Cover Reveal: Addicted to You

Addicted to You by Colina Brennan

NA Contemporary Romance

Slated for Release: June 2013



When twenty-one-year-old Leah Carter's latest one night stand burglarizes her apartment, her roommate forces her to attend therapy for sex addicts. Leah insists she isn't a sex addict; she just doesn't do relationships. After all, sooner or later, everyone lets you down.

At first, the group sessions are little more than an education on how to be promiscuous. Until she meets the newest addict—blue eyes, killer body, and a smile that tempts relapse.

Psychology student Will McLean is posing as a fellow addict while researching a case study on unusual addictions. But the more he learns about Leah, the more certain he is that his desire to break through her walls and unearth her secrets has nothing to do with his assignment.

As the uncertainties spike alongside the sexual tension, the only thing Leah knows for sure is that falling in love would be disastrous. Too bad love might be one addiction she can't kick.

Cover Reveal: Catching Liam

It's always a pleasure finding a new writer or a new book to appreciate. It's even better to be in the discovery from the get-go. That's why I'm sharing this super-secret-until-midnight-last-night cover reveal by Sophia Bleu.

BOOK AND AUTHOR INFO:

Catching Liam by Sophia Bleu
Publication date: Summer 2013
Genre: New Adult Contemporary

 

 

Twenty-one year-old Jillian Nichols only has one rule when it comes to boys: catch and release. Boy-catching isn't just a game for Jillian and her friends, it's a lifestyle. After all, boys might be good for a dance or a drink and certainly a little under-cover action of the scandalous variety, but expect much else and you're bound for heart ache.

 

So when her best friends and fellow boy catchers start dropping like flies junior year, Jillian is determined to keep boys in her bedroom and out of her heart. Until she meets Liam McAvoy, the kind of guy that sticks around to make waffles and who can't—or perhaps won't—take a hint.

Study abroad student Liam doesn't want to be another notch on Jillian's bedpost. Actually he has much more interesting ideas for Jillian and her bedposts, but his student visa's set expiration date means he can't promise her forever. That doesn't mean he's going to walk away from the challenge of discovering why Jillian is hell-bent at keeping people at a distance.

Before long, neither is sure who is catching who—or if they're playing for keeps. Jillian knows one thing though: falling in love will not only break the only rule of boy-catching, it could also break her heart.

 

Catch Liam on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17839132-catching-liam

 

Who is Sopia Bleu? In a bio statement, she reveals... 

Sophia Bleu is a secret identity where I can write about fantasies and falling in love and all the smexiness in between. In real life, I'm likely catching a plane, chasing kids, or making out with the love of my life—all 6 ft 3 inches of hotness that he is. Life is pretty good.

 

Author links:

Website / Facebook / Twitter

 

 

Jackson Pearce Trifecta

I love horse races. Shiny coats tautly gleaming over powerful muscle, thundering hooves eating up the track and raw beauty. Horses awe me with their power--and even more so with their gentle nature despite their brute strength. I grew up on horses and love watching them race.

I do not, however, like gambling. I hate parting with my hard-earned money and pretending there's a science behind the victory. Sometimes luck has a hand in who wins and who loses. Sometimes history, experience and breeding do. Yet picking a winner is a gamble.

Obviously.

Picking the trifecta--now that is akin to separating a single raindrop from the ocean. It's why I don't bet.

Yet this weekend, I bet big and won. It started with a kind of skulky need to read something I wanted to read. With speech just wrapping up, I'd read a lot of what other people wanted me to read. This was my chance to read something for my own pleasure, a much  needed break after a demanding speech season.

Years ago, I'd read Jackson Pearce's Sisters Red and loved it. What I didn't love was the idea of reading the second novel in her fairytale retellings--Sweetly. The story of Hansel and Gretel had never intrigued me and so I had been turned off by the idea of even picking up this companion novel.

Grudgingly, I decided to give it a try, as no other prospects jumped out at me.

