Release Day Blitz ~ (Un)Bidden by Melissa Haag

(Un)Bidden by Melissa Haag

Release Day Blitz

November 24, 2014

I left home because I didn’t want to end up in a cage like a lab rat. Hitching rides, begging for cash, and sleeping on the ground got old fast. That was the only reason I braved an overgrown path to a group of buildings. I’d hoped to find a bed and a decent night’s sleep. However, what I found was a place overrun by werewolves.

While on the run, Charlene finds herself surrounded by werewolves, creatures she can’t control with her mind like she can humans. Their existence has her believing she’s found a safe place to stay, a place where secrets are okay. However, she soon discovers she’s anything but safe. Charlene must learn how to use her abilities to influence the strange new species because if she can’t, the next bite she suffers might just kill her.

Read how the cycle begins, and have no doubt. Charlene’s past will shape the future of the Judgements.

BUY IT ON AMAZON: http://bit.ly/UnBiddenAM

Have you read the first book, Hope(less), in the series? It’s currently FREE!

Gabby's brain is like a human fish finder. It comes in handy when she wants to avoid people. Mostly men. They seem to like her a bit too much. It's lonely being different, but she's adapted to it. Really. She just wishes she knew why she is different, though.

In her search for answers, she discovers a hidden community of werewolves. She immerses herself in their culture, learning about their world until she meets Clay. He's unkempt, prone to mood swings, intense without saying a word, and he thinks Gabby is his.

It's going to take every trick she knows to convince Clay to go away, and every bit of willpower not to fall for him when she discovers the man beneath the rough exterior.

Delve into a riveting world of werewolves and young women with unexplained abilities, in Hope(less).

BUY IT AT:

Amazon:  http://bit.ly/HopelessAm

 B&N: http://bit.ly/HopelessBN

 Kobo: http://bit.ly/HopelessKobo

 Smashwords: http://bit.ly/HopelessSW

 iTunes: http://bit.ly/HopelessiT

~*~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~*~

Melissa Haag currently resides in Wisconsin with her husband and three children. Touch is her first published novel. She is currently working on book five of a separate six book series. To learn more about her upcoming projects, visit her at: http://melissahaag.com , and you can connect with her on: https://twitter.com/imagine2live  & https://www.facebook.com/author.MelissaHaag

Book Tour {Guest Post} Frame Change by T’Gracie and Joe Reese

Tour Participants

Frame Change:
A Nina Bannister Mystery (The Nina Bannister Mysteries Book 5)

Cozy Mystery

Publisher: Cozy Cat Press

File Size: 528 KB

Print Length: 233 pages

ASIN: B00NDAAWIO

Goodreads

Synopsis

 Nina Bannister loves to paint, and she thinks her hobby is painless enough. But she is wrong. Her love of doing seascapes leads to a friendship with a young ex docent from The Chicago Art Museum–and to their entry into the murky and dangerous world of international art smuggling.

Can she save her young friend, who has been kidnapped to the mountains of southern Austria? Can she determine the identity and motives of the mysterious Red Claw? Can she see the real painting that is hidden beneath the false one?

 Her success in these matters–indeed her very survival–depend on her ability to perform a last ditch Frame Change!

Purchase Links

Amazon  B&N

Other Books In This Series 

 

 

  

 

BLOG POST TWO

Graz Austria in Frame Change

One thing your readers may want to know is that Nina goes to Graz Austria to solve the mystery in Frame Change because we spent several summers there.  Graz is a relatively unknown city in southern Austria—one noted travel book once stated, “Graz rests content that the right people know of its existence.” We thought we would share some of our memories about Graz and how they are linked to the book.

Maybe we should start with the food. While the German menu is somewhat limited, Austria takes its culinary world from the old Hapsburg Empire, which included, of course, middle Europe and even parts of Italy. A walk down the Sachstrasse can take one by Turkish, Czech and Hungarian restaurants, as well as the wonderful Krebesenkeller, nestled beside a rock mountain wall and offering the world’s most superb Wiener schnitzel. And of course we cannot forget the wonderful Nachtigaller (Nightingale) white wine. In summer, a farmers’ market is set up in the Hauptplatz (Main Square) and dirndled Hausfrauen carry woven baskets to hold their purchases.  Nina doesn’t eat out much in Graz, but we first see Franz Beckmeier sitting at the Café Europa, looking out over the city beneath, savoring a grossen brauner (big brown) coffee and planning how he is to protect his cache of stolen paintings.

