BLOG TOUR – DIGITAL ASSETS + #GIVEAWAY: ARTIFACTS BY PETE CATALANO @Pete_Catalano @chapterxchapter @TantrumBooks

Artifacts by Pete Catalano

Release Date: May 17, 2016
Publisher: Tantrum Boooks

It's funny how one little letter can change a person's life. Jax and his friends have been planning the summer of a lifetime at Camp Runamuck. However, when one of them is facing summer at a school desk for failing English, they watch those plans crash and burn!

At the last moment they're given a way out.

An extra credit assignment to find several fake artifacts for a fairy tale display their teacher is presenting at the local library.

Thinking they've hit the easiest-extra-credit-ever jackpot, they begin rummaging through any piles of junk they can find. As they start putting the clues together, they realize that what they're really searching for is one authentic artifact that can rewrite fairy tales!

Enlisting the aid of the Lost Boys, Jax and his friends battle fairy tale villains to see who can get their hand, or their hook, on it first.

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW:

What inspired you to write ARTIFACTS?

            I’ve always been fascinated by fairy tales and the set up of Good versus Evil in the stories. Imaging the characters as real, I couldn’t help believe that at least some of the villains would feel short changed with the label they’ve been give. It’s like Jessica Rabbit said, “I’m not bad. I’m just drawn that way.” If there was an artifact that could re-write fairy tales, it would be priceless in that t could change the stories and with it the perception of everyone that ever reads it. If the artifact could change fairy tales, why not other parts of our lives?

            When or at what age did you know you wanted to be a writer?

            I wrote a few adult titles many years ago but the feeling I get for MG and the need to write it just showed up a few years ago. The moment I found my MG voice I knew it would be something I did for the rest of my life.

            What is the earliest age you remember reading your first book?

            Picture books when I was young. Things get a little foggy before elementary school. J

            What genre of books do you enjoy reading?

            I enjoy fantasy or contemporary fantasy the most. Life as we know it with a little bit of magic thrown in. There’s a wardrobe that I would love to step inside.

            What is your favorite book?

            It’s cliché but The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. These days it’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

            You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?

            It has always been J.R.R. Tolkien but lately Neil Gaiman has made a bug impact. Not only is his work incredible (which goes without saying) but the positive impact he leaves in his wake the way he did in his Make Good Art commencement address at the University of the Arts in 2012 is something I can listen to over and over again.

            If you could travel back in time here on earth to any place or time. Where would you go and      why?

            To the Eagle and Child in Oxford, England during the late 1930’s and early 1940’s. I would love to be able to at least listen in to the Inklings Meeting that took place there and in C. S. Lewis’s college rooms. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Hugo Dyson, Owen Barfield and others all reading their work aloud and waiting for any commentary (which usually became more boisterous the later the meetings went).

            When writing a book do you find that writing comes easy for you or is it a difficult task?

            I’m almost ashamed to say that writing comes easy to me and it’s fast. ARTIFACTS was written in about two months.

            Do you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?

            Yes, my wife and I have two 100 pound, needy, spoiled, very fun, very crazy Old English Sheepdogs that keep us on our toes.

            What is your "to die for", favorite food/foods to eat?

            EVERYTHING that my wife makes is to die for She is an absolutely fabulous cook and there is nothing that she can’t make. The list of my favourite recipes that she makes is too long for this article.

            Do you have any advice for anyone that would like to be an author?

            Take your time and have patience. Write what you know, what you’ve experienced so the heart you’re putting into your story can come out loud and clear to the reader. Write, write, write, then put it away for a while and then look at it again. Find yourself some great CP’s who will tell you what’s wrong and not short change you on advice or even criticism like some of your relatives or close friends might. Your book is not the horrible picture you made at school that went on the refrigerator anyway. It has to be the best it can be.