Without belaboring my point, I'll just say that I hit the Jackson Pearce trifecta. On Saturday--between curling hair and painting nails for my daughter's prom--I started reading Sweetly. On Sunday, I finished it and started Fathomless after cleaning up the backyard and putting out the patio furniture. This morning, after reading to the end of Pearce's Little Mermaid rewrite, I was like a crack addict waiting for her next hit. I picked up yet another Pearce novel and finished her contemporary novel, Purity, just before shuttling my boys to baseball.

My favorite of the three: Sweetly. Yeah, I know. And I was a snob about reading it for years. My loss. Suffice it to say, I LOVED the characters. Sophia broke my heart, while Samuel captured it. Gretchen was courageous and loving, while her brother Ansel was selfless and sweet. I hated the ending because Ms. Pearce made it hurt. I have half a mind to read it again, just to see if I can will the ending to change. To see if I can somehow wish this beloved, rag-tag family the happiness they deserve.

The most evocative: Fathomless. This dark novel is nothing like Disney's mermaid we all know and love. Lo is torn between two worlds and two souls as she tries to live in the present, remember her past and embrace her future. She is utterly tragic and beautiful in her quest to do right. And while I am not always a huge fan of stories told from different perspectives, Ms. Pearce did a masterful job of using it to create emotionally robust characters, rather than as a cheat to impart information the audience needed but otherwise wouldn't know.

Most relevant: Purity. I have a sixteen year-old daughter who is a big daddy's girl and the thought of those purity ceremonies and vows has always kind of creeped me out. Ms. Pearce handles it with humor and dignity. This novel took me about three hours to read, and even though the subject matter is heavy--death, sex, religion and integrity--the author doesn't weigh it down by getting all preachy. Instead, Shelby is a very real teen with very real teen concerns.

All in all, the most respectful thing I can say about Jackson Pearce's writing is that she writes realistic characters I care about and puts them into difficult situations where they have to act and react in ways that truly matter. Not to mention, her prose is down-right lyrical.

And the best thing: her fourth fairytale Cold Spell will be out soon. You can bet I'll be snapping that up the minute it gets published!

In fact, I think Jackson Pearce just may rounding the corner and taking over the lead as one of my favorite authors. To learn more about her or to check out her novels, please hop over to her website and get reacquainted with some of your favorite fairy tales.

Going Too Far: Irrational Fears and a Book Review

Once upon a time, my big sister told me that if I stepped on a railroad track after a train went by, I would burn up and die. I am not proud to say I believed her. Even more difficult to admit is that I still cannot step directly on a railroad track.

Yeah, I know. Irrational to the point of ridiculous.

My adult mind knows--knows--that this can't possibly happen, yet I can't seem to override the ingrained fear my dear sis planted years ago. Suffice it to say, she went too far with her little prank.

Fears. Where do they come from and how do we overcome them?

In going too far by Jennifer Echols, Meg is terrified of being restrained in any way--even as she's a dare devil in other aspects of her life.

Both Meg and Officer John After are drawn to the train bridge. Both for very different reasons. Meg sees the bridge as a way to feel alive, while John views the bridge as sure death. In the beginning, the bridge draws them together. In the end, it tears them apart.

I am not one to read romance novels as a general rule. However, while searching for speech material for next year, my daughter and I came across this book and thought it might be usable. Unfortunately, it's not. Fortunately, it's still a great book.

I thoroughly enjoyed the characters in going too far. Meg was lovable in her imperfections and completely drew me in, while John was the perfect balance of steel-tough exterior and silk-soft vulnerability.

going too far was a quick, but fun read. Ms. Echols handled the fears of her main characters in a realistic and compassionate way--without bogging down the story by writing a pity party. I highly recommend this novel for anyone looking to perk up their spring with great characters and a well-written plot.

Name This Rump!

I love contests, especially ones where I can win yummy prizes. Okay, maybe not literally tasty but literary tasty. As in, yummy for the brain. And since I can't enter a certain Name This Rump contest, I'm passing the details along to you. In hopes, of course, that you will agree the prizes are, in fact, brain yummy and warrant your entry in the contest.

