Where I share my love of books with reviews, features, giveaways and memes. Family and needlepoint are thrown in from time to time.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Book Blitz: Fire's Ice by Brynna Curry


Book Blitz for Fire's Ice by Brynna Curry is hosted by Sizzling PR.

March 5


Title: Fire's Ice (Elemental Magic #5)
Author: Brynna Curry
Genre: Romance/Paranormal/Erotic

Ultimate power, or endless love? 

Born the son of a Scottish laird a thousand years ago, but now trapped by his cousin's spell, Devin McLoch has seen countless battles and death. The erstwhile thief has turned away from darker pursuits to lead a life of peace, protecting those he loves and considers part of his clan.
However, there is one woman he can never forget, who must be given a chance to change, to accept her heart and his.

Arianne Farrell is just as dangerous and intoxicating as her power. Imprisoned in an ancient stone dance more than a thousand years ago, her only chance at freedom from the spell is through love—a love she denied. When Devin asks for her aid to save another from imminent death, she realizes there is more at stake than just her freedom or her heart.

WARNING: Two stubborn sexy wizards using magic with no bounds, scorching love
scenes, and happy ever after. Ever play with fire?
Buy Links for Ebook
~Amazon Kindle~          ~B&N Nook~          ~iTunes~      
Buy Links for Print
~Amazon~          ~B&N~          ~CreateSpace~


Excerpt from Fire's Ice (Steamy)

Dark, rich chocolate colored bedding echoed the tile framing the fireplace. Dainty furniture, curved legs and soft cushions, yet the poster bed was large and sturdy. She’d seen it before while she visited his dreams. Definitely Devin’s room. And remembering didn’t help the ache snaking through her body.

Walking into the en suite, the first thing to catch her eyes was the floor-to-ceiling mirror covering one wall. Arianne studied her reflection. Her long, dark curls were mussed and tangled around a pale face. Her lips were pink and just a bit swollen from Devin’s kiss. The only thing she wore was a long white shirt. Sniffing the collar, she smelled the crisp, clean fragrance clinging to the material. His shirt, not conjured. Devin didn’t wear cologne, but the scent of his soap always stayed with her. He must have changed her clothes. What else had she missed?

Because I love you. Men were ever a puzzle. Still, hadn’t she known? The dreams they shared had changed over time, slow and sweet instead of hot and fierce. A softness came over his face each night she visited his sleep, the same one she had seen this morning. Just that look was enough to have her quaking inside.

She found a bottle of bubble bath on the side of the tub. Thanks to Devin's dreams and Allie's influence, she had knowledge of modern conveniences such as indoor plumbing. Turning the faucet on hot, Arianne poured two capfuls under the stream and let the water run until the big round tub filled. Reluctantly, she unfastened the shirt buttons and let the material fall away to the floor. Slipping into the frothy bubbles, she sighed and let the reality of her situation sink in.

I am finally out of that wretched circle. True enough, but she was still in a prison of sorts. One with running water, walls, food that didn’t taste like air, and a sexy male witch bent on driving her to frustration. Not so bad, all things considered.

Being trapped in the stone dance didn’t mean she hadn’t noticed changes in the world around her for a thousand years. She tipped her feet out of the water, waved toward them, and turned her toenails a bright fiery red. Allie brought her little things from the modern world. Mostly books filled with sweet love stories; more than a few of them brought a blush to her cheeks. What would Ryan think of his daughter’s taste in novels? Better not to head down that road. Allie had dreams of being a writer like her aunt and uncle. If what she liked to read was any indication, she’d write hot. Very hot. Speaking of hot, a soft tapping sounded at the door. Her maddening laird had returned.

“Okay in there?” His voice sounded hesitant. “Breakfast is ready.”

Time to ruffle the phoenix’s feathers a bit. “There is no need to be shy, Devin. You can come in.”
*****
The sound of splashing water rippled past his ears. Temptress.