Pete Catalano’s books are written for kids of all ages — and adults who secretly never grew up. He lives in Charlotte, NC with his adorably funny wife and two neurotic dogs. Pete was a theatre major in college and tries to keep the ‘suspension of disbelief’ in his life as much as he can.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest |Goodreads

GIVEAWAY: 

  

• Five (5) winners will receive a digital copy of Artifacts by Pete Catalano (INT)

Contest ends June 3, 2016

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Blog Tour + #Giveaway: A Perfect Chance‏ by Becca Lee @authorbeccalee @HotTreePromos

HOT, AUSSIE STANDALONE ROMANCE SERIES

Title: A Perfect Chance

Author: Becca Lee

Genre: Aussie Contemporary Romance with a hint of  MC

Release Date: May 4th
Editor: Hot Tree Editing

"Ms. Lee’s sweet and sensual style is a welcome respite from the angsty conflict currently common within the genre. Her writing is also infused with generous hits of humor and insightful observations."

Chasing a ghost is easy. It's finding yourself that's the real challenge. 

Drowning in darkness, Mace struggles to move on from a past filled with sorrow. Anger is a much easier emotion to handle, one he readily embraces. Burying himself in his work and spending his nights with his brotherhood of bikers, Mace is determined to spend his life playing by his own rules.

Plagued by her own guilt, Lena desires nothing more than to break free from her past and to start afresh. But fear and anxiety threaten to keep her hostage, leaving her frustrated and stifled. The last thing she expects is another brooding man to be her possible way out.

While Lena is determined to fight for her future outside of the Deadwood MC, Mace is resolute to avoid any hope of happiness. Together, they have to decide what they're willing to risk for the perfect chance.

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Book Blitz + #Giveaway: Working Stiff: Casimir by Blair Babylon @BlairBabylon @XpressoTours

Working Stiff: Casimir
Blair Babylon
(Inheritance Trilogy, #1)
Publication date: May 17th 2016
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Here’s the problem: when Rox was hired, she told her smoking-hot boss Cash that she was married, but she’s not. Now, three years later, she’s kind of accidentally living with him, and he’s being a perfect gentleman, dang it. 

Everybody in the office said that Cash was a heartbreaker, that he’d bump her and dump her, so Rox decided not to become a statistic. She went out and bought herself some rings of the finest cubic zirconia so that she could work with Cash, who was several inches over six feet tall, emerald-eyed, ripped, gorgeous, his tailored suit clinging to his athletic body, sporting a British accent, and loaded. 

It had seemed like such a good plan at the time. 

But now, three years later, she and Cash have become friends. They travel together for work often, and they’re the best of buddies.When Rox gets thrown out of her apartment, Cash insists that she come live with him until they can find her a place because that’s what friends do. 

Now, even though everyone insists that Cash never goes after married women, something about him has changed. There are little touches, little slips, and Rox is more and more tempted to tell hunky, gorgeous Cash that she never was married. 

And then he’ll take her and break her, and then he’ll walk away, and then she’ll lose her job, and she still hasn’t found a place to live. 

And yet, every time her looks at her with mischief in his dark green eyes, every time they’re teasing and it somehow turns into tickling, every time she swats at him and somehow ends up in his arms, she wants so much to risk everything. 

What’s a working stiff to do when she falls in love with her friend, the boss?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iTunes / GooglePlay

—

SNEAK PEEK:

Other women looked far, far up at Cash’s brilliant, intense green eyes, the dark blond streaks in his auburn hair and his pale scruff of beard, and the hard lines of his cheekbones and jaw line.

They dropped their panties even before he took off his perfectly cut suit and silk shirt to reveal his broad, rounded shoulders, those chiseled abs like cobblestones on his flat stomach, and the deep vee of his obliques that pointed below his tight boxer-briefs.

They were lost before he whispered to them in that cultured, sexy accent and far before they saw the top-of-the-line Mercedes Maybach that he drove to his rumored enormous, manicured estate in the foothills. No one had ever been there, but everyone said that his house was huge without any evidence whatsoever.

Yep, Cash was several inches over six feet tall, emerald-eyed, ripped, gorgeous, his tailored suit clinging to his athletic body, sporting a British accent, and loaded.

