Blog Tour: I Kissed a Dog by Carol Van Atta (Giveaway)

This virtual book tour is presented by Bewitching Book Tours.

Welcome to The Wormhole and my stop on the tour.

It is my pleasure to feature:

 Carol Van and her book, I Kissed a Dog.

Carol has stopped by for an interview.

? When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
In grade school. My love for reading translated early on into a desire to write.

? How many jobs did you have before you became a writer?
Well, I still work my “day job.” I’m not yet at the point where writing is my sole income. Hopefully someday!

? How long does it take you to write a book?
My first book, Slaying the Shadows, took five years. About a year is comfortable for me now. I work full time, single parent, and care for my aging mother. So I work in my writing time wherever and whenever I can. I don’t sleep a lot some nights!

? Do you have a routine that you use to get into the right frame of mind to write?
Yes, I always reread what I last completed. I make edits on any glaring mistakes, and then move on. I absolutely have to do that first before I can write.

? Where do you get your ideas or inspiration for your characters?
I find character inspiration everywhere. Real life, books, TV, movies, and my personal history. Often
it’s a mixture of all of the above!


? What books have most influenced your life?
The Bible.

? What is the first book you remember reading by yourself?
Oh my, I just cannot recall. I loved reading the old Nancy Drew and Black Beauty horse books.

? What are you reading right now?
Like four books! James Rollin’s The Doomsday Key (picked up at Dollar Tree for a buck!) Angeloplis, by Danielle Trussoni, Dark House, Karina Halle, Change your Words Change your Life, Joyce Meyer. How’s that for variety?!? I’m eagerly awaiting the final Sookie Stackhouse book from Charlaine
Harris. Who will Sookie choose?

? What do you like to do when you are not writing?
Do you even have to ask … ? (big grin) Read! And play those silly hidden object games on my Kindle. Total time waster.

? What is your favorite comfort food?
Mashed potatoes and gravy.

? What do you think makes a good story?
Great storyline, strong characters,
suspense, a touch of humor … gosh, there are so many ingredients that make a story shine. I enjoy such a wide range of genres that it’s difficult to pinpoint. I’m fairly easy to please, and can find redeeming qualities in most books I read.

Fun random questions:
• dogs or cats? Both.
• Coffee or tea? Both.
• Dark or milk chocolate? Both.
• Rocks or flowers? Flowers.
• Night or day? Night.
• Favorite color? Purple. Black. Red.
• Crayons or markers? Markers.
• Pens or pencils? Pens.

More about the author:

Like most authors, Carol Van Atta is no stranger to the written word. She penned a short novel at age 12 (somewhat frightening illustrations included, and lots of bunnies were involved), and had a creative writing piece published in her high school newspaper (about David Bowie's Diamond Dogs LP). Yes, she's an ex-80's chick.

Devouring books from numerous genres, Carol developed a deep thirst/hunger for more reading material, and could almost always be found with her nose in a book.

She has contributed to several popular inspirational anthologies and devotional books, and lives in the rainy wetland of Oregon with a terrifying teen (another in college) and a small zoo of animals. She is taking an undetermined hiatus away from inspirational writing to delve into her darker side. (Though you can check out her latest spiritual suspense novel, Soul Defenders). It is rumored that this genre-jumping occurred after Carol discovered too suspicious red marks on her neck, and experienced an unquenchable urge to howl at the moon.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Werewolves-of-the-West-I-Kissed-a-Dog/153030771437034

https://www.facebook.com/carol.vanatta.1

http://www.werewolvesofthewest.com/

http://vampswereswhyohmy.blogspot.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1237874.Carol_Van_Atta

I Kissed a Dog

The Werewolves of the West Series Book One

Carol Van Atta

Genre: Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Cambridge Press US under the umbrella of Charles River Press (CRP)

Number of pages: 446

Cover Artist: Ann Falcone

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeuDqevNSXM

Book Description:

Chloe Carpenter isn't like other women. She can communicate with animals. A gift she unwrapped following one of her frequent dances with death.

