Book Tour: Icarus Falling by Christopher Paul Meyer @TheLoadedPen @VBTCafe #Giveaway

Author Bio: 

Christopher Paul Meyer writes noir and nonfiction. He is a former bouncer, comic, soldier, firefighter, actor and prison chaplain. In addition to Icarus Falling, he has written five screenplays, three of which were optioned and/or commissioned. When not writing, he enjoys Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, improv comedy and political rants delivered in an angry mumble at his reflection in the bathroom mirror.

Author Links:

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon

Book Genre: Memoir

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services/CreateSpace

Release Date: 12/22/14

Buy Link(s): Amazon

Book Description:

The true story of a failed actor, who - still tantalized by the promise of LA - reinvents himself as a nightclub bouncer. Working both downtown and on the Sunset Strip, he is thrust into the bloodstream of LA. Amidst the unending parade of strung-out transients, shimmering miniskirts, enraged gangbangers and unhinged party people, he avenges his history of cowardice, atones for his past infidelities and tries to become something better than another Hollywood casualty.

Excerpt:

I followed George up an escalator to a plush mezzanine area with subdued lighting. George took a long minute, studying my resume. I acted like I didn't care. I gazed vacantly at the escalator, watching the parade of bodies step off the moving stairway and veer towards what was labeled the "Rooftop Elevator." There were nine-to-fivers in khakis and Polo shirts. There were packs of Armenians, their gold chains, 8 o'clock shadow and swagger outpacing their blazers and t-shirts. There were Silverlake-type hipsters, with po' boy caps, vintage shirts and tight jeans. There were black dudes in FuBu and meatheads in TapOut. In a city as self-segregated as LA, this seemed to be one of the few spots where you could find all 31 flavors of the city.

George finally looked up from my resume. "Why do you think we're called Guest Relations?"

Because when people come to diddle themselves in a place with overstuffed couches, subdued lighting and models walking the lobby, they don't want to be told what to do. "Because great security starts with caring about your guests."

George nodded. "That's exactly right." He seemed impressed. Hey, I could spit flowery bullshit for hours. Especially if it was going to keep me around this place. "Sorry for keeping you waiting."

"Not a problem." Fake tan, perky tits and nice legs could take the edge off any wait.

"You're very patient." Seemed like George was reading a lot into it. It made me wonder if he'd kept me waiting on purpose. "Is that from being a prison chaplain?" I wasn't surprised he went there. It's the kind of thing that tends to stand out on a resume. "That must have been a hard job."

Yeah, right. I wasn't telling the inmates where to sit, sleep, shower or eat. I wasn't breaking up fights. Now that's a hard job. I only had to talk to men who wanted to talk to me. "It's easy to talk to people at the bottom. It's the ones in the Hamptons that don't wanna listen."

George nodded. I got the feeling this wasn't the typical interview for him. He seemed intrigued. Well, I hoped he seemed intrigued. "You know you may need to get physical here though."

"I got no problem with that."

George was a great listener. He gauged my reactions, read my mannerisms. He kept the questions sparse, letting me fill in the blanks.

Fortunately for George, I love to talk.

Yes, I was looking for as many hours as possible. No, I had no other work commitments. Yeah, I'd played a lot of judo and rugby. No, I wasn't gonna be some MMA thug. Yes, I was religious. No, I wasn't a Puritan. I had no problem working with people that were high, drunk or naked. I didn't tell him how much I was actually looking forward to it.

By the end of the interview, George and I had clicked. We had a few things in common. We were both college grads. We were both walk-ons at NCAA Division I teams -- him for Clemson's basketball team, me for William and Mary's football team. I mean, we weren't BFF's spray-painting hearts and our initials on freeway underpasses or anything. But we seemed to understand each other.

George put down his list of questions. "You ever been called a fucking whiteboy?"

Say what?

"Or cracker?" George's voice was low and calm. "What if I called your mom a whore?" His eyes drilled into me. "What if I told you to suck my dick?"

I could see the hypothetical looming behind his poker face, so I didn't bite.

