28 March 2013

Barrage: Alpha Me Not



Oh, Thursday. I love Thursday, because that means it's almost Friday. Today's blog features Alpha Me Not. Enjoy!

You've got a chance to win a free e-book by entering here!


Buy Links

 

Blurb

Susie White wants no picket fences, no alpha, and no cubs. White wolf woman she may be, but no pack for her, no sireee. Alpha me not, that’s her motto. In all caps.

Mercenary and half-breed wolf Joe Huroq’s not looking for a mate. Stop and go screwing, that’s his motto. Hot and heavy between missions. Then he glimpses his new neighbor tanning nude and the situation explodes.

Literally. Susie’s house is consumed by fire. What’s Joe to do but offer Susie his hospitality?

Susie can’t resist the temptation of big, bad, mercenary, so she suggests a friends with benefits arrangement which he accepts with an amazing alacrity. The sex is frantic, hot, and frequent. Neither one can keep their hands off the other.

Then children go missing. The fire’s deemed arson. Bodies pile up. Susie refuses to accept Joe’s mate claim. Can he keep her safe when she won’t obey a single order?

Warning: This title is intended for readers over the age of 18 as it contains explicit sex scenes and/or situations and adult language, and may be considered offensive to some readers.

Excerpt:

By the time Susie appeared eleven minutes later, he had the table on the outside deck laid and had opened a couple of bottles of wine. His favorite new toy, an iPod, was anchored in the latest docking station and blasted the music and lyrics of “My Eyes Adored You” from the sideboard in the dining room.

“Wow an iPod—how cool.” She marched over to the sideboard. “I promised myself one with my first paycheck.”

He resisted the urge to tell her she’d have one first thing in the morning.

Instead he drank her in. She wore a dark blue swingy skirt with a ruffled border that skimmed her midcalf, a creamy poet shirt cut to drape below her buff shoulders, and a three-inch laced-in-the-front black leather belt. Her damp waist-length hair glistened as she twirled to face him. Her bare feet added a primordial edge to the wild, gypsy portrait.

“Nice outfit.”

“Thanks. Made a pit stop at a boutique by the college today.” She smoothed the cotton fabric.

“Food should arrive any minute. Come here, gypsy woman.” He crooked a finger. “Dance with me.”

“Dance?” She curled one foot on the other’s instep. “Trust me. Not a good idea.”

Joe shook his head. “All women love dancing.”

Her lips stretched into a thin line. “You’re staring at one who doesn’t.”

“What’s not to love? Come on. Humor me. I’ve been thinking about dancing cheek to cheek with you since the pool.”

“You saw me naked at the pool and thought of dancing?” She arched a brow. “Don’t believe that one for a nanosecond.”

He rolled his eyes, stalked across the room, and tugged her into his arms. She stiffened, back so rigid he could’ve sworn her vertebrae had fused in protest.

It hit him all at once. “You’ve never slow danced with a man, have you?”

She laced her fingers together and rested the side of her palms in the middle of his chest. “You’re a genius, you are. If you must know, there wasn’t a whole lot of time for anything as frivolous as dancing during high school and college.”

“Mine either.” He thumbed the dimple in her chin. “I don’t have a clear image of my mother. Not quite sure she even could identify my father. There’s only her name on my birth certificate. My gran-gran raised me. When I was sixteen, she died. From then to when I graduated high school I lived in a series of foster homes. Got to college on a football scholarship. Coach Tommy decided learning to ballroom dance would somehow improve our agility and reflexes. I had a great teacher.”

“You like it, don’t you?” Color rode her cheekbones, but she’d relaxed a tad, not so unpliant in his embrace anymore.

“Yep.”

The doorbell rang.


About the Author
My motto is simple: Alpha Me Please. While strong heroines, exotic locations, and cultural differences are my forte, I go weak in the knees for warriors of any type, rebels, SEAls, Vikings, and bad-ass mercenaries.

Send me a man with an attitude and I'll find the right woman to tame him. My writing career began in 2008, and since then I've been lucky enough to have over twenty books published. Most of my books are TOP PICKs and several have been nominated for and won awards and prizes.