 In her otherwise wacky life, she's finally found a semblance of sanity working at the Plum Beach Wildlife Park, where her unique talents can make life or death differences for the animals in her care. That semblance is shattered when a new veterinarian roars into the park in his spiffed up sports car and sets his golden gaze on her. If she had her way, he'd roar right back out.

Problem: He's her new coworker and he's saved her life twice - in the past twenty-four hours.

Zane Marshall, Enforcer for the Pacific Pack of purebred werewolves, has a job to do - figure out who or what is mutilating the young men of Plum Beach.

With orders to find the woman who talks to animals, he accepts a position working alongside the fiery Chloe Carpenter, a female who ignites his interest far more than he ever expected. Remarkably, she's the one elusive female with potential to bring meaning and passion to his empty existence.

Problem: She despises him.

Together, they're forced to unravel a mystery of supernatural proportions, a murderous mystery with eternal implications for everyone. In the process, they discover opposites really do attract.

Major Problem: Zane is pledged to another woman, and she'll do anything to keep him from Chloe.

Buy the book   Author Blog   Book Depository   Indie Bound 

Amazon Print   Amazon Ebook  BN   BN Nook  Smashwords

Love is in the air ... Win Big! 9 Books (digital-formats only) with paranormal twists are up for grabs. Carol Van Atta, author of I Kissed a Dog, invites you to enter to win Ebooks and Promo Posters from her publisher. 

1. I Kissed a Dog, book one Werewolves of the West, Carol Van Atta, with one poster

2. Soul Defenders: The Black Orchids, Carol Van Atta, with one poster

3. Black Moon, Jessica McQuay, with one poster 

4. Blood Betrayal, Alison Beightol, with one poster 

5. Morningside, Ashley Madau, with one poster 

6. Drama Queens, Kevin Klher, with one poster 

7. The Dogman Cometh, Jonathan Womack, with one poster 

8. Blood Destiny, Tessa Dawn, with one poster

9. ONE BOOK OF YOUR CHOOSING FROM THE CHARLES RIVER PRESS/CAMBRIDGE PRESS CATALOGUE (EBOOK)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't Forget to grab your ecopy of The Shadow Man for 99 Cents!

The Shadow Man by Mark Murphy
99 cents for one week!

Savannah surgeon Malcolm King had a perfect life—a loving wife, devoted daughter, and a thriving medical practice. And then it all ended. A chance encounter with a reckless driver in an airport parking lot leads to his first brush with the law. The senseless slaughter of a neighbor’s pet soon follows, with Malcolm inexplicably questioned in the matter by the police. An adversary is found decapitated. An acquaintance is chopped into pieces and stuffed into a garbage bag, Malcolm soon finds himself the prime suspect in a serial murder case. But he’s not a killer. Or is he? Who is the Thin Man who lurks at the edges of his vision? Are the flocks of ravens that crowd overhead a warning of impending doom? Or do they exist at all? And how can he protect his family from something—or someone—he knows absolutely nothing about? As Malcolm fights to discover the truth, he learns from a mysterious Seminole tracker that he may not be the first victim of a chameleon-like serial killer known as The Shadow Man. Malcolm’s quest for justice takes him perilously close to the edge of sanity—and perhaps a little bit over it. The Shadow Man is a new breed of psychological thriller, serving up a dark look into the human soul that will have the reader searching for the truth. In Mark Murphy’s debut novel, respectable surgeon Malcolm King becomes entangled in the mind games of a psychopathic serial killer. Malcolm’s home is invaded, his medical practice falls apart, and his family is threatened by a faceless assailant from the world between light and darkness: the Shadow Man. The Shadow Man begins with a killer, identified only as “Q,” dumping a woman’s dismembered body into a Florida swamp filled with hungry alligators. The action then shifts to Savannah, where Malcolm’s car is side-swiped by a dark-tinted SUV which then disappears into the night. The seemingly random hit-and-run is the beginning of a nightmare when the mysterious SUV is found to bear license plates from a stolen vehicle—and the stolen vehicle’s owner is found dead in a Florida hotel. A string of horrific murders follows. Malcolm soon finds himself the prime suspect in a serial murder case, having to convince the police—and himself—that he is not responsible for these crimes. But what is the truth? Can Malcolm save himself and his family? Or will the Shadow Man win out at last, dragging them all into oblivion? The Shadow Man is a unique work. Beautifully written, it is at once evocative and gruesome, an exploration of the intimate bonds of a loving family and the sheer terror of having those things stolen away.