Shockingly, women swooned over him.

But not Rox. Never.

Author Bio:
Blair Babylon often releases ebooks at a special release-day price of 99c.
To never miss a sale, CLICK HERE: http://smarturl.it/Babylon-Email
Blair Babylon is the nom de plume of an award-winning, USA Today-bestselling author who used to publish literary fiction. Because professional reviews of her other fiction usually included the caveat that there was too much deviant sex and too much interesting plot, she decided to abandon all literary pretensions, let her freak flag fly, and write hot, sexy, erotic romance, plus wild, suspenseful thrillers, science fiction, and urban fantasy using the super-secret pen name Blair C. Babylon. 

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Book Tour + #Giveaway: Storm by Skye Knizley @Skye_Knizley @vamptasy @JaidisShaw

Title:  STORM

Series:  Storm Chronicles Book 6

Author:   Skye Knizley

Published:  April 21st, 2016  

Publisher:  Vamptasy Publishing

Genre:  Horror, Urban Fantasy

Content Warning:   Contains violence and horror elements

Recommended Age:  17+

Synopsis:  

On a rainy night in 1971 the cruise ship Crescent Star vanished in the North Atlantic without a trace. No crew, no lifeboats and no wreckage was ever found, in spite of a three-week search.

Two days ago, she crashed through and sank a pleasure yacht off the coast of New York, leaving five people dead. The ship has answered no hails and no one appears to be aboard. Agent Raven Storm and a forensic team lead by Aspen Kincaid have been tasked to investigate and bring the ship in, if possible.

What happened to 720 crew and passengers and where has the ship been for 44 years?

Clue by macabre clue, Raven uncovers the truth of the Crescent Star and faces a villain from beyond the grave.

But how can she stop something she can’t see, can’t touch, and that won’t hesitate to use the ones she loves against her?

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | GoodReads

Excerpt from STORM by Skye Knizley:

Raven Storm sat up in bed, a scream fighting behind her lips. It had happened again; her father in the shadows, the boom of her pistol, and his body dropping. She’d had the nightmare every night since coming home. Her psyche eval was so bad she’d been dropped from field duty and was investigating UFO sightings in Montana. Not her best job ever.

She slid out of bed and padded toward the stairs. Around her was the loft bedroom she shared with her fiancé, Aspen. The walls were painted a soft lavender that was almost grey and matched the carpet. Their king-size bed was covered with a blue flowered bedspread and the nightstands were antiques sent by Valentina from Chicago.

Raven ran a hand over the Maltese Falcon poster in the stairwell and turned out of habit to the kitchen, where two scoops of coffee and some hot water soon produced a brew that would be guaranteed to keep her up the rest of the night. She was just sitting down to savor a cup when Aspen’s cell started chirping from its charging plate on the counter.

Who the hell is calling her at this hour? Raven wondered.

She picked it up and slid her finger over the screen. “Storm.”

There was a pause and then, “Agent Storm? Is Aspen Kincaid there?”

“She’s sleeping, like normal people, who is this?”

“This is Kane, I’m with Agent in Charge King’s office. Please get her, its important,” Kane said.

“Who is it?”

Raven looked up to see Aspen leaning over the upstairs railing, her purple hair trailing around her face.

“King’s office,” Raven replied.

Aspen wiped sleep from her eyes. “They have a case for you?”

Raven shrugged. “It’s for you, probably a crime scene.”

Aspen hurried down the steps and took the phone.

“This is Aspen.”

She listened for a moment, and turned to Raven, eyes wide. She pressed the speaker button and held the phone out. “Mr. Kane, can you say that again?”

“We have a code thirteen emergency. The cruise ship Crescent Star is carrying an unknown preternatural threat and heading toward New York City. I need you to lead a team onboard and stop it before it reaches the one mile marker. You’ll be briefed enroute.”

“Kane, this is Storm. Aspen isn’t a field agent, who gave the order?” Raven asked.

“King, Agent Storm.”

