Cover Reveal: Love Among Pigeons by Abria Mattina (Giveaway)

Love Among Pigeons

by Abria Mattina

Publication Date: Aug 23, 2013

Genre: YA Contemporary

In this companion novella to Wake, Frank invites the Kirk family home to Smiths Falls for Thanksgiving weekend. Holidays are always a trial for the family that lost their daughter and sister, but Frank is hopeful that this Thanksgiving will be the exception. He has some happy news to share. If only he wasn’t so reluctant to talk about it.

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About the author: Abria Mattina works in marketing and book production. She holds a Certificate in Publishing from the New York University Summer Publishing Institute and a degree in English Literature and Psychology from the University of Ottawa. When she isn’t writing she enjoys travelling, eclectic books, blogging, and baking. She lives with her fiance, Daniel.

Her debut novel, WAKE, is about the struggle to redefine life after experiencing cancer and caring for an ill loved one.

Author links:

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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Book Blitz: Nomad by JL Bryan (Giveaway)

Nomad

by JL Bryan

Publication: July 26, 2013

Genre: NA Time Travel Dystopian Novel

A new dystopian novel from the author of Jenny Pox - coming July 26.

They took everything: her family, her home, her childhood.

By the age of nineteen, Raven has spent most of her life in the sprawling slums of America, fighting as a rebel against the dictatorship. When the rebellion steals an experimental time-travel device, she travels back five decades to the year 2013. Her plan: assassinate the future dictator when he is still young and vulnerable, long before he comes to power. She must move fast to reshape history, because agents from her own time are on her trail, ready to execute her on sight.

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An excerpt from the first chapter of Nomad by J.L. Bryan

Her hands were red with blood, but the cold rain washed it away.  Whose blood?  She couldn’t remember.

She became aware of pain throughout her body.  Freezing water and tiny hailstones lashed her face as she stumbled through a storm.  Dying thunder echoed in her ears, and crackles of lightning faded in the night around her.

A pair of lights rushed toward her through the darkness, but her brain couldn’t interpret what her eyes saw.  A long screech ripped through her ears, followed by shrill bleats.

Car horns, she realized as the lights loomed closer.  Through her thick, fuzzy brain, it dawned on her that she was staggering along a multi-lane road, seconds away from getting splattered across the oncoming grill of an eighteen-wheeled truck.

She discerned a dark space off to her left and moved into it, stepping from hard pavement into squishy wet earth.  The truck that had nearly killed her squealed past as the driver braked, dousing her with a wave of cold mud.  Horns blew at the stopped truck blocking up the left lane.

She rubbed her eyes and tried to grasp her surroundings—a grass median dividing an interstate highway, up to her ankles in frigid mud.

She couldn’t remember where she was, or how she’d come to be there.  After a moment’s reflection, she realized she wasn’t entirely sure who she was, either.

Raven, she remembered.  She clung to that word like a lifeline. My name is Raven.  It is now, anyway.  She’d once had a different name, but that original, scribbled-on-the-birth-certificate name no longer mattered.

She wore black boots and a long black jacket.  A backpack weighed down her shoulders, but she didn’t know what it contained.  She trudged on weak, trembling legs toward an overpass bridge ahead.  Once she was out of the downpour, she could gather her brains and figure things out.  She didn’t seem to be bleeding, so the blood on her hands must not have been her own.

“Hey!  Hey there, girl!  You all right?” shouted the truck driver who had almost flattened her.  More cars honked and swerved to avoid crashing into the back of his trailer, which was decorated with puffy pink sheep.

Raven squinted up at him.  The man was in his forties, severely overweight, with a handlebar mustache and scratchy, graying beard stubble.  His blue and white cap read: MoonPie: The Original Marshmallow Sandwich!

“I’m fine!” she shouted through the downpour. “Keep going!”

“You got a car?” he asked.

“No,” she told him. “I don’t think so.”

“Where you headed?”

“I don’t know.”

“The troopers gonna lock you up if they see you!  You drunk or what?”

“I don’t think so.” She raised a hand to her mouth to check her breath.  Not drunk.

