Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Blog Tour: The Slayer by Theresa Meyers (Signed book giveaway!)

This virtual book tour is presented by Bewitching Book Tours.
Click HERE to see the entire tour schedule.
Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour!
It is with great pleasure that I feature:
The Slayer: Book Two of the Legend Chronicles 
by Theresa Meyers
THE SLAYER
Book Two of the Legend Chronicles
By Theresa Meyers
Zebra - Steampunk Romance
April 3, 2012
ISBN-10: 1420121251
ISBN-13: 978-1420121254

Brothers Winchester, Remington and Colt know the legends—they were trained from childhood to destroy demon predators, wielding the latest steam-powered gadgetry. It’s a devil of a job. But sometimes your fate chooses you...

CHASING TROUBLE

Winn Jackson isn’t interested in hunting nightmares across the Wild West—even if it’s the family business. Unlike his rakehell brothers, Winn believes in rules. As sheriff of Bodie, California, he only shoots actual law breakers. That’s what he’s doing when he rescues the Contessa Drossenburg, Alexandra Porter, a lady with all the elegance of the Old World—grace, beauty and class. And then he sees her fangs.

Alexandra isn’t just some bloodsucking damsel in distress, though. She’s on a mission to save her people—and she’s dead certain that Winn’s family legacy is the only way. Luckily, aside from grace and class, she also has a stubborn streak a mile wide. So like it or not, Winn is going to come back with her to the mountains of Transylvania, and while he’s at it, change his opinions about vampires, demon-hunting, and who exactly deserves shooting. And if she has her way, he’s going to do his darnedest to save the world.
ebook: Kindle


About Theresa Meyers:
Raised by a bibliophile who made the dining room into a library, Theresa has always been a lover of books and stories. First a writer for newspapers, then for national magazines, she started her first novel in high school, eventually enrolling in a Writer's Digest course and putting the book under the bed until she joined Romance Writers of America in 1993.
In 2005 she was selected as one of eleven finalists for the American Title II contest, the American Idol of books. She is married to the first man she ever went on a real date with (to their high school prom), who she knew was hero material when he suffered through having to let her parents drive, and her brother sit between them in the backseat of the car. They currently live in a Victorian house on a mini farm in the Pacific Northwest with their two children, three cats, an old chestnut Arabian gelding, an energetic mini-Aussie shepherd puppy, several rabbits, a dozen chickens and an out-of-control herb garden.

You can find her online on Twitter, Facebook, at her Web site or blogging with the other Lolitas of STEAMED!