Knowing Ari was just on the other side of the door, naked and wet, willing to succumb to every fantasy he could imagine, was a torment in itself. All he had to do was accept her sultry invitation and toss aside his plan. But she deserved a sweet slide into love, not the wild, mad rush of pleasure he craved. One palm rested on the door of its own volition, ready to comply. Not yet. Now, if only his traitorous body would listen to his heart. “That depends, sweetheart.”

“Oh?” she called out from the other side. “On what?”

Devin chuckled at the line, but he just couldn’t resist teasing her. “What are you wearing?”

She laughed. “Bubbles. Lots of bubbles. Share them with me.”

He saw it so clearly. Ari’s creamy skin peeking through the frothy bubbles. Open, welcoming. Need clawed under the skin, screamed at him. Why the hell not? Feeling a quiver of desire vibrate through his body, he called her bluff. “And what would you have me do with those bubbles? Hmm, Ari?”

“Oh, I am sure you could think of something. Something deliciously wicked. I have shared your dreams. I know your fantasies, Devin.”

Oh, you have no idea. His mind made up, Devin opened the door.

She lay in his huge garden tub, feet propped up on the rim, eyes closed, waterfall of black hair piled on top of her head. A soft smile graced her face. So she was enjoying their teasing banter. “Have you changed your mind and decided to join me?”

“Maybe.” No reason he couldn’t push them both to the edge. Pulling the t-shirt over his head, Devin tossed it into the corner. He laid his cellphone on the sink--out of danger--kneeled by the edge of the tub and dipped one hand into cooling water, using his magic to heat it.

“Mmm. Nice.”

He let his voice drop to a whisper as he leaned close to her ear. “I want to slick my hands over every inch of your skin until you shiver from the heat.” His fingers found the back of her knee in the water and trailed higher along the inside of her thigh. “And then…”

A soft “Devin” slipped from her lips as Arianne’s eyes flew open. “And then…”


Fire's Ice
Publisher/Publication Date: CreateSpace, June 18, 2012
ISBN: 9781616503956
Novella - 83 pages

Monday, March 4, 2013

No Strings Attached Giveaway Hop (March 5 - 11)


The No Strings Attached Giveaway Hop is hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer and runs from March 5th to March 11th.

This hop is for all those people who like to enter contests, but don't like having to jump through hoops to do it!  There is only one entry on the rafflecopter form below - and that is just to leave your email address so I know how to get ahold of you when you win!  What will you win, you ask?  You will win a copy of Saturday Night Widows by Becky Aikman.  (Sorry, but this giveaway is open to U.S. only)


   In her forties – a widow, too young, too modern to accept the role – Becky Aikman struggled to make sense of her place in an altered world.  In this transcendent and infectiously wise memoir, she explores surprising new discoveries about how people experience grief and transcend loss and, following her own remarriage, forms a group with five other young widows to test these unconventional ideas.  Together, these friends summon the humor, resilience, and striving spirit essential for anyone overcoming adversity.

   Meet the Saturday Night Widows: ringleader Becky, an unsentimental journalist who lost her husband to cancer; Tara, a polished mother of two, whose husband died in the throes of alcoholism after she filed for divorce; Denise, a widow of just five months, now struggling to get by; Marcia, a hard-driving corporate lawyer; Dawn, an alluring self-made entrepreneur whose husband was killed in a sporting accident, leaving two small children behind; and Lesley, a housewife who returned home one day to find that her husband had committed suicide.

   The women meet once a month, and over the course of a year, they strike out on ever more far-flung adventures, learning to live past the worst thing they thought could happen.  They share emotional peaks and valleys – dating, parenting, moving, finding meaningful work, and reinventing themselves – while turning traditional thinking about loss and recovery upside down.  Through it all runs the story of Aikman's own journey through grief and her love affair with a man who tempts her to marry again.  In a transporting story of what friends can achieve when they hold each other up, Saturday Night Widows is a rare book that will make you laugh, think, and remind yourself that despite the utter unpredictability and occasional tragedy of life, it is also precious, fragile, and often more joyous than we recognize.



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Sunday, March 3, 2013

Book Review: At First Touch by Mattie Dunman





Virtual Blog Tour of At First Touch by Maddie Dunman is being hosted by Reading Addiction Blog Tours.


