Release Blitz ~ Crimson Cove Mysteries by Tara Brown

 Title: Crimson Cove Mysteries

Author: Tara Brown

Genre: YA romance, horror, mystery, and thriller

Hosted by: Lady Amber's Reviews & PR

 

 

Blurb:

 

Can you keep a secret?

When a summer party turns into a crime scene, five girls are forced to keep the biggest secret of all.

One of them is a murderer, and only the killer knows who.

 One corpse.

 Five suspects.

 And all six girls are from the wealthiest families in Crimson Cove.

 

Lindsey

Lainey

Sierra

Sage

Marguerite

Rachel

 

In order to prove their innocence, they must solve the crime.

But everyone in Crimson Cove has secrets.

The girls just need to figure out which ones are worth dying for.

Before it's too late.

 

Welcome to Crimson Cove.

 

"Mix together the best aspects of PRETTY LITTLE LIARS & GOSSIP GIRL then add in Gillian Flynn psychological twists and you get Crimson Cove"

"Murder. Mystery. Mayhem. Crimson Cove has devilishly sharp twists and turns that will leave you dying—for more."

 

Lovers of We Were Liars, Riverdale, and Gossip Girl need to get lost in this thriller with Hitchcockian twists. The completed series boxset is set against the backdrop of Crimson Cove, a dysfunctional yet mesmerizing community filled with wealthy elite, shady pasts, and ulterior motives.

 

The entire Crimson Cove Mystery is in this box set, all 5 volumes

 

Buy Now on Amazon!

 

 

 

I believe growing up in a really small town gives a person a little advantage when it comes to the imagination. You need one or you go mad.

Needless to say, mine saved me. After it got me into trouble first, that is. That's the problem with a vivid imagination, all the lies you tell.

I am happily married with two daughters.

I have two giant dogs, two savage cats, and a penchant for a glass of red.

Also, I drag my bread through the sauce. I can't help myself, bread is life.

According to my age, I am meant to be a responsible adult, but it isn't going well at all. I would still head off to Hogwarts tomorrow and I suspect there isn't a single wardrobe I haven't crept into, hoping to find the door to Narnia. And don't even get me started on the King's Road, I get lost.

Fortunately, I am an international bestseller so I have wormed my way into a quirky or eccentric category.

Thank God for that.

I am represented by Natalie Lakosil from the Bradford Literary Agency and am published traditionally with Montlake Romance.

Author Links:

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

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5768382.Tara_Brown

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2HOoJmk

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TaraBrown22

Web: http://tarabrown22.blogspot.ca/

Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/tarabrownauthor/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tara-brown

 

Buy Now on Amazon!

 

 

Excerpt from Second Nature:

Halloween Scream

October 31, 2015

 

Sierra

 

The noise of the creaking stairs, the ones I had just crept up, sounded like it echoed in my ears. Someone had followed us here. “Jake,” I whispered, hoping he was messing around. If he was, I would be angry. I lifted one leg after the other and slipped my high heels off, holding them both so I could tiptoe through the half-constructed mansion without making noise. Jake didn't answer, but the footsteps had stopped from the moment I whispered. The scary movie marathon we’d had before Rachel died flashed through my head, bringing ideas and memories with it. I tiptoed around the corner, brushing my Frankenstein’s bride dress on the rough edge where the unfinished walls met. The drywall scraped against me, making me wince as I hurried along the corridor to the back deck. Whoever was in the house with me was either moving silently too or they were standing still, listening. Either way, I had a terrible feeling this wasn't a game. That meant one thing: Jake was injured or hiding. And I was alone. My heart raced, my eyes burned from not blinking—fearful I would miss something—and my mouth was as dry as a mouthful of popcorn. The floor creaked. I froze. “Sierra,” someone whispered into the dark. My skin crawled when I realized it wasn't Jake. It wasn't his whisper. I’d heard that enough times, always in the dark, to know it wasn't him. “Sierra, don't be scared.” It sounded like something it couldn't be, but I didn't believe. I stayed perfectly still, waiting for the moment I needed to run to the back deck and jump down onto the sandy beach. What had the girls in the horror movies done wrong? What could I avoid? My mind raced, remembering the runners always got caught. They always got stabbed. Usually in the back. The thought of it made my skin burn where I imagined the knife would slice. The hiders always got caught. They were the ones breathing too loudly or hiding in stupid places. “Sierra, I won’t hurt you if you come to me.” I squeezed my eyes shut for half a second and waited for the answer, the right choice, to pop into my head. A dog barked, making me jump and open my eyes. The sound was joined by the creaking of the floorboards again. With gentle breaths and controlled movements I crept along the hallway, entering the spot where the kitchen or master bedroom would likely go. The house was freshly sealed with windows and doors, but it was still in the drywall stage with plywood floors. The massive back deck was through the white French doors, facing the beach and open ocean. The moon offered light, enough to make shadows move with me. I hurried to an alcove I assumed would one day be a nook for a breakfast bar or maybe the ensuite soaker tub. I pressed my back against the wall and stared at the bright white French doors. If I could make it to them, I was free. If only I had my cell phone, I could call the police or Jake or Vincent. Someone would come and help me. Even Ashton might answer. But that wasn't an option. I scolded myself for my weakness in me and forced my focus to be on the doors. They were my answer. They were my hope. As I exhaled and plotted my moment to run and everything I would do from that point on, the floor creaked in the hallway behind me. It was now or never. Live or die. I took one more breath and pushed off from the wall…