...and now to feed your need to read...
The Slayer Excerpt 2
 Winn stared down the length of the table at the Contessa. Her hair was upswept in a complicated creation of curls and twists, leaving her elegant neck and her collar bone and the tops of her creamy shoulders tantalizingly bare just above a swath of red silk. A whiff of onions tweaked his nose and he looked down to see a steaming bowl of soup had materialized unannounced in front of him.
        Winn found himself at a loss as to which of the spoons he should use. He’d never found a need for more than one and certainly not three. And there were just as many forks. Which should he use? A prickle of sweat began to itch his neck beneath the stiff starched rim of his boiled collar.
        “Do you approve of our first course, Mr. Jackson?”
        Winn glanced up and saw her lightly tap the spoon to the farthest right of his place setting. He picked it up and waited for her to take the first bite, then followed suit. Hunting had taught him a lot, but never anything about the ways of high society. Who needed to know which spoon was used for soup when it was a properly packed shotgun shell that was going to save your ass?
        He shifted uncomfortably in his chair and took a bite of the onion soup. “It’s tasty.”
        He could tell she tried to suppress her smile. She took another bite, then lightly patted her lips with her napkin. “You seem surprised.”
        “Wasn’t anything I expected, that’s for sure.”
        Her laugh was husky and genuine, wrapping around him and making him even more aware of how very feminine she was. Winn was out of his element. How did one make fancy dinner conversation? It wasn’t as if he could talk about work at the jail, or hunting. Ma had taught him enough to know those weren’t appropriate at the dinner table. The sudden memory of her pierced him, turning his stomach with regret. He put down his spoon and pushed the bowl away from him.
        “Is something wrong with your soup?”
        “Little rich for my blood,” he murmured.
        One of the crystal goblets to his right began to fill with red liquid out of thin air. “That’s a mighty fancy trick.”
        “Materializing objects is not a trick, Mr. Jackson, it is a power we work to achieve.”
         He took the glass and sniffed the contents, making sure it was wine. The pleasantly tart flavor of grape swirled in his mouth, but he nearly choked when he saw what the Contessa had in her own glass. She held her own goblet to her lush mouth, but the red liquid was too bright, too viscous, to be wine.
        “That a special vintage?” he asked, suspicion lacing his tone. She pulled the glass away from her lips and nodded.
        “Anything I’d want to try?”
        The Contessa arched a brow and shrugged. “I’m not in the habit of telling men such as yourself what you can and cannot do.”
        Winn was momentarily distracted by the disappearance of his soup bowl and its replacement by a dinner plate filled with braised beef, tender asparagus and roasted red potatoes. It smelled better than anything he’d eaten in months. The back of his mouth ached and watered. His stomach growled. He didn’t bother trying to figure out which fork he was supposed to use to be proper, he just grabbed one and tucked in.
        “It’s good to see a man with an appetite,” she said softly.
        Winn glanced up at her as he chewed a bit of beef so tender he could cut it with his fork. He swallowed. “You say that like it hasn’t happened in awhile.”
        She sipped at her wineglass thoughtfully. “Perhaps because it has been a long time. I’ve been a widow now nearly two hundred years.”
        Winn choked, and launched into a coughing fit. “Two--two hundred years?”

***and on to the giveaway***
Giveaway Details 
Enter to win an Advanced Reader Copy of Theresa Meyers' second book in her Legend Chronicles steampunk romance series, THE SLAYER, along with an autographed cover flat and an antique china cup (cups will vary) accompanied by an assortment of teas and decadent Bliss chocolate.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, April 16, 2012

Winner! Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza!

Congrats to the Winner!
Katrina P ~ won Born at Midnight.
The winner has been contacted! Thanks to all who entered!

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Blog Tour: Rise from Darkness by Ciara Knight

This virtual book tour is presented by Bewitching Book Tours.
You can see the tour schedule by clicking HERE.
Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour!
It is my pleasure to help promote 
Rise from Darkness by Ciara Knight.
About The Author:
Ciara Knight always had a passion for storytelling. At an early age, she wrote several short stories and poems, and in college she started work on her first novel. It wasn’t until late 2008 that she returned to her true passion of writing. Over the past few years she has penned five novels and joined several professional writing organizations to better her craft.
When not writing, she enjoys reading all types of fiction. Some great literary influences in her life include Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare, Francine Rivers and J K Rowling.
Ciara is happily married and enjoys family time. She has learned to embrace chaos, which is a requirement when raising three boys, and utilizes the insanity to create stories not of this world including, Fantasy, Paranormal, Sci-Fi, and Young Adult Dystopian.
Her first love, besides her family, reading, and writing, is travel. She’s backpacked through Europe, visited orphanages in China, and landed in a helicopter on a glacier in Alaska.


Rise From Darkness
Book One: Battle of the Souls
Publisher: Turquoise Morning Press
Young Adult Paranormal

 Blurb:

Alexander Lorre gives new meaning to the term “tormented teen”. He’s a newly fallen angel, which means he has the self-control of a three-year-old, the hormones of a teenager and the strength of an angel. When he rescues Gaby Moore from drowning, the chemistry between them is undeniable. With a local demon threatening Gaby’s life, he struggles to find a balance between remaining close enough to protect her but distant enough to control his desires.

As danger draws closer, Gaby uncovers shattering secrets that will lead to an ultimate choice. Will she fight alongside her father, an earthbound hunter killing fallen angels and demons, give into the demon blood coursing through her veins and join the demon world, or save the man she loves from both? The first two choices damn her, but the last one could destroy them all.
...and now to feed your need to read...