The trucker eyed her up and down, a soaking wet girl stumbling along the interstate alone at night, and then he swung open the passenger door.

“Best climb on up in here with me,” he said. “Gonna freeze your pants off out there.”

Raven looked at the gruff, obese man and the warm, sheltered transport he was offering, and then at the overpass bridge in the distance.  Her legs were rubbery.  She might not make it to the overpass before she collapsed.

“Lady, I got to get moving,” he said. “You want a ride to the exit or what?”

“Yeah,” Raven said.  She had no reason to trust him, but he seemed soft-bodied and slow.  If he tried to get rough, she would break his wrists.   Even in her current state, she knew she could take him if he pushed her to it.

Raven stumbled around to the passenger side and struggled to climb with her weakened limbs until he took her arms and pulled her up.

“Thanks,” she whispered, still shivering.  She was almost too weak to pull the door closed.

“Just glad you ain’t tore in half.” He settled back into the driver’s seat, and it groaned under his weight. “You musta been one, two, three, four inches from me.  Or less.  Just popped up outta nowhere when that lightning hit.” He drove cautiously through the storm. “Didn’t seem like no normal lightning, you ask me.  What was you doing out there?   That big flash hit the road, then you come stumbling out....Did the lightning get you?”

“I don’t know,” she said.  The interior of the cab smelled like cigarette smoke and old hamburgers.  A collage of small objects was glued to the dashboard—action figures, an old watch face, postcards, salt and pepper shakers.  Hail clattered on the cab’s roof.

“You don’t know?” he asked.

“Sorry.” Raven shrugged off her backpack and set it on the floor between her wet boots.  She wanted to see what was inside it, but not while he was watching.

“It’s Jebbie, by the way.” He offered his calloused hand, and she hesitated a moment before taking it. “Jebbie Walters.  From Yazoo City, Mississippi.  You got a name, darling?”

“Angela.  That’s my name,” Raven said.  She knew not to trust a stranger with data about herself.  He might be the enemy, and she felt informants and spies were everywhere, looking to report those who resisted.

“Huh.  Where you from, Angela?”

She tried to remember, but finally shrugged.

“You ain’t gotta tell me,” he said. “You going north?  Cause that’s where I’m going, way up north of here.  You might want to hop out quick if that ain’t your plan.”

“I’m not sure.”

“You ain’t sure about much of nothing, are you?”

“Not right now,” Raven said.

“I guess I ought to drop you up at the exit.”

“You can.” Raven shrugged. “I think I’m lost.”

He looked her over again. “Tell you what.  About three, four, five miles from here’s a good spot, the Big Porcupine Travel Plaza.  Got showers, motel rooms, an all-night-you-can-eat place.  We could stop there, get you a place to sleep.  Maybe in the morning you’ll start to remembering things.  I figure you just need to sleep it off.  You’re on drugs or something, ain’t you?”

“Maybe,” Raven said.

He laughed. “It’s okay by me.  I don’t do drugs, myself.  Just pills and booze.  Well, you think about what you want to do.”

He turned up the radio, where a woman sang a slow, gentle song that Raven gradually recognized.  Someone—her mother?—had once played it on the piano.  It was an old song called “The Rose.”

“Uh, sorry.” Jebbie blushed pink and spun the radio knob. “I, uh, usually find a good honky-tonk or country gold station.  Don’t know how my radio ended up on that soft-rock junk, or whatever that was.  Yeah, here we go.” He found a song with a steel guitar and a man singing about his wife leaving him for his boss.

Raven looked at herself in the rain-streaked side mirror.  She was about twenty years old, maybe nineteen.  That felt right.  Her black hair was pulled into a short ponytail with a rubber band.  She wore all black: boots, fatigues, blouse, backpack, jacket.  The knee-length jacket was made of a stretchy artificial material with a texture like a crocodile’s back.  She felt a web of metallic fibers between the layers of leathery fabric. That’s armor, she realized, and she wondered why she might need armor.  Her only jewelry was on her left wrist, a thin silver bracelet with a large moonstone.