Everyone is talking about Mark Murphy's ebook 
The Shadow Man 
and the price has dropped to 99 cents 
from April 15th-April 22nd. 

Boasting 4 and 5 star reviews on Amazon and GoodReads, The Shadow Man is a quick, deliciously creepy, fun read. Deemed "an enjoyable, well-written and twisty thriller with gruesome aspects balanced by warmth, believable relationships and a likable hero," by Kirkus Reviews, it follows surgeon Dr. Malcolm King, whose “perfect life” is destroyed as he is named the prime suspect in a serial murder case. But he’s not a killer. (Or is he?)

The Seattle Post Intelligencer says The Shadow Man is  “…downright creepy. . .particularly the ending. You will live Dr. Malcolm's physical and mental distress trying to piece together sliced up evidence before you and he are caged behind bars.” 

About Mark Murphy: Murphy is a gastroenterologist by day, author by night, and columnist with the Savannah Morning News in between. His work has also appeared on the Huffington Post. 
You can find the link to The Shadow Man Amazon here.

Book Release! ~ A Privilege - Book 3 of The Angel Chronicles by Amy Lignor

A Privilege:
The Angel Chronicles, Book 3

The beloved Angel/Warrior team face pure evil in their final climactic story!

The first time they were sent down, Irish lives were led. Emily, the angel, ended up embedded in murder and lost in the realm of true love. While Matthew, the warrior, took over a life that left blood on his hands and anger in his soul.

With their second coming, Emily found herself facing an oncoming war that brought her to the shores of America. While Matthew tried desperately to unveil the evil character of a young man who was intent on locking his partner in a ‘gilded’ cage.

Now...Emily and Matthew find that their lives are all their own. Yet, all the memories, hatred, longing and regret have come hand-in-hand with this newfound freedom.

In small town U.S.A., Matthew finds himself loving his new life. From his military school existence to a new, ‘odd’ friend who’s arrived in town, Matthew’s looking forward to graduation and heading off into a brilliant future with Emily by his side.

Emily wants nothing more than to hide. Although doing her best to fit in, she lives a life on the edge, wondering when her past love with reappear to either forgive or seek revenge on the angel who let him down. Battling the shadows that seem to be breaking her soul in two, Emily soon discovers that her small, quiet town has a secret that’s beyond dangerous...

As she and Matthew join forces to help a ‘haunted’ victim, they open the door on a mystery neither of them can believe. A true villain has returned from the past, and not even their heavenly family will be able to save them. This time they’re on their own, as they face a fight that could lead them straight to Hell…and end the angel/warrior team forever.

Kindle * Nook * iBookstore
Smashwords * Google * PDF

Excerpt

Without a word, Matthew reached out, took Emily by the hand and pulled her down beside him. He looked into her eyes and smiled. “I knew my Emily was still in there.”

Out of the blue, the room became incredibly hot, as if Gabriel had entered in order to give a lesson to his favorite students. “What?”

“That spark.” He pulled Emily’s face closer before she could push herself away. “You’ve been acting all this time like you’re just here to sit and wait it out until you’re lucky enough to go Home. But you’re still in there, Emily. You still have all that energy and belief in there and you want to do something. That’s the partner I know.”

