Stacking The Shelves #1

 

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the awesome book we buy, receive as gifts are get for review hosted by the awesome Tyngasreviews!

 

This is my first Stacking The Shelves post since last year. I get so many books each week I though I better start sharing them again with all you guys so you can maybe discover a great book you might like!

 

Received for review

 

Goodreads

 

Gloss by Marilyn Kaye

Releases 6th June

TY to Pan Macmillian

 

Goodreads

 

ARC: The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

Releases in the UK 1st August

TY to Templar Publishing

 

Goodreads

 

ARC: All the truth that is me by Julie Berry

Releases in the UK in August

TY to Templar Publishing

 

Goodreads

 

Invisibility by Andrea Cremer & David Levithan

Released 7th May

TY to Penguin UK

 

Goodreads

 

PODS by Michelle Pickett

Releases June 4th

TY to Spencer Hill Press

 

Goodreads

 

 

The Year of the Great Seventh by Teresa Orts

Releases July 6th

TY to author Teresa Orts

 

 

Worlds Apart Leah by Andrea Baker

Released October 2012

TY to author Andrea Baker

 

(I am currently having a giveaway of 5 ebooks of Worlds Apart Leah. Check the giveaway tab along the top of the blog :)

 

Books I bought:

 

 

Goodreads

 

Dead Ever After (Sookie Stackhouse #13) by Charlaine Harris

Released May 2013

 

Goodreads

 

Under the never sky by Veronica Rossi

Released January 2012

 

Goodreads

 

Poison Heart by S.B. Hayes

Released March 2012

 

Goodreads

 

Don't Look Back by S.B. Hayes

Released March 2013

 

Goodreads

 

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Released 2003

 

Goodreads

 

Gardens Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

Released 2008

 

Let me know what you got and leave me a link so I can check out your Stacking The Shelves!

 

 

 

 

Book Blast: Yours Affectionately, Jane Austen by Sally Smith O'Rourke- $50 Amazon Giftcard

 

 

Yours Affectionately, Jane Austen
 

Was Mr. Darcy real? Is time travel really possible? For pragmatic Manhattan artist Eliza Knight the answer to both questions is absolutely, Yes! And Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley Farms, Virginia is the reason why!

 

His tale of love and romance in Regency England leaves Eliza in no doubt that Fitz Darcy is the embodiment of Jane Austen’s legendary hero. And she’s falling in love with him. But can the man who loved the inimitable Jane Austen ever love average, ordinary Eliza Knight?

Eliza’s doubts grow, perhaps out of proportion, when things start to happen in the quiet hamlet of Chawton, England; events that could change everything. Will the beloved author become the wedge that divides Fitz and Eliza or the tie that binds them?
 

Purchase
 

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Smashwords

 

 

Praise for Yours Affectionately, Jane Austen
 

O’Rourke creates a world that defies cynicism and demands suspension of disbelief – even in this age of doubt and hyper-realism. Sheer escapism at its best. Clever, charming and affectionate. ~Jocelyn Bury …the reader must tenaciously read on rather than put the book down to satisfy their hunger for the story to resolve, which it does in characteristically Jane Austen fashion. ~Erin Murdock

 

Author Bio: Sally Smith O'Rourke

 
Sally Smith O’Rourke is a surgical scrub nurse at the City of Hope national cancer research hospital in Duarte, California and resides in the near-by Victorian village of Monrovia. With her late husband, author Michael O’Rourke (aka F.M. O’Rourke) Smith O’Rourke owned and operated a medical advertising company where she used her diverse talents to produce and co-write teaching films and videos. Working not only with major medical and surgical manufacturing companies but also network television. These endeavors ultimately led to a collaboration on two feature films (direct to video) and three published novels. The wife and husband writing team of Sally Smith and Michael O’Rourke, being long-time fans of Jane Austen, wrote The Man Who Loved Jane Austen released by Kensington Books in 2006. Kensington followed that very successful effort with The Maidenstone Lighthouse in 2007 and Christmas at Sea Pines Cottage in 2009, both also collaborative projects by Smith and O’Rourke. Published after her partner and spouse’s untimely death in 2001, the publisher chose not to use the names Michael O’Rourke and Sally Smith (as the manuscripts were presented), releasing all three books under Sally Smith O’Rourke. Yours Affectionately, Jane Austen is Sally Smith O’Rourke’s first solo novel.