Nina and Michael stay at the Erzherzog Johann Hotel and a significant scene happens there in the book. Joe stayed there for a few days one winter. It’s an old hotel with a wonderful central staircase that leads to a second floor walkway that looks down on the atrium. Each room possesses huge down comforters to keep the guests warm, in spite of the large casement windows.

It is a short walk from the hotel to the Hauptplaz and the Landeszeughaus, where more than 250,000 Renaissance weapons and suits of armor used in the great battles against the Turks in the 16^th and 17^th centuries are stored. Technologically outdated now, they still stand ready if needed. Franz Beckmeier and Michael have a meeting there.

Nina’s sojourn in Austria takes her to a secluded castle in the hills in which Graz is nestled. The model for the Baroque palace in which Beckmeier has assembled his store of paintings is really the Schloss Eggenberg, an architectural jewel located on the outskirts of Graz. Carol Walker, the young woman who comes to stay with Nina and ultimately involves her in this shadowy world is held overnight in one of Eggenberg’s upper chambers. She is astonished (as the modern visitor to Graz must be) by the vast Eggenberg dining hall and by the magnificent chandelier which illuminates it. The castle has no electricity and the chandelier must be lowered manually by a complex system of ropes and pulleys so that hundreds of candles can be placed one by one in a series of tiny holders to form an enormous glowing spaceship of light that hovers above the evening’s guests.

The villages surrounding Graz are equally of interest. Joe and T’Gracie traveled by train to one (as Nina travels to Moorbach) to visit an ancient karn (ossuary) near a church. Resting at a nearby tavern, under an immense cherry tree, they were surprised by the roar of the patrons through an open window as Austria scored in a World Cup soccer game. Another day, a short train ride took us to what was then the Yugoslavian border with Austria (though Nina does not make this trip).

Nina saw all of this because T’Gracie and Joe saw it. What we have been unable to convey is the feeling of stepping back in time, to a place in which the “situation is hopeless but not serious,” the world of Emperor Franz Joseph. His empire is gone, of course, destroyed in the violence of two 20^th century world wars. Enough remains that Nina, T’Gracie and Joe are able to step back into a dream-like realm which will never come again.

T’Gracie wearing a dirndl

Graz City Center

About These Authors

Pam (T’Gracie) Britton Reese is an Assistant Professor in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department at Indiana-Purdue University at Fort Wayne. She has published books about autism with LinguiSystems. She enjoys teaching and research, but is never happier than when plotting (with her husband) a new murder, or coming up with ways that Nina Bannister can solve it.

Joe Reese is a novelist, playwright, storyteller, and college teacher. He has published seven novels, several plays, and a number of stories and articles. He and his wife, Pam have three children: Kate, Matthew and Sam.

Author Links

REESESWRITE.COM  Twitter  Facebook

MISTLETOE KISSES TOUR Grand Finale {Giveaway} Christmas, Actually by Anna Adams, Anna J. Stewart, and Melinda Curtis

A themed tour through Prism Book Tours.

It's the MISTLETOE KISSES TOUR Grand Finale for

Christmas, Actually

By Anna Adams, Anna J. Stewart, and Melinda Curtis

Three Harlequin Heartwarming novellas, where a sweet kiss takes place under the mistletoe.

Did you miss any of the excerpts, guest post, or reviews on the tour?

Feel free to go back and check out all the stops now!

Launch - Intro to the Collection

Christmas, Actually – three holiday stories about three siblings living in Christmas Town, Maine, where tradition has it that a kiss on Christmas Eve in the town square gazebo will lead to wedding bells in the new year!

Christy's Cozy Corners - An Interview with Anna Adams

How was it decided that the story would take place in Christmas Town, Maine?