 

New Release Day ~ Psychonaut (The Starblood Trilogy Book 2) by Carmilla Voiez

 

Psychonaut Release Day Blog Buzz – March 12

 

Psychonaut is the second book in Carmilla Voiez’s Starblood series. It’s a relaunch of the novel by American indie Vamptasy Publishing. The series contains four books and follows the lives of a group of friends: Star, Satori, Freya. Donna, Raven and Ivan, who are young Goths living in Bristol, England.

 

In the first book, Starblood, Star breaks up with her lover, Satori, but he is unwilling to let her go. Satori is an adept Chaos magician and decides to cast a spell to keep Star by his side, but because of competing forces Lilith, mother of demons, uses this moment to come to Earth and enter their lives. The result is a tangled web of murder, madness and betrayal.

 

The first book can be found at Amazon and other retailers – http://smarturl.it/Starblood.

 

Psychonaut takes us beyond the urban lives of these ill-fated Goths and into other worlds full of demons, gods, magic and monsters.

 

Psychonaut is available from March 12 and can be found at – http://smarturl.it/PsychonautVoiez.

 

Satori is caught between two worlds. There is something he needs in one, but the other keeps drawing him back. However, he is in love and he isn’t going to let a little thing like death get in his way. To reach his goal, he must face unimaginable horrors, not least of which is his true self.

 

Star’s tortured and broken body awaits Satori, but does she really need him to save her? His rival, a rage-filled young woman, grows more powerful and becomes as twisted as the ribbons in her hair while the demon, Lilith, draws each of them inexorably towards her. Who will survive the coming battle?

 

Full of sex and magic, “Psychonaut” is an exploration into the human psyche and the second book in Voiez’s “Starblood” trilogy.

 

"Carmilla Voiez is more of a singer than a writer. She tells her compelling story in a hypnotic, distinctive voice that brings her eerie world vividly to life." Graham Masterton

 

 

“Psychonaut is a book of mad impulses, inner vision, sadism, escape and belief. You feel uncomfortable reading it, like Alex strapped to the chair in Clockwork Orange being taught to feel sick at atrocity. Rather than leave us crippled by response, though, Psychonaut bears you through the hurt towards the only paradise we can be assured of...a love past fault.” Jef Withonef, Houston Press.

 

 

Excerpt  

‘What do you need me to do?’ Freya asks.

‘I need someone to guide me through the planes. I thought Ivan would help me, but I think you probably know more about it than he does,’ Satori answers.

‘I doubt it.’

‘You’ve been up there though.’

Freya nods. ‘Yes.’

Satori blushes. ‘It was my first trip today. That’s where I was when you rang the doorbell. I’ve found where to start. But I have no clue where to go from here.’

‘What’s it like?’ she asks.

‘Huh?’

‘Your sacred space, at least that’s what Ivan calls it. What’s yours like?’

‘Oh, um …’

‘Haha, you’re embarrassed. What, does it have some huge tower like you’re compensating for something … oh shit, it does doesn’t it?’

Satori shuffles in his seat. ‘No. What have you got in yours then?’

‘A tree,’ Freya says.

‘And …’

‘Just a tree.’

‘What kind of tree?’ Satori asks.

‘A weeping willow,’ she answers.

 

 

‘How Gothic.’

‘Indeed, tower boy.’

‘I … okay yes I have a tower.’ He laughs. ‘But I’m not compensating. I like … towers. So your willow tree …’

‘Yes.’

‘Is it as beautiful as your hair?’

‘What the fuck, Satori? Where did that come from?’

‘Sorry. I’m just saying …’

‘And I’m just saying, forget it. There’s no way that’s ever gonna happen. The people you seduce have a habit of ending up dead.’

Satori looks away. His mouth moves as if he’s about to speak, but thinks better of it.

