Wide Awake Blog tour- Book excerpt

YANR_BlogTour_WA
 
 
Author Shelly Crane has stopped by with an excerpt of her newest book Wide Awake! Check it out and let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
 

15810336Blurb:

A girl. A coma. A life she can't remember. When Emma Walker wakes up in the hospital with no knowledge of how she got there, she learns that she's been in a coma for six months. Strangers show up and claim to be her parents, but she can't remember them. She can't remember anyone. Not her friends, not even her boyfriend. Even though she can't remember, everyone wants her to just pick up where she left off, but what she learns about the 'old her' makes her start to wish she'd never woken up. Her boyfriend breaks up with the new girl he's dating to be with her, her parents want her to start planning for college, her friends want their leader back, and her physical therapist with the hazel eyes keeps his distance to save his position at the hospital. Will she ever feel like she recognizes the girl in the mirror?
 
Book excerpt from Wide Awake by Shelly Crane
The next couple of weeks brought plenty of action and events. I focused harder on the therapy and tried to focus less on Mason. He seemed to be doing the same. I had renewed vigor, which led to stamina, which led to more workouts, which led to exhaustion, which led to tons of sleep, which led to healing, which led to me walking. All. By. Myself. This simple task, this simple thing that we all take for granted, that's so cute and monumental when a baby takes his first steps, but these first steps were so much more than that. Though I cried like a baby, I wasn't one. And though my mother cooed and fawned over me (because I had invited them that day to come because I just knew that day was going to be the day) I wasn't a toddler. I was me. I was finally getting a little piece of myself back. And though I tried so hard not to, my eyes drifted to the one person in the room that I knew would understand all this better than anyone else. Mason's eyes were already on me from across the parallel walking bars. This time, I didn't shy away from his gaze. I knew that our terms were shaky, but so was I, and I needed the stability of my lifeline. As our gazes collided, I expected a smile and happiness, but I didn't expect the level of pride and utter joy to be so prominent. The man was bursting at the seams with it. It filled his face and the smile he wore was the beautiful one that made me feel like everything was going to be OK. His lips parted and even in the loud room, I could still hear his breath. He said quietly, "You did it, Em." He moved forward and touched my arm. It was the first time he had touched me in weeks that had nothing to do with therapy. "I'm so proud of you." As his fingers circled my elbow, and I tried not to shiver in his grasp, I asked softly, knowing the answer, "You didn't believe that I was going to walk again some day?" "Of course I did." He smiled wider. "But today was the first time that you've ever believed it." He was right. Having faith and having hope were not the same thing, and I was just now understanding that.    



Shelly Crane About Shelly Crane

Shelly is a YA author from a small town in Georgia and loves everything about the south. She is wife to a wonderful husband and stay at home mom to two boisterous and mischievous boys who keep her on her toes. They currently reside in everywhere USA as they happily travel all over with her husband's job. She loves to spend time with her family and friends, go out to eat at new restaurants and site see in the new areas they travel to, listen to music and also LOVES to read. Her own books happen by accident and she revels in the writing and imagination process. She doesn't go anywhere without her notepad for fear of an idea creeping up and not being able to write it down immediately, even in the middle of the night, where her best ideas are born.


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Book Blast: Moonlit by Jadie Jones- $50 Amazon Giftcard!

 
 
Blurb:
 
Moonlit Eighteen-year-old Tanzy Hightower knows horses, has grown up with them on Wildwood Farm. She also knows not to venture beyond the trees that line the pasture. Things happen out there that can’t be explained. Or undone. Worse, no one but she and the horses can see what lurks in the shadows of the woods. When a moonlit ride turns into a terrifying chase, Tanzy is left to question everything, from the freak accident that killed her father to the very blood in her veins. Broken and confused, she turns to Lucas, a scarred, beautiful stranger, and to Vanessa, a charming new friend who has everything Tanzy doesn’t. But why do they seem to know more about her than she knows herself?