We were looking for a setting that spoke of the holidays, and I’d lived in Maine in a town that decorated the green for Christmas. I described it, and someone suggested Christmas Town as a name for our fictional village.

Coffee Books & Art - Excerpt

Snowflakes hit the windshield and splayed into star shapes while Bing Crosby crooned his dreams of a white Christmas. Sophie Palmer tried to sing along, but her mind was already racing up the icy interstate to Christmas Town, Maine, where the father of her unborn child now lived. 

The Book Lovers' Lounge - Christmas Town by Anna Adams

And I imagined my own broken hero, Jack Banning, watching from the sidewalk, there in the town, but watching from the boundaries because he doesn’t belong any more.

Getting Your Read On - Review

"Yeah, I really loved my time in Christmas Town with the Banning family.  Each story was unique and romantic.  I loved all the characters.  They were real and identifiable.  It is the perfect book to curl up with as the days get colder and we get closer to Christmas."

Colorimetry - The Power of a First Kiss by Anna Adams

He’s at her house, killing time because he can’t go home and face his brother’s happiness when another friend calls to offer him an investment opportunity. Mary is leaning against George, also listening on the phone, when finally, he admits to his feelings. He takes her in his arms for a kiss he clearly doesn’t want even as he desires nothing in the whole wide world more than the hometown love of his life. 

Southern Chelle - Review

"I don’t think I’ve read anything by any of these authors before, but these novellas have me falling hard for their work! I used to receive the Harlequin Heartwarming books monthly, but I didn’t have room for anymore paperback books in my house and had to give it up. I’m so glad they’ve continued these offerings!"

Kelly P's Blog - An Interview with Anna J. Stewart

5. What do you hope readers will take with them after reading your story?

There's nothing better than a happily ever after--that's why I write (and read) romance, but that's kind of the easy answer. I think at its core, the story is about learning how to be open with others, to tell them how you're really feeling about situations that are emotionally damaging them.  Dean, Callie and Eliza all have to do this at some point during the story and once they do, the happily ever after is possible.

My Love for Reading Keeps Growing - Excerpt

     “Is this a bad time?” The combination of sympathy and amusement shining in green eyes, along with the tamed Irish lilt, called to mind fields of clover dotting rolling hills. She’d spent many a night and more than a few days dreaming of traveling to the Emerald Isle. Now it seemed as if Ireland had come to her.

     Shoulder-length, golden-streaked hair brushed the worn leather of the bomber jacket he wore over snug jeans, the hint of a plain white T-shirt peeking from under the collar.

The Wonderings Of One Person - Dream Cast for The Christmas Wish

There are some actors who just “hit” from the second I lay eyes on them. When looking for images of my Dean, I did not have to look much further than Chris Hemsworth.

Casting my heroines has always been problematic for me. Typically, I use another medium for inspiration (I’m a doll collector), but when I saw this picture of Nina Dobrev (Vampire Diaries), I knew that was Callie.

Christian Chick's Thoughts - Review

"The Christmas Date: The instant I started reading this story, I knew I was going to love it. There's just something about those You've Got Mail-esque stories that I love. Nick and Gina are both so likeable, and their chemistry lept off the page. This was easily my favorite of the three stories!"

Bookworm Lisa - Review

     "Each of the author's did a great job in telling their story. I liked the descriptions and the characters.

     This book is a fun way to get into the holiday season and find a little clean Christmas romance."

fundinmental - My Top Ten Christmas Traditions by Anna J. Stewart

I LOVE Christmas time. Truly, from about Halloween on, I’m all about the tinsel, the trees and the music (why do they have to stop the Xmas carols on the 26th?!). For years now it’s just been my mom and me during the holiday season, but we’ve got our traditions…and they start early…even before we carve the Thanksgiving turkey.

Beck Valley Books - An Interview with Malinda Curtis

What’s your favorite aspect of the story?
One of my favorite aspects is Gina's parents. They've tried for years to do what they thought was right and it strained their character and their relationship. This year, they rejoin the pageant and the town's festivities in a very public way. It's a small part of the story, but a set of vignettes that I love.

