The Space Between Us By: Jessica Martinez

From the author of Virtuosity, a novel about two sisters and the secrets they tell, the secrets they keep—and the secret that could tear them apart.Amelia is used to being upstaged by her charismatic younger sister, Charly. She doesn’t mind, mostly, that it always falls to her to cover for Charly’s crazy, impulsive antics. But one night, Charly’s thoughtlessness goes way too far, and she lands both sisters in serious trouble.

     Amelia’s not sure she can forgive Charly this time, and not sure she wants to . . . but forgiveness is beside the point. Because Charly is also hiding a terrible secret, and the truth just might tear them apart forever.

Goodreads Summary



The relationship of two sisters is described by Jessica Martinez in The Space Between Us.  Responsible and goal-driven Amelia works tirelessly to achieve her dream of attending Columbia University in New York.  Charly, her younger sister, is wild and crazy, always getting in and out of trouble.  Amelia looks out for Charly and tries to prevent her from pulling any stunts that are too out of control.  One day Charly does not come home from a night of partying.  Amelia fears the worst and is extremely angry when Charly finally returns home.  For the next several weeks, Charly is a recluse and seems ill.  Finally, Charly admits to Amelia that she is pregnant and Amelia’s world changes.  They are sent to live in Canada until the due date and Amelia is furious.
The Space Between Us could be enjoyed by most teen girls.  Charly and Amelia are relatable teen girls who are frustrated by problems that most girls have.  More serious issues enter the book as it progresses: pregnancy and date rape.
Martinez did a great job writing a book about sensitive issues.  The characters all seemed realistic and were memorable.  I give this novel four out of five stars.


4 Stars

*Reviewed by Kristin*


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This product or book may have been distributed for review, this in no way affects my opinions or reviews.

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Dead Ringer by Allen Wyler

While speaking at a Hong Kong medical conference, neurosurgeon Dr. Lucas McCrae slips the cloth off a cadaver’s head during a routine medical demonstration, and is overwhelmed with the shock by what’s staring back at him: His best friend, Andy Baer.
Stunned, McCrae races back to Seattle to discover that Andy is in fact missing and may have been murdered by a gang of body snatchers who operate a legit funeral business and make a fortune by selling recovered body parts to medical researchers.
McCrae teams up with an unlikely pair—a beautiful but hardnosed female cop and a gang member whose family was victimized by the body parts ring—to try and expose a macabre web of corruption that involves law enforcement, politicians, funeral home curators and murdered prostitutes.
Internationally renowned neurosurgeon Allen Wyler takes us deep into a nightmarish scenario, shockingly ripped from recent headlines, and delivers a horrifically plausible, page-turning thriller.

Goodreads Summary



Mystery and suspense are always a good combination, but when given a medical twist, an excellent novel is created.  Wyler’s background as a neurosurgeon is obvious in the first chapter and adds to his credibility as an author.  This credibility is important because Allen Wyler is writing about an important issue in our world today: body parts trafficking.
Dr. McCrae is about to teach some surgeons in China new techniques, when he removes the sheet covering the cadaver he will be operating on.  The cadaver, he sees, is actually his best friend.  It is at this point that the book drew me in and did not let me go.
Any readers interested in thrills and excitement would love Dead Ringer.  Wyler’s writing style is perfectly suited for building suspense and making readers wonder, “What will happen next?”  My heart was pounding through the adventures of Dr. McCrae and his friends.  I loved the characters, hated the villains, and never saw what was coming next.  Such a great book!  
     
4 Stars

*Reviewed by Kristin*

Find this book:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
The Book Depository

SPECIAL!  Amazon has just chosen Dead Ringer for its Special Holiday Season Package Promotion and is selling the book for just $1.99 from now til Christmas. (Check it out here: http://amzn.to/VxNnsz) 




This product or book may have been distributed for review, this in no way affects my opinions or reviews.

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Assumed Calling: Guest Post and INT Giveaway!