 
   

Author Jadie Jones Georgia native Jadie Jones first began working for a horse farm at twelve years old, her love of horses matched only by her love of books. She went on to acquire a B.A. in equine business management, and worked for competitive horse farms along the east coast. The need to write followed wherever she went. She currently coaches a hunt seat equitation team that competes in the Interscholastic Equestrian Association, and lives with her family in the foothills of north Georgia. When she's not working on the next installment of the Moonlit series, she is either in the saddle or exploring the great outdoors with her daughter. Moonlit is her first book.
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Review: The Abominators by J.L Smith (5* review) - Childrens book!

The Abominators
Book: The Abominators
Author: J.L.Smith
Illustrated by: Sam Hearn
Pages: 131
Series: 1st book in the Abominators Series
Recieved for review via Little Brown Kids
Age: 7+
5* Review

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The Abominators was such a fun read. Mucker, Boogster, Cheesy and Bob are the Abominators. Four very naughty children in year 5, who attend Grimely East Primary School. They get up to alot of mischievous , putting worms in the drinking fountain or putting stink bombs in the school during parents evening. All in all causing alot of trouble!

A new boy arrives at school called Cecil Trumpington-Potts, a boy that is very different from the Abominators. He speaks funny, dresses funny and says the strangest things but he wants to be in the gang and The Abominators set him three tasks which result in alot of funny moments!

The Abominators made me laugh out loud. It's a great book for children 7 and up. (I think it would appeal more towards young boys than girls though.) Cecil is such a funny character! When he is doing the tasks they are like missions he undertakes and puts his all into them in the funniest ways. Even though The Abominators is a fun, crazy read with adventure for kids there is also a message. Cecil had everything he wanted but all he really wanted was friends. It shows you, you may have everything you want but in the end maybe its not everything if its just you and your panty wanty woos for company!


Author Interview: Robin Leigh Morgan ( I Kissed a Ghost)

Today I have an interview with author Robin Leigh Morgan who debuted her first YA novel I kissed at ghost at the end of last year. Enjoy the interview and leave a commen or two for the author below on your thoughts on the book!


The Author- Robin Leigh Morgan

I’m a retired civil servant, married with no children. We’ve got two cats. My first YA novel, A YA Paranormal/Time Travel/First Kiss romance entitled “I Kissed a Ghost” got released on December 20, 2012


How you got into writing?

From June 1995 until June 2006 I wrote over 450 commentary type items for a community newspaper. Along the way I decided to see if I could write something else. I didn’t own a computer back then, but I did have access to one where I wrote my commentaries, and it was on this computer I wrote about two pages a week. Once I got my computer I began to write what I wanted to be a contemporary romance with a paranormal element running through, but I never seemed to get the sense it would be good enough to be read by someone else. Eventually, someone suggested I write for a younger audience, which how I came to write my debut novel, a YA [Young Adult] Paranormal/Time Travel/First Kiss romance entitled, “I Kissed a Ghost.”


Can you tell us about your first YA book, “I Kissed A Ghost”?

I Kissed a Ghost
 

In the book, Mary gets a new classmate named Jonathan who’s a great baseball player and to get on the team, he needs Mary’s help to improve his grades. Six months later when she learns she’s moving, she decides to give him something special--a first kiss.


Moving into her new home she soon discovers it has a ghost named George, her age, who takes her on numerous trips to the past of a hundred years ago. As she meets children her own age, everyone teases her about her house being haunted, but no one will go inside.

Mary likes his help doing her math homework, writing her reports, and taking her back in time. George and Mary’s interaction grows and she eventually gives him a quick peck on his lips while they’re in the past, which is the only place George is a real boy, for having done something special for her.

In an attempt to get her classmates/friends to be willing to come inside her house, she has a Halloween party designed to confuse them as to what is real and what is not.

Can Mary kiss George a second time, at the special date and time he needs to be kissed? What happens afterwards if she does? The answers are all in the book!

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

She's a sweet, plain looking girl who wants to be accepted by others for who she is; not because of the way she looks or how smart she is


How did the idea of the story come to you?


To tell the truth the whole story has been one of pure imagination, as I wrote it, I saw different ways of letting the story develop, and chose one which I felt could be built upon. In the beginning I did have a skeleton of an outline for the storyline and nothing more.