Virtual Book Tour February 25 - March 15

February 25 - Reading Addiction Blog Tours - Meet and Greet
February 26 - Cozie Corner - Review
February 27 - The Writing Junkie - Review/Guest Post
February 28 - Taking it One Page at a Time - Review/Guest Post
March 1 - Must Read Faster - Review/Guest Post
March 2 - In This World of Books - Review
March 2 - Tana Rae Reads - Review/Guest Post
March 3 - Books and Needlepoint - Review
March 4 - Getting Your Read On - Review
March 5 -
March 6 - Owlnestly Book Reviews- Review
March 7 - Inside BJ's Head - Review
March 7 - Michelle's Paranormal Vault of Books -Review/Guest Post



Title: At First Touch
Author: Mattie Dunman
Young Adult Paranormal

About the book: Liz Hannigan has been on the run since she was twelve years old.

 Her mother is dead. Her father has lost his job. And thanks to an experimental procedure, Liz is now able to ‘download’ the contents of every brain around her with a simple touch. Forced to hide from both the federal government and a darkling group of morally deficient scientists known as the Coalition determined to exploit her abilities, she moves with her father to the bucolic coal town of Pound, West Virginia. 

But the hunt for Liz and her abilities hasn’t ended, and her hopes for peace are shattered when she inadvertently downloads the enigmatic Carey Drake, whose unusual good looks and charm conceal a secret as shocking as her own. Stunned by the knowledge that she has found someone else who has extraordinary abilities, Liz finds herself drawn to Carey, discovering a deep attraction, and dares to hope for the first time she might find love. 

But when an agent of the Coalition begins stalking her, Liz must find a way to work with the government agency she most mistrusts as she strives to build a longed-for normal life and take down the agent who has tracked her down. Caught up in a struggle to save herself and those she loves, the girl who sees all is blind to true danger until it is too late. 

Tori's Thoughts: I can't pick out anything specific about this book that I enjoyed, because I enjoyed the whole thing!  It kept me turning <virtual> pages when I was supposed to be otherwise engaged.  I liked the gradual build up of chemistry between Liz and Carey and really wanted them to have a happy ending. 

The story was told in the present, but you learn important details and events through flashbacks.  I found this very engaging and it worked well with the storyline. Even though Liz has special abilities, she longs for and strives to live a normal life. She is mature beyond her years as her mother died before her teens. 

Upon arriving in Pound, West Virginia, Liz and her father are able to relax for the first time in many years - until a member of the Coalition come across her by accident.  Her first reaction is to wipe his memory to keep her and her father safe.  Unfortunately this leads the FBI to Pound as they had this man under surveillance, not knowing he was a member of the Coalition (As a group, the FBI do not know the Coalition exists).  One of the FBI agents - Agent Carson, is also a member of the Coalition.  He is the very same man who kidnapped Liz years prior, and has been hunting for her ever since.  

Even though Liz has never trusted the FBI, she must trust Agent Carson's partner or her life will never be normal.

I am so excited to learn that Mattie Dunman is working on a second book.  It was the first question I asked my mom when I finished reading this one!  I would recommend this book to anyone who loves romance with a psychological twist! 


REVIEW BY TORI


BUY LINKS:

~I received a complimentary E-copy of At First Touch from Reading Addiction Blog Tours in exchange for my unbiased review.~

Excerpt from At First Touch:

I was out on the main road and about twenty minutes into my run when I heard the sound of a motor gunning and the beep of a horn. I slowed my pace and turned around to see Preston’s truck chugging along about two hundred yards behind me. His head was out of the window and he was screaming at me; I couldn’t understand what he was saying, but I felt pretty confident that it wasn’t complimentary.

I came to a stop, wondering if I should do something. I wasn’t really concerned; it wasn’t as though he would run me over or anything, but the blind hatred on his face made me a little nervous. Finally, I decided to ignore him and let him get his fill of throwing abuse my way and then drive on past. Picking up the pace again, I resolutely faced forward, pretending that the continued screeching behind me was a trick of the wind.