Shaking her head, Emily listened to her own breathing intensify as she stared at his full lips and wondered why she felt so completely and utterly strange...vulnerable even. “I want to help this girl. This is a job, maybe my only job down here. She saw a ghost and she wants me to help her out, that’s all.”

“And you will.” Matthew captured Emily’s lips, and she could no longer feel the breath in her lungs. Completely different than the one kiss they’d shared up above so long ago, this one was far more demanding, as if Matthew was a young man determined to kiss his human love for the very first time.

Sitting back, Emily practically jumped off the bed.

“I’m sorry,” she heard him whisper behind her. “I guess I was just excited to see you again.”

Not trusting her voice, she remained silent.

“We have jobs, but we also have a life to live. Our own lives this time around. Maybe you should think about adding that into your angelic plans.” Matthew continued softly, “Jason isn’t here, Emily.”

The name being said out loud sent a chill down Emily’s spine. It reminded her of the vow she’d made a long time ago—a vow that an angel couldn’t break.

She cleared her throat. “It doesn’t matter if he’s here. We were sent to do a job, and maybe helping this little girl prove her story is what I need to begin.”

Standing up, Matthew looked as if he was a man who wanted nothing more than to turn back the clock and erase the name he’d spoken aloud. He walked to the open window. “Well, I hope the job goes well. Good luck with it.”

“Matthew,” Emily took a step toward him. “Don’t leave like this.”

He nodded at the book on the bed. “You have your mission, Emily...your job. Ghosts, goblins, lost souls—knock yourself out.” He took a deep breath. “I wonder when you’re going to figure out that the living souls around you would like some of your attention as well.”

Closing her eyes, Emily shed silent tears as she heard his feet hit the ground beneath her window. A friend, a partner, the one who actually listened, was now just an angry young man racing back to The Armory—a place where warriors reigned.

Emily sighed. She’d done it again. No matter how hard she tried to be good, her mouth always got her into trouble. She needed Matthew to understand. She’d made a promise to a young man a long time ago; a promise that was supposed to last for eternity. How was she to know at the time that their eternity would include death by her hand? Had the second time around broken their vow? Emily had no idea. But whatever happened she could not and would not offer Matthew her heart if payment was still due for her past sins. Above all, Matthew was the last person who deserved to be punished for her mistakes.

Author Amy Lignor

Amy Lignor began her career at Grey House Publishing in northwest Connecticut where she was the Editor-in-Chief of numerous educational and business directories.

Now she is a published author of several works of fiction. The Billy the Kid historical The Heart of a Legend; the thriller, Mind Made; and the adventure novel, Tallent & Lowery 13.

She is also the owner of The Write Companion, a company that offers help and support to writers through a full range of editorial services from proofreading and copyediting to ghostwriting and research. As the daughter of a research librarian, she is also an active book reviewer.

Currently, she lives with her daughter, mother and a rambunctious German Shepherd named Reuben, in the beautiful state of New Mexico.

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads

Books 1 and 2 are now 99 cents on Kindle!
   




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Book Blitz: Truth's Blood by Tyler Roberts

Welcome to The Wormhole and my stop on the Book Blitz!

It is my pleasure to feature Tyler Roberts and Truth's Blood.



About Tyler Roberts
Tyler Roberts is trained and educated in the fields of biology and environmental sciences. His hobbies include beekeeping, organic gardening and writing.

About Truth's Blood

It hadn't seemed possible that a president whose policies had impoverished millions could be reelected. It was the waning years of the American empire and the liberties represented in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were a fading memory. The government monitored every aspect of American life, and the drones buzzing overhead served as a constant reminder, but it was the government's reckless spending that brought the nation to its knees.

Now, the economy is in ruin, and the president's European style welfare state stands at the brink of collapse. The United States is unable to repay its debts. China has come seeking payment in real assets, and they mean business. Chaos reigns; power has been cut; select cities have been decimated by nuclear bombs; and burned out houses occupy neighborhoods like rotting teeth in the mouth of a crack addict. What was new is now old and what was old is now new again.

