DATE WITH A ROCKSTAR Blog Tour!

One of my fellow Spencer Hill Press authors, published through imprint Spencer Hill Contemporary, has a book coming out today!

To help celebrate, Sarah Gagnon has joined me for a Top Ten list, and a giveaway. But first I have to say her book, Date With a Rockstar, has a truly unique premise:

Only one girl will win the cash prize...and a chance at love with Jeremy Bane.

Monet isn’t just another lust-struck teenager trying to win the heart of Rock God Jeremy Bane--she needs the prize money from his new reality show to cure her illness.

Monet has Fluxem, a contagious disease that's spread through saliva. It's completely curable if you have enough money, which she and her single mother don't. Now that she's on the show, Monet has to work harder to keep her Fluxem hidden. She only has to keep the secret long enough to woo Jeremy Bane so he picks her as the winner. She doesn't even care about the love part; the prize alone will change her life.

But the real Jeremy Bane is nothing like she imagined. Monet finds herself fighting against feelings that make her want to give in to her attraction and Jeremy's attempts for a kiss. The further she goes in the competition, the more impossible it becomes to resist him--and when the producers turn the tables and start digging up dirt on the contestants, Monet fears her secret will be revealed before she's ready and ruin everything.

The only way to win Jeremy's heart is to tell him the truth, but confessing her disease could cost her the competition, the prize money, and him.

Doesn't that sound like a great romantic twist? And I think Sarah knows from romance, because she shared a list of Top Ten Kisses:

Sarah says: "I have definitely not read enough to qualify my opinions on top ten. So this is just going to be a list of ten really awesome kisses."

1. The first time Anita Blake and Jean-Claude kissed. That series is one I will never get tired of. If only I could control the dead and have powers that increased through kissing.

2. When Claire and Jamie first kissed in Outlander. Gabaldon had me the first time Claire climbed on the horse behind him, and now the show. He’s just so perfectly cast, I love watching and reading all my favorite scenes back to back.

3. These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman. Sigh, this book. So hard not to go total fan girl here. Tarver for me was a perfect hero, and Lilac’s strength was so endearing that when they finally got over hating each other, the romance felt so epic.

4. Alienated by Melissa Landers. I love when characters are closed off emotionally or physically and then all of a sudden a passionate kiss begins to change everything. An emotionally cold alien is the perfect set-up and the dialogue and chemistry leading up to the kiss, wow.

5. Unteachable by Leah Raedar. That whole book is a vortex of sexy from the first kiss to the last. Forbidden kisses are sometimes the best.

6. Archer’s Voice by Mia Sheridan because when the character development is so complete, every kiss reads right into my heart.

7. Pride and Prejudice, because Mr. Darcy must be added to all lists.

8. The Mind Readers by Lori Brighton. I can only imagine the craziness of being able to read someone’s thoughts while kissing them.

9. Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I was rooting for Cinder so hard, that my brain almost popped when Prince Kai finally kissed her.

10. Losing It by Cora Carmack. I love it when a heroine sets out to do something sexual. That alone is so empowering to me, add in Garrick’s British accent and Bliss’s internal dialogue— I was hooked. 

I have to agree with a lot of those--they are pretty awesome kisses! I'm going to wrap up the post with more about Sarah, and links to where you can find her book

Sarah Gagnon grew up in the frigid woods of Maine amidst snow and animal skins and has now moved back home. As a small child she wrote ship-wrecked romances all while being stared down by a taxidermied duck.

She has a BFA in photography and a minor in writing from the University of Southern Maine. She's the mother of two tiny, feral children and two ill-behaved dogs. For fun she’s taken up construction and interior design. Her first project: moving into a dilapidated farmhouse with her computer-genius husband. 