Suddenly the engine gave an almighty roar and I heard the unwelcome sound of squealing tires. With only a second to register that I had vastly underestimated Preston’s anger and mental instability, I swirled around in time to see the grille of the truck just a few feet from my face. I made to jump out of the way, but all my knowledge and stolen tricks didn’t make me fly, or move faster, or be any less breakable than any other human being. I knew in that moment how useless my ability really was. In the face of the giant metal monster brimming with torque, my mind was of no matter, it just screamed out with the desire to live, to keep going.

There was a blow like a train hitting me, but strangely there was no pain, and I was moving faster than I could have imagined away from the truck and into the field next to the road. I was sure that the truck had hit me and I was just flying through the air to my death, by some fortunate stroke lucky enough to be spared the pain of impact. In another instant the movement had stopped and I realized I was being held in a pair of strong arms against a rock-hard chest.

Carey looked down at me, his eyes frantic. “Are you alright? He didn’t hit you, did he?”

“N-no,” I stuttered. Having downloaded Carey I was aware of his incredible speed, but there’s something very different about knowing something theoretically and experiencing it firsthand.

He put me down gently in the grass and I just sat there, too dumbfounded to speak. Even as he anxiously surveyed me for damage, we heard the rending scream of out of control tires and the heavy metal sound of Preston’s truck crashing into something.

“I’ll be right back,” Carey said and then I blinked and he was gone. 



About the author: Mattie Dunman is a lifelong resident of "Wild & Wonderful" West Virginia, and has dreamed of being a writer since she first held a pen in hand.

Mattie has pursued several useless degrees to support this dream, and presently enjoys teaching (or tormenting, as the case may be) college students the dying art of public speaking. She spends most of her free time writing, but also indulges in reading and traveling.

She is the proud owner of an adorably insane American Eskimo named Finn, and a tyrant cat named Bella, who take up more of her attention than they probably should.

Mattie is currently working on the second book in the First Touch series, and is ecstatic about her new release, At First Touch.

~WEBSITE~                            ~GOODREADS~




Saturday, March 2, 2013

Promo: Conflicting Hearts by J.D. Burrows




Conflicting Hearts
Contemporary Romance
Date Published: November 2012

 Conflicting Hearts

Synopsis: Rachel Hayward hoped to have a quiet thirtieth birthday alone. Instead, fate had different plans.

Caught in traffic and late for work, she can do nothing except wait for the freeway gridlock to ease. A three-car pileup has caused the snarl. Just as cars begin to move at a faster clip, Rachel takes her eyes off the road to gawk at the accident and rear-ends the car in front of her.

Sick over having ruined her day, she lowers her head onto the steering wheel and waits for the driver to begin a tirade over her stupidity. Instead, a kind man taps on her window showing genuine concern about her welfare. The brief colliding encounter suddenly starts a relationship between two strangers that takes off under odd circumstances.

When the couple becomes intimate, their relationship turns into a conflicting set of desires and needs. Rachel is bound by a shameful, dark childhood. After she falls in love with the handsome Ian Richards, she is faced with the decision to leave him or finally confront her demons to obtain the one thing in life she's always needed--healing from the sexual abuse she endured as a little girl.


EXCERPT

Ian slowly turns me around so that I’m facing him. We’re nose to nose. Our bodies are touching front to front. This is not good, or maybe it is good. He doesn’t say a thing, except to look at me with a smoldering gaze. A second later, he lazily moves his eyes toward my lips.

I’m frozen. I look at him with half anticipation and half panic. He’s going to kiss me; I know it. His intentions are clearly expressed in his blue eyes, which have turned a shade darker. I’m losing it. Hurriedly, I remind him of his words to fend off the advance.
“Uh, I thought you wanted to be just friends?”

A look of admiration sweeps across his face. He gently brings his hand up to my forehead and brushes a few strands of hair out of my eyes. Ian is silent, but it’s obvious he is thinking this through. It’s driving me crazy being close to his body.
“You want more?” I whisper, trying to get him to say something.
“Do you?”

He answers with a question. It’s annoying. “I asked you first,” I reply, not cracking a smile or giving away my heart pounding in my chest. I can’t look at him any longer. I close my eyes, and silently ask God, who I’ve ignored for years, to help me.