Nothing makes my day more than an email from someone who’s read one of my books. So far, I've received emails from almost every continent on the planet. Almost…

Connect with Jianne Carlo


27 March 2013

Blitz: The Soul's Mark: Found





Happy Wednesday! Today, I'm happy to host the WINNER of 2012 Royal Dragonfly Book Award:

The Soul's Mark: Found by Ashley Stoyanoff. 
(Book 1 in "The Soul's Mark" Series)

AND, the author is offering a tour wide giveaway! Just go here to enter. Good luck!

Release date: July 19, 2012
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance.



 Synopsis:

Anxious to leave her destructive past behind, Amelia Caldwell moves to Willowberg, excited for a fresh start. Once there, she discovers that her birthmark is more than it seems. She has been marked by a vampire’s soul. Not only does she hold his soul, but Amelia is also his soulmate.


After almost a century of searching for his soulmate, Mitchell Lang fears the worst—he is going to lose Amelia to another man. His heart takes over, and his impulsive decision to take away her free will and to intensify their bond quickly turns her growing love into hate.



When they become trapped in the emotional rollercoaster of their souls' bond, open conflict erupts. Amelia has no intentions of belonging to anyone, not even her soulmate, and Mitchell refuses to let her go.

While she frantically searches for a way to escape his grasp, Amelia unlocks the painful memories of her past and uncovers a powerful secret. But before she has a chance to explore her newfound edge, she finds herself caught in the middle of a deadly game of revenge and is forced to realize that YOU CANNOT RUN FROM DESTINY.








What do you need to know about this book?
  • 'The Soul's Mark: FOUND' Won 2012 Royal Dragonfly Book Award With a Perfect Score for Young Adult Fiction.  







  • The Soul's Mark: FOUND has been IndieReader Approved!

"Verdict: While this classic vampire-human love story could have been no more than another Twilight- style tale of possession, Stoyanoff takes care to create both an innovative backstory for the creation of vampires as well as a believable and entertaining romance." 


Not convinced yet? Here is an excerpt:


“Crap,” Angelle said, relaxing her stance slightly.  “It’s coming from the kitchen.  This can’t be good.”  She shot Amelia a frazzled look and then dashed up the steps of the porch.  At the glass double doors, she turned back and waved, gesturing for Amelia to follow.  “Come on, honey,” she called, before rushing into the house.


The screaming grew louder and another clatter echoed through the doorway.  Amelia rushed after Angelle, jogging over the inter-locking stone, dazed, as if she had stumbled into an alternate universe.  She climbed the three steps of the stone-covered porch and peeked through the open door, trying to stay out of the way of whatever chaos had been unleashed.


A faint smell of smoke washed out, followed by a man’s agonized yell.  Amelia glanced around, realizing she was walking into the kitchen.

“Ouch,” he groaned, sounding a bit amused.  His arms were raised in an attempt to protect himself from the blows of a broom swishing furiously at him.  “It was an accident!” he cried out.


On the other end of the broom was an elderly woman who looked to Amelia like she was made of circles, with a round pudgy face and plump round body.  She had on a flowery apron splattered with some kind of yellowy goo and she was screaming unintelligible utterances at the man as she continued to beat him relentlessly.

Suddenly, Amelia saw the stove light up, fire crackling and blazing.  Forgetting the scene in front of her, she dropped her bag and rushed in.  What had her mother said about grease fires?  Baking soda, use baking soda, Amelia thought, that was it.  She whipped open the fridge, frantically searching and grabbed a box of baking soda from the door.  She dumped it on the burning grease-lit frying pan.  The fire extinguished in a billowing cloud of smoke and she coughed when she sucked in a breath.

“What the hell is going on?” Angelle yelled, jumping in between them.  She snatched the broom out of the woman’s hands and tossed it out of reach.  It flew across the room, and slammed into the wall before clattering to the marble floor.  “That’s enough.”  She grabbed the man by the shoulders and shoved him away.
“He’s ruining my kitchen.  Look at this mess,” the elderly woman said in a tizzy, surveying the mess.  Amelia followed her gaze and noticed that the yellowy goo was splattered everywhere, smeared across the large cherry island, globbed on the weathered black wall cabinets, dripping from the ceiling, as if a bomb of stickiness had gone off.