Cliffson Lang's son attempts to escape the fires and mobs overrunning the city of Seattle. When Cliffson is called away to help, his other son is kidnapped by occupying forces and placed in a work camp. Truth's Blood is the Lang family's story of survival at a time when government dependency must be replaced by self-reliance. As the United States experiences the disintegration of society and foreign occupation, their challenge verges on the impossible.   

This Book Blitz is presented by:

http://www.buythebooktours.com

Click HERE for more tour information.

Cover Reveal! Thereafter (Afterlife #2) by Terri Bruce (giveaway)

Nothing in life is free. Turns out, nothing in the afterlife is, either.

When recently-deceased Irene Dunphy decided to “follow the light,” she thought she’d end up in Heaven or Hell and her journey would be over.

Boy, was she wrong.

She soon finds that “the other side” isn’t a final destination but a kind of purgatory where billions of spirits are stuck, with no way to move forward or back. Even worse, deranged phantoms known as “Hungry Ghosts” stalk the dead, intent on destroying them. The only way out is for Irene to forget her life on earth—including the boy who risked everything to help her cross over—which she’s not about to do.

As Irene desperately searches for an alternative, help unexpectedly comes in the unlikeliest of forms: a twelfth-century Spanish knight and a nineteenth-century American cowboy. Even more surprising, one offers a chance for redemption; the other, love. Unfortunately, she won’t be able to have either if she can’t find a way to escape the hellish limbo where they’re all trapped.

The Wormhole Thereafter Excerpt


“Not another one!” she cried. She dropped her bag and took off at a run. “Hey!” she shouted, frantically motioning for the man to move away from the water. “Get away from there! Stop! Hey! Hey, you!”

The man turned, and his face was a mixture of surprise and confusion, which shifted to full-out astonishment as Irene barreled into him. Her momentum carried them sideways, and they landed in a spray of sand, safely away from the water’s edge, him on his back and her on top of him.


   
   About the Author
Terri Bruce has been making up adventure stories for as long as she can remember and won her first writing award when she was twelve. Like Anne Shirley, she prefers to make people cry rather than laugh, but is happy if she can do either. She produces fantasy and adventure stories from a haunted house in New England where she lives with her husband and three cats. Her second novel, Thereafter (Afterlife #2), was released June 1, 2013.
Contact Details:  Email: tbruce@terribruce.net, Website/Blog: www.terribruce.net, Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/TerriBruce, Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorterribruce, Twitter: @_TerriBruce

Contest Information for Participants

Author Terri Bruce is celebrating the upcoming release of Thereafter, the second book in the Afterlife Series, with a scavenger hunt/giveaway! One Grand Prize winner will receive a set of 20” x 30” unframed cover art posters (1 each for Hereafter and Thereafter), signed by the author, and an eARC of Thereafter! Five first place winners will receive eARCs of Thereafter. Contest is open internationally. As a special bonus, everyone who enters the contest will receive, via email, a special sneak-peak excerpt of Thereafter, featuring Terri’s favorite scene!

Entering is simple:

1. Visit all fourteen stops participating in the Thereafter Cover Reveal Blog Tour

2. At each stop, there is an excerpt from Thereafter with a word highlighted in red

3. Collect all fourteen of these highlighted words and arrange them into a fourteen-word sentence that reveals a major plot point of Thereafter

4. Email the sentence and your name to Contest@terribruce.net

5. Then enter via Rafflecopter to confirm that you emailed in your contest entry

6. Additional bonus entries for joining Terri’s mailing list, tweeting about the giveaway, and shelving Thereafter on Goodreads will become available once you have completed the main entry

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

THEREAFTER (Afterlife #2) Nothing in life is free. Turns out, nothing in the afterlife is, either. Coming June 1, 2013 from Eternal Press.
Goodreads
HEREAFTER (Afterlife #1)
a contemporary fantasy about life, death, and everything in between. Available everywhere books are sold.
Amazon | B&N | Goodreads
Author Terri Bruce
author of fantasy and science fiction stories with a literary bent
Website | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Twitter

