, um, about that.” He cleared his throat. “He uh, took my keys.”
Deena turned to her brother, hand extended. He dropped the keys in her palm with a sigh, a new Ferrari slipping from his grasp with reluctance.
She passed the keys to the stranger and their fingertips brushed. Something warm and foreign turned over in her and her lips parted in surprise. She thought she saw the makings of a smile in his eyes, but she dismissed it. He took the keys and thanked her. And as she watched him peel off with the top down on his sleek convertible, Deena’s pulse skittered then and long after.

Shewanda is giving away a $10 GC to Amazon to one lucky commenter. Follow the tour here for more changes to comment and therefore more chances to win! 

Shewanda Pugh is a native of Boston’s inner city, though she now lives in sunny Miami, Florida. She has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Alabama A&M University and a Master’s in Writing from Nova Southeastern University. Fueled from a young age, her passion for crossing societal boundaries like race, class and culture, is the inspiration for both her cluttered bookshelf and her writing. When she’s not busy obsessing over fiction, she can be found traveling, nursing her social networking addiction or enjoying the company of loved ones.

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