{Review} Dark Seeker by Taryn Browning

From Goodreads: She’s the Seeker. He’s the hunted. What’s at stake could kill them both…

For 17-year-old Seeker, Janie Grey, ridding the Baltimore streets of the undead is an inherited duty passed down from her Cherokee ancestors. Seeker Training Lesson #1: Never trust the undead. After her father’s tragic death, Janie creates her own life lesson: Love isn’t worth the risk. Both lessons are easy to follow until she encounters the flawed Kai Sterdam. At first, she believes he is the hybrid she is trained to hunt. But, when he has human traits, she determines she doesn’t know what he is. As Janie’s intrigue over who Kai is pushes her deeper into his mysterious past, she discovers a shocking truth that is even more harrowing than the evil they are up against. It’s a secret Kai wants to keep hidden, especially from Janie.

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I really enjoyed this novel.  Janie is a great character that, while a bit overbearing at times, really comes into herself and takes charge as the story progresses.  She is a kick butt character that goes after the bad guys without a second thought, and I really enjoyed that about her.  And Kai is to die for.  In my opinion, he’s extremely dreamy, and I really liked all the mystery surrounding him.  In fact, I didn’t see the truth about his identity coming until it was almost upon me, and I really enjoy novels that are able to not only keep me engaged, but guessing as well. While I admit that the romance was a little lacking in this novel between Janie and Kai, I found this “whirlwind romance” to be perfect for this novel, and I highly recommend it.

Likewise, I also really enjoyed that this story took place in a city I’m very familiar with.  Noting where Janie and Kai go was fun as I was able to see it in my minds eye more vividly than in books where I’m not as familiar with the setting.  If you’re familiar with Baltimore and enjoy strong heroines and dreamy heroes, then this book is for you. Five stars. 

I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.

{Review} Lastborn by Rachel Forde

From Goodreads: Nara-Ya is a pugnacious adolescent girl on the run from a powerful sorceress. Fate lands her in the company of her polar opposite, the soft-spoken Donovan Brennan, who is simultaneously struggling to lead a Resistance movement, regain a throne for a wronged King, and prevent a war between the land he lives in and the land of his birth.

Brennan walks a fine line between his principles and success; Nara-Ya, by contrast, knows what she has to do to survive, and circumstances shunt her towards the life of a fighter and warrior. However, as war looms, as her friendship with Donovan grows into something more, and as Nara-Ya is forced to confront her darker instincts, she begins to question her destiny, and is forced to make a decision that will alter the fate of their world.

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This story had a very interesting concept, but I personally found it a bit slow and hard to follow.  There are many characters introduced throughout the novel, and I had a hard time keeping them all straight, especially the more minor ones.  Likewise, the plot tended to shift around a bit, from a huge, epic battle where Nara-Ya shows her true colors, to months of the characters sitting around doing nothing but waiting.  And so, the pacing would speed up and slow down constantly, which was difficult for me, since I’m one of those readers that likes the pacing to be the same throughout a novel.  However, Donovan and Nara-Ya were very interesting characters, and I feel like they were fleshed out very well throughout the story.  They are total opposites, and Forde did a phenomenal job creating them.  I liked them very much when they were together, and following their budding relationship over the many years within the novel was nice.  I would have liked even more information about them and their love life, which, in my opinion, was all too short, but is indeed the makings of a good sequel. 

This novel deals a lot with political uprisings, war, love, redemption, and of course, there are some paranormal/sci-fi elements as well, such as a unicorn and the like, so I think that readers who enjoy books of this caliber will really enjoy it.  Three stars.

I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.

{ARC Review} Dark Companion by Marta Acosta

From Goodreads: When foster teen Jane Williams is invited to attend elite Birch Grove Academy for Girls and escape her violent urban neighborhood, she thinks the offer is too good to be true. She’s even offered her own living quarters, the groundskeeper’s cottage in the center of the birch grove.

Something’s not quite right about the school — or is it Jane? She thinks she sees things in the birch grove at night. She’s also beginning to suspect that the elegant headmistress and her sons are hiding secrets. Lucky is the gorgeous, golden son who is especially attentive to Jane, and Jack is the sardonic puzzling brother.

The school with its talented teachers and bright students is a dream for a science and math geek like Jane. She also loves her new friends, including hilarious poetry-spouting rich girl, Mary Violet. But the longer Jane stays at Birch Grove, the more questions she has about the disappearance of another scholarship girl and a missing faculty member.