How did you come up with the title for your book?

Selecting a title for a book had been a very challenging experience for me; but after racking my brain over it, I decided to merely summarize the premise for the entire story in as few words as possible until I had something which could be used as the title for my book. Hence, since the story is about a girl [Mary] and her kissing the ghost [George] she had living in her house; the story had to be called, “I Kissed a Ghost.”

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I’d probably say a little of both. As I said in the above, I made a skeleton of an outside, writing down the basic plot points I’d like to hit as the story unfolded; and as a sculptor starting with a wire base of what they’d like to have, I added material, then took some away, until I had the finished product I had in mind.

If you could encourage anyone to pick up “I Kissed a Ghost” what would you say?

One the thing I’d be sure to mention is the number of genres the book can be placed into, as it is a YA Paranormal/Time Travel/First Kiss romance novel and would therefore appeal to a very wide audience. Even though my book had been intended to be read by Young Adults, according to the review it received on Amazon and GoodReads that it would also appeal to pre-teen readers, yet enjoyable to all age groups.


Do you have another book in the works?
As I’ve stated in the above I had started to write a contemporary romance but never completed writing it. Now with my debut YA novel self-published I’ve return to writing the romance manuscript I had started many years ago, and approaching it anew with the knowledge I’ve gained along the way in writing “I Kissed a Ghost.” The reason I’m doing this is relatively simple, I’ve always felt somewhat incomplete not having completed something I once had started out to do, and I now want to fill the void it has created in my life.


Bookie Questions:


What is your favourite genre and why?

I actually don’t have one. When I worked I had little time to read, especially when I had to commute almost two hours a day. After I retired, I finally had time to start what I hope will be a successful second career as an author.

Do you have a favourite YA author who you admire and why?
I’d have to say it’s J.K.Rowling. Given where she came from, she’s made a remarkable achievement having written such an enormous series of book, each of which has been quite long in its own right.


Buy the book:


Amazon

It is also available on Amazon.co.uk Amazon.de Amazon.es Amazon.fr Amazon.it

If you’d like to check out some UNEDITED SNIPPETS from the book, you can do so under the category of “GHOSTLY WHISPERS” on any of my blog sites, where I’d love to hear your comments:


http://www.mypennameonly.blogspot.com
http://www.mypennameonly.wordpress.com or
http://www.mypennameonly.webs.com [my website/blog] http://www.mypennameonly.tumblr.com

Stalk the author:

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Guest Post: Author Will Macmillan Jones (Banned Underground Series)


Today I have a guest post from author Will MacMillan Jones author of the Banned Underground series. Enjoy the guest post and leave a comment below for the author.

As far as many indie writers are concerned, (and frankly as far as I am concerned, as well!) I am amazingly lucky. I am actually under contract to not one publisher, but too. Why am I so greedy? Well, I would have been very satisfied to place all my work with Safkhet Publishing, who handle my fantasy work: but they didn’t want to handle any horror, so I have a different contract with a second publisher for that genre. Unfortunately, this brings its own problems. Both publishers, not unreasonably, would like some product from me on a regular basis. And that means writing. A lot of writing.

Imagination is the key to all writing, as far as I am concerned. You can ‘write what you know’ all day long, but unless you employ some imagination, all you are going to produce is a biography. Mine, I assure you, would be a very dull read. And imagination can be a very flighty mistress, hard to pin down, easily distracted, quick to float away on a breeze. Running across a boggy field, swiping at your escaping flights of fancy with a butterfly net doesn’t work. Trust me on this one, I’ve tried it.

But I’ve found my solution. I’m not pretentious enough to declaim it is THE solution, just that it works for me. I’ve been writing what is called ‘Flash Fiction’. These are very, very short stories of 1000 words or less. I try and write at least two a month. Most end up in the bin, of course, but one or two are kept in a folder as they have a kernel of a decent plot in them. That’s it for me. Despite the voluble protestations of a medically qualified friend of mine who disagrees with me, I’ve come to the firm conclusion that your imagination is like a muscle. Like any other muscle (and trust me on this one, too!) you use it, or lose it.