She tried to reach back in time with her mind.  She’d been stumbling along the highway.  The moment before that: what?  It was a solid blank slate, as though a giant magnet had wiped her brain clean.  Perhaps the trucker was right, and she’d been struck by lightning.

Raven, she reminded herself. I know my name.

About the author: J.L. Bryan studied English literature at the University of Georgia and at Oxford, with a focus on English Renaissance and Romantic literature. He also studied screenwriting at UCLA. He lives in the metro Atlanta sprawl with his wife Christina, where he spends most of his day servings the toddler and animal community inside his house. He is the author of the Paranormals series and the Songs of Magic series.

His novel Jenny Pox is currently free on Kindle, Smashwords, Apple, Sony, Kobo, and Nook!    

Author Links:

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

The author is allowing me to giveaway one eCopy of Nomad to one of my readers.  This giveaway is open internationally and will end on July 31.  Just enter through the rafflecopter below.

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A Wicked Kind of Dark by Jonathan K. Benton - Giveaway!

Author Jonathan K. Benton



Jonathan Benton always wanted to write books, having won first place in a short story competition when he was ten. Inspired by writes such as Ray Bradbury and Stephen King, Jonathan first discovered the crossover genre of literary/fantasy while reading Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes.

Jonathan grew up in New Zealand, dreaming of travelling to London and finally making the pilgrimage in his mid-twenties. Returning from England, he settled in Australia, the country he now calls home, and decided to take his writing seriously.

Website * Twitter * Facebook

A Wicked Kind of Dark

Robert Duncan no longer believes in magic. A mysterious call about a blood moon, however, leads him back to the magical world of his childhood and to Luthien, the beautiful girl with flame-coloured hair, who he loved and lost.



As Robert unravels the secrets of his childhood, darkness enters his life and an ancient evil awakens. To have any chance of defeating the dark forces that would destroy two worlds, Robert must find Luthien before the rise of the blood moon. He must, once more, believe in magic …



A Wicked Kind of Dark mixes vast and spectacular fantasy landscapes with gritty urban reality. A must-read for people of all ages who believe in the power of imagination, and the importance of never losing touch with your inner child.

Giveaway Details

$10 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Open Internationally

Ends 8/15/13

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.

*An additional $10 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash is available to anyone who shares this giveaway on their blog.  See link in the rafflecopter form.

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15 Minutes by Jill Cooper - Book Review

Title: 15 Minutes
Author: Jill Cooper

About the Book: I have 15 minutes to save my mother’s life….

15 minutes is all the Rewind Agency gives you in the past, but for Lara Crane it’s enough time to race through the city, find her mother, and stop her from being killed in a mugging that happened over ten years ago.

But that’s not how it happened. The story she’s been told all her life is a lie and when Lara takes a bullet meant for her mother, her future changes forever.

The love of her life acts like a stranger. Her simple life is replaced with a giant house, glamorous clothes and a new boyfriend.

Except someone knows her secret. And he will try to stop her at every turn as she races against the clock to unravel a dangerous conspiracy.

15 Minutes is an edgy high octane YA thriller that can be described as Back to the Future meets Inception where the people Lara trusts change in an instant. She is in a timeline she doesn't understand, and is about to make one fatal mistake as she faces an enemy so familiar, he’s family.

Purchase Links:

~Amazon~     ~Barnes and Noble~     ~Kobo Books~     

My thoughts: Talk about trying to wrap your mind around the complexities of time travel and what ifs!   Lara has been told that when she jumps back into time, it is like she will be a hologram.  People will be able to see her, but they will not be able to interact with her.  This truth does not hold true in her case though.  On her first jump she runs into a waitress and knocks her tray out of her hands.  This knowledge sets off a chain of events that quickly escalate out of Lara's hands.  

As the past changes, so does the present and Lara has a new family and a new boyfriend and doesn't know who she can trust.  It is not the present that she wanted when she jumped into the past and now she knows she must jump again.