 

So here goes: Name This Rump, hosted by Elephant's Bookshelf Press.

 

 

But before I get to the details: are you at all curious why I can't enter this contest? Three reasons:

1. I am an author at EBP. My short story, SOLAR FLARE, was published by them in The Fall: Tales from the Apocalypse.
2. My short story SKIN WRITER, has been accepted for publication by EBP in the summer anthology coming out June of 2013.
3. I am one of the prizes you can select if you participate in the contest and WIN. Not me personally, but my YA novel Whispering Minds.

And that's all sorts of yummy, even if it keeps me from naming the backside of EBP's mascot.

 

NAME THIS RUMP RULES

1. Hop on over to Elephant's Bookshelf Press and leave your suggested name for their little pachyderm in the comments section on the Contests page by April 15th.
2. Check back on April 30th for a Top Ten list and vote for your favorite name.
3. If your name wins, collect one of the following for your prize: copy of the summer anthology (June 2013); copy of Whispering Minds (Fall 2013); or for the kidlets, a personalized postcard by yours truly--er the elephant--and a copy of either above mentioned book for your parent or teacher who helps you suggest a name.
4. (If you don't win, you can still enjoy any of EBP's books at this time or in the future. Seriously, elephants need to eat and this little guy likes his peanuts.)
5. While this isn't technically a rule, I know the big guy pressing the books up there would like a wide range of names to pick from, so please pass along info on this fun and completely frivolous contest. 

I don't know about you, but I'd hate to see him named Archibald by default.

 

 



SPLINTERED: get it, read it, love it!

I fell into the rabbit hole last week, and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I didn't love the original Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, though I can't give any specific reasons why. I can't pinpoint them myself.

On the other hand, A.G. Howard's contemporary spin on Alice's adventures left me breathless.

For starters, look at this fantabulous cover. The details are exquisite.

 

An electric blue moth you will come to love and hate and love again. (FYI, Morpheus is one side of a love triangle that will have your panties in a knot as you waffle between the moth man and the delectable human, Jeb.)

 

The rest of the insects--yeah, that's right, peek closely and you'll see them hiding everywhere. They are very important, my reader friends. Important, intriguing and only a little creepy. Okay, one is a lot creepy, but even she didn't make my spine tingle like the twisted White Rabbit did. 

 

Then there's Alyssa, herself. A stunning beauty filled with mysticism, spunk and charm. She's delicate on the outside--almost pixie like--while courage radiates from within.

 

Lewis Carroll's Wonderland goes dark, dangerous and utterly delightful in Splintered.

 

I pre-ordered it for my Kindle, devoured it in a day and added the hardcover to my shrine of goodness. It stands among other greats such as The Hunger Games; Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry; The Bartimaeus Trilogy and Unwind. It has been added to my perennial list and will be read with love each and every year.

 

Especially since Ms. Howard masterfully completed the entire story and left me wanting more. She didn't do this with a cliff-hanger that forces me to read the next book in a trilogy (a ploy that only ticks me off and turns me away). Instead, she whetted my appetite by writing one of the most incredible retellings of a fairy tale that I have ever read.

 

Kudos, Ms. Howard. Splintered rocked my world.

 

I hope, dear readers, it will rock yours as well.



 

Hurricane Sandy Delays the Apocalypse!

The Fall has arrived--though delayed ever so slightly by the storm that battered the East Coast and my favorite indie publisher, Elephant's Bookshelf Press.

Find The Fall: Tales from the Apocalypse on Amazon.

The cover is beautiful and the writing spectacular. Some of the stories made me cry. Others chilled me to the bone. Still others had me laughing out loud. Whether you read post-apocalyptic stories out of sheer habit or this is your first foray into the end of the world, I promise, The Fall has a little bit of something for everyone!

It also has a short YA from me title Solar Flare.