Jane discovers one secret about Birch Grove, which only leads to more mysteries. What is she willing to sacrifice in order to stay at this school…and be bound to Birch Grove forever?

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This review is really hard to write as this book is not your typical YA novel.  The synopsis alone is very intriguing, but the story is anything but what you expect.  I was floored by it, and I really enjoyed it, up until a point.  Then everything became a little weird…

And this is why the review is so hard to write.  I can’t give anything away, so I can’t really tell you why it got weird.  So let’s talk characterization instead.  I really, really liked Mary Violet and Jack.  They are phenomenal side characters and they kept me smiling throughout the novel.  Mary, with her amusing comments and all around good nature, and Jack with his witty remarks and teasing persona, are easily likable characters.  However, Lucky is a despicable character, and I really hate him.  In my opinion, he has no redeeming qualities and he ruined the novel for me a bit.  His personality is atrocious, and the things he does (the things I can’t say because it would give away the story) made me ill as I read.  Likewise, Jane seems like a very smart young woman; she is especially street smart, but when it comes to boys, she loses her head and makes extremely poor choices.  So, as the book developed, I found myself liking her less and less, and by the end, I really didn’t have any respect for either her or Lucky, though Jane does redeem herself just a tad in the end. 

I think Acosta is a great writer, but this story is a little too weird/creepy/awkward for me.  I really did like the premise, and I promise, this isn’t like anything you’ve ever read before, but it just isn’t my cup of tea.  Two stars. 

Tor Teen has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read a copy of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on July 3, 2012.

{Review} Gordy by Heather Hildenbrand

From Goodreads: A bully named Marjean, a mangy dog named Donut, and southern Georgia in August: Nine year old Gordy will need all of these to overcome the life-changing moment headed his way.

A touching story of one boy’s tragic loss and his journey to understanding it.
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This is a very short story that follows a young boy as he realizes the truth about his parents.  The story picks up somewhat in medias res, as Gordy attends a party at his aunt’s.  Less than pleased with his attire and the people surrounding him, he ventures out of doors, where he meets a dog, Donut, and as the story unfolds, he eventually learns that he must rely on others in this coming of age tale. 

I must admit, this story wasn’t at all what I expected, but it is very well done, though completely different from all of Hildenbrand’s other work.  I think this is something that younger readers will enjoy, especially as it’s short and Gordy is very young.  Of course, as a short story, there isn’t much room for character development, but I think Hildenbrand captures the feelings of the characters very well.  Three stars.

I picked up this short story from smashwords when it was free.

UtopYA Con: Where All The Cool Kids Go To Meet Their Favorite Female Authors

It’s time to get excited and to get to Nashville for the first ever UtopYA Con, which is the convention for female, paranormal/fantasy young adult authors and readers who love them.  It will be held at the Scarritt-Bennett Center in Nashville, TN on July 6-8, 2012. Would you like to come? You’re already excited I know, but wait until I tell you who’s coming (and this is just a few)… Myra McEntire (Hourglass and Timepiece), Angeline Kace (Descended by Blood), Amy Bartol (The Premonition Series), Tammy Blackwell (The Timber Wolves Series), Tiffany King (The Saving Angels Series), Abbi Glines (The Vincent Boys), Ella James (Stained), Jessica Sorenson (Fallen Star), and so many more! You can find the full list at the UtopYA Con website.

Here’s what a few of them are saying about going to UtopYA Con:

Raine Thomas (Daughters of Saraquel)-  “”The world’s been waiting for a conference like UtopYA. It’s unique and in a class of its own. If you enjoy YA fantasy and paranormal stories, you can’t miss this event!”

Chelsea Fine (Sophie and Carter)- “”Don’t miss out on UtopYa Con 2012: Bringing your YA books to life!”

Brina Courtney (Cryptid Tales)- “If you’re a true YA fan, you’ll be there,  mixing it up with all of us.”

But it’s not just for fans, it’s for authors too. Learn the tricks of the trade from people who are there, doing it successfully already. There are sessions and panels for both readers and writers alike.

So how about it? You wanna go? Well obviously you do, but here’s the question… ARE YOU GOING?

Here’s where you can find out more about tickets.

