Cover reveal: The Grave Winner by Lindsey R. Loucks

Title – The Grave Winner
Author – Lindsey R. Loucks
Genre – YA Paranormal/Fantasy Romance
Publisher – Crescent Moon Press
Release Date – May 15, 2013

Blurb:

Leigh Baxton is terrified her mom will come back from the dead — just like the prom queen did.

While the town goes beehive over the news, Leigh bikes to the local cemetery and buries some of her mom’s things in her grave to keep her there. When the hot and mysterious caretaker warns her not to give gifts to the dead, Leigh cranks up her punk music and keeps digging.

She should have listened.

Two dead sorceresses evicted the prom queen from her grave to bury someone who offered certain gifts. Bury them alive, that is, then resurrect them to create a trio of undead powerful enough to free the darkest sorceress ever from her prison inside the earth.

With help from the caretaker and the dead prom queen, Leigh must find out what’s so special about the gifts she gave, and why the sorceresses are stalking her and her little sister. If she doesn’t, she’ll either lose another loved one or have to give the ultimate gift to the dead – herself.

Bio:

Lindsey R. Loucks works as a school librarian in rural Kansas. When she’s not discussing books with anyone who will listen, she’s dreaming up her own stories. Eventually her brain gives out, and she’ll play hide and seek with her cat, put herself in a chocolate induced coma, or watch scary movies alone in the dark to reenergize.

She’s been with her significant other for almost two decades.

Links:

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Calling up the muse

You know how when you get lost in a book and it starts to take over your world? I’ve been working my way through Stephen King’s Dark Tower series (now on book 4) and I’m definitely having that feeling. I admit, I have a bit of a fantasy crush on Roland Deschain. Maybe it’s because my introduction to the series was through the graphic novel The Gunslinger Born with its gorgeous artwork and a young, attractive Roland. In the series he’s older, a bit more grizzled, a survivor who is single minded in his goal of finding the Dark Tower. He’s a badass with an old world, courtly charm.

Of course, instead of spending my precious free time reading the Dark Tower series, I really should be writing. But I seem to have lost my muse. Maybe I need some of Roland’s single mindedness so I can finish writing book 2? I really don’t want to view GRR Martin as a role model in how long it takes to put out another book.

So I’m trying to picture Roland as a muse.

“You there. You have forgotten the face of your father.”

“Um, no. I just want to kickstart my writing. Can you help with that?”

He stares at me with those weathered blue eyes. “How do you write, with your hand or your heart?”

Ah yes. “See, that’s the problem. I know it’s in my heart, but how do I find it again?”

“You don’t find it. You do it.” He shakes his head in disgust. “It’s in your heart or it’s not. If you don’t know that, you don’t deserve the title gunslinger.”

“But I’m not a gunslinger. I’m trying to be an author.”

“Trying? Do or do not. There is no try.”

Wait a minute. “That sounds an awful lot like Yoda.”

“If I’m your muse would you not expect Star Wars to slip in somewhere?”

“Yes, I guess you’re right. But how–”

“There is no how. Write from your mind and your heart. That is how you will remember the face of your father. Go. Do it. Now.”

“Thankee sai. I’m off to write.”

He stares at me again. “And this facebook? And twitter? What of those distractions?”

“Yes yes, signing off.”

“And email. And the book. Put it down. For a time. We will wait. The Tower will wait. Your characters are more impatient. They need you.”

He’s right about that. And so I am off to write and lead my characters on their way to their own version of the Dark Tower.

Blogger Book Fair Day 4: Great Book Find from S.M. Boyce

Here are some great books for you to check out. Fans of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and Eragon should really enjoy this modern twist on the classic epic fantasy genre. This is a really unique tale with a lot of imagery to it.

Best part? You can grab Lichgates (Grimoire Saga #1) for free!

Amazon Rating:

Lichgates (Grimoire Saga #1): 4.5 Star Average

Treason (Grimoire Saga #2): 5 Star Average

Heritage (Grimoire Saga #3): Available Fall 2013

Illusion (Grimoire Saga #4): Available Fall 2014

“The Grimoire Saga has the potential to become a cult classic the likes of the Lord of the Rings”

—The Eternal Scribe {Reviews}

“This would make a great movie. A great book. A great TV show. Great everything. I mean, Boyce sells it at the concept, but she doesn’t stop there. She delivers.”