As you can see from the excerpts below - this book contains both action and romance.  I think Ms. Cooper did a good job of letting you know which reality you were in as it could have gotten very confusing.  It was also interesting to see how Lara's feelings and memories change after she comes back from the past.  How hard would it be to be living one way of life and then 15 minutes later to have a totally new reality and new memories flooding your brain - but still have the old memories as well?  

I look forward to reading more by Jill Cooper.

~I received a complimentary eCopy of 15 Minutes from the author in exchange for my unbiased review.~

Action

Locker 63.

My eyes sweep aisle after aisle until I find the one I’m looking for. It’s blue and unassuming, but it could unlock the secret to everything. I lick my lips as I insert the key, close my eyes, and with a prayer, twist.

Click.

The door opens, and inside I find more than documents. There’s also a pink hoodie, a duffle bag, and a fresh change of clothes.

What was I preparing for? What was I doing? I open the manila envelope on the bottom and flip through the documents—a lot of reports, surveillance photos, old newspaper clippings. I don’t have time to go through all of it now, so I stash them in my duffle bag and throw on some new clothes.

A tight-fitting t-shirt, pink hoodie, and comfortable blue jeans are my new outfit. It’s a weird choice for trendy, sophisticated Lara, but she was up to something big. Real big.

I lift the hidden duffle bag out of the locker, surprised at how hefty it is. I unzip it and find money inside. A lot of money. I touch it. Must be thousands of dollars bound together in neat little stacks.

My heart quickens as I wonder where it came from and what I was planning to do with it. If ever there was a moment for a flashback, it's now. A shining blue cell phone at the bottom of the duffle bag catches my attention. I pull it out and see a note stuck to it. In my handwriting.

Hide in the shower. Move fast.

Wide eyed and with a pounding heart, I slam the locker, grab everything, and run down the hall. I turn into the showers and duck into a stall, the vinyl shower curtain flapping against me. I still it with trembling fingers as I hear heavy steps enter the locker room.

Romance

I cover my head as a set of tires squeal. Donovan’s sports car pulls up on the curb to cover me. I dive into the passenger seat, my head down low and scream, “Go!”

Donovan peels away from the curb in a 180 and drives back the way he came. His eyes stay on the road, but his hand squeezes mine. “You all right?”

I nod and clutch the duffle bag to my chest. “Keep driving.”

“Where?” His eyes flash from the road to me.

“Police station. I need you to drop all this stuff off in case I don’t return.”

Anxiety creeps into his voice. “Return? Return from where?”

“The past.”

“Lara, you’re not making any sense.”

“I know, and I’m sorry.” I bite my lip. “There’s no time to explain. I need to fix all of this so my dad was never framed and Molly was never kidnapped, and there’s only one way to do that. I need to go back to the beginning.”

Donovan drives under an old abandoned bridge. He cuts the engine and turns to me. His eyes study me, and I study him because I’m afraid the next time I see him, he won’t love me at all.

“How do we do that? Do we need to get into Rewind?”

I shake my head and stroke his cheek. “Not anymore.”

The features of his face are drawn together. “You never make things dull, you know that?”

I laugh and lean over. In the background, sirens wail and I hear a rush of footsteps. “Remember me when I’m gone.”

“Don’t talk like this. I could never forget you, Lara.”

When our lips meet, the moment is magical. I feel warm everywhere in the blanket of his love, understanding, and compassion. My mind opens up, and suddenly I remember everything.

Everything.

I wish to stay with him forever. I grip his jacket, and his arms squeeze me tight.

But in my mind, I see an alley. 

About the author: I could write this in the third person. I could tell you what I like, where I was born, and what my favorite things are.

But instead, I'll say I don't want to write like everyone else. I don't want to craft stories you've read a thousand times before. I want my novels to be a cinematic experience, blending themes, genres, and situations unlike any you've ever read.

I want to break the rules. I want you to break out in a cold sweat as you read my books out of fear, love, and excitement. I want my books to be an experience. When you finish, I want you to feel something. Good or bad. If you do, then I'll have succeeded. If not, I'll keep trying.