Website 

Twitter

Facebook

And here's where you can find your own copy of Date With a Rockstar

Goodreads

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

IndieBound

The Book Depository

Kobo

And...I did mention something about a giveaway, didn't I? If you live in the U.S., you could win a DATE WITH A ROCKSTAR t-shirt, and a paperback copy of the book! Enter through the Rafflecopter below

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Moonflower by Angela Townsend

There's only a week left before the March 31 release of Moonflower by Angela Townsend! I got to read this one last year and it's a great twist on the Chosen One trope:

Natasha remembers little from her Russian childhood, other than the lingering nightmares of her mother's tragic death. So when someone close to her hands her a one-way ticket to Russia, along with the deed to her family farm, and then is brutally murdered, she has little confidence about what awaits her in that distant land.

With doubt and uncertainty, Natasha has no choice but to leave her life in America for an unknown future. Once overseas, the terrifying facts as to why she was really summoned home come to light.

Fact one: Monsters do exist.
Fact two: The only thing keeping those monsters out of the world is an ancient mural hidden below her family's farm.
Fact three: The mural that keeps the evil out of the world is falling apart.
The final fact: It's up to Natasha to restore it and save the world from a horror unlike anything seen before.

Luckily, Natasha isn't alone in her mission. Three Russian Knights are tasked with protecting her from the demons as she restores the mural. And leading the Knights is the handsome and strong Anatoly, who seems to be everything Natasha could hope for in a man. Unfortunately, there is one huge problem. Her Knights are forbidden from having relationships with the artists they protect, and Anatoly is a hardcore rule follower. But rules cannot stop the way she feels.

When a horrifying demon breaches the barrier and pulls Anatoly inside the mural, Natasha can’t help but charge, once again, into the unknown—this time to save the man she secretly loves. Now on the demons’ turf, she risks her own life to free the very one who is supposed to be protecting her. Little does she realize that if she should fail, it could mean the destruction of the very last barrier shielding mankind. Will Anatoly refuse Natasha’s help? Or will he finally realize, when love is at stake, the rules will be broken.

Add it on Goodreads!

Happy Book Birthday to Alison Kemper!

My crit partner, Alison Kemper, has her debut today with Donna of the Dead, a teen romance in the thick of the zombie apocalypse! As part of Entangled Teen's March release promo, Donna is only .99 for a limited time! Click on the cover (designed by another friend, Kelley York, btw) and get your copy!

And while you're waiting for it to download, here's a catchy zombie song to entertain you

Cover Reveal for Brigid Kemmerer's Latest Book in the Elemental Series: Sacrifice!

I'm happy to help spread the word about--and cover love for--Brigid Kemmerer's fifth book in the Elemental Series: Sacrifice!

To drag out the anticipation even longer, I'll post the blurb first:

One misstep and they lose it all. For the last time.

Michael Merrick is used to pressure.

He’s the only parent his three brothers have had for years. His power to control Earth could kill someone if he miscalculates. Now an Elemental Guide has it out for his family, and he’s all that stands in the way.

His girlfriend, Hannah, gets that. She’s got a kid of her own, and a job as a firefighter that could end her life without a moment’s notice.

But there are people who have had enough of Michael’s defiance, his family’s “bad luck.” Before he knows it, Michael’s enemies have turned into the Merricks’ enemies, and they’re armed for war.

They’re not interested in surrender. But Michael isn’t the white flag type anyway. There will be blood on the ground tonight…

Ooo, those eyes give me shivers! And here's a surprise bonus--the Australian cover!

So where can you get more info on Sacrifice, Brigid Kemmerer, the Elemental Series, or add it to Goodreads? Take your pick of the links below

Brigid Kemmerer website

Brigid on Facebook

Brigid on Twitter

Goodreads  

  

Amazon link to Elemental Series

Barnes & Noble link to Elemental Series

Book Depository

iBooks

IndieBound

Cover Reveal for Kelley York's Dirty London!

I'm a big fan of Kelley York's books, and I'm happy to take part in the cover reveal for her forthcoming Young Adult novel, Dirty London:

Blurb

All London Noble wanted out of her senior year of high school was anonymity. The complete opposite of Jasmine, her emotionally unstable baby sister, London has worked hard to stay out of the spotlight.

Then she discovers that Wade, one of the most popular guys in school, is gay like her and their new-found closeness based around their shared secret has half the student body convinced they're hooking up...and a lot of girls aren't happy about it. Rumors are flying about "Dirty London" and her inability to keep her clothes on, and London is pretty sure she's developing a crush on the only girl who sees through it all.