Website * Blog * Facebook * Twitter 

 

Book Blast Giveaway
 
$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends
Enda 6/6/13
 
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Into the Spiral by Erin Danzer Half Birthday Bash & #Giveaway

Celebrate the six month birthday of Into the Spiral with author Erin Danzer! Enter the awesome giveaway below!

 

 

Blurb: 

 

 

                                                                                                         

 

Fifteen-year-old Veronica “Ronnie” Lambert wants to get out from under her older brother'sshadow. When Ronnie gets a tattoo and then is struck by lightning, she suddenly finds herself able to see and hear things in shadows that don’t appear to others. Then Ronnie meets Gavin Clearwater, the hot new guy in all of her classes and finds out he can see and hear the same things she can.

Gavin tells her about the Spiral Defenders, a group of warriors that travels through space and time to defend the planets of the Spiral. After meeting the Commander of the Spiral Defenders and realizing his intentions might not be pure, Ronnie struggles between following her destiny to become a Spiral Defender and trying to regain the life she had before being struck by lightning.

 Add to Goodreads

Amazon * AmazonUK * Barnes & Noble * Smashwords * ITUNES

Excerpt from Into The Sprial by Erin Danzer

 

“You sure about this?” Gary asked as his latex gloves snapped into place. Ronnie draped her hair over her left shoulder, looking back at him over her right. She knew he was just looking out for her, probably as part of his allegiance to Brian, but she was tired of having this conversation. She knew what she wanted.

 

 

“Yes, I’m sure. I haven’t been haunting this place all summer for my health.” she stated. “My body; my mind; my life.”

 

 

As she said the words, Ronnie realized the triple spiral was the perfect symbol for her new beginning. Getting this tattoo was the first step to regaining control over herself, her mind and ultimately, her life. No more would she only be seen as Brian’s little sister. Her parents and everyone around her would have to see her as the young woman she was becoming. She bit her lower lip, hiding a smile as she settled against the back of the chair again. If everything worked out the way she wanted to, she’d have a new boyfriend soon, too.

 

Author Bio:

Erin Danzer wrote her first book at 10-years-old for a Young Authors competition, where she was awarded an Honorable Mention and discovered a passion for the written word. She’s written several novels and short stories since that spark ignited. Into the Spiral is the first of a four book series. In addition to her novels, Erin writes a monthly short story serial, The Cassandra Serafin Chronicles, posting alternately on her blog and in Literary Lunes bi-monthly online magazine. Erin resides in Racine, Wisconsin, with her husband, two children, and their cat.
 

Website * Facebook * Twitter




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The Storm Bottle Blog Tour: Book Spotlight & #Giveaway

 

Today I am doing a book spotlight of The Storm Bottle by Nick Green. Leave me your thoughts on The Storm Bottle below and don't forget to enter the giveaway!


The Storm Bottle

Swimming with dolphins is said to be the number one thing to do before you die. For 12-year-old Michael, it very nearly is. A secret boat trip has gone tragically wrong, and now he lies unconscious in hospital. But when Michael finally wakes up, he seems different. His step sister Bibi is soon convinced that he is not who he appears to be. Meanwhile, in the ocean beyond Bermuda’s reefs, a group of bottlenose dolphins are astonished to discover a stranger in their midst – a boy lost and desperate to return home. Bermuda is a place of mysteries. Some believe its seas are enchanted, and the sun-drenched islands conceal a darker past, haunted with tales of lost ships. Now Bibi and Michael are finding themselves in the most extraordinary tale of all.








Praise

'I loved it... An absolute winner.' - LA Weatherly, author of the Angel Burn trilogy

'If you only ever buy one Kindle book in your life (although that sounds a bit unlikely, now that I stop and think) this has to be
it.' - The Bookwitch blog.

Author Bio

Nick Green is a UK children's and YA author, best known for his trilogy The Cat Kin, published in the UK by Strident Publishing and in Germany by Ravensburger, and also as a BBC audiobook. He has appeared on BBC radio talking about his books, and has been shortlisted for two UK children's book awards. He regularly does school visits and other children's literary events. The Storm Bottle is his first straight-to-Kindle novel.

Twitter * Website

 

Giveaway
 

Win a $25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 26th May 2013

 

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YA Feature: Cricket Baker

 

This weeks author is Cricket Baker author of The Ghosting of Gods. Enjoy the inteview and enter to win a paperback copy of The Ghosting of Gods below!