—Rebecca Hamilton, author of The Forever Girl series

Lichgates (Grimoire Saga #1)

Now an international Amazon bestseller. Fans of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and Eragon will enjoy this contemporary remix of the classic epic fantasy genre.

—————-

Kara Magari is about to discover a beautiful world full of terrifying things–Ourea.

Kara, a college student still reeling from her mother’s recent death, has no idea the hidden world of Ourea even exists until a freak storm traps her in a sunken library. With no way out, she opens an ancient book of magic called the Grimoire and unwittingly becomes its master, which means Kara now wields the cursed book’s untamed power. Discovered by Ourea’s royalty, she becomes an unwilling pawn in a generations-old conflict–a war intensified by her arrival. In this world of chilling creatures and betrayal, Kara shouldn’t trust anyone… but she’s being hunted and can’t survive on her own. She drops her guard when Braeden, a native soldier with a dark secret, vows to keep her safe. And though she doesn’t know it, her growing attraction to him may just be her undoing.

For twelve years, Braeden Drakonin has lived a lie. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. Though he begins to care for this human girl, there is something he wants more. He wants the Grimoire.

Welcome to Ourea, where only the cunning survive.

Get Your FREE Copy Now:

Read the 1^st Chapter Free | Add it on Goodreads

Treason (Grimoire Saga #2)

Kara Magari ignited a war when she stumbled into Ourea and found the Grimoire: a powerful artifact filled with secrets. To protect the one person she has left, she strikes a deal that goes against everything she believes in. But things don’t go as planned.

Braeden Drakonin can no longer run from who–and what–he is. He has to face the facts. He’s a prince. He’s a murderer. He’s a wanted man. And after a betrayal that leaves him heartbroken, he’s out for blood.

To survive, both Kara and Braeden must become the evil each has grown to hate.

Buy Yours Now:

Read the 1^st Chapter Free | Add it on Goodreads

Heritage (Grimoire Saga #3)

Kara Magari isn’t normal, and she finally understands why. She’s forced to face a past she didn’t know she had, and she uncovers an ugly truth along the way.

Braeden Drakonin has been slowly rebuilding his life after the betrayal that tore it apart. He may just get the chance to redeem himself…but it will come at a terrible price.

Learn More:

Add it on Goodreads

Illusion (Grimoire Saga #4)

In 2014, the Grimorie Saga comes to an end. Blood is spilled. Love is tested. Loyalty fades. Peace will come at a hefty cost. And in the final moments of the war, both Kara and Braeden will have to make a heartbreaking sacrifice to win.

Learn More:

Add it on Goodreads

About S.M. Boyce

Published fantasy author. Twitter addict. Book Blogger. Geek. Sarcastic. Gooey. Odd. Author of the action-packed Grimoire Saga.

S.M. Boyce is a fiction novelist who loves ghosts, magic, and spooky things. She prefers loose-leaf tea, reads far too many books, and is always cold. She’s married to her soul mate and couldn’t be happier. Her B.A. in Creative Writing qualifies her to serve you french fries.

Boyce likes to update her blog a few times each week so that you have something to wake you up in the morning.

Connect with S.M. Boyce

Website | Blog | Advice for Writers

Facebook | Twitter | Google + | Pinterest | Youtube

Goodreads Page | Amazon Page

Blogger Book Fair Day 3: Gwen Perkins

On the island of Cercia, the gods are dead, killed by their followers and replaced with the study of magic. Magicians are forbidden to leave their homeland. Laws bind these men that prevent them from casting spells on the living–whether to harm or to heal.

Quentin, a young nobleman, challenges these laws out of love for his wife. His best friend, Asahel, defies authority at his side, unaware that the search for this lost magic will bring them both to the edge of reason, threatening their very souls. The Universal Mirror shows how far two men are willing to go for the sake of knowledge and what they will destroy to obtain it.

The Universal Mirror is a 2012 nominee for the Endeavour Award and was a semifinalist in the 2012 Kindle Book Review Independent Book Awards.

Buy link: Amazon

“We came to stop a war before it came to Cercia. And it seems the war has come to us.”

Responsibility and patriotism spur Cercia’s new leader, Quentin, to protect his beloved country at all costs and he assigns Asahel and Felix to serve as ambassadors and secret agents to Anjdur. Their journey quickly turns awry and Asahel and Felix barely escape a devastating shipwreck, walk a tightrope of political tension, and rescue an empress before they learn they must face an enemy closer to them than they thought.