Mel's Shelves - Review

"I loved seeing the siblings in each other's stories and enjoyed getting to know them. These stories are quick, easy reads which are perfect to get you in the mood for Christmas. I love that they're all clean so I can recommend it to everyone! Christmas Town was a fun place to visit!"

Painted Words - Review

"But what I truly loved about this book was that it didn't feel at all repetitive which can be a big hindrance to books like this especially if written by multiple authors. It was an absolutely beautiful story, one that I look forward to reading again next year at this time and it was the perfect way to start off the season." 

I Am A Reader - Melinda Curtis’s Favorite Treat at Christmas Time (with recipe)

My mom is a fan of Jell-o salad.  At Christmas, she’d serve us a slice of Jello salad on a leaf of lettuce with a dollop of mayonnaise on top.  The first time Mr. Curtis had this dish, he happily took a big bite, expecting it to be whipped cream on top.  Kudos to him for keeping his disappointment to himself. 

Deal Sharing Aunt - Excerpt

In the wee hours of Christmas Eve morning, Gina stood at the edge of the town square and traced the deep, jagged scar that ran from her left temple to her jawline with the tip of a gloved finger, as if her touch could erase the past. The small ball of worry, the one that hadn’t let her sleep last night, expanded like bread dough in her chest, pressing against her lungs.

I should have told him.

Wishful Endings - Excerpt (4-star review here)

“Are you kidding? You’re beautiful. Why would he do that?

“You have to say that. You’re standing in my kitchen.” With me practically in your arms. Nevertheless, she hugged his words to her heart. No one had ever called her beautiful before.

JoJo's Corner - 10 Gifts Ideas for Your Teen/Young Adult & Review

I'm a little bit anal about the holidays.  I have a basic list I work from that my kids will enjoy or find useful.  They're all in college now, but that doesn't mean they want a package of socks for Christmas.  Here's a list of 10 suggested gift giving categories for your teen/young adult...

Review: "Christmas, Actually is the perfect collection of stories to cuddle up and enjoy on a cold wintry night!"

Undercover Book Reviews - Review

"Three stories in one book, a great way to start the Christmas season off! Anna Adams takes you on three separate journeys in the life of Jack, Callie, and Gina as each tells their own story. The plot is good in each one."

Katie's Clean Book Collection - Review

What a fun story! The reader is taken on a journey through Christmas Town, Maine and we get to see snippets of what makes this town special through the eyes of three different characters. 

Christmas, Actually

by Anna Adams, Anna J. Stewart, & Melinda Curtis

Clean Contemporary Romance

Paperback & Ebook, 202 pages

November 1st 2014 by Harlequin Heartwarming

Discover the magic of Christmas Town, Maine!

Three lonely strangers come to Christmas Town, Maine, and find love with three Banning siblings in the town that celebrates the holidays by decorating its square with lights and ribbons and a holiday pageant on Christmas Eve. Tradition has it that a kiss beneath the mistletoe that night means marriage for the couple in the new year.

The Christmas Gift by Anna Adams:

Jack Banning promised to support the mother of his unborn child… But she doesn't need money, she only needs him.

The Christmas Wish by Anna J. Stewart:

Callie Banning's student has declared war on Christmas, so it's up to her to help the little girl—and her widowed father—believe again.

The Christmas Date by Melinda Curtis:

Gina Vernay is about to meet her online mystery date…and she's in for the surprise of a lifetime!

Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Harlequin - iTunes

About the Authors

Anna Adams wrote her first romance in wet sand. The Atlantic Ocean washed it away, but Anna kept going. Her stories are of love, like the proverbial stone in a lake, making ripples that spread and contract and involve. From Iceland to Hawaii, and points in between, Anna and her own hero share with children and family and friends who’ve become family. All this living and loving gives Anna plenty of fodder for stories of love set in real life. Come along and live them with her!