Now, so maybe you’re awesome, but you can’t go, and you’re bummed obviously. Well you still want to participate right? Here’s your chance, from now until June 29^th, 2012 you can vote for your favorite books to win UtopYA Con awards, hosted by CMT’s Katie Cook. Pretty sweet right? I know, I think so too.

Anyway because we had so many blogs help us to promote this unique event we decided to do some fun giveaways provided by some of our authors at UtopYA Con and some other authors.

Good luck and we’ll see you at UtopYA Con!

 Click here to go to The Shadow Realm to enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway (WordPress does not support Rafflecopter, oiye)

Want to visit other sites in this hop? Go to:

1.	Always YA at Heart	2.	FireStarBooks
3.	Jessa Russo	4.	Chelsea Fine
5.	Brina Courtney	6.	Write as Raine
7.	Giselle from BookNerd	8.	Jason’s Spina Bifida Journey
9.	Allie B Books	10.	The Shadow Realm
11.	The Rambling Jour	12.	writing, stuff and nonsense
13.	Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal	14.	Tiffany- Escaping… One Boook @ a Time
15.	Tammy Blackwell	16.	Monica @ Cover Analysis
17.	Author Chelsea M. Cameron	18.	Ren @ Ren’s Rambles
19.	Mandy @ I Read Indie	20.	ReadingDiva Blog
21.	SJune @ sarahs books & life	22.	A Book Vacation
23.	Girls Just Reading	24.	YA Book Addict
25.	A Book and a Latte	26.	Novelly Nice
27.	Michelle Leighton	28.	YA Sci Fi Author’s Ramblings
29.	Like a Bump on a Blog	30.	Jessie’s Remarkable Reads
31.	Fade Into Fantasy	32.	Banshees, Books, & Baseball
33.	Magnet 4 Books Reviews	34.	Book Loving Mom
35.	Megan @Reading Away The Days	36.	Kiersten Pate
37.	Lynne @ The Submission Process	38.	Brittany @ The Cover

{Review} A Spy at Home by Joseph Rinaldo

From Goodreads: When Dad becomes the lone caregiver for a dependent adult son, Dad has to answer the terrifying question: What happens if I die first?

A retired CIA operative comes to believe he wasted his professional life not only promoting questionable American policies, but missing life with his family. Suddenly, his wife is gone, and he must learn all that she knew about caring for their mentally retarded son. After a life of planning for contingencies, the former spy must deal with the possibility that he may die before his son. Who will care for the son when the dad spent a life out of the country and now has no one to lean on?

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This novel has a very conversational tone, which was difficult for me to get used to in the beginning, but the more I read the more I enjoyed this writing style.  Garrison, the protagonist, explains the story of his life, his thoughts and concerns, while amplifying his outrageous and mostly hilarious interactions as both a CIA operative and a father/husband.  One of Garrison’s main issues is that of how to care for his mentally challenged son, especially with the looming truth that his son will probably outlive him.  This realization, as well as Garrison’s colloquial tone, made the novel very interesting and I enjoyed learning about his difficulties as he attempts to take control of his life as it spins out of control.      

I really enjoyed the parts of the novel that dealt with Noah, Garrison’s son.  How Garrison and his wife Louisa dealt with their little blessing, including how they came to adopt him, his many transitions through life, and his eventual diagnosis with Alzheimer’s was really interesting, and I learned a lot about downs syndrome.  Though I wouldn’t say that this novel is a tearjerker by any means, it does make the reader stop and think, appreciating all they’ve been given.

I think the characterization of Garrison is phenomenal.  He is a very deep character, and as I said before, his relation of his life was mainly hilarious, and I found him very down to earth, though some of his revelations were less than believable.  But overall, I really enjoyed him, and would have liked to get to know the rest of his family on the same level, but then I think it would have detracted from the colloquial, conversational tone of this novel.  Three stars.

I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Announcing the Winner of Sophie and Carter by Chelsea Fine

Thank you so much to everyone who helped me test out Rafflecopter on my blog!  Even though WordPress doesn’t support the app, I’ve found a way to bring it to my blog, and it wouldn’t have been possible without you!  And, as of right now, my giveaway has just concluded, and I’m excited to say that the winner has been chosen using Random.org.

And the winner is…

 

Linda Dao

 

 

 

 

An email has been sent out to the winner! If I don’t hear from her within 48 hours, I will select a new winner using Random.org. Thanks to everyone who participated, and congratulations to the winner… but don’t despair if you didn’t win this round!