Author Links:  Jill Cooper, Twitter, Facebook

Cover Reveal: Out From Under You by Sophie Swift (Giveaway)

Out from Under You by Sophie Swift 

Series: Smart Girls Finish First #1 

Publication Date:  August 2013 

Genre: New Adult Romance

“Love is an earthquake. It comes when you least expect it. It rips the ground clear away. Right out from under you.” 

The day Lia Smart met Grayson Walker, eight years ago, was the day she fell helplessly in love with him. Coincidentally, it was the same day Grayson fell in love with someone else: Lia’s smarter, sexier, superior-in-every-way older sister, Alex. 

Now, nearly a decade later, Alex and Grayson are long over and twenty-two-year-old Lia has finally managed to forget all those lonely nights she spent pining after her sister’s boyfriend. But when Grayson unexpectedly arrives back in town with Alex for Labor Day weekend and the two announce that they’re not only back together but engaged, all the feelings that Lia buried suddenly come bubbling back to the surface. 

But Lia is no longer the awkward, gangly tomboy she was at fourteen. Far from it. And Grayson is conflicted by the lustful thoughts he’s now having for her. He knows he could never act on those thoughts, however. Grayson has always prided himself on being one of the “good guys.” But as the weekend wears on, he’s finding this new grown-up version of Lia more and more impossible to resist... 

Heartbreaking and sexy with a dash of humor, Sophie Swift crafts a passionate, unforgettable tale about desire, growing up, and the kind of love that shakes us to the core. 

*Contains adult situations and explicit content. Recommended for ages 17+.

About the author: Sophie Swift is an east coast girl who recently transplanted to Southern California. She writes about sexy boys by day, and dates them by night. Her sizzling, new adult romance, OUT FROM UNDER YOU, the first in a new contemporary series, will be released in August of 2013. She loves books that quicken her pace, music sung by adolescent boys, and cupcakes with too much frosting.

Author links:

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter  

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Promo Blitz: Just My Luck by Rosalind James

Just My Luck - PROMO Blitz

By Rosalind James

 (Escape to New Zealand #5)

Contemporary Romance

Date Published: 7/13/2013

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A little distraction can be a wonderful thing.

Nate Torrance has a job to do, and the biggest rugby boots in the world to fill. He can’t afford to lose his focus, especially not to a brown-eyed Canadian who pushes all his buttons and looks much too good in a climbing harness.

Allison Villiers may not know what she wants to do with her life, but she’s clear about one thing. She’s not impressed by the new captain of the All Blacks, however big a deal he is to the rest of New Zealand. If only her unfortunate taste for adventure didn’t keep leading her astray . . .

EXCERPT

“How are you finding Wellington so far?” Nate asked when they were out on the water. He’d managed to launch them from the beach with a shove, and even climb in again behind her without any mishaps. Ally was actually a little sorry. She’d been half-anticipating going over, and enjoying the prospect of teasing him about it. He definitely needed it.

“I love it,” she said, keeping up a steady stroke and feeling the calm that always came over her when she was surrounded by sea and sky, enjoying the effort, the rhythmic motion. She was going to be out here with him for a while, so she might as well keep this pleasant. She didn’t even have to look at him, after all. You couldn’t really turn around in a double kayak without tipping the thing, which was probably for the best in this case. “I’ve been wandering around getting happily lost, and finding my way home again. It’s a lively place, isn’t it? Lots of outdoor stuff to do too, and as you know, that’s my favorite thing.”

“It can get a bit wet and windy,” he cautioned.

“I’ve heard,” she said, unable to keep the amusement from her voice. “I’ve had a few discussions about the weather already, you see.”

She heard him groan. “I’m rubbish at chatting girls up,” he admitted, surprising a laugh from her. “I never know what to say. Everything’s either dull, or it sounds like a pickup line. I generally end up opting for dull.”

“Honesty works, though,” she told him. “That was pretty good right there.”

“Really.” He sounded surprised. “I should throw myself on your mercy, you think?”

“Definitely. A strong man being endearingly awkward . . . I like it. It’s an approach, anyway.”

“Better than spilling a beer on her, I reckon,” he said.