Aspen shook her head. “He knows I’m not an agent, Kane. I’m a lab-rat, I only go with Raven on certain cases, he can’t—”

“You have basic field training and he handpicked you, Kincaid. You’re on a chopper in twenty minutes, a car is on the way.”

“I want to talk to King,” Raven said.

“He didn’t ask for you, Storm,” Kane said.

“I don’t give a shit, Mr. Kane,” Raven said. “Code thirteen is the catastrophe code, you’re not sending Aspen—”

“This conversation is over, Agent Storm. Agent Kincaid, be ready,” Kane said.

The line went dead. Raven stared at the phone, then looked at Aspen.

About the Author:

Skye Knizley is the #1 bestselling author of the Storm Chronicles series, an urban fantasy tale that mixes mystery, magic and horror and the Shadowlands series of modern espionage thrillers. All of her books feature strong female leads who can hold their own with the men and then some, witticisms and of course Skye’s trademark snark.

Skye, who holds degrees in forensic science and psychology, lives in the middle of nowhere in a tiny little town of about 700 people. The small town life appeals to her and she finds it conducive to writing. When she isn’t setting quill to parchment (okay she actually uses a laptop, but quills are cool) Skye can be found practicing Muay Thai, camping, motorcycling and hiking with her psychotic Siberian husky, Piper. Once a year she participates in an uncontrolled “float trip.” Whether she wants to or not. It’s a camping thing.

Skye is also a proud gamer girl and an avid fan of role-playing games. She currently participates in a weekly Shadowrun game held at a local gaming store (stop in and say ‘hi!’) and is the writer and game-master of a private Fantasy Flight game held once a month.

Amazon Author Page | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

Vamptasy Publishing Links:

Facebook | Twitter | Website

Giveaway Details:

There is a tour wide giveaway. Prizes include the following:

One GRAND PRIZE winner will receive a swag pack of bookmarks and mini posters AND an autographed copy of the book.

Giveaway is US only.  Ends May 30th at 11:59 PM EDT.

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Standard Tour + #Giveaway: The Touched Series by Elsa Winckler @elsawinckler @GoddessFish

The Touched Series

by Elsa Winckler

GENRE: Contemporary romance

 BLURB:

When it comes to men, if physiotherapist Caitlin Sutherland didn't have bad luck, she would have no luck at all. To help cope, Caitlin starts blogging in her spare time, about the types of men she meets and the bad dates she goes on.

While on duty during the annual Wines to Whales bicycle race, a gorgeous, sweaty cyclist walks in and sets her hormones dancing. But he is Don Cavallo; one of the four Cavallo brothers — hotel tycoons, famous as much for their business skills as for the number of beauties regularly seen on their arms.

Don Cavallo has his own issues with the other sex. He has yet to find one who is interested in him and not in his money or hotels. But when this sexy physio puts her hands on his back she not only touches his body, but also his heart.

They've both been burned before, but neither of them can stop themselves from playing with fire.

EXCERPT:

Touched to the Heart

‘Where’s your girlfriend?’ Was the first thing that popped out of her mouth. Caitlin nearly groaned out load. She looked away and unlocked her car. ‘Sorry, none of my business,’ she mumbled and opened the door.

‘She’s just a friend.’

‘Did you enjoy your date?’ she asked.

He shook his head. ‘I was watching you the whole night.’

Stunned, she swallowed.

‘And you? Did you have a nice time?’ he asked.

‘I…’ At a complete loss for words, she frantically tried to think of a word, any word. Nothing came to mind. She shook her head. He’d been watching her all night?

He stepped around so that the car door was between them. Her hands were resting lightly on the door.

‘Thought so.’ His smile was devastating. ‘I’d like to take you out, Caitlin.’

 ‘As in a date?’ she asked, still stunned.

‘Yes, Caitlin, as in a date.’ He touched her cheek. ‘There is something here,’ he said and motioned with his hand between them.

She didn’t move, just stared at him. Was he really asking her out on a date?