 

 

 

Enter to win my other great giveaways:

 

 

Win a book of your choice:

 

Win Death Inception (Death #0.5)

 

Win tons of ebooks from Seventh Star Press and Stephen Zimmer

 

{ARC Review} Dust Girl by Sarah Zettel

From Goodreads: Callie LeRoux lives in Slow Run, Kansas, helping her mother run their small hotel and trying not to think about the father she’s never met. Lately all of her energy is spent battling the constant storms plaguing the Dust Bowl and their effects on her health. Callie is left alone when her mother goes missing in a dust storm. Her only hope comes from a mysterious man offering a few clues about her destiny and the path she must take to find her parents in “the golden hills of the west”: California.

Along the way she meets Jack, a young hobo boy who is happy to keep her company — there are dangerous, desperate people at every turn. And there’s also an otherworldly threat to Callie. Warring fae factions, attached to the creative communities of American society, are very much aware of the role this half-mortal, half-fae teenage girl plays in their fate.

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I’m sorry to say that I am not a fan of this novel.  I never connected with the characters and I spent a good amount of time just trying to figure out what was happening.  While I knew there would be paranormal elements to the novel, I think I also thought it would be somewhat historical as it deals with dust storms, and I was thinking the great Dust Bowl from the 1930s, but I soon found out that this isn’t what it’s about at all.  While there are dust storms, it’s more or less about a fairy girl who must travel the Great Plains looking for her parents.  I was following the story fairly well until Callie played the piano, the dust bowl rolled in, and giant bugs came to the hotel.  At that point, though I tried to follow, I became lost in the mayhem of the story. 

Without a connection with the characters, I found that I struggled to finish this novel, but I made it through.  It does end of a kind of cliffhanger, and it piqued my interest, so yes, I’ll probably read the sequel when it comes out, but this novel didn’t pull me in as I had hoped.  Two stars.

Random House Children’s Books has been extrmely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on June 26, 2012

Cover Reveal of Blood Song by Tamara Rose Blodgett

Here it is!  The much anticipated cover and synopsis of Blood Song (Blood #2), and I’m in LOVE!!  So gorgeous; I can’t wait to read it!

Synopsis:

Julia has been ripped from the escape she’d planned for herself. When she awakens to discover that her reality has shifted to include a supposed soul-meld with a man she hates… and who hates her, she rebels. Julia doesn’t want to be Queen of the Blood Singers if it means captivity in a gilded cage.

Broken from the horrific events surrounding her friends, Cynthia migrates to the very city that Julia resides in and determines to find her as the police follow the bread crumbs she left in her wake. Detective Truman’s discovery at her apartment exposed her departure for the escape it was.

The Feral has come full circle and must begin a new life from the shadow of the old. His placement in the hierarchy of the pack is uncertain when he finds that he has an integral enemy already in place and a pack member to protect. While he desperately seeks answers to what had been… what could be.

Can the vestiges of Julia’s former life be restored so she might reunite with her one true love or has that door closed forever because of supernatural circumstances beyond their control?

{ARC Review} One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf

From Goodreads: On a bitter March day, as a sudden snowstorm envelops the small town of Broken Branch, Iowa, an unknown man with a gun enters the town’s only school and takes a classroom of children hostage. As awareness of the situation spreads, the panicked community is ready to do anything to protect their children, but can only watch and wait.

As a teacher with a long career behind her, Evelyn Oliver is ready to enjoy retirement with her loving husband. But now, faced with a crazy man armed with a gun, terrorizing her classroom, she’d rather die than fail to protect any of her students. But why is he doing this? Evelyn’s been scouring her mind but doesn’t recognize the intruder. Maybe one of the students is the key?

Holly Thwaite left Broken Branch and her family behind without a word eighteen years ago, vowing never to return. But after a debilitating accident leaves her recovering in a hospital in Arizona, she’s forced to send her children to her hometown to be looked after by their grandfather, the man she never wanted them to meet. Will Thwaite never understood why his estranged daughter, Holly, ran away all those years ago. But now that her children are in his care, he refuses to fail his daughter again. One way or another, Will is going to get his grandkids, P.J. and Augie, out of that school safely even if he has to go in and get them himself. What Will doesn’t know is that thirteen-year-old Augie is just as determined to rescue her little brother from the killer and help her classmates, even if it means putting herself in the crosshairs of the gunman.