George smiled. "Be ready. You're gonna hear all of that. And more. There's a lot of nights you're gonna go home angry." I didn't doubt it. "You're gonna wanna take it out on your girl."

That was an easy fix. "I don't have one."

A bemused smile wafted across his face. "You're gonna wanna keep it that way. Relationships are…" He searched for the right words. "...difficult here." One of the models strutted past us. "You know what I mean?" He smiled knowingly at me.

Being told to stay single? "I'm OK with that."

George extended his hand. "I think you will be." I hoped he was right.

"So, you wanna take a look at the place?"

I wasn't sure if that meant I had the gig or not. But either way, the answer was yes. 

Schedule

Follow The Full Tour Here

June 23 - Introduction at VBT Café Blog

June 23 - Spotlight at Inner Workings Of A Female Mind

June 23 - Reviewed at Virtual Hobby Store And Coffee Haus

June 24 - Reviewed at Paranormal Romance And Authors That Rock

July 27 - Spotlight at IndieWriterReviews

June 29 - Guest Blogging at Bellevue Book Reviews

June 30 - Interviewed at The Avid Reader

July 1 - Guest Blogging at Wise Words Book Blogger

July 2 - Guest Blogging at Infinite House Of Books

July 3 - Review & Guest Blogging at My Life, Loves, And Passions

July 6 - Reviewed at Deal Sharing Aunt

July 7 - Spotlight at Fictional Real World

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Release Blitz and Giveaway – MAGNIFICENT RUIN by Alison Foster @alisonsreads @XpressoReads @XpressoTours #XpressoBookTours #Giveaway

WELCOME to the Release Blitz and Giveaway for MAGNIFICENT RUIN, a New Adult, Romantic Suspense novel by Alison Foster.

We’re celebrating the release with an awesome giveaway with lots of gift cards and books.

To make things even better, the book is on sale for $0.99 for ONE WEEK only!

ADD TO GOODREADS

SYNOPSIS:

Everybody tells me to stay away from him. But some impulses are too strong to fight.

What if you could save somebody by loving them?

My name is Taylor Donahue and I’m about to make the biggest mistake of my life.

I’m faced with a mystery that starts on a breathtaking Greek island with a sexy, yet notorious bad boy, Tomas Keller. He’s as hot as the sun and as hard to catch as the wind. His lies are as beautiful as his truths are painful.

His is a world of dark secrets. This much I know. He digs into my soul more than any man ever dared to before. Every step away from him makes me fall ever deeper into the web of his mysterious life. I can't get him out of my mind.

The mystery of the missing girl and the rage of a murderous mob boss threaten his very existence, but I can't help but play with his fire. Tomas is bigger than life. Danger follows him like a deathly shadow.

How do I stop him from getting under my skin?

 *Content Warning: this book contains explicit language and sex.*

PRE-ORDER LINKS:

Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon CA ~ Amazon AU ~

iTunes ~ Google Play ~ Nook ~ Kobo

SHORT EXCERPT:

We walk barefoot on the soft sand side by side, holding our shoes in our hands. The beach is deserted. Two old pedal boats sit forgotten by the edge of the water. My skin shudders and I get goose bumps as Tomas’s arm brushes against mine in the warm, calm night.

“It’s perfect here,” I say, when he comes to a halt to stare at the dark sea.

He has brought a bottle of red wine which we have decided not to open until after the swim.
Tomas quickly takes off his shirt, taking my breath away. He’s a shining excellence under the pale starlight. He’s a hypnotic specimen of muscle, smooth skin and radiant confidence. I doubt there’s been a single moment in his adult life he didn’t know he was destined to make women lose their minds.

“Well?” he says, a slight impatience on his gorgeous face.

I shake my head before I remove my blouse pulling it over my head. I’m in my bikini now and although he’s seen me in it plenty of times in the sunlight, I blush a little now in the starlight.

I step in the water cautiously, checking the temperature. It’s not too cold but it’s not warm either. It will take a while to get used to the temperature.

Or it would have if Tomas didn’t decide to lift me up and throw me several feet forward and under the water.

“What the hell?” I say, rising onto my feet. Only my head is above water.

“You should embrace the unexpected,” he says.