Then I feel the warmth of his breath approach. He circles my lips with his and gives me a long, tender kiss. Sweet Jesus. He tastes so delicious! I hope the breath mint I popped in my mouth a half hour ago is still working. Eventually, he pulls away, and I open my eyes.

“Does that answer your question?”


Read Chapter 1 Online via a Flip Book:




Author Bio:  J. D. Burrows is a pen named used for contemporary romance written by Vicki Hopkins. She has authored four other historical fiction/romance novels. Her recent historical (Dark Persuasion) won the 2012 USA Best Book Awards Finalist for Fiction Romance.The author lives in the rainy Pacific Northwest with a pesky cat who refuses to let her sleep in. She enjoys traveling to England, researching her English ancestry, finding long-lost relatives from the Holland lineage, and creating stories that touch the hearts of women.For information about her historical romance, visit http://vickihopkins.com



Purchase Links


Reading Addiction Blog Tours

Friday, March 1, 2013

Cover Reveal: Olivia Twisted by Vivi Barnes (w/Giveaway!)


Take a look at the gorgeous cover of Olivia Twisted by Vivi Barnes.  This book will be released Nov 5, 2013.

Olivia

He tilts my chin up so my eyes meet his, his thumb brushing lightly across my lips. I close my eyes. I know Z is trouble. I know that being with him is going to get me into trouble. I don’t care.


At least at this moment, I don’t care.

Tossed from foster home to foster home, Olivia’s seen a lot in her sixteen years. She’s hardened, sure, though mostly just wants to fly under the radar until graduation. But her natural ability with computers catches the eye of Z, a mysterious guy at her new school. Soon, Z has brought Liv into his team of hacker elite—break into a few bank accounts, and voila, he drives a motorcycle. Follow his lead, and Olivia might even be able to escape from her oppressive foster parents. As Olivia and Z grow closer, though, so does the watchful eye of Bill Sykes, Z’s boss. And he’s got bigger plans for Liv…

Z


I can picture Liv’s face: wide-eyed, trusting. Her smooth lips that taste like strawberry Fanta.
   It was just a kiss. That’s all. She’s just like any other girl.
Except that she’s not.


Thanks to Z, Olivia’s about to get twisted.


Purchase Link:

Add it to your shelf at Goodreads


About the author:
Vivi Barnes was raised on a farm in East Texas where her theater-loving mom and cowboy dad gave her a unique perspective on life. Now living in the magic and sunshine of Orlando, Florida, she divides her time writing, working, goofing off with her husband and three kids, and avoiding dirty dishes.


You can find her at:
Four Chicks and a Muse
Twitter
Facebook

 


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Olivia Twisted
Publisher/Publication Date: Entangled Publishing, Nov 5, 2013
ISBN: 9781622660285
352 pages

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Book Blast: Guardians Inc.: The Cypher by Julian Rosado-Machain



GUARDIANS INC.: THE CYPHER

A chance reading of a newspaper ad will send 16 year old Thomas Byrne into the world within our world.

Following the ad he will find Guardians Incorporated. A seven thousand year old organization charged with protecting the balance between Magic and technology.

Through their guidance, technology has kept Magic at bay since the Renaissance, but the balance is shifting and soon all those creatures we've driven into myth and legend will come back with a vengeance.

To protect the present, Guardians Incorporated needs to know the future and to unlock the future they need a Cypher.






Book Trailer











Guardians Inc.: The Cypher is FREE on Kindle, Nook & iBooks




Praise

USA Book News 2012 Finalist -Young Adult Fiction

"Rosado-Machain brings a light, humorous touch to themes of teenage love, loss and betrayal wrapped up in a tasty package of magical coming-of-age."
~Kirkus Reviews

"It's like Julian Rosado-Machain took everything that I love about middle grade children's fiction and slammed it into one awesome, well-paced fantasy"
~Emi London Oktopusink.blogspot.com

"The Cypher hooked me from the beginning. And kept my attention right through to the very end."
- Heidi Roth reviewthebook.com









Get Your Copy for FREE










Author Julian Rosado-Machain

Julian has enjoyed pizza in three continents, holds a degree in graphic design, built armored vehicles and computers, handcrafted alebrijes and swears has seen at least one ghost.