If she could admit why stealing boyfriends is the last thing on her mind—not to mention find out what's going on with Jasmine and her rapidly disappearing psych medications—her life would be a much brighter place. But if her and Wade's truth gets out, and if she doesn't find a way to help her sister, London faces losing a lot more than her obscurity.

Release date: February 2014 (tentatively)

About Kelley:

website | twitter | facebook | goodreads

About the Author

Kelley York was born in central California, where she still resides with her lovely wife, step-daughter, and cats, while fantasizing about moving to England or Ireland. She has a fascination with bells and animals, is a lover of video games, and likes to pretend she’s a decent photographer. Her life goal is to find a real unicorn. Or to at least write about them.

Kelley is a sucker for dark fiction. She loves writing twisted characters, tragic happenings, and bittersweet endings that leave you wondering and crying. Character development takes center stage in her books because the bounds of a person's character and the workings of their mind are limitless.

Love that cover and blurb, Kelley! Can't wait to read it in February!

Angus MacBain & The Island of Sleeping Kings by Angela J. Townsend

Fellow Operation Awesome operative Angela J Townsend has a new book coming out September 27 from Clean Teen Publishing, and to celebrate I'm hosting a giveaway! Here's the lowdown on Angus MacBain and The Island of Sleeping Kings:

About the story:


Angus MacBain is unaware that his ancestral roots hail from an ancient sect of Scottish kings. When his dying grandfather gives him a dragon pendant, thirteen-year-old Angus learns of a legacy that will take him across an ocean to the island of Iona and thrust him into a heritage he did not know he had. He soon discovers that his mother, whom he had believed dead, is really a seal fairy, in hiding from a dangerous enemy. To save her, Angus must undergo a perilous journey of destiny and power to battle an evil Dacian knight and those who serve him. With only his family shield and the advice of a wizened vampire hunter to protect him, Angus must navigate dangerous terrain and dark enemies, in a land where the past and the present mingle, and sleeping kings wake.

About the author:

Angela Townsend was born in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Missoula, Montana. As a child, Angela grew up listening to stories told by her grandparents, ancient tales and legends of faraway places. Influenced by her Irish and Scottish heritage, Angela became an avid research historian, specializing in Celtic mythology. Her gift for storytelling finally led her to a full time writing career.

Angela divides her time between writing, playing Celtic music on her fiddle, and Irish dancing. She resides in Northwestern Montana, with her two children Levi and Grant.

Angela's novel, Amarok, was published in November 2012 by Spencer Hill Press. It has been on Amazon’s best seller list in three categories, and was reviewed by the School Library Journal. Amarok is available in print and audio editions through Amazon.com as well as at large chain stores, including Walmart.

You can find her on her blog and Facebook and Twitter!

Plus, Angela kindly answered a few questions I was curious about:

1) What age group is Angus MacBain intended for?
All ages. I think everyone enjoys a good fantasy story. Tales told around the fireplace about dragons, castles, knights have been a long held tradition.

2) Will you share some interesting things you found while researching the fairy and folklore for this story?
I enjoy researching anything to do with Irish or Scottish myth and lore. There were many fascinating things I uncovered. Too many to mention. I've spent years researching Celtic legends and their origins In fact, I enjoy researching different cultures and myths in general.

My educational background is in Cultural Anthropology and research. The work that went into Angus MacBain and the Island of Sleeping Kings is a result of many years of careful study. MacBain is an ancestral name in my family spelled both McBain and MacBain.

I enjoyed incorporating a bit of my own family history into this novel. I have very strong Irish and Scottish roots so I have a special love for the preservation of Celtic history.

3) What other projects are you working on right now?
I'm currently working on Book 2 and Book 3 of the Angus MacBain series.

And now, you can enter to win A Magical Bag filled with Angus MacBain swag in the Rafflecopter below! Magnets, pens, erasers, wristbands, book marks, Angus Jewelry, plus bonus items!! (Sorry, this giveaway is for U.S. addresses only)

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