Her father pulled the thread through the needle as she cleaned his side with iodine, revealing a three-inch gash. Blood didn’t faze her, not anymore, but the needle did. She flinched at the sight of her father pushing the needle through and tugging it out the other side. The way his skin pulled with the thread made her queasy.
“Daddy please quit. We can find another way to pay the bills. I can get a part time job to help. You’ve done enough.”
“What’s enough?”
“It already cost you your wife. Would you risk your own life leaving me orphaned?” It came out so fast she didn’t have time to stop herself. It was horrible and untrue. He didn’t have anything to do with her mother’s death. He blamed himself because he was driving the car that night. But it wasn’t his fault, it couldn’t have been.
The hurt in his eyes broke her heart. “I’m sorry.” She didn’t know what else to say. The first aid kit dropped to the floor when she stood, once again feeling like her world was spinning out of control, and went to her room to sulk.
It took forever before she fell asleep, and even then, she tossed and turned. Visions of darkness and evil filled her dreams. Monsters clawed and tore at her flesh. Bright lights exploding-suffocating-pain.
Her own screams startled her awake. It had seemed so terrifyingly real. She glanced at the digital clock beside her. It was only three in the morning, but she knew she couldn’t go back to sleep. Not with those visions in her head. Crawling out from under her sheet, she went to her makeshift art desk and started to draw.
The first picture, full of the familiar army greens, tree bark browns, and charcoal grey swirled together into what looked like several creatures fighting. They resembled a cross between a bear and a coyote with a hunch back like a buffalo.
The next one showed shades of orange and gold with silver lined clouds. A sunset over an ocean appeared tranquil, but at the bottom the dark colors with claws turned up and overtook the white clouds.
The last one looked like her room. The white wings she had painted before appeared to be wrapped in a cocoon. A daffodil yellow light shone from the top of the bed.
All of them were strange, each one evoked a different emotion when she looked at them, fright, concern, and peace. Sighing, she slipped them into the leather portfolio her mother had given her just days before she’d died. Sniffing back tears, Gaby headed downstairs to get a bottle of water.
When she looked in on her father, he lay stretched out asleep on the couch with an empty bottle of whiskey on the floor. He still wore his bloodstained shirt. Two days worth of beard shadowed his face.
She froze. Her pulse thundered in her ears while she stood there staring at him. Sweat dripped down from her temple and an image flashed back to her.
The water bottle hit the floor. She raced up the stairs to her room and tore open the old memory chest her mother had given her. Papers flew everywhere as she ripped through binders and notebooks until she found it.
The exact image of her father, whisky bottle, blood and position of his body were identical.
Except, she’d painted it eight months ago.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Blog Tour: Dark Heirloom by J.D. Brown

This virtual book tour is presented by Bewitching Book Tours.
You can see the entire tour schedule by clicking  HERE.
You can see my review by clicking HERE.
Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour.
It is my pleasure to feature an interview with J.D. Brown.

? When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I actually didn’t realize it until I started writing my first manuscript about three years ago. I had toyed with the idea of writing a book on and off for years before that but always dismissed the idea. When I was in high school, I hated writing term papers so I didn’t think I would enjoy writing fiction either. Boy was I wrong. Fiction is so different from non-fiction. Once I got started, I just fell in love with the craft and the creative process. I knew instantly that I never wanted to stop and that I wanted to make this a career.


? How many jobs did you have before you became a writer?
I had a handful of random, totally unrelated jobs. I worked in retail at clothing stores, video rental stores (before DVD’s were the norm), Dunkin Donuts and a gas station, a movie theater, and a veterinary clinic. I was lost and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. None of those felt right or held my interest for very long. But it did give me a wide range of experiences to draw from.


? How long does it take you to write a book?
I’m a slow writer. I do a lot of plotting and percolating beforehand. I write several drafts and edit several times until everything is as perfect as I can make it.


? What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?
Hmmm…I’m not sure I would call any of them interesting, but I do have a few. I always have a cup of coffee and/or some snack food to munch on. When I’m really in the zone, I’ll get up and pace around my house. It’s really strange because I seldom realize I’m doing it! But for whatever reason, I need to move while a scene unfolds in my head. Then I zoom back to the computer and write it. J


? Where do you get your ideas or inspiration for your characters?
Oh goodness…there are so many elements that go into the creation of my characters and I’m sure most of them are subconscious. I’m a very character driven author. The characters are always the first thing to pop into my head. They tell me, through slow gradual revelations, about themselves, their world, and their problems. So it’s a journey for me too.