The man was rubbing his shoulders, looking at Angelle as if she had really hurt him.  Amelia stood back and watched, trying to stay out of the way.  He was just as tall as Angelle, and bulky with muscles like a football player, a really hot football player.  “I was just trying to make pancakes for Amelia,” he said, smiling bashfully at Amelia.  Then he looked back over at Angelle, “And in case you missed it, she was hitting me.  Why did you shove me like that?”

Angelle rolled her eyes in a dramatic show of annoyance, “I’m sure you deserved it Eric.  You usually do.”  She looked over at the woman, who was now scurrying around the kitchen trying to clean up the mess.  “What did he do, Mabel?”

That’s Eric, Amelia realized.  She giggled.  He really was looking green.  That’s what the guard had been talking about.  His shaggy, uneven, punk style haircut was dyed in a vibrant, bright green.  Hot, she thought.  Green hair, hot?  Well, on him, yes, it was really hot.  He was covered in the same sticky goo—pancake batter?

“He used a blender without the lid,” Mabel said.  Her voice was stern and a touch motherly and she had a soft accent, maybe English, Amelia thought. And she looked absolutely fit to be tied.

He just shrugged.  “Stirring was taking too long.”

“You’re such a dork—and what’s with the hair?” Angelle laughed.  “You look like a little punk.”

“Don’t knock the hair,” Eric said, leaning back against the island, arms folded across his chest.

“You can’t go to the office like that,” Angelle said.

“Don’t have to.  I’ve been promoted to personal chauffeur.  And I think it looks great.  I thought you would appreciate it.”  He batted his eyes and struck a pose.  “It totally matches my eyes.”  He looked Amelia over and then pushed off from the counter, strolling towards her with a mischievous grin on his face.

Amelia had hoped they had forgotten about her and she really hoped she wasn’t drooling, because man, he was sexy, like head to toe sexy.  He stopped about a foot away from her and she met his eyes, which indeed matched his new hair color.

Eric dropped into a gallant bow and she giggled like a little schoolgirl.  He took her hand in his, and kissed it lightly.  “Welcome my lady,” he said playfully.

Angelle groaned.  “You are such a moron.”





BUY LINKS:



About the author:

Ashley Stoyanoff lives in Whitby, Ontario and loves diving into the magical world of creating fiction. Over the years she has written numerous short stories. The Soul's Mark: FOUND is her debut novel. When not writing, she can be found reading sappy novels, watching cheesy chick flicks, and buying far too many clothes.





FOLLOW THE TOUR:

Tour Schedule 
March 25: Black Lion Tours Blog: Introduction.
March 26: MK McClintock Blog: Promo.
March 27: Le Vanity Victorienne: Promo.
                 Lindsay's Scribblings: Promo.
Mar
ch 28: Tina's Book Reviews: Promo.
March 29: Clean Romance Reviews: Promo.
March 30: Vanilla Moon Blog: Promo.
Mar
ch 31: Paranormal Book Reviews: Promo
April 1: Marked by books: Review.
April 2: Laurie's Paranormal Reviews: Promo.
April 3: Kimberly Lewis: Promo.
April 4: Bookworm Lisa: Review.
April 5: 
A Dream within a dream: Review and Promo.
April 6: I Know That Book: Promo.
April 7: 
Bunny Reviews Blog: Promo.
April 8: 
Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer: Promo.
April 10: My Serynity: Review.
April 12: A Book Lover's Library: Review.
April 13: 
Characterized Blog: Review.
April 14: 
Makayla's book Reviews: Promo.
April 15: 
Chapter by Chapter: Review.
April 16: Deal Sharing Aunt: Review and Promo.
April 17: Libby's Library: Review and Promo.
April 18:
 Le Vanity Victorienne: Review and Promo.
April 19: Black Lion Tours Blog: Wrap-up.

26 March 2013

Review: Between Micah And Amos


Happy Tuesday! It's Tuesday, right? I'm all confuddled this morning. Today's post is a review of Bewteeen Micah and Amos. Enjoy!