Police officer Meg Barrett wants to know who the intruder is and why he’s doing this. Whoever it is, there’s no excuse for this. Meg should know. She’s had plenty of hardships herself. But with innocent lives at stake, Meg is prepared to risk her own life to save these hostages, although it means disobeying orders and taking on the gunman face-to-face.

As the standoff progresses and the snowstorm rages outside, anxiety and frustration start to build to dangerous levels. But everyone knows how precarious the situation is. One wrong move, even a breath, could have the most devastating of consequences.

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I really enjoyed this novel!  Told from the perspectives of multiple characters, Gudenkauf intricately weaves together the harrowing tale of five people affected by a lone gunman as he attempts to exact his revenge on the world from the confines of a school.  I absolutely adore novels with multiple points of view, especially when the author uses it to build up suspense, which is exactly what Gudenkauf does.  As readers get to know the characters as individuals, learning their thoughts, fears, regrets, and ambitions, nearly every chapter ends on a cliffhanger in which the reader is about to find out something, or learn something s/he is very interested in, and then the point of view changes, making the reader wait.  With five separate narrators, the suspense is constantly building, and while the cliffhangers are a tease, the very next chapter picks up where another cliffhanger left off, and the reader is suddenly thrust into another’s thoughts and is finally able to find out the answers to a previous cliffhanger, which makes it doubly exciting and keeps the reader on a rollercoaster ride from start to finish.

Out of all the characters, I really liked Augie the best.  She has a spunky personality and I enjoyed following her throughout the story as she attempts to save her brother.  She is a very determined young heroine, and though she has many issues she must work through, from feeling responsible for her mother’s accident and her little brother’s safety to learning to trust others around her, she is an amazing young woman.  I also loved Ms. Oliver.  Though she seems to be a bit crotchety in the beginning, she truly loves her students and wants to protect them at all costs.  I think I identified with her the most because I, too, am a teacher, and watching her deal with such a scary reality was very powerful and touching.  We all hear of gunmen coming into schools and wreaking havoc, but no one thinks it will ever happen to them.  And then, we all think about how we would react, but honestly, no one really knows how they will react.  I would like to say that I would be just as heroic as Ms. Oliver, though I pray I’ll never have to find out if I would be or not.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and was taken aback by the identity of the gunman. Gudenkauf does an amazing job keeping the gunman’s identity a secret until the big reveal, and I love authors that are able to stump me as I read.  I highly recommend this novel! Four stars!    

Harlequin has ben extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on June 26, 2012.

{ARC Review} The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton by Elizabeth Speller

From Goodreads: When Great War veteran Laurence Bartram arrives in Easton Deadall, he is struck by the beauty of the place: a crumbling manor, a venerable church, and a memorial to the village’s soldiers, almost all of whom died in one bloody battle. 

Now peace prevails, and the rest of England is newly alight with hope, but Easton Deadall remains haunted by tragedy—as does the Easton family. In 1911, five-year-old Kitty disappeared from her bed and has not been seen in thirteen years; only her fragile mother still believes she is alive. While Laurence is a guest of the manor, a young maid vanishes in a sinister echo of Kitty’s disappearance. And when a body is discovered in the manor’s ancient church, Laurence is drawn into the grounds’ forgotten places, where deadly secrets lie in wait.  
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While I enjoyed this novel, it wasn’t really what I expected.  I was thinking it would be a fast paced sleuthing novel dealing mainly with the disappearance of Kitty Easton, but I personally found the entire first half of the book a little bland for me as it dealt with the historical aspect of the time period more than I like in my novels (detailing the house, the people, the church, etc.) and I found that I occasionally lost interest due to all the descriptions.  This is a very lengthy novel, and I personally would have liked to have some of it cut out, mainly because I’m not really a description kind of reader, but for those who are, I think they’ll find this novel quite interesting.

Once the novel began to deal more with Kitty and the disappearance of others, say around 45% into the book, it did really pick up, and I became highly interested in the goings on of the characters.  Had the novel been like this from the beginning, I think I would have really enjoyed it, but even so, the last half of the novel was great.

I really liked how everything fit together, including the disappearance of Kitty, then a young maid servant, and then the mystery surrounding the dead woman found in the church.  Speller did a good job intertwining them, and I was surprised to find out the truth behind both disappearances and the murder.  I just wish the entire novel had to have been written like the second half of the novel. Three stars.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on June 26, 2012.