In Dark Heirloom, I will admit Ema and I have a few things in common, but is she me? No. She’s a person with a history all her own.


Jalmari and Jesu, vampire brothers, are based loosely (physically) on two of my favorite Finnish rock stars. But even they took on a personality and a look all their own as soon as I started writing the story.


? How do you decide what you want to write about?
In Dark Heirloom’s case, the story was just so lodged in my brain, I didn’t think of anything else until it was done. Currently I have several new ideas percolating along with the sequel to Dark Heirloom (book 2 is title Dark Liaison). I pretty sure I know which story/series I want to work on next and I picked it because it’s also a paranormal and it’s something I think fans of Dark Heirloom will enjoy.


? What books have most influenced your life?
I would have to say all of them, and I’ll explain why. I’m a hardcore book worm. Ever since I was a child, I had my nose stuck in a book. Though I favor Urban Fantasy and Paranormal, I will seriously read anything from Shakespeare to cereal boxes. I was probably the only kind in school who read the assigned books cover to cover instead of just the cliff notes. Each and every story touches my heart in some way, and I believe that’s what eventually led me to write my own novel.


? What are you reading right now?
Second Grave on the Left by Darynda Jones.


? What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I read, of course! J I also like to watch The Vampire Diaries pretty religiously, go for walks with my dogs, and have coffee with my friends. I enjoy drawing, painting, sewing, and graphic design, but I don’t do those very often.


? What is your favorite comfort food?
Anything fatting and bad for you - pizza, fries, chips, you get the idea. I don’t have a sweet tooth so I opt for the greasy things, which might be worse. LOL.


? What do you think makes a good story?
Any book that makes me care about the characters or that makes me have an outward reaction - I love screaming at the characters while I read and hope to make a few people yell or laugh along with my characters in Dark Heirloom.


? Who would you consider your favorite author and why?
Oh I have a few, it’s impossible to narrow it down to just one. Anne Rice and Orson Scott Card are definitely my top two. They are masters of their craft, Queen and King of their genres and of the writing world, and I have great respect for them.


Cassandra Clare is my current author crush and I want to be just like her when I grow up. I think her books are amazing and hope mine can be that good. J  


Fun random questions:  
· dogs or cats?  Dogs.
· Coffee or tea?  Coffee.
· Dark or milk chocolate?  Milk.
· Rocks or flowers?  Flowers - but now I’m wondering what I would do if someone gave me a bouquet of rocks….
· Night or day?  Night.
· Favorite color?  Black.
· Crayons or markers?  Markers.
· Pens or pencils?  It depends on if I’m writing or drawing. Pens for writing, pencils for drawing. 


More About the Author:
J.D. Brown graduated from the International Academy of Design and Technology with a Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts. She currently lives in Wisconsin with her two Pomeranians. Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, her writing is influenced by the multicultural urban society of her youth which she continues to visit each summer. J.D. loves paranormal characters; from vampires and werewolves, demons and angels, to witches and ghosts. Her writings are often a combination of suspense and romance. J.D. enjoys helping and promoting her fellow writers and leads an active life on the web. She also writes erotic romance for the MuseItHOT division under the pen name Danielle Ravencraft.

Links:

Dark Heirloom
J.D. Brown

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Book Blurb:
“You’re a vampire” is so not what Ema Marx wants to hear when she wakes from a two-day coma in a cryptic yet exquisite castle in northern Finland. Unfortunately, it explains a lot. Like why she’s able to see in the dark and walk through solid objects. What she doesn’t understand is why the other vampires expect her to have all the answers. It’s their fault she turned into one of them…right?

Jalmari’s hatred for his old-man intensifies when he’s ordered to bring that troublesome girl to their castle. He has a clan to run; there’s no time for babysitting newborn vampires no matter how they were converted to their culture. But when a two-thousand-year-old premonition threatens to take the crown and his life, Jalmari sees no other choice than to take out the catalyst, Ema Marx. Fortunately for Ema, she could also be the clan’s only savior.