He is the Co-owner of Hacienda de Vega Restaurant in San Diego, California and enjoys the sun with his wife, three children and cat.





















Book Blast Giveaway

$100 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 3/13/13



Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.






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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Book Blast: Phantom Summer by Amy Sparling



Phantom Summer by Amy Sparling



Seventeen-year-old Taylor Gray moves to Sterling Island to get over her dead boyfriend. Mom’s cool with letting her crash on the couch, but Taylor needs to get a job before the lights are cut off again.



When the tall, dark and crazy Raine Tsunami offers her a position at his thriving ghost tour business, she figures it’s an easy way to make some cash. Taylor isn’t afraid of ghosts--that crap is as fake as her mom’s boob job. She loves their adventures on the historic island, especially the secret places he shows her when the crowds go home. So what if all the ghost stories are just legends?



When Taylor comes face to face with a ghost and Raine crosses the line between friend and boyfriend--Taylor’s new life collides with her haunted past. If murdered people end up as ghosts, then that someone she was trying to forget is probably trying to find her.









Praise

"I was wonderfully surprised by Phantom Summer!!! I couldn't put it down. Loved everything about it."

~Amazon Reviewer Angelmusic



"The emotions are so well written... I would definitely recommend reading this."

~Goodreads Reviewer Lauren







Author Amy Sparling



Amy Sparling is a Texas native with a passion for young adult literature. In her free time she participates in an unhealthy amount of Xbox playing, attends nerd conventions and reads books with her daughter. She's studying to become a high school teacher and lives near the beach with her daughter and two cats. Amy Sparling is a pen name.
























$50 Book Blast Giveaway



Ends 3/10/13



Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.




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Monday, February 25, 2013

The Next Forever by Lisa Burstein (Book Review and Interview)

Title: The Next Forever
Author: Lisa Burstein
Publisher: Ever After/Entangled Publishing

About the book: One night in college can change everything…
Away at college, Amy just wants one night alone without her high school sweetheart, Joe. So when he invites her to go to the library, she heads off on her own instead. How she ended up at a house party with the mysterious bad-boy Trevor is another story…
Joe so isn’t going to the library. He needs space from Amy, too, so he’s decided to rush a fraternity, to get back the swagger he had in high school. But it doesn’t take long for the brothers to invite him to the real rush—where the beer is flowing and one particular girl has set her eyes on Joe.
Over the course of one wild night, both Amy and Joe will have to decide if their futures belong with two new people, or whether the next forever will have their first loves in it.

PURCHASE LINKS:





My thoughts: This is a cute little love story about discovering who you are and learning to make the right decisions for your own reasons.  Amy reminded me a lot of the struggles that my own teenage  girls go through.  Making decisions because it is what people expect of you versus making decisions because it is what you want to do.  Amy had gotten into trouble in high school by doing what her friends expected - and then Joe had saved her.  Joe, the boy who had loved her in silence since she was ten, who had lived across the street from her forever, but who had only recently became so much more.  

Amy has a little bit of a destructive streak and is having a hard time figuring out why.  She begins to learn a little more about herself one night while attending a party with Trevor - a bad boy who lives in her dorm.  She has been watching him since college started, but she is usually shadowed by her boyfriend Joe. Trevor knows just which questions to ask to make her second guess herself.  

Joe, knowing how Amy feels about fraternities, tells her he is going to study at the library - but instead attends a frat party - one that he is considering rushing. He soon finds himself with a half-naked girl, who is one of many girls there, whose soul purpose at the party seems to be for hooking up with the frat boys and their guests. 

Their decisions that night will either make or break their relationship - but you will have to read it to find out!
It was a quick read at only 97 pages - but it is one that I am going to recommend to my daughters - to let them know that the way they are feeling is normal and all a part of growing up!

~I received a complimentary ecopy of The Next Forever from Entangled Publishing in exchange for my unbiased review.~

Read an excerpt from The Next Forever.