‘I don’t know what it is, but it’s keeping me awake at night. Let’s try a date and see how we like it. Friday around seven?’ he asked. ‘I’ll pick you up and we’ll have dinner.’

Caitlin stared at him for another minute before she was sure she could string a few words together. ‘Don, you…me…’ She shook her head and grimaced. ‘We live in two completely different worlds, we have nothing in common. You are…you, the papers are full of your businesses. I’m a physiotherapist from Hermanus. I don’t think —’

‘Then don’t. Think, that is.’ He smiled. ‘You do know that you can’t believe everything you read in the papers. And I happen to like this physiotherapist from Hermanus.’

She looked at him a moment longer. This was so not what she should be doing. Hannah’s warning and her own misgivings about him swirled around in her head.

His eyes never left hers.

She was a big girl. And if she prepared herself for the worst, then surely she’d be fine.

‘Where? I’ll meet you —’

‘I’ll pick you up,’ he said and lowered his head.

‘You don’t know where I live and I always drive myself,’ she managed just before his lips touched hers lightly.

 Touched Series:

Touched to the Heart (Escape Press 1 July 2014)

Buy links:

Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ iBook  

eBooks.com ~ Google Play ~ Kobo

JB Hi-fi Now Books ~ Goodreads

Touched to the Soul (Etopia Press 6 August 2015)

Buy links:

Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon AU

All Romance ~ Kobo ~ iBooks ~ Barnes and Noble 

Touched to the Core (Etopia 4 Nov 2015)

Buy links:

Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon DE ~ Amazon FR

 Kobo ~ Etopia Press ~ Barnes and Noble ~ iBooks

Touched to the Depths (Etopia 3 Dec 2015)

Buy links:

Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Kobo ~ Barnesand Noble

All Romance ~ iBooks ~ Google Play ~ EtopiaPress 

GUEST POST:

What is your writing process? For instance do you do an outline first? Do you do the chapters first?

I start with an idea that swirls around in my head for weeks, sometimes months. I write it down because if I don’t pen it down somewhere, I forget!

The next step is usually to think about the characters and I’ve found that if I spend enough time with this step, the rest of the process will fall into place. I sometimes even use the Myers-Briggs Type indicator to analyse the characters but then again, they may refuse to be put into any kind of box. In such instances, I have to go with the flow and do what they ‘tell’ me to do J

I have a vague outline, but I don’t plot in detail. The characters decide what happens when and I try not to get in the way but to tell their story.

In Touched to the heart, the first story in the series, I had this idea about a physiotherapist and a cyclist. I didn’t set out to write a series about four sisters and four brothers but once I had Don and Caitlin’s background set up, these other characters kept intruding. So although the idea of four sisters falling for four brothers is probably far-fetched, I had no choice but to tell all their stories.

In all the stories I’ve written so far, there is a magical moment (usually towards the end) when all the pieces fall into place. Then I know – this will work. If this doesn’t happen, I have to go back because then something isn’t right.

I write Mondays to Fridays and try to do between 2000 and 5000 words a day. I start everyday by reading the previous day’s words and making changes where I need to. I know most writers will tell you not to do this, but to finish the story as quickly as possible. I’ve tried this, but find I get a better sense of the mood when I read through the previous day’s words.

My husband reads through the story when it’s about half-way. He has a very good sense whether a story is working or not. When he read the first few chapters of Touched to the heart, he had a problem with the direction the story was going. I was very irritated and fed-up but grudgingly  had to concede he was right. I was struggling with the story and couldn’t figure out why. It took me a few days to get back to the exact moment where I steered in the wrong direction but once I had that figured out, the problem was solved and the story flowed.

After I’ve finished a story, I try to leave it for at least a week before I start reading it from the beginning. There isn’t always time for this, but when I’ve had a break it’s easier to pick up mistakes.

When I’m finally happy with the story, I send it off to the publisher and then the waiting begins …

AUTHOR BIO:

I have been reading love stories for as long as I can remember and when I ‘met’ the classic authors like Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Henry James The Brontë sisters, etc. during my studies, I was hooked for life.