The race to figure out her vampiric origins is on. And maybe she’ll get the hang of the blood-drinking gig along the way…

Friday, April 13, 2012

Blog Tour: Shades of Desire by L.M. Pruitt

This Virtual Book Tour is presented by Bewitching Book Tours.
Click HERE to see the entire tour schedule.
Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour.
It is my pleasure to feature:
Shades of Desire by L.M. Pruitt.


Shades of Desire
By L.M. Pruitt

Book 2 Jude Magdalyn Series

Blurb
All I wanted was a little peace and quiet.

Instead, I've got dead Covenant members and a steady stream of letters from the new guy in town. His beverage of choice? A 2002 Merlot, with a shot or two of powerful virgin blood.

On top of that, I'm breaking in a new police liaison, failing at playing matchmaker, and fighting nausea like it's a full time
job. All I wanted was a little peace and quiet.

Instead, I've got dead Covenant members and a steady stream of letters from the new guy in town. His beverage of choice? A 2002 Merlot, with a shot or two of powerful virgin blood.

On top of that, I'm breaking in a new police liaison, failing at playing matchmaker, and fighting nausea like it's a full time job.

Did I forget to mention that I've also got enough girls living at the Crossroads to start my own boarding school?

Peace and quiet? Out the window.

Buy Links
Kindle   
Book 1 Shades of Gray for your Kindle, in Paperback - - review HERE.
**you can read my review of Taken by clicking HERE.

For your reading pleasure:
Excerpt
“If someone doesn’t get me a lemon in the next five minutes, everyone will suffer. A lot.”
“Jude, I love you. Which is why I can say you’re being just a little overdramatic.” One look at my face and Theo changed his tune. “But then again, you could say pregnancy is dramatic and you’re just getting into the groove.”
“Nice save.” I tried to sit up again. Halfway through the upward movement greasy waves of nausea rolled over me and I eased back down onto the pillow. Strands of black hair clung to my sweaty face and I closed my eyes, exhaling slowly. “Not as nice as that lemon would be right now, but nice.”
Elizabeth will be here in a moment. No doubt she’ll have a lemon. And tea. And toast.” Theo turned over to face me, laying one hand over my still mostly flat stomach. If you looked close, you could see the smallest of bumps.
I know, because I checked. Every other day or so.
If anybody told me three months ago, that the week before Halloween, I’d be lying in bed with a man who absolutely adored me—even the crazy parts—I’d have asked them what the hell they were smoking. If they’d thrown in being pregnant, I would have punched them in their jaw. Then gone to the store and bought a dozen pregnancy tests and prayed for them all to be negative.
But that was before the Covenant.
In two weeks, I’d gone from being an orphan raised by nuns, to the latest in a long line of only daughters. Women charged with the protection and well-being of hundreds of people with unique powers. Some made flame burn for hours, while others called the wind to knock you flat on your ass. They were a group of people who came together over two-hundred years ago, bound by a prophecy. One with no past, lost in the present, will bring in the future, through gifts of both this world and the next.
And lucky me, I’d passed the job interview.
I’d sent Hart to a muddy, watery grave-literally. Unless something went crazy wrong, he’d stay under the Mississippi until the Final Judgment. Williams ruled the vampires of the city now and kept his distance as much as possible.
And I, Jude Magdalyn Henries, led the Covenant. Maybe I wasn’t terrific at it. But Gillian would be proud.
All things considered, I think I came out with a pretty good deal.

About the Author:
L.M. Pruitt has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember. A native of Florida with a love of New Orleans, she has the uncanny ability to find humor in most things and would probably kill a plastic plant. She is the author of the Jude Magdalyn Series as well as New Moon Rising, featuring Cari Gravier, and Taken, featuring Frankie Post. She is currently at work on the next book in the Moon Rising series, Harvest Moon Rising, due out April 2012. Ms. Pruitt makes her home in Florida with two cats--one smart, the other not so much.


Release Day Blitz! Bloodstorm by Amber Kallyn (Giveaway too!)