And really, that’s how I write my books. I start with a basic plot outline, and then let the characters who inhabit my imagination loose to play. I can sit at my desk, with some music playing loudly enough to annoy my teenager, and just let my imagination do its stuff.

 
 
Blurb:
 
Dai the Drinking Dragon has been kidnapped by the Dark Lord for nefarious purposes, and by his receptionist for even less reputable reasons. Without their bass player, The Banned Underground are now in deep trouble with their record label. They have to produce the recordings for an album, and someone has stolen the tapes from the last gig. Can they make some more recordings, or will Freya, the renegade dwarf bass player, distract the boys whilst the Dark Lord's evil schemes come to fruition? The Dark Lord has found some thugs to help him in his latest plan to invade the Dwarf Mansion, but they have other things on their minds - like looting and pillaging the locals, and it's all going wrong again. Will record-producing Adam set his Ants on The Banned? Or will it all come good in the end? Time is Tight on this one for The Banned Underground...

Hunted by Ednah Walters blog tour- Top 10 Hero's & Heroines in YA

To celebrate the release of Hunted by Ednah Walters, the third book in the Guardian Legacy series, Spencer Hill Press are having an awesome blog tour and I was happy to be asked to be part of the tour. I LOVE Ednah's, The Guardian Legacy series and I had a chance to read an ARC of Hunted which I loved. You can check out my 5* review of Hunted here! You can also check out my review of Awakened (Book 1) & Betrayed (Book 2)


Lil and Bran from The Guardian Legacy Series are two of my fave Hero's & Heroines in YA so I thought I would ask author Ednah Walters who her top 10 Heros & Heroines in YA are!

 

Jace Wayland of Mortal Instruments
 
Katniss Everdeen of the Hunger Games
 
Percy Jackson and Annabeth from Percy Jackson series
 
Patch Cipriani of Hush, Hush
 
Alex Sheathes and Lena Haloway-Delirium Trilogy

 
Katsa from the Graceling books
 
Four/Tobias Easton from Divergent
 
Harry Potter from HP series
 
Will Herondale from Infernal Devices Series
 

           
 
What do you think of Ednah's choices? Who are some of your fave Hero's & Heroines in YA?
 
Hunted (The Guardian Legacy, #3)
 
Author: Ednah Walters
Publication Date: April 2, 2013
Suggested age range: 13 & up
BISAC Category: Juvenile Fiction (Fantasy and Magic)
Price: 12.95
Pages: 320
ISBN:978-1937053246
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
 
Blurb:
 
Bran and Lil may have escaped an attempt to lure Lil to the dark side, and recovered the contracts damned people signed with Bran when he was a soul collector, but someone forgot to tell them that no one switches sides or cancels contracts without consequences.

Hunted by an unknown but powerful enemy, Lil, Bran and the Guardians must seek help from unlikely sources to avert total annihilation of the Guardians. When they finally face their enemy, one of them may have to make the ultimate sacrifice.
 
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Interview: Mary Gray

Today I have author Mary Gray on the blog. Mary Gray releases her YA debut novel, Dollhouse Asylum in October this year though the awesome Spencer Hill Press. Enjoy the interview and don't forgot to leave your thoughts on Dollhouse Asylum!
 
The Author: Mary Gray

I live in Fort Worth, TX and spend my days tending my three small children. I moved thirteen times before hitting college and I'm a huge Supernatural and Vampire Diaries fan.

 



Writing

I always loved writing, but my parents never really encouraged it much. It actually took reading Twilight to think, "Hey, I'm going to write that book." "That book" isn't something I would show anyone now, but was a great crash course on learning how to write


 
The Book: Dollhouse Asylum (Released October 2013 by Spencer Hill Press

After writing my first manuscript, I couldn't get this villain/love interest out of my head: hot, broody, and eloquent, and I knew I shouldn't like him. At the time, I was living in Virginia and desperately wanted to move to TX, so I wrote a story about a girl in a subdivision in the middle of nowhere somewhere in Texas trapped by this man. In the beginning, I had a lot of red herrings, plot wise, but that initial concept always stuck. And I got to move to Texas, which really came in handy for filming the book trailer.
 