You Wash My Back…
Hi everyone! And thanks so much for coming by to check me and my new release out, and thank you to my gracious hostess Krystal. I am grateful and appreciative of being here today. I do a lot of interviews, but at times a blog post breaks up the monotony and Krystal had some good jumping off points to get me started. In fact, the question of how I create my characters couldn’t have come at a more opportune time honestly. So thank you for requesting a post and asking me some very specific questions about my writing to get me going.
Why do I write this genre…I hear so often people are shunned and discriminated against for what they write. This saddens me. I don’t understand the world sometimes. I wish everyone lived in my world where I’ve never once, well, maybe one single time and my cousin dealt with that snide remark for me so I barely noticed it had happened, have been subject to this brand of hatefulness. I don’t think anyone should have to apologize for what they write or try to collect reasons why they do to justify it. This has nothing to do with the question or Krystal by the way, just an observation.  So, why do I write what I write? Because it’s what my muse told me to write. I didn’t start off writing quite as erotically as I do now, I grew into it. Almost two years ago, three characters came to me and told me their story. I’d been interested in writing BDSM for a while, but had yet to make the leap and I was perfectly delighted these three showed up because they were practicing the lifestyle. That was Ren, Tori, and Chad from Identity Crisis, book one in this series. I thought it was a passing fancy and I’d never write another but before I was done writing their story Jill and Steph from True Identity, book two, started talking and before I knew what I’d been hit with the series train ran over me and it’s continued from their into the now complete series ending with my current release, Assumed Calling. I wish I had a profound explanation as to why I write this genre, but I don’t really. It’s what I enjoy and what I excel at. I have a rule, find one thing and do it well.  I think I found my one thing.
Am I attached to my characters? Oh you bet! My goodness, my characters are like real people to me. Just ask the neighbors. Sometimes I catch myself talking about them like they’re really real and I often times get the strangest looks. Of course, the girls that know me well understand when I’m talking about my characters and quite often join in, asking me about them as if they were my children. “How’s Allen today? Did he get that thing resolved with Nicki? I just love Dillon. Did he find a sub yet?” I laugh, cry, get angry, and rejoice with my characters. I become very emotionally invested in them. And I think that shows in my work because I get emails from fans constantly describing to me how invested they became and how they cried when Julie was at Mason’s bedside while he was dying or wanted to choke James Cartwright with their bare hands. Several of them also would like it if I could produce the flesh and blood Dante as they would like very much to marry him (men and women,   Dante is bi-sexual).
So want to know where these characters all come from? My shower. Yes, I share showers with Doms of all shapes, sizes, ages, and ethnicities. I spent countless hours people watching when I first went into this business and still do just not as intently. I drew from the people I observed over the months and sketched out character descriptions. I took notes and notes and notes. Characters come to me in the oddest places and at the oddest times. I’ve had to almost run back from a walk to get to pen and paper, I’ve had to pull off the side of the road while driving to avoid accidents, but most recently, I’ve shared my morning shower with some of the most interesting people. Twice just last week, Kyle Montgomery was in there telling me his deepest, darkest secrets. And you know what I told him? You could materialize and wash my back if you’re going to continue popping in like this…It’s the least you could do…
Thanks again for having me over today Krystal. Readers if you have any other questions for me, please don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments. I love to chat!



Summary:


Like the beat of a primal drum whispering the rhythm of an ancient dance, the lifestyle calls…

At the seasoned age of fifty-six, Allen Bourke has resigned himself to the fact he’ll probably never find someone to top he can also love. While he’s had wives and lovers, none of them endured and he’s come to the conclusion the clock’s ticking and age is working against him. Then a very intriguing Nicki Cartwright pings on his radar at what Allen determines will be his last house party. He can’t help but notice while he and his friends are getting older, the players emerging on the scene are forever getting younger. Nicki's no exception. Determined to resist the vibes humming between them, he only agrees to service her after his old friend, Kyle Montgomery, convinces him it's entirely feasible. Then it’s brought to Allen’s attention who Nicki really is. Knowing their pasts are forever intertwined, as hard as he tries to ignore his heart, he finds himself yielding to the tides of fate.