Will they be able to uncover an assassin’s plot before it’s too late? Will Asahel be able to unearth a secret that is vital to their mission? Will Cercia survive its own revolution? In The Jealousy Glass, Perkins boldly continues a series of unforgettable characters and events that will leave you begging for more.

Buy link: Amazon

Blogger Book Fair Day 3: Interview with Rebecca Hamilton

A fun interview with Rebecca Hamilton, author of The Forever Girl and Her Sweetest Downfall.

1. Which books/authors have most influenced you as an author and why?

I think Nancy Pickard and Marisa de los Santos inspire me most. Reading Nancy Pickard novels has given me insight on building suspense and mystery (two things I think every writer should do, even if (like me) they don’t write suspense of mystery novels!) She uses two POV-shifting techniques in particular that cannot usually be done well, but with such a concise method to her madness that it’s extremely effective and sensible. Marias de los Santos inspires me because she has a way of breaking the “rules” that makes her writing whimsical and light. I think both of these authors show why some authors can break the rules and still be best sellers. It’s all in how they do it. Most writers know you can break the rules if you do it right; Marisa de los Santos and Nancy Pickard both showed me what “doing it right” looks like.

2. If you could meet one of your favorite fictional characters, who would you choose and why?

Oh, that’s a toughie. I don’t often think of fictional characters in that way. There was only one time I thought that, and even mentioned it in one of my reviews (because it’s always been a popular question I’ve never been able to answer). But now I can’t remember which book that was. Pregnancy has stolen a few of my brain cells.

3. What fictional world would you most like to visit?

I don’t have an answer for this, either! But I’d love to be immortal, so anywhere where that is possible and I wouldn’t get killed trying for it would be nice 🙂

4. What advice would you give your pre-published self, knowing what you know now?

BEWARE! lol. j/k. Focus on your fans. Write for them. Don’t try to please everyone or you’ll please no one.

5. We apparently dodged a bullet and avoided the Mayan apocalypse in 2012. But as they say, “winter is coming.” What three things do you want to have on hand when the Others come down from beyond the Wall?

A taco, a time machine, and all the people I love and care about.

Her Sweetest Downfall is a short story/novella of 30,000 words. This is not a novel/full-length read, but works as a companion novel to THE FOREVER GIRL, Rebecca Hamilton’s bestselling paranormal fantasy debut.

Ophelia’s been successful at hiding her true identity, until the mark of the serpent appears on her neck—a death sentence, should it be seen by anyone in her town. Hiding the mark might save her from falling victim to the witch hunts of her era, but the scorching sensation it carries can’t be ignored.

When the mysterious Ethan is sent to collect her for a life of something more, she learns concealing the mark is the least of her worries. She’s destined to don a new mask—to join a dark, supernatural world and protect the future of people she may never meet.

What she doesn’t know—what she learns too late—is that her initiation won’t be complete until she kills the man she loves.

Set in an alternate Regency England, “Her Sweetest Downfall” is a standalone novella in the “Forever Girl” series, written as a gift to fans of the Forever Girl series.

HER SWEETEST DOWNFALL will appeal to lovers of paranormal romance, fantasy, and vampire fiction.

Click for Purchase Options! $0.99 for eBook and $5.95 for Print!

The Forever Girl by Rebecca Hamilton

“Whatever you do, fight.”

Sophia’s family has skeletons, but they aren’t in their graves.

At twenty-two, practicing Wiccan Sophia Parsons is scratching out a living waiting tables in her Rocky Mountain hometown, a pariah after a string of unsolved murders with only one thing in common: her.

Sophia can imagine lots of ways to improve her life, but she’d settle for just getting rid of the buzzing noise in her head. When the spell she casts goes wrong, the static turns into voices. Her personal demons get company, and the newcomers are dangerous.

One of them is a man named Charles, who Sophia falls for despite her better judgment. He has connections that might help her unveil the mystery surrounding her ancestor’s hanging, but she gets more than she bargains for when she finally decides to trust him.

Survival in his world, she learns, means not asking questions and staying out of the immortal council’s way. It’s a line she crossed long ago. If Sophia wants to survive the council and save the people she loves, she must accept who she is, perform dark magic, and fight to the death for her freedom.

The Forever Girl is a full-length Paranormal Fantasy novel that will appeal to lovers of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, witches, vampire fiction, ghost stories, paranormal mystery, and paranormal horror.

Click for Purchase Options! $2.99 for eBook and $10.95 for Print!

Or Read Part One FREE!