Blurb:
 

The Dollhouse AsylumA virus that had once been contained has returned, and soon no place will be left untouched by its destruction. But when Cheyenne wakes up in Elysian Fields--a subdivision cut off from the world and its monster-creating virus--she is thrilled to have a chance at survival.

At first, Elysian Fields,with its beautiful houses and manicured lawns, is perfect. Teo Richardson, the older man who stole Cheyenne's heart, built it so they could be together. But when Teo tells Cheyenne there are tests that she and seven other couples must pass to be worthy of salvation, Cheyenne begins to question the perfection of his world.

The people they were before are gone. Cheyenne is now "Persephone," and each couple has been re-named to reflect the most tragic romances ever told. Everyone is fighting to pass the test, to remain in Elysian Fields. Teo dresses them up, tells them when to move and how to act, and in order to pass the test, they must play along.

If they play it right, then they'll be safe.

But if they play it wrong, they'll die
 
 
 

How does it feel to be releasing your debut novel, Dollhouse Asylum, fall 2013?

I'm so excited for it! I couldn't ask for a better cover (designed by the amazingly talented Jeremy West) and my editor couldn't be a better fit. She helped me shape this story into something that someone would want to read. My former agent, Kat Salazar of Larsen-Pomada literary agents saw something in my writing, and Danielle (my editor) helped me take it to a whole new level. I really am excited to see the physical book book resting on my book shelf, though I am terrified of autographing others' copies (my handwriting is really bad).


 

Can you describe your protangnist, Cheyenne in lesss than 140 Characters?



She has a quiet power, and possesses a loyal, fierce love to a fault. She loves classic romances, and can get swept away into romantic gestures, yet has the punch of a contemporary voice.


 

If you could encourage anyone to pick up Dollhouse Asylum when it releases in fall 2013, what would you say?



A terrifying question! I want to answer it right! I suppose I would say it's my heart ripped open and spilled on the page. The terror and misguided allegiance is something I've felt very real in my life. It's fast paced, with a few kissing scenes I'm not so sure my mother would like, but it made me jump my husband's bones, so that's good, right?


 

Bookie Questions:

 

Favourite genre and why?



Dark YA! Or at least YA that isn't light. My favorite authors  all tell haunting or broody tales: Neal Shusterman's UNWIND, R.L. LaFever's GRAVE MERCY, and Carrie Ryan's THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH. I look for sweeping prose with a chilling plot, something that makes me turn page after page even after I should sleep. Something that makes my heart pound in my chest, and deep, unique feeling love. That's what I like. :)


 
Debut author/ upcoming author we should check out?

Danielle Ellison's FOLLOW ME THROUGH DARKNESS (out spring of 2014) is AMAZING. The romance? SO good. Our writing styles are similar--literary yet commercial and fast paced plot. Look for this one. I can't wait for it to come out!

 



Favourite 2012 read and why?

GRAVE MERCY all the way. I mean, assassin nuns? What's not to like. But the prose, and the past paced tome was something I didn't expect, and the romance had me salivating. Also, the protagonist felt both relatable and mature.

 


A book series you love and why?
 

I love Carrie Ryan's THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH and it's companion novels, THE DEAD TOSSED WAVES and THE DARK AND HOLLOW PLACES. I'm honestly terrible about finishing series' since I've found I always like the first book best, but I fell in love with Ryan's chilling writing style that I HAD to read each book. I love the darkness yet it doesn't feel evil, you know? I feel like horror as a genre is hard to get right (as far as my tastes are, anyway). I like the subtle stuff with a bit of punch. I don't need constant, meaningless graphic violence, but I do like a gritty tale with characters that I absolutely must get to know. Ryans' books did that for me.

 
 
 
@MaryGrayTweets

www.marygraybooks.com
 
 
 
What are you thoughts on Dollhouse Asylum? Leave a comment below. I am excited for Dollhouse Asylum!