Fire Spirits Blog Tour

Hello lovely readers! Today I have guest post featuring a Character Intro - Ari's Father

Character Info - Ari’s Father, The White King, Brief Bio

So old we’d all fall asleep trying to work out just how old he is, The White King is one of the Seven Kings of Jinn. The Seven Kings of Jinn are Azazil’s sons. Azazil is the oldest and most powerful Jinn in all the realms and he and The White King don’t really get along that well. No spoilers, but let’s just say Azazil did something to someone White loved and there was this whole big misunderstanding and now White is on a mission to bring order to a world he believes Azazil has deliberately caused chaos in. The White King is Ruthless with a capital R. He’ll use his oldest friend to get what he wants, worse he’ll even turn his own daughter into a weapon he hopes to arm himself with. And just when you think you’ve got him all figured out as the evil villain of the story, he starts spouting nonsense about honor and the balance and doing the right thing… and you can’t help but note his sincerity. He’s an enigma. A scary-ass enigma with a strangely cool temper.

About Scorched Skies - Goodreads, Amazon, B&N

The White King has crossed the line, sounded the horn, sent out the wolves.

When blood is shed and life is lost the reality of Ari’s position as both hunter and prey finally sets in. It seems her father will stop at nothing to force her will to his own and distracted by Charlie’s latest mistake and her seemingly misguided attraction to Jai, Ari never thought to fear anyone else but the Jinn King.

Blindsided and attacked, Ari learns a new wolf has joined the hunt. A dark sorcerer believes he knows a way to bleed the power of the Seal and wield it as his own, and he is even less patient than The White King.

The War for the Seal has only just begun… and it’s time for Ari to turn it on its head.

It’s time for Ari to stop acting like the hunted.

It’s time for Ari to become the hunter.

About the author:

About Samantha Young - the Fire Spirits series website, her blog, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads

Samantha Young is a 26 year old writer who resides in her home county of Stirlingshire, Scotland. She is a self-proclaimed book addict and Kindle junkie, using fantasy, dystopian, sci-fi and paranormal novels to feed her addiction.

After graduating from the University of Edinburgh with a degree in ancient and medieval history, Samantha returned to her main passion, writing, and often incorporates history and mythology into her novels.

Samantha’s first release, The Tale of Lunarmorte trilogy, was followed by a second series titled Warriors of Ankh. At present, she is a full-time writer working on a number of projects for near future release. She is the author of nine novels and one novella. Her young adult paranormal series are Amazon bestselling novels.

Giveaway: Prize: Pen and Bookmark Contest open internationally. Hosted by Kismet Book Tours
Entries into the daily give-away count towards the grand prize give-away of a Kindle Touch skinned in the winner's choice of cover art from the Fire Spirits series!
Grand Prize:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the rest of the tour:

Smokeless Fire week: Monday, October 15th - Parajunkee Tuesday, October 16th - Rants N Scribbles Wednesday,October 17th - Book Briefs Thursday, October 18th - Coffee, Books & Me Friday, October 19th - Tater's Tall Tails

Scorched Skies week: Monday, October 22nd - Refracted Light Reviews Tuesday, October 23rd - Seeing Night Wednesday,October 24th - Ruby Reads Thursday, October 25th - Books With Bite Friday, October 26th - Urban Fantasy Investigations

Borrowed Ember week: Monday, October 29th - Obsession With Books Tuesday, October 30th - Tsk, Tsk! What To Read? Wednesday, October 31st - I Just Wanna Sit Here And Read! Thursday, November 1st - Nick's Book Blog Friday, November 2nd - Unabridged Andra

Happy Reading!

Blog Tour: Shape-shifting in Jaguar Sun

Hello and welcome to the Jaguar Sun Blog Tour!

Today I have a guest post about shape shifting!