{Review} “The Dark, Dark House” by Lynette Ferreira

From Goodreads: Flash Fiction (500 word Short Story) of a dark, dark secret in a dark, dark house.

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This is a very short story that I think has the potential to be more, but I personally had a hard time following it.  Upon beginning the story, readers will quickly note that it’s extremely repetitive.  Now, this is a writing technique that Ferreira uses on purpose, repeating the word “dark” multiple times, but I found that I really didn’t enjoy this repetition.  If you look up at the very short synopsis, you’ll get an idea of what I mean about the repetition.

Yet, while half of the story is extremely repetitive, the other half suddenly flows very nicely.  It was a very sudden shift, a bit jarring; however, while I wasn’t a fan of the repetition, I did enjoy the flow of story once it transitioned.  Unfortunately, I didn’t really understand the big revelation at the end.  I read the story twice (because it’s so short), but I still didn’t understand it fully.  I think that it’s more of a reader error than a writer error, though. Overall, as “The Dark, Dark House” is a very short read, I think you should give it a try to see if it’s your style.  Unfortunately, it’s not for me.  One star.

 I obtained this short story from Amazon when it was free.

{Review} Death Inception by Tamara Rose Blodgett (Death #0.5)

From Goodreads: Kyle Ulysses Hart and his team of scientists mapped the human genome in the year 2010. As Brain Impulse Technology came online… so did the long arm of the United States government. A covert, military-driven regime was born with genetic manipulation the key to future widespread control.

When pharmaceutical laboratories, funded by the Graysheets, discover a way to unlock paranormal potential through compulsive inoculation, their exploitative dream is realized.

Clyde and Caleb’s lives are predestined to intertwine as they cross paths, his history becoming Caleb’s future.

A lone teenager named Jeffrey Parker, falls prey when he manifests the rare, Affinity for the Dead. The Graysheets abandon all pretense of stewardship, ripping him from his family for their nefarious purposes.

Can Jeffrey remain who he was destined to be in an environment exclusively built for mass control?

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I am so excited that Blodgett wrote this amazing prequel to her Death series!!!  While I never really had any nagging questions about how everything came to be, and I thought that Blodgett did a great job explaining everything, this novella really opened my eyes and filled in more areas of the series that I hadn’t even realized I wanted to know about! 

Told between alternate time periods, following characters’ lives from the early 1900s to the mid 2000s, readers will learn about the life and death of our beloved Clyde, the beginnings of the human genome project, brain pulse, Parker’s inception with the Affinity for the Dead… and it’s all intertwined amazingly well. 

I’ve been trying to decide when readers should read the prequel—should they read it prior to reading the entire series?  Or maybe after the first or second book?  Honestly, I can’t decide.  Death Inception carries a lot of information that is great to know ahead of time, but I almost feel like readers should wait to read the prequel until they’ve read at least the first novel in the Death series so that they know the characters’ interworkings and love them as much as I do!  Especially as this novella changed my perspective of a few of the characters, such as Parker, and getting to know their full stories, explaining who they are, and why they are the way that they are, was really exciting, so I like the idea of waiting to read the prequel until after reading at least the first novel in the series!!  But, honestly, it doesn’t matter when you read the prequel, because it’s amazing and fits the story perfectly!  Overall, I highly recommend this series and can’t get enough!! Five stars!

I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honset review.

 

Attention Writers! Seventh Star Press Proudly Announces Its Next Anthology Project, Perfect Flaw: Dystopian Stories, with Editor Robin Blankenship

Attention Writers!  Seventh Star Press Proudly Announces Its Next Anthology Project, Perfect Flaw: Dystopian Stories, with Editor Robin Blankenship

Seventh Star Press is proud to announce its second anthology project, Perfect Flaw: Dystopian Stories, with editor Robin Blankenship

As with the first SSP anthology project, The End Was Not the End: Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy Tales (editor Joshua Leet) this anthology project will allow for short stories of up to 10,000 words.

The stories must be set within a society in a repressive and controlled state, which can be under the guise of a utopian society.  The genre of the stories can be anything from Horror to Science Fiction, Fantasy, Steampunk and other forms of speculative ficiton

This anthology is intended to be a book that is a exploration of society gone wrong. “Utopian” societies that mask the true, underlying controlled state. Stories of people fighting back against the repression in hopes of a better place for the average person. Groups forming to fight the fatal flaw that the people in charge strive to cover up to keep the masses in line.