Born to senatorial royalty, Nicki Cartwright has spent her entire life trying to shield her mother from her father’s wrath while drifting further and further into a world where panic is normal and anxiety is always on the edge of her reality. Tired of burning the candle at both ends and forever trying to live up to the picture of All-American perfection her father James Cartwright touts as his ace in the hole during election cycles, Nicki finds herself on the path of self-discovery in search of relief from the stressors continually swamping her mind. What she doesn’t expect is to find who she thought she was is truly just a shadow of the person she really is. And what scares her most is the fact Allen, the only person she thought she could trust, has been holding a secret since before she was born which could destroy her entire family.


Author Bio:


Lila Munro currently resides on the coast of North Carolina with her husband and their two four-legged kids. She’s a military wife with an empty nest and takes much of her inspiration for her heroes from the marines she’s lived around for the past fifteen years. Coining the term realmantica, she strives to produce quality romance in a realistic setting. Her genre of choice is contemporary romance that spans everything from the sensual to BDSM and ménage. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading everything she can get her hands on, trips to the museum and aquarium, taking field research trips, and soaking up the sun on the nearby beaches. Her works include The Executive Officer’s Wife, Bound By Trust, Destiny’s Fire, Salvation, Three for Keeps, the Force Recon series, the Slower Lower series, and the Identity series. She’s a member in good standing of RWA and Passionate Ink. Currently she’s working on sequels to several series to be released throughout 2012-2013 and has a brand new line scheduled for winter 2012-13. Ms. Munro loves to hear from her readers and can be found at:

Realmantic Moments:   http://realmanticmoments.blogspot.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/LilaMunroAuthor#!/

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4200524.Lila_Munro

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LilaMunro

You can also contact her via email at lilasromance@gmail.com ,

and you can find all her works at:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lila-Munro/e/B0055KK140/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Are: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?searchBy=author&qString=lila+munro&searchBy=author&qString=lila+munro

Nook:   http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/lila-munro?keyword=lila+munro&store=allproducts

Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/lila-munro

GIVEAWAY:

Lila will be awarding a Godiva Chocolates gift basket worth at least $35.00 to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, and a Godiva Chocolates gift basket to a randomly drawn host. (US ONLY)

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Interview and Guest Post with Lisa Tillinger Johansen

If you could travel in a Time Machine would you go back to the past or into the future? I would go into the past (so long as that whole space-time continuum thing doesn’t get wacky). With the past you have an idea of what you are getting into and you could witness some truly amazing moments in history.

If you could invite any 5 people to dinner who would you choose? I would want to have Edgar Allen Poe, Jane Austen, Hunter S. Thompson, Oscar Wilde, and Cary Grant to dinner. Poe, because what’s a dinner party without at least one tortured genius. Austen because I enjoy her rapier wit. Thompson because all parties need one person who isn’t afraid to try anything. Wilde because he would say wildly inappropriate things and make me laugh. And Cary Grant…because I love him.

If you were stranded on a desert island what 3 things would you want with you? If I were being practical I would choose water, a working satellite phone, and a good knife…but no one likes practical people so I will choose rum, sunscreen, and a devastatingly attractive man with survival skills.

One food you would never eat? Tongue. Just the thought of it makes me cringe.

Please tell us in one sentence only, why we should read your book. Mystery, romance, and a man so bad you’ll beg for more.

Any other books in the works? Goals for future projects? I have several projects coming up. My next book, since the Guardian Trilogy is completed, will be the start of a new series (that is connected to the Guardian Trilogy—same world) called Easy Bake Coven. It should be released by the end of this month. It is a story about witches and elves—I assure you these elves have never worked for Santa.