Shape-shifting in Jaguar Sun

Shape-shifting lore can be found in most cultures around the world, so when I began to write Jaguar Sun, there certainly wasn’t a shortage to choose from. The biggest challenge for me was choosing something that would go well with the overarching Mayan theme of the first book in the series. From that perspective, it made sense to go with more of a Native American style shifter, like some form of skin walker. At the same time, I wanted to come up with a fresh angle on shape-shifting. That was easier said than done. Like werewolves, vampires, and other creatures, they have been written about a lot. What I didn’t realize was that by focusing on the first, I would also accomplish the second. 

As I did my research on the Mayan culture, I discovered that there is a Mayan belief that we all have a spirit companion or protector in the otherworld that’s in the form of an animal. This spirit, called a Nahual, can help its human solve problems, bring luck, etc. It reminded me a lot of the animal totems of Native cultures in the United States and Canada. Many Mayans believe that they’re tied into our personality traits based on the Mayan horoscope and the day that we’re born. As I dug a bit deeper, I found out that certain shamans in Mayan culture are believed to be able to actually take the form of their Nahual. Ha! Shape-shifters!

Another interesting tie-in was a second universal theme: the existence of life force or energy. As I researched, I found that the Mayans believe there is an energy field that originates in the divine and flows through all things. The easiest to pronounce word that I found for it was k’ul, so that’s what I used. (The Mayan language looks very complex to the eye and can seem daunting to read. So I went with Mayan words that I thought would be most appealing to the eye.) I added it to my shape-shifter culture, writing it so that the shifters had more of this energy than others and that is what allowed them to take on the animal forms of their spirit companions.

As I wrote, I tied in other Mayan beliefs to my shape-shifters, as well as some of my own ideas, making them more unique over time (I don’t want to give it all away here). I also decided that tying them to spirit magic rather than a scientific explanation would allow them to be more misunderstood. That’s always handy for upping the teen angst factor in a YA novel. That lack of acceptance within our own general culture also created an innate trust among the shifters in Jaguar Sun that was important to the plot. That part I’m not sharing! 

About the author:

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads


Martha Bourke grew up in Burlington, Vermont, often considered a hub of “free thinking.” She was encouraged to write, act and be creative at a very young age. For most of her life, Martha has had a fascination with languages, culture and mythology – a passion that now colors and enriches her stories. A Spanish teacher, Martha continues with art on the side. She has written novels, short stories and poetry. But she admits to being totally “hooked” on YA Paranormal Romance.


Martha and her husband of thirteen years have carved out their own little piece of Vermont in the Massachusetts countryside. When not writing, Martha loves spending time with their animals, listening to good music, taking photographs, and adding to her Converse collection. She is currently working on book two of the Jaguar Sun Series, Jaguar Moon.

Book Trailer:

Where to buy the book:

Goodreads | Amazon |  B&N | Indiebound

December 21, 2012

"Will that fateful day destroy our world, or did the Mayans have something else in mind?  Maya Delaney knows. Unfortunately.

Maya Delaney is just an average sixteen-year- old. She’s busy dealing with exams, her soon to be ex-boyfriend and fitting in. But Maya’s got bigger problems. She’s hiding a major secret from her dad and having strange visions she can’t control. In her struggle to figure out who she is, she learns that she is meant to fulfill an ancient Mayan Prophesy and bring forth a New Age on earth. Will the spirit magic Maya wields be enough to defeat Toltec, an evil society bent on keeping her from her destiny? Or will that destiny destroy her?"

Contest!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, April 2nd - Letters Inside Out  

Tuesday, April 3rd - Books With Bite 

Wednesday, April 4th - Book Shelf Banter 

Thursday, April 5th - Obsession with Books 

Friday, April 6th - Belle Books 

Monday, April 9th - The Reading Gate  

Tuesday, April 10th - Fictional Distraction 

Wednesday, April 11th - Sweeping Me 

Thursday, April 12th - Sweet Southern Home 

Friday, April 13th - One A Day YA 

Monday, April 16th - The Fairy Tale Nerd 

Tuesday, April 17th - Kindle Fever 

Wednesday, April 18th - Unabridged Andra 

Thursday, April 19th - Rainy Day Ramblings 

Friday, April 20th - Kindred Dreamheart

Happy Reading!