“And you should not expect so much,” I say.

“That’s the problem, Taylor,” he says, wrapping his strong arms around my waistline. “You’ll never be ready to walk straight into the deep.”

My heart stops as he leans in for a kiss. He’s actually kissing me and I didn’t have to initiate it. It’s all him.

His powerful chest rises and falls rhythmically against my body as his tongue explores my mouth hungrily. His right hand moves to the back of my head, pulling my wet hair in a tight grip.

I wrap my arms around his neck, lifting one leg to force his hips closer to mine. The world vanishes in the darkness and the salty fullness of his lips. I want nothing more than to taste him.

He untangles his lips from mine, gently tracing my face with his fingertips. “Are you sure you want this?” he says, breathing unevenly.

It takes me a second to make up my mind. “I do,” I say. “I want this.”

“I’m not so sure.”

“Why?”

“Because you deserve better.”

“It’s not a freaking marriage proposal,” I say, growing more and more eager for his touch. “I understand that. And you’re better than you think.”

I hear a faint laughter and I can’t tell if it’s because he thinks he’s not better at all or because he likes the sound of need in my voice. Either way, I don’t care. His body doesn’t lie. He’s totally and completely in this moment with me, hyperventilating and getting incredibly hard underneath his swimming trunks. So hard I can sense his erection even without touching it.

His need for me goes beyond the physical evidence. I feel something real in him, something real about the moment we’re sharing. And as his fingers travel up and down my arm, giving me tiny goose bumps again, I know that what I want more than anything else is to fall in love.

ABOUT ALISON FOSTER:

Alison Foster loves reading a good love story almost as much as she loves writing one. She spends her time dreaming up strong heroes and even stronger heroines and she enjoys finding unexpected strengths within her characters when they are in the most unexpected places.

She believes that passion makes the world go round and that a sexy grin is as sweet as candy. She loves interacting with readers, so feel free to drop her a line.

CONNECT WITH ALISON:

FACEBOOK ~ TWITTER ~ WEBSITE ~ GOODREADS

GIVEAWAY:

Blitz-wide giveaway (INTL)

$20 Amazon Gift Card by Author Alison Foster

$15 Amazon Gift Card by Author Jo Raven

3 ecopies of The Knight of Ambra (Romantic Adventure) by Lyn Brittan

ebook of A Taste of Bliss by Adrian R. Hale

3 ecopies of The Serendipity Boxed Set by Brinda Berry

Signed paperback of Magnificent Ruin by Alison Foster

2 ebooks of Six Years by Stephanie Witter

2 ecopies of Beautiful Ruin by Alison Foster

$3.99 ebook of choice

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Cover Reveal: Uneven Exchange by S.K. Derban @skderban @NereydaG1003 #YABOUNDBOOKTOURS

Uneven Exchange

by S.K. Derban

Release Date: 09/01/15

Mystery Romance

Summary from Goodreads:

Like fire and ice, Alexandra Callet's life runs hot and cold.

At the age of thirty-three, Alexandra owns a stunning home and a successful interior design company. But she is in love with her business partner, Jake Taylor, and he doesn't even seem to realize she's a woman. She should be on top of the world, but instead she feels dragged down by the void in her heart. Hoping for answers, she decides a trip to Mexico might soothe her soul.

Jake Taylor only pretends to be a confirmed bachelor.

Jake has been entranced by Alexandra's determination and exotic beauty since the moment they met, but she has no idea how he feels. He considers confessing his love, but fears jeopardizing their friendship and business. He's caught in a web of pretending he doesn't care, and doesn't see a way out of it.

Alexandra is recruited for a dangerous mission.

Following her trip to Mexico, her resemblance to a member of an assassin's family leads Alexandra to be recruited by the DEA. Her training leaves her distracted, and her business begins to suffer. Jake notices her sudden change, and feels her slipping both personally and professionally beyond his reach. Should he finally take the chance…before it's too late? After all, he has nothing to lose.