BLURB:  

Like a flash, the discharge from the gun lit upthe inside of the dimly lit, filthy trailer Ashleigh called home. Ashleigh satcurled up on the stained pink carpet next to the pull-out bed in the living areawhere she slept.  The victim lay dead, slumped against the wall of thetrailer.  Ashleigh looked at the motionless body.  She waspetrified.

Meet Ashleigh Mae, a seventeen year old high school senior living in the smalltown of Micah, Texas.  Her boyfriend Billy calls her a wild child. Her momma is always telling her she makes bad choices.  No matter what, noone really understands her.  

Ashleigh dreams of a life with Billy.  Their love is true, she thinks.When her mother forces them to leave Micah in the middle of the night and movein with her momma’s old boyfriend Casey, on the outskirts of a town calledAmos, Ashleigh’s life is torn apart.  

This is her fight to get it back….


EXCERPT:

            “Good night,” Billy said to Ashleighas the two were sitting in the parked truck. She held onto him tightly as hekissed her.

            “’Night,” she murmured, slidingacross the seat and opening the door. “Call me,” she added, her heart filledwith sadness that she would be left alone again.

            “Yeah,” Billy said with ahalf-cocked smile.

            Ashleigh closed the rusted door tothe pickup. Billy turned the truck around and drove off. Ashleigh was leftalone again in the silence of the night. She made her way to the trailer,looking down so as not to trip on any of Casey’s debris.

            “Where the hell have you been?” JoLynn bellowed, scaring the crap out of Ashleigh. Her mother was sittingimperiously on the half built deck in front of the trailer in a plastic chair,like a queen on her throne.

            Ashleigh walked up to her mother andcould see a half-finished bottle of Jack sitting on an old apple crate by herside. Jo Lynn took a drag from her smoke.

            “I asked you a question… Comecloser,” Jo Lynn demanded.

            Ashleigh took one step closer. “Iwas out with Billy,” she answered apprehensively.

            “You smell like sex!” Jo Lynn said,taking another drag from her smoke.

            “While you were out whoring, guesswho came by to visit?” Jo Lynn said dramatically.

            “Who?” Ashleigh asked.

            “Child Protective Services, that’swho!” Jo Lynn took a swig of her glass of Jack.

            “Out of nowhere, too!” shecontinued. “Casey’s ready to beat the tar out of you! He had to flush all hisstash down the toilet!”

Interview:

Welcome aboard! Tell us a little about yourself,please.

When I’m not slavishly sunning myself on CristianoRonaldo’s yacht off the coast of southern France, I work at a high school inTexas as a graduation coach and counselor. Oh, yeah, I write a bit too. Check out my webpage:   http://www.alanoakes.net/  Did I just slip in a plug?!   

What about your latest release?

BetweenMicah and Amos tells the story of a seventeen year oldhigh school girl, Ashleigh Mae.  She’s awild child to loves to party and have a good time.  She lives in a rundown motel in Micah, Texaswith her boozy, bipolar mother, Jo Lynn. When Jo Lynn gets beat up one night by her boyfriend Darrel, she tellsAshleigh that they need to leave right away and stay with her old flameCasey.  Ashleigh’s whole world is tornapart by the move.  Between Micah and Amos is about her fight to get it back. 
You may wanna check out the web page for the book: http://www.betweenmicahandamos.com/  It tells a lot more about the story and mymotivations for writing the book.

Ok, let’s get down to the fun stuff. If you werestranded on a lush tropical island, and all of your
basic needs were met, what two items would you havewith you? What person would be with you?
Remember, you’re stuck there for an indefiniteperiod with only each other to occupy the time.

Of course, just offshore would be CristianoRonaldo’s yacht, so everyone would have a great time….  But if not, I would need my laptop withAT&T Uverse access.  Diet Coke – Kegsof chilled Diet Coke…How does one write without it, I ask you?  Norm Abram from This Old House would have to be my travel companion.  He could make a fabulous house out of palmtrees and coconuts.  It would all beperfect just as long as he kept his shirt on so I didn’t have to check out hisman boobs.

If you could play opposite any of your leadcharacters, which one would it be and why?

I’m thinking if the book were filmed here – And I wouldhave to go with Casey, Jo Lynn Mae’s deadbeat boyfriend.  Busted teeth, greasy salt and pepper mullet-- no matter who you are – you’re gonna look terrific next to Casey!