“Much better." She realized that she was paddling along with a smile on her face. Why hadn’t she met this guy before? She liked him.

“I’ll try again, then,” he said. “Did you spend Christmas here as well, on the Coromandel?”

“No, in Auckland. And it rained one day, but otherwise the weather was good. Just to anticipate you.”

He laughed. “Do anything special?”

“I did, actually. I bungy jumped off the Sky Tower. Kristen’s Christmas present.”

“Crikey. This is me shuddering back here."

“No, really?” she asked in surprise. “It was amazing. You should try it.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” he decided.

“You don’t like thrills?”

“I love thrills. Know how to get them, too. And it’s not by jumping off buildings.”

Wow. She didn’t think she’d pursue that one. Maybe he meant rugby. Yeah, right. He hadn’t meant rugby.

Rosalind James

Author Bio:

Rosalind James is the author of the bestselling “Escape to New Zealand” series, as well as "Welcome to Paradise," her first book in the new U.S.-based "Kincaids" series.

Rosalind divides her time between California and New Zealand.

Authors Links

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Book Review: Defending Wellton by Kelli Kretzschmar

Title: Defending Wellton
Author: Kelli Kretzschmar

About the Book: Wellton, Arizona. Population 2,864… and falling. Something - or someone - is killing the kids in town, and the Wellton Police Department is called in to investigate the untimely deaths.

Officer Trent Buckley has lived in Wellton since the day he was born, and he’s been trying to get out of the small, dead-end town ever since.  Just when he has a shot at a transfer to Tucson, a disturbing case lands in his lap, one that has him working with Yuma Sun reporter – and ex-lover – Sarah Goodwin.  Trent is forced to push aside his resentment for Wellton and settle his own personal demons to focus on keeping more kids from dying in his town.

Chief John Walker has lived in Wellton for over thirty years.  When kids start getting sick and dying, it takes all his courage to face his own past and solve the case.  With the help of his best cop, Officer Buckley, Walker is determined to stop the deaths in his town, and keep them both alive in the process.

As the pair discovers what, or who, is behind the mysterious deaths, will two small-town cops be able to stay alive long enough to put a stop to it before any more kids have to die?

Purchase Links:

~Amazon~

My thoughts: Starting off with the death of a child was a sure fire way to reel me in.  With that little tragedy you get catapulted into Wellton and begin to meet the people.  Trent seems like a good guy, but appeared older than his years to me.  He is dedicated to his job as a Wellton police officer, but is driven to start his life somewhere else.  Except for a couple of close friends, he is somewhat of a loner.  His high school girlfriend ripped his heart out when she left, and he now has commitment issues. Together with John Walker, the police chief, they are trying to figure out why seemingly healthy children are dying from cardiac arrest.

I like the way the author lays the framework for the story, planting pieces of the puzzle, before you even know there is a puzzle.  It is not just a mystery though, there is also deception and a sideline of romance.  I think this is a terrific first novel and will definitely look for my by Kelli Kretzschmar.  I would love to see another one with these characters in it!

~I received a complimentary eCopy of Defending Wellton from Reading Addiction Blog Tours in exchange for my unbiased review.~

About the author:  Kelli Kretzschmar, author of the mystery novel Defending Wellton, researched the novel by visiting Wellton, Arizona, and interviewing several officers of the Wellton Police Department.  Kretzschmar says, “I needed to actually experience the feeling of the small town in order to capture Trent’s frustration in feeling stuck there.  And speaking with the Wellton Police Department proved invaluable and has given me a lot of material for a second book in the Wellton series.”

Kretzschmar resides in Rancho Santa Margarita, California with her husband and three children. Although this is her first published novel, she says there will be more to come.  “Writing is an exciting hobby,” says Kretzschmar. “I have lots of characters in my mind that are ready to come to life on paper.  Currently, I’m working on three more novels and expect my next to be released this winter.” When asked to describe what she enjoys most about writing, Kretzschmar states, “There's a point I get to in the process of writing when the characters just start acting things out on their own, and I'm just there to record it all on paper.”