This virtual book tour and release day blitz are presented by Bewitching Book Tours.
Click Here to see the tour schedule.
Welcome to The Wormhole and the release day blitz for
Bloodstorm by Amber Kallyn!
Bloodstorm: Heart of a Vampire, Book 1 by Amber Kallyn

Release Date: April 13, 2012

Novella
Paranormal romance

Short Blurb:

When duty forces a shaman to stop a vampire from her revenge, love doesn’t just burn... it bites.

For two hundred years, Niki DeVeraux has been tracking the monster who murdered her family and made her a vampire. She finally catches up to him only to face more than she bargained for in a too-sexy sheriff who makes her remember she’s still a woman. With duties as Keeper of the peace and Sheriff, Shane Spencer must protect humanity and stop the friction between the local Arcaine races before it turns into an all out blood war.

When wolves start turning up dead, the tension between the races grows and suspicion falls on Niki. Shane knows she’s not to blame, and it has nothing to do with the primal urges she stirs within him. Working together, they must stop the hostilities from going over the edge. Trouble is, the desires raging between them might prove more dangerous than the surrounding threats.
About the Author:

One of those rare breeds, Amber Kallyn is an Arizona native who can trace her family's history through six generations in the state. She lives with her sexy husband, and their four very active children. Included in the menagerie are two cats (though there's always room for more) and two dogs. We won't count all the fish. She also writes urban fantasy under the name Higley Browne. 

Amber loves the paranormal, from dragons to werewolves to vampires. She's currently at work on her next book, probably running around the house acting out a fight scene with her collection of swords and daggers. Or maybe, wishing she had claws to practice the other fight scenes.

A voracious lover of the written word, Amber found at an early age that she could read fast. Really fast. She devours novels by the day, novellas by the hour, and is always looking to get her hands on more.

Newsletter signup: http://bit.ly/H04jPF

To feed our need to read:
We have been given a little taster....enjoy!



There was little warning as the air stirred. The sheriff slammed his hands on the fence, one on either side of her, trapping Niki between his body and the wood.
She glanced up at him, amused.
He practically bit out his words. “I have a dead shifter with vampire marks, a truce close to breaking, though hell if I can figure out all the whys, and a Rogue vampire in town.”
His scent overwhelmed her and Niki couldn’t resist playing with fire. Just a little. She leaned closer. “And I’m obviously guilty. After all, I’m a murderer merely because I’m a vampire.”
She bared her fangs.
He didn’t flinch. His face reddened and he glanced past her, to the wooden fence, before meeting her gaze once more. His voice softened the tiniest bit. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
“Oh? It was pretty clear to me.”
He opened his mouth, then snapped it shut. Niki continued to stare at him, wondering what he’d been about to say.
“Look,” Shane said, his voice soft and seductive now. She didn’t trust it. “I believe you didn’t do this. But if you know who’s behind the killings, I need to know too.”
“You can’t con me with sweet smiles and pretty words,” she replied, though her breath came just a little faster at his nearness. He smelled of soap and smoke and spice. It set her nerves on edge and she could barely think as his scent filled her.
His eyes widened as if he could read her thoughts. She licked her lips and his gaze drew lower, to her mouth. He swallowed loudly, drawing a tiny bit closer.
As if pulled by some magnetic field emanating from him, Niki leaned in.
She stared into his golden eyes, unable to break from his gaze, to move back from the hot energy rolling off his body.
“Niki,” he whispered huskily, need filling his voice. His shoulders tightened and his jaw clenched.
If she hadn’t been who she was, her body would have melted into a puddle, right then and there. She couldn’t bring herself to pull away.

Giveaway Goodies:
 Amber is giving away a $5 Amazon gift certificate to one lucky winner at this (and every) stop in the blog tour. Just comment below to be entered.
 Amber will also be giving away a $20 Amazon gift certificate to the wonderful host who has the most comments at the end of her tour.
 And she will be giving away another $20 Amazon gift certificate to the reader who leaves the most comments on all the blogs she’ll be visiting. 
 (if there is a tie, she will use Random.org to select the winner).