Submissions must be in by Midnight of January 8, 2013. Please provide a cover letter and use standard manuscript format.  They can be emailed to: Robin at seventhstarpress.com

The anthology is being targeted for release in the late spring of 2013, in both print and eBook formats.

A freelance editor and book reviewer, Robin Blankenship has a background in teaching and is currently embarking on her Masters in Folk Studies.

For further information on Seventh Star Press and its titles and authors, please visit http://www.seventhstarpress.com

Contact: C.C. James
Public Relations, Seventh Star Press
ccjames@seventhstarpress.com

Seventh Star Press is a small press publisher of speculative fiction located in Lexington Kentucky

48 Day Blog Tour: Spirit of Fire by Stephen Zimmer (Huge Giveaway)

Today, I’m very excited to take part in Stephen Zimmer’s 48 day blog tour for his latest release, Spirit of Fire, the third title in the Fires in Eden Series, following Crown of Vengeance and Dream of Legends!  And, we have a special treat for you–an epic giveaway!!!  Two winners will recieve a total of 6 ebooks (3 novels and 3 short stories), and two runners up will receive three short stories.  These short stories are also associated with the epic fantasy series, called the Chronicles of Ave! 

About Spirit of Fire:

A maelstrom of war engulfs lands resisting the designs of the Unifier to bring about a new order, of a kind that has never existed within Ave.  Battered by a massive invasion force from Gallea, the tribal people of the Five Realms and their Midragardan allies are being driven eastward, towards the sea, while the Saxan lines are wearing down ever thinner on the Plains of Athelney.

Time is running out quickly, as an ancient creature of legend soars through the skies with a brave young Saxan.   They carry the desperate hopes of two realms sorely beset by a voracious enemy.

Diabolic entities conduct a great hunt, as a malignant darkness deepens across all of Ave.  Exiles from another world must gain refuge, or find themselves ensnared by the long reach of the Unifier.  The very nature of creation itself stands in the balance.
 
It is a time when the honor and fortitude of many are put to the test, and terrible prices are paid for resisting great evils.  It is also a time of awakening for many, old and young alike, some of whom may yet discover the spirit of fire that lies within.

The third installment in the Fires in Eden series, Spirit of Fire is richly imagined epic fantasy with a diverse ensemble of characters that offers a new world to explore for readers who enjoy large-scale tales along the likes of George R.R. Martin, Brandon Sanderson, Steven Erikson, and J.R.R. Tolkien.

Interested?  Of course!  So don’t delay, check out what you can win and enter now:

Two winners will receive a full ebook giveaway pack, which includes:

• Crown of Vengeance (novel)
• Dream of Legends (novel)
• Spirit of Fire (novel)
• “Into Glory Ride” (short story)
• “Lion Heart” (short story)
• “Land of Shadow” (short story)

And two runners up will win these ebook short stories:

• “Into the Glory Ride” (short story)
• “Lion Heart” (short story)
• “Land of Shadow” (short story)

This is an INTERNATIONAL giveaway, but winners MUST have a way to read the ebooks.  

All you have to do is enter your name and email to win, but there are extra entries options if you’re interested!

To enter you must:

-Be 13 years or older (or have parent/guardian permission)
-Fill in the form with your name and email (extra entries optional)

Click here to go to the Rafflecopter entry form!

 This contest is open internationally and will end at 12:01am EST on July 9th. The winner will be announced later that day, and will receive email notification! Please read my giveaway policy and leave me a comment!

Thanks to Seventh Star Press and Stephen Zimmer for this epic giveaway blog tour stop!!

Spirit of Fire will be released in softcover and eBook versions during the first week of June.  The novel is now available for pre-order in a beautiful hardcover edition that is strictly limited to 75 copies.

The limited hardcover edition will be signed and numbered by Stephen Zimmer and includes a bonus illustration from Matthew Perry not included in other editions.  It will be accompanied by an assortment of collectibles, including a set of glossy art cards, bookmarks, and magnets.  The limited edition hardcovers will also be bundled with the eBook version (provided as a direct ePub file for users with Nooks, iPads, or Sony eReaders, and gifted as a Kindle file for Kindle users).  Those interested in securing one of the 75 limited hardcovers can place a pre-order at:

http://seventhstarpress.com/documents/pre_orders.html