A full-time Marketing Manager for a high-technology company, Kretzschmar finds time to write between an active schedule of work, family life, and practicing her most recent passion, Krav Maga. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Cal State Long Beach.

Author Links:

~Website~     ~Blog~     ~Facebook~     ~Goodreads~

Cover Reveal: Not Pretty Enough by Jaimie Admans

Not Pretty Enough

by Jaimie Admans

Publication Date: August 1, 2013

YA Contemporary

“New Year’s Resolutions:
1. Lloyd Layton will know I exist. He once said three whole words to me, so this is obviously progress. If I don’t get a proper conversation out of him soon, then I’ll take my top off and streak through the cafeteria, because nobody could fail to notice these boobs.
2. I will not get expelled for streaking through the cafeteria.”

Those are the words that begin her mission.
Chessie is fourteen, not pretty enough, and very much in love. Lloyd Layton is hot, popular, and unaware of Chessie’s existence.
Her goal is clear: to get Lloyd to love her as much as she loves him, and she has exactly one year to do it.
As Chessie’s obsession with Lloyd reaches boiling point and she starts to spin a web of lies that spiral out of control, Lloyd turns out to be not quite the prince she thought he was. Can Chessie avoid the gathering storm before things go too far?

Not Pretty Enough is a contemporary young adult comedy suitable for ages thirteen and over.

Book two in the series will be released early 2014.

Goodreads

Promo Blitz - Mid-Life Love by Whitney Williams

Mid-Life Love - PROMO Blitz

By Whitney Williams

Contemporary Romance

Date to be Published: 6/28/2013

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If you'd asked me what love was two years ago, I probably would've said, 'It's this amazing feeling that obsesses and possesses you; it's what me and my husband currently have.' If you ask me that same question today, I'll say, 'Please get the hell out of my face.'

Claire Gracen's life is picture perfect. Her career as a marketing director is on the brink of being legendary, and her marriage to her high school sweetheart has never been stronger. No, wait. It has. It used to be amazing and fulfilling, but one day Claire realizes that she's been living a lie and her best friend and husband have committed the ultimate betrayal.

Broken and depressed, Claire is in need of something new--new city, new job, new friends.

When she happens to attract the interest of the sexiest man she's ever met, a man significantly younger than her, she immediately turns him down--only to later discover that this man is 

Jonathan Statham, self-made billionaire and CEO of Statham Industries. Her boss.Jonathan Statham is unlike any man she's met before. He's used to getting whatever he wants--whenever he wants, and he isn't about to take no for an answer.

Sexy, unpredictable, and charmingly clever, Mid Life Love is a story that will captivate you, entertain you, and force you to fall deeply in love with the characters.

EXCERPT

“How long have you been working here, Miss Gracen?” He placed subtle emphasis on the word ‘Miss’ and smiled. 

“About four years.”

“Hmmm. I can’t believe I’m just now finding you.” He rubbed his chin. “Do you like it?”

There has to be a better word than “sexy” to describe you…

“Do I like what?”

“Your job, this company.”

“You want me to be completely honest?”

“That would be nice.”

“I absolutely hate it here, but the offices are decorated quite nicely. The interior designers did one hell of a job.”

“Good to know.” He laughed. “I take it that since you haven’t called, you’re not interested in going out with me?”

I nodded weakly. “Clearly.”

“May I ask why, Miss Gracen?”

He needs to stop saying my name like that…

“There are several reasons why.”

“Name the best ones.” He stepped in front of me and looked deep into my eyes. “But your age and the fact that you have kids aren’t good enough reasons for me.”

Poker face…Poker face… “Well, as I’m sure you already know, it’s against company policy.”

“I can have that rewritten by the end of the week.”

“It’s also completely immoral and highly inappropriate.”

“That’s…debatable.” He reached out and pushed a strand of hair away from my face. “Is that all?”

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t say anything. 

I was too busy getting lost in his incredible eyes. I realized that they weren’t entirely blue; his irises were outlined in a wispy cloud of charcoal gray and there were speckles of emerald green gleaming within them. 