The Author: Cricket Baker

I grew up near Dallas, Texas and got lots and lots of sunburns with my pale complexion! (And you wouldn’t believe my accent. It’s...strong.) My childhood was full of books, fried chicken, playing hide-and-go-seek, snow cones, and trips to the lake in summer.
Known as a “brain” in school (I wasn’t really, I just studied a lot), I went on to get a bachelor’s in psychology and later a grad degree in education. I’m now married to an Air Force guy who is my best friend and sooo sweet, and we have three amazing sons who are the delight of my life.

I work besides my writing. Though I didn’t go looking for it, I somehow landed in a counseling job where I go out to homes and try to make things better for teens and their parents. This means I go into homes where abuse has sometimes occurred. This means I sometimes drive home crying. It’s meaningful work—that I’m tempted to run away from.

Books are a needed escape for me.

I like scary or unusual books. Mystical/spiritual/otherworldly ones, too. I’m weirdly attracted to haunted scenes, haunted imagery. On a related note, thunderstorms thrill me, so it’s great that I live in the panhandle of Florida smack dab in the lightning capital of the United States! It’s perfect atmosphere for writing ghostly stuff.

I’m a contemplative sort who is intrigued with the Big Questions: Who are we? Why are we here? What’s the meaning of life? How can it get better? How can we all live peacefully together, even when we believe different things? Sigh.

Writing


Oh my gosh. Well, I always loved reading and thought I wanted to be an author. But on the afternoon I finished reading Maeve Binchy’s The Glass Lake, and it was sooo painful to have the story over, I KNEW I had to write my own story. It was the only way I could keep characters going as long as I needed them around. As an author, you do what you want with your characters’ lives.

I wrote draft after draft of my novel over several years, on and off. Writer’s workshops, conferences, an independent editor...more rewrites...then The Ghosting of Gods was a finalist in the Hay House novel contest in 2012. Right after, a publisher offered me a contract. It was a long, long, long, long, long road.


The Book: The Ghosting of Gods

 

Add to Goodreads

 

Blurb:

 

The world is not escaped by death

...

Jesse is an apprentice exorcist who defies his priests when he learns his sister is in danger even though she’s dead. When he’s exiled to a haunted world, Jesse must unravel the mystery of ghosts if he is to save her. He plunges into a deadly game of hide-and-seek. The players include denizens draped in monkish robes, ghosts with matted eyes, the dead who tunnel underground in terror, and...Elspeth.

 

A coven scientist, Elspeth is both respected and feared for her abnormal spiritual powers. Jesse needs—craves—the knowledge of ghosts which she possesses. But is she a spiritual prodigy, or dangerously insane? The coven scientist begs him to trust her. He doesn’t. But he wants to.

 

Caught in a world on the brink of spiritual evolution, Jesse struggles to understand Elspeth even as frightening contacts from his sister force him to face the secret, shattering meaning of a verse he knows well: Blessed are the poor in ghost.

 

I call it a supernatural dystopian, a sort of Halloween in Oz. It’s a spiritual ghost story, if that makes sense. I’m fascinated with world religions and what they have in common. Near Death Experiences intrigue me as well. And so, I meshed together the east and the west, drawing on the mystical sides of major religions and spiritual texts, to come up with a supernatural ride for a character who’s reeling from the realization that he has spiritual talents...and what those talents might mean for himself and the world.

My first intention was to write a solid novel, tending to character development, plot twists, tension on the page, world building, etc. But the story is also meant to be different, surprising, and lasting. By that I mean The Ghosting of Gods is a contribution to the genre of transformational fiction, which is meant to be storytelling which awakens the reader’s soul. That’s how I think of it, anyway.

Last but not least, I wanted my novel to be spooky, creepy, ghostly. It’s just what I love.

How does it feel to be releasing The Ghosting of Gods

You want me to be honest? It doesn’t feel like I thought it would feel. We all build up in our minds how something is supposed to be...I thought it would only be exciting and the best fun of my life (other than those great roller coasters where your feet dangle and you go through spirals—I love those!). The truth is that it’s exciting, yes, but it’s also painful. I believe very strongly about being authentic and letting out your creative, weird self...but this is the first time I’ve done it on a world stage. I feel vulnerable. This novel means a lot to me, and it will be JUDGED. But...you don’t connect to the world without vulnerability. Not really.