Website - Goodreads - Facebook - Twitter - Pinterest

Anna J. Stewart can't remember a time she didn't have a book in her hand or a story in her head and credits her mother never saying no to a book for turning her into a writer. Anna lives in Northern California with an overly attentive cat named Snickers and is happiest when setting her heroes and heroines on their road to happily ever after amidst family, fun and laughter.

Website - Goodreads - Facebook - Twitter - Pinterest

Melinda Curtis grew up on an isolated sheep ranch, where mountain lions had been seen and yet she roamed unaccompanied. Being a rather optimistic, clueless of danger, sort she took to playing "what if" games that led her to become an author. She spends days trying to figure out new ways to say "He made her heart pound." That might sound boring, but the challenge keeps her mentally ahead of her 3 kids and college sweetheart husband.

Website - Goodreads - Facebook - Twitter - Tumblr - Pinterest

Tour-Wide Giveaway

- Gift Card Prize Pack: $20 Amazon gift card and ebook of Christmas, Actually (open internationally)

- US Prize Pack: Paperback of Christmas, Actually and three Christmas ornaments (US only)

- 3 ebooks of Christmas, Actually (open internationally)

Ends November 30th

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Release Day Blitz {Giveaway} Flury: Journey of a Snowman by Tony Bertauski

Through Prism Book Tours.

We're celebrating the RELEASE of

Flury: Journey of a Snowman

By Tony Bertauski

An Introduction to Flury

     Frosty had a magic hat.
     There was no explanation, just a special hat that turned a pile of snow into a walking, talking best friend. Flury is more than that. And doesn’t smoke.
     Born on the North Pole, Flury was created by an ancient race of elven that evolved during the Ice Age and continues to live in the polar ice today. Technologically advanced, they sustain themselves with innovation and wisdom. But even the most peaceful settlements encounter danger, such as polar bears. That’s why they invented abominables.
     What we call snowmen.
     The life of an abominable doesn’t magically spring from a top hat. The heart of an abominable is a metal orb—an intricately carved sphere that generates an electromagnetic field and builds a body of snow around it. Abominables are intimidating and selfless. They run, they fly. Above all else, they protect.
     In the late 1800s, Malcolm Toye was part of an arctic voyage that ended in disaster. The survivors of the expedition never saw him again. Malcolm had wandered into the snowy landscape to be saved by a patrolling abominable he would come to know as Flury.
     His rescue, however, became more of a curse than a blessing when the elven refused to allow him safe passage back home, insisting they remain secret from humanity. Malcolm was destined to live out his days among the elven, pining for home.
     Longing for his wife.
     Malcolm escaped by stealing the metal orb of Flury. Quietly, he arrived back in the United States to settle down and resume a normal life. But there was nothing normal about it. As the years went by, his estate becomes shrouded in mystery and rumors.
     A hundred years will go by before the mystery is solved.
     Oliver Toye, a teenage type 1 diabetic, will discover the magic hidden on his grandmother’s property. He’ll read about Malcolm Toye’s journey when he finds a set of leather bound journals. He’ll see the snowman trapped on the property, and the other things that haunt the forest. Most importantly, he’ll uncover Malcolm Toye’s master plan to harm others. And why he wants to.
     Flury will come to Oliver’s rescue more than once.

Flury: Journey of a Snowman

(Claus #3)
by Tony Bertauski

YA Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Holiday

Life hasn’t been kind to Oliver Toye.

As if juvenile diabetes isn’t enough, he’s forced to live with his tyrannical grandmother in a snow-bound house. He spends his days doing chores and the nights listening to the forest rumble.

But when he discovers the first leather-bound journal, the family secrets begin to surface. The mystery of his great-grandfather’s voyage to the North Pole is revealed. That’s when the snowman appears.

Magical and mysterious, the snowman will save Oliver more than once. But when the time comes for Oliver to discover the truth, will he have the courage? When Flury needs him, will he have the strength? When believing isn’t enough, will he save the snowman from melting away?

Because sometimes even magic needs a little help.

Amazon - Barnes & Noble

About Tony Bertauski

During the day, I'm a horticulturist. While I've spent much of my career designing landscapes or diagnosing dying plants, I've always been a storyteller. My writing career began with magazine columns, landscape design textbooks, and a gardening column at the Post and Courier (Charleston, SC). However, I've always fancied fiction.