“Miss Gracen? Are there any other excuses?” He inched even closer to me, slightly rubbing his nose against mine.

Why am I so turned on right now? I shouldn’t be feeling this way…He’s way too young for me, way too young for me…

“I’m not attracted to you.”

He raised his eyebrow. “Oh really?”

Snippets:

Snippet of Jonathan and Claire’s first encounter:

“Need some help?” A deep voice said from behind. 

“Sure.” I didn’t look up. I kept stacking the red boxes in between the yellow ones, making sure each box was perfectly aligned into the tacky half diamond formation.

As I stacked the last cereal box atop the display, I turned to look at the man who’d helped me out. 

OH. MY. GOD…

He had one of those faces that belonged in a Ralph Lauren ad—stark blue eyes that gleamed with the faintest hint of light, a perfectly chiseled jaw line with a light sexy stubble, and full, well defined lips that looked inviting enough to kiss all day.

He was dressed in dark blue jeans and a black sweat shirt with “San Fran” in white letters. And for some odd reason, he was smiling at me. 

He’s probably a student at the law school down the street….If only I could go back in time…Oh well…

“Umm…Thank you for your help.” I turned away and went back to my basket.

“Wait a minute,” he said as he walked over. “I didn’t catch your name.”

How cute…“Claire.”

“Nice to meet you, Claire. I’m Jonathan.” He reached out to shake my hand. “I know this may seem forward, but I can’t leave the store without knowing if I can I take you out tonight.”

What? Did he just ask me out? For tonight?

“Umm…”

“You can pick the place.” He smiled a perfect white smile and ran a hand through his jet black hair. “And we can meet there if you don’t want me to pick you up.”

Stop looking at his smile and avert your gaze somewhere lower…Not that lower!

“I would but…” I literally couldn’t take my eyes off him. He was the sexiest man I’d ever seen and I could feel this strange rush of warmth coursing through my veins. “I can’t.”

“Is it because you’re seeing someone else?” His eyes veered to my bare left hand. “Are you married?”

He has to be kidding me…“No. I’m not married or seeing anyone else. I’m—”

“So would eight o’ clock be fine? And where exactly do you want to meet?” He looked directly into my eyes and I almost collapsed onto the floor. 

The look he was giving me should’ve been reserved for a seductive scene in a romance movie and his dreamy smile was lethal.

“Look, I’m completely flattered but you look kind of young.”

He furrowed his eyebrow. “That’s very nice of you to say, but that doesn’t answer my question. Where do you want to—”

“How old are you, Jonathan?”

“Twenty eight.” His beautiful eyes lit up. 

Twenty eight?! Why am I still standing here entertaining him? He’s eleven years younger than me! No thanks…

“Well, that’s way too young for me. I have a little cousin that’s more in your age range. She’s currently studying law, but if you want I can call and ask her if—”

“You don’t want to go out with me?”

“No. I’m way too old for you, and I’m not a cougar or a cradle robber. I have two daughters and I would feel some type of way if they dated someone who had our age difference.”

“Our age difference?”

“Yes. I’m thirty nine, which means that when you were eight years old and learning how to build fires with the Boy Scouts, I was nineteen and in college. It means that when you were nineteen and trying to figure out what major you wanted to pick, I was thirty trying to build a career in marketing. And just in case you don’t realize how many years there are that separate us, there are eleven. Do you not see the problem with that?

“Not really.” He grinned. “But I can’t force someone to go out with me, can I?

Whitney Williams

Author Bio

A self diagnosed candy addict, travel junkie, and hypochondriac, Whitney Gracia Williams LOVES to write about characters that make you laugh, cry, and want to (in the case of Selena Ross) reach through your Kindle and slap them.

She is the "imaginary bestselling" author of the Jilted Bride Series, Mid Life Love, Wasted Love, and Captain of My Soul.

When she's not locked inside her room, feverishly typing away on her laptop, she can be found here:http://www.whitneygracia.com

She also loves getting emails from her readers, so if you want to tell her how much you loved (or hated) her stories, email her at whitgracia@gmail.com

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