What inspired you to want to become a writer? Honestly, it was my mother. I always enjoyed writing and storytelling, but I never thought that I could be a writer. My mom kept after me and pushing me to at least try it and finally I did. Now I don’t think I could stop.

Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published. Talking to my readers has definitely been the most rewarding. I have had conversations about the themes and plot points, about religion and afterlife, and really anything you can think of. To know that people get that into what you have written is a wonderful feeling.

What’s one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors? The first draft is never the draft you publish. Worry less about find the perfect words and more about finishing the story. There is plenty of time to nitpick in the second and third and fourth drafts.

If you could be one of the Greek Gods, which would it be and why? Athena. I have always really liked her. She was smart and just and courageous which are characteristics I like in people and ones I try to give the heroines in my novels.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? I would love to live in England for a while and in Tuscany. I have visited both and absolutely adored them.

What is your favorite Quote? There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies. Hamlet, William Shakespeare

When you were little, what did you want to be when you “grew up”? A supreme court judge

What’s the craziest writing idea you’ve had? I want to write a zombie book set in the 1920’s told from the zombie’s point of view.

What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you? Never use a word that you have to look up the definition.

What movie and/or book are you looking forward to this year? The Hobbit! I already have my tickets for the midnight show. #LotRnerd

What was your favorite children’s book? Where the Wild Things Are. It is such a sweet book. It was always my favorite growing up. I bought it for each of my nieces and nephews when they were born.

How do you react to a bad review? Everyone is entitled to their opinion and no story is for everyone—no matter what your mother thinks. I don’t mind if people don’t like my book. I appreciate that they gave it a chance.



Finish the sentence- one book I wish I had written is…. Catch 22. One of my favorite books. It is hysterically funny and such an original idea. I love it so much.



In your wildest dreams, which author would you love to co-author a book with? Jim Butcher. I am a huge fan of Dresden Files.





Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre – Paranormal Romance

Rating – PG13

More details about the author & the book

Connect with Liz Schulte on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.lizschulte.com/



GUEST POST:




A Reader or a Writer, Which Would I Rather Be?

by Lisa Tillinger Johansen, MS, RD

A reader or writer, which would I rather be? What a question that is! I love both so much and to choose one or the other is difficult. It’s the perfect conundrum.

As it turns out, I’ve been reading and writing for most of my life, since I was a little girl. Both have been huge interests of mine. Both provide very similar experiences for me. Escape, gratification, learning, joy, happiness, all things these two wonderful occupations have bestowed on me. One is my right hand, the other my left.

There’s nothing better than reading a good book. Back in the day, and even now, the weight of the book in my hands; the feel and smell of the pages as I turn them; immersing myself in the words and the story, entering a funny, or a scary or a puzzling world is such a pleasure. Getting the scoop on the life of an historical figure or a take on a current issue or event can be eye-opening. I love being introduced to engaging characters and getting caught in the thickening plot in the fictional world. The nonfiction genre provides a different feeling. They can anger us, comfort us, surprise us and empower us. Gaining knowledge, inspiring passion, the gratification of a story well told, how can it get any better than that? A life without reading would be a very bleak one indeed.

But for me, a life without writing would be an incomplete one. A lot of the feelings I get and the things that I want to achieve come through me putting pen to paper and fingers to keys. When I write, I escape into the world in which I’m creating. It’s an incredibly satisfying feeling. And while I’m primarily a nonfiction writer dealing with facts and figures, it’s still a creative process. It’s a very personal endeavor with a specific goal.

To spend so much time thinking about a book, researching it, bringing it to reality and doing what it takes to get it out to readers is a great deal of hard work and effort. It can be a long journey, but definitely a worthwhile one. Seeing that shiny new book of mine at the end of the process fills me with pride. Even better is that, in my case, my books help people. There’s nothing better than that.