 

Blog Tour: Guest Post - Character Bio of Lord Narian, Champion for Cokyri

Hello and Welcome to the Allegiance Blog Tour!Today we have a guest post about the charming Lord Narian!

CHAMPION STATISTICS: 

Lord Narian

 Though only seventeen years old, golden-haired Narian has seen more of the world with his sharp, ice-blue eyes than most people will see in a lifetime, and he is far wiser than his age would indicate.  Born the son of Baron Koranis of Hytanica, Narian was kidnapped as an infant and raised in the enemy land of Cokyri for a single purpose – to lead a siege against the land of his birth, for legend holds that only he can overthrow Hytanica.  But when he found out he’d been lied to his entire life, he fled Cokyri to discover what Hytanica was really like, only to meet Princess Alera and fall in love with her.

            Misunderstood and underestimated, Narian was rejected by his birth family and many other Hytanican nobles for his Cokyrian upbringing.  But those who defamed him were forced to take a second look when he defeated Steldor, son of the Captain of the Guard, in a tournament fight gone awry.  He is quick on his feet and highly observant, enabling him to pinpoint and exploit his enemy’s weaknesses.

            Narian is quiet, mysterious, and frighteningly good at hiding his emotions.  But little by little, Alera broke through his barriers to see him for what he really is – a strong young man with an independent mind who has suffered devastating betrayals.  Alera trusts Narian completely, for he treats her differently than any other man she has ever known, listening to her ideas and valuing her opinions.  But when he vanishes from Hytanica at a critical moment, she is forced to marry Steldor and assume that Narian is now her enemy.  The only insurance she has is Narian’s heartfelt promise that he will never do anything to harm her.

 Series Information:
Book 1: Legacy (July 2011) –  Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Indiebound
Book 2: Allegiance (March 2012)
Book 3: Sacrifice (November 2012)

About Cayla Kluver - Website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads 

 Cayla Kluver was born on October 2, 1992, in Wisconsin.  She has cats, dogs and horses, and watches more crime shows than is probably healthy.  Her office is filled with twinkly lights, candles and fun colors.  She loves Robert Louis Stevenson and the Beatles, and you can follow her on Twitter @CaylaKL, as well as join her fan page on Facebook

Allegiance Tour Schedule:

Monday, February 20th - YA Bibliophile  

Wednesday, February 22nd - For Those About To Read 

Friday, February 24th - Books With Bite 

 Monday, February 27th - Harlequin Blog 

Tuesday, February 28th (Book Birthday!!) - Hippies Beauty & Books 

Wednesday, February 29th - Starting The Next Chapter 

Friday, March 2nd - A Cupcake and A Latte 

Monday, March 5th - Electrifying Reviews  

Wednesday, March 7th - Kindle Fever  

Friday, March 9th - Unabridged Andrea

Giveaway!!

Blog Tour: Blood Stone Saga

Hello everyone! I am the next stop on the Bloodstone Saga Blog Tour! I am excited that I have author, Ms. Courtney Cole here today!

"Seventeen-year old Macy Lockhart thought she had it all figured out.

As a Keeper in the ancient organization, the Order of the Moirae, she literally holds fate in her hands. She lives over and over in lives that end tragically; all to further the good of mankind as she does her part to control destiny.
But there’s one lesson that she hasn’t learned well enough. Nothing is ever what it seems.

Startling new revelations about her identity surface and Macy realizes that she’s more important than she ever imagined.

As she struggles to grasp her new reality, everyone she loves is threatened. Is she strong enough to save them all?"

About Fated - Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, Indiebound

 What was your inspiration for writing about Cleopatra?