Here’s a quote by Brene Brown that’s been helpful to me lately: “Vulnerability is the birthplace of everything we’re hungry for.” It’s an insightful quote, and a powerful one, too.

Can you describe your protagonist Jesse in less than 140 characters?

He feels both special and ashamed. All at the same time, like we all have from the time we were two years old. The opening line of The Ghosting of Gods is his confession: “My secret fear is the priests are right to doubt me.” Jesse loves his faith, but he wants more, even if the more is forbidden knowledge.

If you could encourage anyone to pick up The Ghosting of Gods what would you say?

It’s a ghost story, but it will be different from anything you’ve read, and the ending is spectacular.

　
Bookie Questions:

Favourite genre and why?

Haunted, not horror. It’s the best escape. I want to feel like hiding in a blanket with hot tea and a sweet treat while I read. I want to be reminded of the supernatural.

Favourite YA author and why?

I’m just so in love with J.K. Rowling...her success story, her unusual talent of using both humorous and scary elements in her storytelling (most writing teachers will tell you that you can’t mix “tones” like that), her soft heart, her keen intelligence...Can anybody imagine the world without her and the Harry Potter books?

Debut author/ upcoming author we should check out ?

I want to read that PODS book by Michelle Pickett. I’ll read all the post-apocalyptic fiction you can give me.

Favourite 2012 read and why?

 
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I know it had already been out awhile, but I finally read it and deeply, deeply appreciated it. How could I not? Death was narrating! It was a memorable story and weirdly poetic
 

A book series you love and why?

 
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. It’s a series that you can read whether you’re a kid or an adult. It’s spectacularly creative and the last installment of the triology, The Amber Spyglass, is especially brilliant. It’s got that mystical/supernatural flair I like with the daemons, and it’s a bit shocking with how it ends. I like that.


Buy The Ghosting of Gods:


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Giveaway:

Win a paperback of The Ghosting of Gods by Gina Baker
Open to anyone in the UK, US OR CANADA ONLY
Giveaway Ends 31st May 2013



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Author Interview: Andrea Baker & #Giveaway

The Author: Andrea Baker

I’m pretty ordinary really – daughter, sister, wife and mother to a little girl. I work full time, now running my own Interim Management company. We live in Warwickshire, England, just a few miles from Kenilworth Castle, the location for my book.

Writing

I’ve made up stories for as long as I can remember – playing games with my favourite characters as a child before I was old enough to write them down properly. I stopped myself making up these stories when I graduated from University though, as I believed at the time that it wasn’t something “grown=ups” should do. Now I know better…

The Book: Worlds Apart – Leah

Leah knows that her mother died in a car accident when Leah was small and that her father, who used to be the gentlest dad in the world, has become increasingly controlling and occasionally violent. She also knows that her recurring dreams are telling her something more about how and why her mother died, and why her dad turned nasty, but they are becoming progressively more disturbing and confusing. When Leah meets Ben, she is excited to have a friend she can confide in and have fun with, but is he what he seems? The voice of Leah’s mother repeatedly tells her to rely on her instincts, but when Leah is run over in a freak accident and Ben’s family take over her welfare, are they protecting her or using her? And why would anyone, good or evil, bother with an ordinary girl just about to go to university?

Can you describe your protangnist Leah in less than 140 characters?

Probably not, she’s more complex than that, but here goes..

Nineteen and about to start University, she is shy, unsure about herself and her life, confused and frightened by what is happening to her.

How’s that?

If you could encourage anyone to pick up Worlds Apart – Leah what would you say?

　
A fantastic journey in a wonderful location with a young girl that is as normal as we are – or is she?　

　

Bookie Questions:

Favourite genre and why?
Paranormal – I love anything that is “edge of reality” – not real, but close enough that you can fall for it for the first few pages, then your imagination gets to fly.

Favourite YA author and why?

Will Macmillan Jones – The Banned Underground Series – a hilarious romp with a rock and roll band of trolls and bog elves, and a witch named Grizelda.

Debut author/ upcoming author we should check out?

Katrina Ann Jack – The Silver Flute Trilogy. A fantastic rampage through an urban jungle, catch your breath if you dare!
But check out a lot of my favourites at www.AllianceofWorldbuilders.weebly.com!

　
Favourite 2012 read and why?

Promises by Lisa L Wiedmeier, I read the first book in her series the year before, and loved it. I had withdrawal symptoms waiting for Promises, and can now honestly say I suffer from CATTS – Chronic Addiction to the Timeless Series!