So, back to the question that prompted this blog. A reader or writer, which would I rather be? It’s a tough choice for sure. While I could live without one, I don’t want to. And because these words and this particular piece are my own creations, do I have to choose? I say no. For as long as I’m able, I’ll continue to be the avid reader that I’ve always been. And I’ll still write. And then I’ll read what I wrote! It’s a win-win.

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Real Mermaids Festive Treats Guest Post!

Real Mermaids Festive Treats

Hi everyone! Jade here from Real Mermaids.

One of my favourite things about the upcoming holidays is the great treats we get to make and share. I love food so much, in fact, that I included a recipe for some of my favourite snacks in each of the Real Mermaids books.

My friend Cori and I thought we’d experiment a bit and ‘holiday-ize’ each recipe for you!

In Real Mermaids Don’t Wear Toe Rings, I was stuck at my Gran’s cottage without any chocolate in sight. That’s when I turned to Google and found a recipe for a 5-minute Chocolate Mug Cake. Yes! Cake in FIVE MINUTES. I added raspberries and whipped cream to this version. Holiday dessert, anyone?


Chocolate Mug Cake with Raspberries and Whipped Cream

First, get yourself the biggest microwaveable mug in the cupboard. Add:
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa

Mix it well. Then add:
- 1 egg

Mix. Then add:
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 3 tablespoons oil

Mix. Then add:
- 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (NOT optional—at least as far as I’m concerned)
- 1 capful of vanilla extract

And… MIX!

Cook in the microwave for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will look like it’s going to overflow but don’t freak out! Let it cool for a bit (unless you want to burn your lips off) and add raspberries and whipped cream to make it fancy, then ENJOY!

Happy treats and have a great holiday, everyone!

Love,

Jade

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Nights of Steel Tour: Interview!

1. Was it difficult blending two very different genres?
-When I was first conceptualizing it, I found that steampunk and Westerns were a perfect fit.  In many ways, the Wild West was home to a real steampunk world, where technology was moving quickly and inventors were fast to adapt new ideas (imaging being a farm hand and seeing your first mechanical thresher).  For me, it was just a matter of upping the wattage and making the technology even more wild than it was in the day.
2. How did steampunk apply to the romance portion of the book?

-My hero, Jack Hawkins, has steampunk literally integrated into his body, in the form of a mechanical hand, and that comes into play with some of his interactions with the heroine.  But I also wanted the romance to stand on its own, so even if all the technology was stripped away and the world was as normal as our own, the heart of it all would remain and be relatable.

3. What was your favorite scene to write?
-There's a scene where the hero and heroine, both hardened bounty hunters, sit down to a Dim Sum lunch, completely out of their elements.  It was a ton of fun to write, allowing them to drop their guards and discover something new together.  Not only was it a nice contrast to the high stakes of gunfights, it was great to take them out of their comfort zones and see how they reacted, all the while building their relationship.

4.  Were there any characters that were particularly difficult or easy to write about?  Why?
-Writing Anna Blue, the heroine, was a nice challenge.  She's led a hard life and moves warily through the world.  But she isn't weak, and has a strong command of herself.  The challenge was showing all the aspects of her, from her caution to her joy in discovery to her unquestionable ability to handle a fight.

5. What can readers expect from this book?
-Nights of Steel gives the readers a ride along with two of the baddest bounty hunters in the steampunk West.  There's action, wild technology, and a very human story of two people finding soul mates when they'd once thought they were all alone.

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Guest Post and Book Feature by Leandi Cameron!

Breaking into the YA market with a little help from my friends

by Leandi Cameron

Young adult paranormal romance/fantasy has become one of the largest book genre’s within the last five years and, that, is a challenge in itself.

Young girls everywhere are dreaming of that hero that would whisk them away and take them to a place where their world will be turned upside down, and magical things will happen to them.

Even when we grow up, we still love to believe that magic really exists and that the worlds created for us by authors could, somehow, one day become a reality.