However, when Alexandra returns to Mexico for her mission, things go terribly wrong. Will she be able find the strength to fight and escape the peaceful haven that has now become her prison? Or will Jake lose Alexandra forever…

About the Author
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, S.K. Derban moved to London within the first three months, and remained in England until the age of five. Her father, an American citizen, was a decorated veteran of the second world war. Derban's mother, born and raised in the United Kingdom, was involved with the London Royal Ballet Company, and a great fan of the arts. Even after returning to the United States, Derban's life was filled with a love of the theatre and a passion for British murder mysteries.

S.K. Derban has always remained passionate about writing, and is thrilled to finally share her work with others. Her personal travel and missionary adventures also help to transport readers virtually across the globe. When writing, Derban relies on all aspects of her life, from her faith in the Lord, to her love and knowledge of the arts.

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Cover Reveal: Just South of Biloxi by Lauren Hammond @NovelistLauren @NereydaG1003 #YABOUNDBOOKTOURS

Just South of Biloxi 

by Lauren Hammond

Release Date: 07/21/15

Summary from Goodreads:

Just south of Biloxi there was a girl with spunk, a girl with spirit.

A girl with fire.

A girl with a heart full of rebellion.

Just south of Biloxi there was a boy, with a dazzling smile and a kind demeanor.

A boy with morals.

A boy in love.

Just south of Biloxi there was a boy and a girl who realized too quickly, too swiftly, that there is such a thing as shattered hearts and cracked dreams.

Just south of Biloxi there was a boy and a girl who would never truly understand the meaning of some hearts and some worlds are better left broken.

*This is the 4^th book in the Asylum series but can be read as a companion standalone*

About the Author
Lauren Hammond knew from a young age that she was born to be a writer. After publishing her first novel in 2007, she then went on to write several screenplays and a few award winning poems.She aspires to be a positive role model for young people who have a pencil, a piece of paper, and a dream. Never give up on your dreams, you might wake up one day and regret not pursuing them.She has two more novels in the works, as well as some film projects

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Cover Reveal: The Legend Mirror Series by Saruuh Kelsey @luxguardians @NereydaG1003 #YABOUNDBOOKTOURS

The Beast of Callaire (The Legend Mirror #1)

by Saruuh Kelsey 

Release Date: 05/20/14

200 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

Yasmin is a descendant of the Manticore. A creature of Persian mythology. A Legendary.

But she doesn't want to be. Unlike the Legendaries in The Red, Yasmin wants nothing more than an ordinary life. She tries to fool herself into believing that she doesn't change into a beast every full moon and savagely kill innocent people.

But when Yasmin starts hearing a voice in her head and is drawn into dreams that aren't her own, she is led to Fray-a girl who once saved Yasmin from hunters, who has shadowy memories that hint at her having Legendary magic-and Yasmin is catapulted into a life of Majick and malevolence.

Despite the danger around her and Fray, Yasmin might finally have a chance at being a normal girl with a normal girlfriend. But with Legendaries being killed, a war between the Gods brewing, and the beast inside Yasmin becoming stronger each moon, her mundane life is little more than a dream.

The Dryad of Callaire (The Legend Mirror, #2)

by Saruuh Kelsey 

Release Date: 08/18/15

300 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

The Legend Mirror series returns with more mythology, more danger, and more Majick as Yasmin Wikke sets out on a quest to find her missing girlfriend.

Reeling from the fight with Discordia, Yasmin and the Red search for answers. Who is Discordia? Why were they stealing Majick? And where have they taken Fray and Priscilla Hannam, a Legendary swept away in the midst of battle? To get them back, Yasmin will have to ally with both Gods and strangers, and go to extreme lengths.

Fray and Priscilla have been stolen, taken to an impossible place that is slowly changing them. Their captors are monsters with venom in their teeth and bloody hands, and they want to use the girls to win a war. But armed with a terrifying and empowering new ability, Fray will die before she becomes their pawn.

About the Author
Saruuh Kelsey is the author of several novels for young adults, including the free Lux Guardians series and The Legend Mirror series. Her latest releases include THE BEAST OF CALLAIRE, the first novel of a new YA fantasy series, and a collection of diverse fairy tales in LOVE IN THE GILDED AGE. Find her online at saruuhkelsey.co.uk.

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