If you could lead any of your secondary characters,which one would it be and why?

I actually just finished another episode of thestory and I featured Ashleigh’s country boyfriend Billy in that novella.  I felt there was more to Billy that wasn’trevealed that needed to come out.  It iscalled Crossfire. 

You’re locked in a closet with Johnny Depp, ColinFarrell, Kate Beckinsale, three paperclips and a string. How do you get out?

First I would say to Kate, “Darling, can you justsmile?”  - Because you know she has thatmillion watt smile and once she did so we would all have enough light so wecould see what the heck we were doing. 
Then I think we would have to take one of thescarves casually draped about Johhn Depp’s neck and the aforementioned stringand wrap them around Colin Farrell’s mouth to gag him, because you know, he justwouldn’t shut up about some drunken fistfight he had ten years ago with OliverStone at the Chateau Marmont. 

With light and some peace and quiet, Johnny Depp andI would get to work.  We’d affix thepaperclips into Mr. Depp’s mouth exposed between the top and bottom rows of histeeth. While sucking in through his nose and exhaling out his open mouth, thethree paper clips would begin to vibrate making a sort of noise not uncommon tothe plaintive cry of a lone Yeti calling out at night from the wilderness inthe Pacific Northwest. 
The pitch would be so perfect, so ear splittinglyperfect, that the bolts to the hinges on the door would start to loosen. 

“Keep blowing Johnny!!” I would encourage as Mr.Depp’s cheeks turn a grapeish purple from his exertions.

Finally, the bolts would slide from the hinges andthe door would literally fall away from the frame. 
Free at last! 

Name five things you can do with a pencil.

What’s a pencil?

Who’s your favorite character from your book(s)?Why? Don’t worry, we won’t tell.

I love Jo Lynn Mae, Ashleigh’s mother.  She is this bundle of anxious kineticenergy.  She is a survivor who has theskills to live as she does, but no way to think beyond herself and imagine whatcould be.  She is tragic in that way –broken and vulnerable, but always a fighter to the end. 

Where can we find you around the vast interwebs?

OMG!  Did Iforget to mention that there is a fan page for Between Micah and Amos on Facebook?!  I’m always posting stuff on that.  Here is a link:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Between-Micah-and-Amos/462469913814229?fref=ts

I’ve got a Goodreads author page too:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5266671.Alan_Oakes
Also, I’m a featured writer for the sleek magazine Green Building and Design.  I have a passion for sustainablearchitecture.  I get to write aboutprojects around the world.  It’s reallyfun!  Here is that link:  http://gbdmagazine.com/

What about your books? Where are they being sold at?

You can go right to my awesome publisher, WhiskeyCreek Press: http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1066

Thanks for dropping in! Any last words?

“I swallowed a bug.” (Marlon Brando while filming ApocalypseNow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw3j5308rDg)

Thanks Lindsay for yourwinsome questions!! 




Review:

Ashleigh lives with her mother Jo Lynn, and they aren't in the best of situations. Stuck in a tine Texas town with a waste of a man i n a dirty trailer, Ashleigh feels trapped. She meets a young man named Manuel, but she's torn between him and her former love, Billy.

I enjoyed this story. Ashleigh, in spite of all her faults and stupid choices, was a wonderful character. The author displayed her depth and conflicting emotions with ease, and even though I cursed her a few times I still liked her. Her mother was something else altogether. Growing up in several small towns across far west Texas and east New Mexico, I knew plenty of people like her and her boyfriend, Casey. This is a good story, with lots of ups and downs, and I recommend it.


AUTHORINFORMATION:
AlanOakes is a Graduation Coach and Counselor at a Texas High School.  He is afeatured writer for 
Green Building and Design magazine and acontributor to other magazines including Texas Architect and NewAmerican Luxury.  In the past, he served as Associate Pastor of SaintAustin Catholic Church and Director of Catholic Campus Ministry atUCLA. 

Alan holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the William Allen White School ofJournalism at the University of Kansas and a Master of Arts degree from theWashington Theological Union in Washington, D.C.

To learn more about the author, feel free to go to his website:   http://www.alanoakes.net/ 

Websitesfor Between Micah and Amos: 
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