A book series you love and why?

The Timeless Series by Lisa L Wiedmeier


Buy Worlds Apart- Leah

Amazon UK Link

Stalk the author:

www.AndreaBakerAuthor.com

Twitter - @RoseWall15

www.facebook.com/rose.wall.15

www.facebook.com/WorldsApartLeah

 

Giveaway:

 

Win 1 of 5 ebooks of World Apart- Leah by Andrea Baker

Giveaway is international

Giveaway Ends 31st May 2013

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Afterlife Academy Blog Tour: The Creation of Afterlife Academy & #Giveaway

Today is my stop on the Afterlife Academy Blog Tour. Find out how Afterlife Academy was created and enter the giveaway below!

The Creation of Afterlife Academy by Jaimie Admans

 

 

Afterlife Academy began with me thinking about teachers and how strict they are. I bet you’d have to be dead to get out of maths homework, I thought. That was the lightbulb moment. What if they made you finish your education even if you were, in fact, dead? It’s funny the things that can spark off an idea, the silly, fleeting thoughts that become a book plot before you even realise it. And so Afterlife Academy was born – the idea of this school for the dead, a place where teenagers go if they’re still of school age when they die.

 

As soon as I thought of the plot, I thought of Riley and Anthony, the main characters. I don’t even know where they came from. They pretty much just came in right along with the school for the dead idea. I knew Riley would have to experience the opposite in death as she had in life, and the same for Anthony. Riley starts off as a popular, bullying, girl you love to hate. She had a perfect life. Anthony had a miserable life, he was an outcast in school and picked on by everyone – led by Riley. I knew I wanted to turn the tables for both of them, so Riley would become the outcast and all the students of Afterlife Academy would love Anthony and think he was cool, rather than the geek that Riley had always called him.

 

I wanted Riley to learn a lesson. I wanted her to see that the life she thought was perfect really wasn’t. I wanted her to change and grow over the course of the book. I wanted Wade, Riley’s still-living boyfriend, to be the most-hated character. I wanted readers to be cheering her on to see what he was really like, what the rest of us could see from very early on.

 

The storyline developed mostly over the course of the writing. I started off with the basic idea and a very brief outline, nothing more than a vague list of scenes that might be included. Apart from Riley, Anthony, Wade, and the demon dinner lady Narcissa, the rest of the characters presented themselves as I was writing. The relationship between Riley and Anthony was never intended to develop in the way that it did. They did that without my permission! I really enjoyed writing Anthony, he ended up being a lot nicer and more fun than I thought he’d be, and he became a bigger part of the book because of that.

 

It wasn’t called Afterlife Academy at first – it had a working title for a long time – and no, I’m not telling you what it was! All the way along I knew I had to come up with a better title, and Afterlife Academy hit me at the last moment. I had already started editing it for publication and set the release date before it got it’s title! How’s that for leaving things to the last minute?

 

 



Blurb:

Even being dead isn’t enough to get you out of maths class.

Dying wasn't on sixteen-year-old Riley Richardson's to-do list. And now, not only is she dead, but she's stuck in a perpetual high school nightmare. Worse still, she's stuck there with the geekiest, most annoying boy in the history of the world, ever.

 

In a school where the geeks are popular and just about everything is wrong, Riley has become an outcast. She begins a desperate quest to get back home, but her once-perfect life starts to unravel into something not nearly as great as she thought it was. And maybe death isn’t really that bad after all...

 

Welcome to Afterlife Academy, where horns are the norm, the microwave is more intelligent than the teachers, and the pumpkins have a taste for blood.

 Afterlife Academy is a Young Adult paranormal romantic comedy, suitable for approximately ages 14 and up

 

Author Bio:  

 
Jaimie is a 28-year-old English-sounding Welsh girl with an awkward-to-spell name. She lives in South Wales and enjoys writing, gardening, drinking tea and watching horror movies. She hates spiders and cheese & onion crisps.

She has been writing for years but has never before plucked up the courage to tell people.

 

Afterlife Academy is her third novel and she hopes you enjoy it. There are plenty more on the way!

 

http://www.jaimieadmans.com/ http://twitter.com/be_the_spark
http://facebook.com/jaimieadmansbooks

 

 

Giveaway:

 

2 Afterlife Academy notebook, pen, magnet, and signed postcard swag set (INT)

Ends 31st May

 

 

 

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