I have always been fascinated by Egyptian culture and history, with a particular interest in Cleopatra herself.  The woman was an enigma.   But When I first had the idea for Every Last Kiss, I was thinking about historical characters who might change their tragic fates if they could… and Cleopatra popped into my mind right away.   It always makes research more fun if the subject matter is something you are already interested in. 

 Are the characters based on yourself or anyone you know?

Not really.  Hasani has a few characteristics of my husband—he’s tall, witty and pleasantly arrogant.  J  But other than that, no.  The characters are all their own.

 What book was the hardest to write?

Hmm.  That would have to be a toss-up between the first one and the last one.  Every Last Kiss was difficult because I was establishing the characters and the plot.  My Tattered Bonds was difficult because I was saying goodbye to my characters.  I cried when I typed “The End.”

 Are you working on any new projects?

Yes, I am.  Because I wasn’t quite ready yet to let go of all of my Bloodstone Saga characters, I’m working on a spin-off series called The Moonstone Saga.  It follows Hecate’s daughter, Empusa.  The first book, Soul Kissed, will be released soon.  You’ll hear from Em, Hecate and even Hades.  I can’t wait!

 What books do you plan on reading this winter?

I have a TBR stack that you wouldn’t believe… it must be 3 feet tall.  J   I always read my friends’ books, so if one of them releases something new, it will take precedence over anything else.  I’m actually reading an ARC of my friend Fisher Amelie’s upcoming book, Callum and Harper, right now.  LOVE it.  

Other than that, I have so many books that I need to catch up on.  I want to read the Hex Hall series.  Can you believe that I still haven’t read the first book in Richelle Mead’s Bloodlines series?  Yikes.  I’m behind.   I need to catch up on Kiersten White’s Paranormalcy series… I could go on and on. 

Thanks for having me here, Savannah!  It was fun! 

About the author:

About Courtney Cole - website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads
Courtney Cole is a YA novelist who loves thunderstorms, cake batter and insane amounts of coffee. She wrote her first story at the age of 9, although thankfully it has remained hidden away in an old cedar chest beneath musty blankets. Her more recent efforts are much better.

And now for some great giveaways! For this tour stop, Courtney is giving away offering a signed book mark and an authentic Greek Drachma, necessary for paying the ferryman to the Underworld!

To enter the daily give-away, you must leave a comment on the tour post.  

The second give-away is for a grand prize of a gorgeous Kindle Touch skinned with the cover art from the final book in the Bloodstone Saga: My Tattered Bonds!

Blog Tour: Dancergirl

Hello lovely readers! Today I have a great character interview Ali of Dancergirl!!!

"The videos went viral...

EVER FEEL LIKE SOMEONE’S WATCHING YOU?

ME TOO.

BUT LATELY IT’S BEEN HAPPENING IN MY ROOM.

WHEN I’M ALONE.

A friend posted a video of me dancing online, and now I’m no longer Alicia Ruffino. I’m dancergirl. And suddenly it’s like me against the world—everyone’s got opinions.

My admirers want more, the haters hate, my best friend Jacy—even he’s acting weird. And some stalker isn’t content to just watch anymore.

Ali. dancergirl. Whatever you know me as, however you’ve seen me online, I’ve trained my whole life to be the best dancer I can be. But if someone watching has their way, I could lose way more than just my love of dancing. I could lose my life."

 

    Ali, did you ever think your video of you dancing would be such a big hit?

 Never! It was a complete surprise. I figured friends at our high school, (WiHi for short) might see the first one; maybe some kids in the other grades. I was totally shocked that it got so many views. My surprise kept growing as the next set of videos went crazy in terms of popularity around the country. 

What did you have to change in your everyday life because of the viral video?

After the videos went viral, some creepy things started happening. I was totally paranoid that someone might be after me. I started hiding my hair in my hoodie. I didn’t want to dress any way that might call attention to me. I’d scurry home after rehearsals, my heart beating crazily, looking over my shoulder every few seconds to make sure no one was following. I stopped going places that were fun because I was so afraid. Even if I would be with my friends, I didn’t know who else might be there or what would happen. 