Freya watches the colour rise in his cheeks and feels embarrassed for him, embarrassed and awkward because she rejected him. Maybe he was simply being friendly, paying me a compliment? Did I misunderstand? Something clicks inside her and the awkwardness grows into nervousness, which morphs into anger. Why would he say that? Is sex all he wants from women? Perhaps he looks at me and all he can see is a pretty thing for him to pet? Am I not his equal? Of course I am. What then? Confused, she shakes her head and decides to change the subject. ‘So are we going to try to find your way tonight?’

‘Have you got somewhere else to be?’ he asks.

‘No, I’m good.’

‘All right then,’ Satori says, refilling the glasses. ‘But I haven’t left my … tower yet. Where should we meet?’

‘I haven’t left my Gothic tree. Shall we follow our paths and think of each other? Maybe our feet will lead us there.’

‘It’s a better plan than any I’ve come up with,’ Satori says.

‘Where?’

‘Mum will be home soon. Is … my bedroom okay?’

‘Well, I don’t actually need to be here, do I?’ Freya asks.

‘I thought it might help,’ he says.

‘It probably won’t. Not with the mood you’re in tonight,’ she answers.

Satori sighs. ‘I guess so. Ten o’clock then. That gives you an hour to get home and get ready. Will Ivan pick you up or shall I walk you home?’

‘How many fucking times? I don’t need your protection.’

 

 

Psychonaut is a story of redemption. In it the main characters learn their flaws and find ways to rise above them. Star, Satori, Lilith and Donna are all changed in profound and positive ways during the narrative. In this way Psychonaut is an uplifting book, especially after the desperate pain and suffering of Starblood.

 

Starblood was written during a difficult period of my life. I had given birth to my second daughter and was struggling to bond with her while keeping some sense of my own identity at the same time. In addition the business I had been running (with my then husband) for over a decade was failing, and my marriage was on the rocks.

 

Star’s struggle to discover who she is, when all the layers of what others want her to be are stripped away, was very much my struggle. I was in a state of depression and suicidal. I honestly believe that writing the Starblood Trilogy helped me answer the questions that haunted me at the time and saved my life (although not my marriage).

 

I was shocked and surprised by the overwhelming positive reception the first three Starblood books received. It is a frequently painful read and more than a little “out there”, that it resonated with others amazes me. What I have realised over the years is that my story is far more common than people would like to admit.

 

Since writing Starblood I have read work by people like Thomas Ligotti, which has taught me that part of the appeal of Starblood is that many of us never feel as though we fit comfortably in this world. We all flounder about at times trying to find a way to fit in without compromising what makes us who we are. I realise that my instinctive feeling that the world is both cruel and insane is far from uniquely mine.

 

On the flip side the message, I hope, that people get from the stories is one of self acceptance. So what if we don’t fit in? We are still important. We have value. Our dreams mean something, and as Lilith says in the first book, “There is no shame in love, only completion.” I hope people can see that Lilith is not only talking about romantic love at this point, but also love and acceptance of self and the multi-faceted, unique and marvellous people we have in our lives.

 

The Starblood Series books 1 and 2 are also available as graphic novels with art by Anna Prashkovich.

 

Graphic Novel 1 – Starblood – http://smarturl.it/sgnebook

Graphic Novel 2 – Psychonaut – http://smarturl.it/Psychonaut

 

 

About Author

 

 

Carmilla Voiez is a proudly bisexual and mildly autistic introvert who finds writing much easier than verbal communication. A life long Goth, living with two kids, two cats and a poet by the sea.

 

She is passionate about horror, the alt scene, intersectional feminism, art, nature and animals. When not writing, she gets paid to hang out in a stately home and entertain tourists.

 

​Carmilla grew up on a varied diet of horror. Her earliest influences as a teenage reader were Graham Masterton, Brian Lumley and Clive Barker mixed with the romance of Hammer Horror and the visceral violence of the first wave of video nasties. Fascinated by the Goth aesthetic and enchanted by threnodies of eighties Goth and post-punk music she evolved into the creature of darkness we find today.

 

Her books are both extraordinarily personal and universally challenging. As Jef Withonef of Houston Press once said - "You do not read her books, you survive them."

 

​Carmilla is an indie author

 

Starblood and Psychonaut are published by Vamptasy, an imprint of CHBB.

 

Her self published titles include "Starblood the graphic novel", "Psychonaut the graphic novel", "The Ballerina and the Revolutionary", her short story collection "Broken Mirror and Other Morbid Tales"and "The Erotic Tales of Carmilla Voiez". Stitched Smile released the FSG anthology "Slice Girls" late 2016 Clash Books and Weird Punk Books co-published "Zombie Punks Fuck Off", and Vamptasy "Another Beautiful Nightmare".

 

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