Review: Red is for Rage by Connie Corcoran Wilson

Red is for Rage by Connie Corcoran Wilson

Amazon Product Description:

RED IS FOR RAGE is the second book in the award-winning THE COLOR OF EVIL series by Connie (Corcoran) Wilson. THE COLOR OF EVIL won the E-Lit Gold Medal for Horror (Jenkins Group), and the Silver Feather (IWPA). In Book Two, we learn more about the exact nature of Tad’s paranormal power, Tetrachromatic Super Vision. Can this keen sight help Tad find Stevie Scranton? Will Tad suffer another breakdown from reliving the crimes of serial killer Michael Clay (aka, Pogo, the Killer Clown), as he did when only eight years old? Can Tad learn to harness his special sight to help his loved ones? When Stevie Scranton goes missing, best friend Tad vows to do everything he can to find him. Even if Stevie is dead, Sally and Earl Scranton, (his parents), and Shannon, (Stevie’s older sister), crave closure. Tad enlists the help of retired policeman Charlie Chandler and a team of volunteers, including Charlie’s old partner, Evelyn Hoeflinger. This rag-tag team of detectives continues searching for Stevie Scranton, the runty misfit of Cedar Falls’ Sky High. In their search, they discover a monster every bit as dangerous as Pogo and must confront him in order to save Stevie. Tad sees auras around others that tell him whether they are good or evil. The truly evil are surrounded by a khaki aura (THE COLOR OF EVIL). At night, Tad suffers vivid nightmares that depict the crimes of the evil-doers. Michael Clay (the serial killer Pogo) escapes custody. On the loose again, Pogo’s actions restart the vicious cycle of violent nightmares. Pogo poses a threat to the entire town of Cedar Falls, but he is especially a threat to Tad McGreevy. Pogo has one main goal: kill Tad McGreevy so that Tad cannot disclose Clay’s location. Pogo doesn’t realize that, up until now, Tad has been unable to harness the paranormal ability he possesses. Now, Tad McGreevy must try to learn to use his unique gift. Stevie Scranton’s fate hangs in the balance. Tad’s power, if precognitive, could save everyone he loves. Jenny SanGiovanni returns from her father’s home in Boulder, Colorado, to finish her senior year with her old classmates. She brings home a new set of problems. Jeremy Gustaffsson, the fifth-year senior boyfriend in Jenny’s junior year, graduated. But Jeremy is still in town, still obsessed with Jenny, still dangerous. When Jenny broke up with Jeremy, it made Jeremy mad. Bad things happen to good people when Jeremy Gustaffsson gets angry and descends into a red rage. All Jenny’s cheerleader friends from her junior year are back. Many, like Janice Kramer, Heather Crompton and Melody Harris, have problems of their own. Jenny deals with adolescent issues such as self-esteem and self-worth, problems that tax her soul. But Jenny is not alone. Another Sky High student is driven to the brink. Will that individual plunge into the abyss of despair? And what of the adults? What has the stress of Stevie’s nine-month ordeal done to Earl and Sally Scranton’s marriage? What problems confront the other adults in Cedar Falls as three evil-doers rise up to create chaos and do them harm? RED IS FOR RAGE and rage runs rampant in this small Iowa town in the year of our Lord 2004.

My thoughts:

Once again Connie has grabbed readers with her twisted tale of the human monster.  This story takes up where The Color of Evil left off and doesn't stop even at the end.  We see the same characters from the first book back and bigger than ever.  Tad is a stellar character once again.  The story touches on so much of the ugliness and discontentment of the lives of people and brings an awareness to issues that most try to believe aren't happening.  It is an emotional roller coaster and an edge of the seat trip through a small town and the evil that lurks there.  A great addition to the series, can't wait for the next book.