Did the video change your view of dancing? Did it make you love or hate dancing?

It did make me change my view of dancing. I love it, I will always love it, but actually performing in front of audience became a nightmare. Everyone’s nervous right before they go onstage but I started getting the heebie-jeebies not knowing who was in the audience or who might videotape me without permission. 

Did your friends change around you?

Yes! Different friends changed in various ways. Some of the dancers at the studio were jealous and got really mean about it. My WiHi friends who were making the videos got mad at me when I stopped doing them because they thought they could benefit from the popularity, too (like the director, Charlie, and my best friend Clarissa, who became the stylist for the videos because that’s what she wants to do when she graduates.). Some of my friends, though, rallied behind me. You really find out who is a true friend, and who is not, when something like that happens. 

If your video never went online and you never became famous, would you still pursue dancing?

Yes! The truth is I would much prefer trying to make it as a dancer on my own merits; not because somebody shot a video that became famous. When you achieve something because you work hard and become really good at it (whatever it is), you know, deep down, that it’s a real accomplishment that no one can take away from you. It’s the best feeling in the world!

Thank you Ali for being here today!

About the Author:

website, twitter, facebook, goodreads, tumblr

Carol M. Tanzman's performing arts career is eclectic. She was a dancing poppy in a production of the Wizard of Oz that toured to the Soviet Union, an abstract chicken in a New England mime company, and the assistant director for a play in Germany where her major responsibility was making sure the sheep entered and exited on cue. She's directed regional and Off-Broadway productions of new plays, was the artistic director of a children’s theatre company in upstate NY and has been honored (twice!) by the Bravo Awards for her work with the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Her first YA novel, The Shadow Place, was on YALSA's Quick Pick List of Recommended Books, the National Council of Teachers of English ALAN List of Best Books, and the CA Collection for Middle & Senior High Schools.

 And now for the giveaway!

Carol and Harlequin are offering two give-aways for this tour!

The first give-away is copy of dancergirl. Enter by leaving a comment on this Tour Stop (and then confirm that you left a comment via Rafflecopter)

The second give-away is an iPod nano, skinned in the dancergirl artwork!

Simply enter via the Rafflecoper widget and get extra entries for tweeting (once per TourStop), following Carol on twitter,"Like" her on facebook, leaving your mailing address (for faster shipment of the prize) and for leaving a comment at each Tour Stops (one extra entry for each TourStop)  

See full contest rules here.

 

Dancergirl Blog Tour Schedule:

Monday, November 14th - The Unread Reader

Wednesday, November 16st - YA Liberian Tales

Friday, November 18rd - ChicaReader

Monday, November 21st - Musings of a Reader Happy

Wednesday, November 23th - Alice Marvels

Friday, November 25th - A Cupcake and A Latte

Monday, November 28th - Fire and Ice Reviews

Wednesday, November 30th - Books with Bite

Friday, December 2nd - Well Read Wife 

Good Luck and Happy Reading!

Blog Tour: Book Reflections: Paranormals

Hello fellow readers! Today I have author JL Bryan author of the Pranormal Series!!

You can visit the Paranormal Book Tour page for more information.

For today's post, Savannah asked me to talk about some of the influences on my writing.  The books that have influenced me are too numerous to mention, but the good writing teachers I've had are not.  So we'll talk about my best writing teachers today.  In chronological order:

1.      Mrs. Ewanowski.  My seventh-grade English teacher.  We had Creative Writing assignments where we had to turn in two pieces of writing, which could be poems or short stories.  I turned in a short novel (60,000 words) for one of them.  I don't remember what the other story was, but the novel was called Dogboy.  It centered on an eleven-year-old kid who wore a polyester dog costume and believed himself to be a superhero.  His best friend was Petey, also eleven, who constantly advised therapy and counseling for Dogboy (who never took off his costume, and whose real name we never learned).  They ended up busting some villains, maybe bank robbers or jewel thieves, I don't really remember.  My teacher was very impressed by the book and declared that I would be a famous writer one day.  Still working on it, Mrs. Ewanowski.