Please take a moment to learn a little more about Lisa by reading her interview below: 

1. How do you typically write? Do you plot it all out beforehand or do you just let the story pour out?

I have an idea of what the story will be, but I don't outline. I think it makes my work feel more real and organic to the characters. At least that's what I've heard ;)

2. Is there anything that has surprised you about writing, publishing or touring with your books?

I think how people respond to my writing. It is surprising that people find my work so honest and raw because it really isn't something I try to do, or even think about when I'm writing, but that has been really surprising, that readers feel like my work speaks to them in that way.

3. Was there anything (or anyone) while growing up which helped you decide you wanted to be a writer?

All of my teachers were really supportive of my writing. I think maybe because they could see I loved it so much.

4. If you could meet one person who has died, who would that be?

Jim Morrison

5. What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

I am afraid of needles, like so afraid I fainted each time I got my ears pierced and I've had them pierced 3 times.

6. What do you do in your spare time?

HA! I work full time and write, I don't have much spare time. Usually I'm writing, reading or wishing I could be writing or reading.

7. What time of day do you like to write?

In the afternoon, right after work. I think I've taught my brain to be creative during that time.

8. What themes do you love to read or write about?

Definitely the hard stuff. I like to explore human emotion at it's breaking point. For example in The Next Forever the two main characters at a decision point in their relationship. Stay together, or move on with their lives.

Silly questions –
1. If you could have a superpower, what would it be?

To fly

2. Night owl or early bird?

Early bird

3. Favorite season?

Fall

4. Cat or dog?

Both

5. Guilty pleasure tv show?

Dance Moms

6. Sweet or salty snacks?

Sweet, I love candy!

Lisa Burstein

PRETTY AMY May 2012 Entangled Publishing
THE NEXT FOREVER January 2013 Entangled Publishing
DEAR CASSIE March 2013 Entangled Publishing
www.lisaburstein.com

Friday, February 22, 2013

Guest Post by Nell Gavin (Author of Hang On)

Nell Gavin
Author of Hang On

Teenagers travel in herds, so when I was seventeen a number of us accompanied a friend of ours to the police station to file a report. I don’t recall the nature of the problem – a stolen car, I believe – but we all went with him, piled together in someone else’s car, the girls squeezing themselves onto boys’ laps, and stragglers spread horizontally across everyone else, pressed up against the roof of the car. Eleven teens fit into a sedan in 1971 because cars were bigger then, and seatbelt laws were not yet in effect. Off we went.

The police station looked as if it hadn’t been renovated in decades. It was old and worn, and had that 1930s look about it, with tall, dark wooden benches, dirty gray-green paint, black-and-white tiled flooring, and dirty glass globe lights dangling from the ceiling.

Our friend spoke with a police officer while we hovered, affronted and indignant behind him, providing moral support for him in his predicament. When he was finished with his business, we all turned to go. As we did, I saw a little girl, about four years old, sitting alone on a bench looking terrified. Her hair was long and dark and messy, and her clothing looked dirty and slept in, but she was a very beautiful child. She wasn’t crying because she apparently was too stunned, or was beyond tears. She sat stiffly, her hands folded and her dangling legs crossed at the ankle. Her eyes were wide with fear and wariness. The most frightening thing about her was that she did not cry. What did that say about her, and her life, and why she was there?

Everyone was too busy to worry about a little girl as she sat there alone, looking very small. That, more than anything else, struck me – that the child was alone. How could it be that nobody was comforting that terrified little girl, or even sitting with her? Shouldn’t that be what one DOES? Without thinking?
I started to walk over to her – she needed a hug – but someone grabbed my sleeve and pulled me out the door. We were leaving now, and teens leave in herds. So I left, walking backwards, being pulled but resisting, still looking at that child, who has haunted me to this day.

She is the child I was thinking of, when I described Holly Salvino in Hang On. I made up her story: Her mother commits suicide, and everyone else abandons her. Where does she go next? To her abusive grandmother. And what happens to her for the rest of her life? Horrible things, and then wonderful things. I wanted to give that child love, so I did it in a book.