My grandpa never graduated high school. He retired from a steel mill in the mid-70s. He was uneducated, but he was a voracious reader. I remember going through his bookshelves of paperback sci-fi novels, smelling musty old paper, pulling Piers Anthony and Isaac Asimov off shelf and promising to bring them back. I was fascinated by robots that could think and act like people. What happened when they died?

I'm a cynical reader. I demand the writer sweep me into his/her story and carry me to the end. I'd rather sail a boat than climb a mountain. That's the sort of stuff I want to write, not the assigned reading we got in school. I want to create stories that kept you up late.

Having a story unfold inside your head is an experience different than reading. You connect with characters in a deeper, more meaningful way. You feel them, empathize with them, cheer for them and even mourn. The challenge is to get the reader to experience the same thing, even if it's only a fraction of what the writer feels. Not so easy.

In 2008, I won the South Carolina Fiction Open with Four Letter Words, a short story inspired by my grandfather and Alzheimer's Disease. My first step as a novelist began when I developed a story to encourage my young son to read. This story became The Socket Greeny Saga. Socket tapped into my lifetime fascination with consciousness and identity, but this character does it from a young adult's struggle with his place in the world.

After Socket, I thought I was done with fiction. But then the ideas kept coming, and I kept writing. Most of my work investigates the human condition and the meaning of life, but not in ordinary fashion. About half of my work is Young Adult (Socket Greeny, Claus, Foreverland) because it speaks to that age of indecision and the struggle with identity. But I like to venture into adult fiction (Halfskin, Drayton) so I can cuss. Either way, I like to be entertaining.

And I'm a big fan of plot twists.

Website - Goodreads - Facebook

Blitz Giveaway

- $25 Amazon gift card and ebook of Flury: Journey of a Snowman (open internationally)

Ends November 22nd

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RBTL Presents Voodoo Vows by Diana Marie DuBois Blog Tour

Title: Voodoo Vows

Author: Diana Marie DuBois

Series: Voodoo Vows (Book 1)

Genre: Paranormal

Publisher: Three Danes Publishing LLC

Release Date: Oct 31

Blurb/Synopsis

Rosie Delacroix returns to New Orleans after her mother’s disappearance, is pulled into an unimagined world and gets more than she bargained for.

Ensconced in the life of magic and voodoo, she’s surrounded by unlikely allies.

Julian Quibodeaux, an old flame, re-enters her life and their love is once again reignited like dry tinder to a flame. However, he’s been cursed and unaware he holds a terrible secret…One that could destroy their relationship.

She’ll be tested in many ways, to save the man she loves. Will her friends, and an unusual new-found gift, be enough for her to survive her journey?

EXCERPT

Athena whined in my head. She picked her head up and placed it in my lap. With an absentminded action, I petted her and looked up at Jahane.  “What do you mean, it makes me stronger?” I asked indignantly.

Jahane’s curls bounced as she shook her head at me. “Rosie.” She removed my hands and with a light touch traced along the serrated scary lines that wound around my right leg. “These marks have made you stronger by helping you cope with life. Hell, look what you have accomplished in life. At one time you couldn’t walk, and look at you now. Let me tell you a story of a beautiful girl who turned into an even more beautiful swan.”

My head raised up and I began to say something, but she stopped me with a hand. “No, Rosie, I know what you’re going to say.” My head dropped once more, not able to believe a word of what my bestie said. She lifted my lowered chin with her gentle hand, and I looked at her, scared.

Book Links

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Goodreads

Author Information

As a young girl, Diana Marie Dubois was an avid reader and was often found in the local public library. Now you find her working in her local library. Hailing from the culture filled state of Louisiana, just outside of New Orleans; she lives with her three Great Danes and four spunky mutts.  Her biggest inspiration has always been the infamous Anne Rice and her tales of Vampires. It was those very stories that inspired Diana to take hold of her dreams and begin writing. She is now working on her first series, Voodoo Vows.

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