Mostly, when it comes to vampires, shapeshifters, ghosts and other fantastic or otherworldly creatures, what attracts us most is the mystery and the dangers that we, as readers, are free to explore – in our minds, these characters become real and we come to love them.

Therefore, there is no doubt that the young adult market is steaming, and very, very, attractive to many authors who are racing towards biting off a piece of the pie.

Herewith lies a great problem, however.

As the young adult book industry grows, so does the amount of books that are badly written and cheaply sold, and these books are overcrowding an industry that includes so many authors that are “true” writers with brilliant stories to tell – these beautifully crafted tales wash away within a slush pool of badly written novels that are unedited and badly thought out.

However, true writers would know that the significance of having a unique take on the paranormal genre is the most important part of making your book stand out – or that is what I keep on reading on blogs, highly acclaimed websites and from marketing experts. This, is what I did with A Tale of the Other Kind: A Therian Novel, which is the first in a series.

But, as an author and a qualified journalist and editor, there is one thing that still eludes me – marketing and driving sales. For myself, as I believe with many authors, I have the uncanny inability to know how to get my book noticed. I confess – knowing how to be a saleswoman isn’t my forte.

If you are not on the bestsellers list, you can kiss getting reviews by highly acclaimed reviewers goodbye, and getting bloggers to respond to your emails is a nightmare. You are simply invisible, no matter how well your book is written, or how unique your story is.

Marketing, marketing, marketing, the bane of my existence, yet the most important part of making a book sell. Therefore, when I realised that my abilities simply consist out of being a creative spirit, I decided to leave the marketing and sales driving to the experts.

It is important to find good avenues to market your book – yes, you are going to have to invest some money into getting this done, but if you find a marketing expert that understands your book’s genre, and is dedicated to finding you the best platforms to display your work, then, within time, you will start seeing growth with that book you slaved away on for many years. Your baby will grow, and soon it will become the stable and impressive young adult you hoped it to be.

For me, I found that Bookbuzzr, Goodreads, LibraryThing and Quora are great platforms, among others, to help increase exposure for your novel. Then there is Twitter and Facebook Fan Pages – yes, the list goes on and on. This is a lot of hard work! Especially if you have a full-time job, and need to get started on your second novel, before you start getting screaming emails from those who have read your book and can’t wait to see what happens next.

However, I cannot stress enough, the importance of enrolling the help of a book blog tour marketer. I use Orangeberry Book Tours, and without Pandora’s help, I would never get through all the work it takes to get my book’s name out there.

Hopefully, in time, continued exposure would bring about change and a climb in sales – I know I have a unique book and soon someone will notice that it isn’t “just another paranormal romance/fantasy just like all the others”. Therefore, I will continue working hard at it, and dedicate time to my novel’s success on a daily basis – with the help of others – of course.

Leandi Cameron is a South African award-winning journalist and newspaper editor. She is also co-owner of multi-disciplinary company House of LeaVik. Her debut novel, A Tale of the Other Kind: A Therian Novel, was released in October 2012, and is available on Amazon in paperback and ebook format. For more information, visit www.leandicameron.com.

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Kai Emery likes to be indiscernible; however, his infatuation for his classmate, Sienna Fynn, has made his invisibility status all the more impossible to upkeep. His world spirals out of control when he discovers that he is a shapeshifting were-leopard, and finds himself unable to control his newfound anatomy.

An unpredictable vampire enters his life, leading him down a path that soon reveals his destiny, and discloses another world, filled with magic and terrifying darkness. When he finds himself in danger from the god of magic and darkness for disobeying a curse bestowed upon his kind, forbidding him from falling in love with a human, he has to fight for survival, and protect everyone that he loves.



Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – YA Paranormal Fantasy

Rating – PG13

More details about the author & the book

Connect with Leandi Cameron on Facebook & Twitter

Blog http://www.lrcameron.blogspot.com/

Website http://www.leandicameron.com/

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