I merged her story with my own. She gets pulled into the world of Rock and Roll, and so was I. She has a mental illness, and so did I.

Rock and roll was like a drug, back in the 1970s. It had more glamour, excitement, mischief, danger, and sexiness than just about anything that had ever preceded it. Pumping rhythms, gyrating singers, screaming fans, smashed guitars – adrenaline surged through your veins at most concerts. This was the era when rock and roll production introduced lasers and pyrotechnics. This was when Heil Sound System’s “Talk Box” and other sorts of miraculous gimmickry came to be.

I was there, in the mid-70s. Like Holly, I had a roadie boyfriend, I was on the band bus, and I spent countless hours backstage meeting dozens of rock stars. I was flown to the Bahamas, like Holly. Like Holly, I was nearly sent home because my prepaid airline ticket wasn’t paid in full for some reason, so I’d given an airline all of my spending money and arrived in Nassau virtually penniless, with no phone number to call and no local references to give them. I thankfully slipped through customs and played Coconut Bowl on the beach with the band and some others. I also watched Bahamian’s elite drive up to hang out with the rock stars. I attended parties in incredible mansions when I was forced to, and hung out at the Traveller’s Rest restaurant and bar to escape the noise of it all, whenever I could.

The lead singer of “my” band was brilliant. He was nothing at all like the somewhat dense Angus Atkins. However, after I left the Bahamas I learned he had driven a particularly fretful rental car (one they all disliked – transmission problems, I believe) into the ocean in protest, and left it there. So he had his moments, just as Angus does in Hang On.

It was exciting, it was free, it was high-energy – if I were to pick a decade, I would pick the 1970s as my favorite. The clothing was stupid, but the entire decade was a party. Plus we were living in a very short window between wars, and before AIDS.

From another perspective, that decade is unfortunate. In the 1970s Holly’s mental illness will not be recognized as a condition until the 1980s, and there will be no effective treatment for it until the 1990s. This condition does not respond to medication, so her psychiatrist is of no real help to her. Nevertheless, she continues to see him, and continues to go hungry in order to pay him because she has bouts of very severe depression and thoughts of suicide, but has vowed to never kill herself, as her mother did. He is her only safety net.

I had Holly’s condition, when I was young. It is called Borderline Personality Disorder, and it covers a very wide spectrum of symptoms, with an equally wide spectrum of severity. Its symptoms “border” those of several conditions, all at the same time. It most typically impacts people with a high emotional sensitivity score, who also suffer some kind of trauma, neglect or abuse in childhood. If the sensitivity level is high enough, it takes very little (or even no) trauma to trigger symptoms. (When I was reading the Secret Life of Bees I imagined that the character “May” was one of these.) If the sensitivity level is lower, it requires a more extreme level of trauma for a person to show signs of it.

So each sufferer falls somewhere on the spectrum, from highly functional to non-functional, depending on his or her own sensitivity score and the trauma he or she experiences. People at risk for Borderline Personality Disorder are also those who most easily succumb to Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. The factors in play are very similar, and in some ways so is the treatment.
The good news about Holly’s (and my) condition is that symptoms improve as you get older, particularly if you make an active effort to confront and overcome them. In my case they are completely gone, and I leave a breadcrumb trail in Hang On for how I did that.

I was highly functional, and so is Holly. She holds a job and pays her rent. However, she is very lonely because her symptoms make it difficult for her to interact with other people and sustain relationships for very long. She has one or two friends who overlook her mood swings, and she has Trevor. The world of Rock and Roll keeps her afloat. But her isolation is palpable and painful, and her fear of losing the little she has is very real.

Hang On is sad, but it’s also funny. As I explained earlier, I gave that little girl in the police station “love,” and also shared with her some of my wonderful adventures. But I have no doubt that she grew up not-quite-wholly-intact. I wanted to show this, but I wanted to also give her hope.

I only wish I could have hugged her.

Title: Hang On
Author: Nell Gavin
Publisher/Publication Date: CreateSpace, Mar 2012
ISBN:  9781475023213


Watch for my review of Hang On before the end of the month.  
There will be a giveaway!

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