2.      Dr. Jeff Portnoy. I skipped my senior year of high school and instead did my first year of college at Perimeter, an Atlanta community college.  Dr. Portnoy was my English teacher, and he had a unique approach to essay assignments.  You wrote the  essay and turned it in, and then he went through with a merciless red pen and marked up everything you did wrong. (It's his fault that I'm so picky about restrictive versus nonrestrictive clauses, even to this day...) He would then return the essay to you, and you would revise it and return it to him.  This continued the whole quarter with every essay assignment.  You could do as many drafts as you wanted.  At the end of the quarter, he graded the essays in whatever form they'd attained by that point.  The constant feedback and revision greatly improved the quality of my prose and taught me how to look very critically at my writing.  I learned so much from him that, for the rest of my college career, I turned in first drafts and got “A”s on them (and my degree was in English, so that's a lot of essays!).  Much of what I know about revising at the language level was learned from Dr. Portnoy.

3.      Paul Farr.  He was my Creative Writing teacher at University of Georgia, and I believe he was a graduate student at the time.  He was generally very encouraging and told me I ought to expand a couple of my stories into novels because they were very idea-rich.  He would ask unexpected questions to make you reflect on your plot and characters in a new way.

4.      Debra Baron.  She was my screenwriting workshop teacher at the UCLA film school. Definitely the best craft teacher I've ever had.  There's just something different about studying under someone who actually makes their living writing stories—not lecturing or grading papers, not deconstructing Shakespeare, but actually writing stories to entertain the public. She dazzled me by having a solution for every imaginable problem.  She'd been there and done all of that.  I still constantly refer to her advice.  Example would be the principle of “reduce, reuse, recycle” applied to characters, settings, everything.  Roll minor characters together to create substantial secondary characters.  Really maximize your use of the characters and settings, too—one example I always remember is of characters are fighting in a fish market, and how you don't want it to be a boring fistfight or shoot-out.  Make sure they're hurling crabs and lobsters at each other, or spiky blowfish—you've created the setting, so use it.  The importance of subtext, using external objects and events to represent internal states and conflicts.   A lot of this is centered on the medium of film: fewer characters and settings mean a smaller budget, for example, but it also makes your story much tighter and easier to follow.  Less is more!  I couldn't possibly list all the great things she taught me, but whenever I'm in a tight spot with something I'm writing, I can usually remember a trick or a solution she taught me for that exact circumstance.

These are teachers who encouraged my writing, believed in me, and taught me useful things about how to write.  I'm very grateful that they were there to influence me and make me into a better writer!  

Thanks so much for being here today and sharing with us your inspirations!

About the author JL Bryan: 

J.L. Bryan studied English literature at the University of Georgia and at Oxford, with a focus on the English Renaissance and the Romantic period. He also studied screenwriting at UCLA. He enjoys remixing elements of paranormal, supernatural, fantasy, horror and science fiction into new kinds of stories. He is the author of The Paranormals trilogy (Jenny Pox, Tommy Nightmare, and Alexander Death). Fairy Metal Thunder is the first book in his new Songs of Magic series. He lives in Atlanta with his wife Christina, his son John, two dogs, and two cats.

Visit JL Bryan: Website, Blog, Twitter, Facebook

Tommy Nightmare week:

Monday, October 24th - Reading in the Corner

Tuesday, October 25th - Books With Bite

Wednesday,October 26th - Paranormal Wastelands

Thursday, October 27th - Reading Angel

Friday, October 28st - About Happy Books

And now for the giveaways! 

And for this stop we get a TRICK!

That means a not-so-mean trick: THREE extra entries into the Kindle Fire give-away!  All you need to do is leave a comment on the post and they will automatically be granted THREE extra entries into the final tour give-away of a Kindle Fire!!

Enter here to win a Kindle Fire!!

Happy Reading!