I married my college boyfriend and soul mate and after 39 years, 3 beautiful children and 3 grandchildren, he still makes me weak in the knees. We are fortunate to live in the picturesque little seaside village of Betty's Bay, South Africa with the ocean a block away and a beautiful mountain right behind us. And although life so far has not always been an easy ride, it has always been an exciting and interesting one!

I like the heroines in my stories to be beautiful, feisty, independent and headstrong.  And the heroes must be strong but possess a generous amount of sensitivity. They are of course, also gorgeous!  My stories typically incorporate the family background of the characters to better understand where they come from and who they are when we meet them in the story.

Social Media links:

Website ~ Personal Facebook page ~ Author Facebook page

Twitter ~ Goodreads ~ Pinterest ~ Wattpad ~ Google+

Giveaway:

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Blurb Blitz Tour + #Giveaway: A Wedding at Meadows Shore by Eva Charles @GoddessFish

A Wedding at Meadows Shore

by Eva Charles

GENRE: Contemporary Romance

BLURB:

Meadows Shore is the childhood home of the five Clayton sisters and the six Harrington brothers, the family seat where these irresistible characters gather regularly…or whenever they need the comfort of Portuguese home cooking and the love and wisdom of elder women.

After Sophie Clayton catches her husband in bed with a young intern, she creates a new life for herself as the executive director of a failing domestic violence agency. It’s the perfect job for a woman born to fix everything. A friend’s broken heart, a tattered agency, a flat tire—she’ll roll up her sleeves and make it as good as new. Sophie rarely encounters anything she can’t fix…until she meets the devastatingly handsome and insufferably arrogant, Max Parker. One of Boston’s most eligible bachelors, he’s never without a stunning young woman on his arm and in his bed.

When Sophie’s forced to deal with Max, sparks fly, and somewhere in the crossfire of verbal daggers and clever barbs, she discovers his darkest secret.

EXCERPT:

His voice took on a husky, seductive quality. “The women I date aren’t interested in my body, Sophie. What interests them is how I pleasure their bodies.”

She stared deep into his icy blue eyes and snickered.

Max never missed even the smallest of details. They were often the difference between success and getting your hat handed to you. Tonight, he noticed Sophie’s eyes betray her, even as she mocked him. Her pupils were dilated, the rich, whiskey-colored irises nearly overtaken by black. I have her attention.

Embolden by her body’s reaction, he took a step closer. He was so close that if she’d been breathing, her breath would’ve warmed his skin. “I can bring much more to your bed than my father does. So…much…more…” He drew out the words, emphasizing each in a voice that oozed sex. “And though I’m not an easy man to impress, I’m sure you’d have no trouble persuading me to finance your agency. None at all,” he drawled.

Neither of them spoke for a long moment, maybe two. The air was charged. The silence dangled between them like a ripe peach, fragrant and swollen, tempting the weakest among them to reach for it first.

“What do you think?” he asked softly, ending the silence.

While waiting for her response, a calculated kind of wait, he resisted the urge to lift his hand and run his fingers through the strands of hair that’d come loose, softly framing her face.

“I think you really are an ass.”

With that, she turned and walked away. Leaving him to gape at her magnificent back.

AUTHOR BIO:

Eva Charles is the author of the multi-titled Meadows Shore Series that chronicles the lives and loves of the Clayton-Harrington family. She invites you to visit their beloved Meadows Shore nestled in the charming seaside town of Fair Harbor, where you’ll enjoy love, laughter, loyalty, and an abundance of mouth-watering food, Portuguese style.

After being a confirmed city-girl for more than thirty-five years, Eva moved to beautiful western Massachusetts in 2014. There, she found herself living in the woods with no job, no friends (unless you count the turkeys, deer, and coyotes roaming the backyard), and no children underfoot, wondering what on earth she’d been thinking. But as it turned out, it was the perfect setting to take all those yarns spinning in her head and weave them into a romantic tale.

When she’s not writing, trying to squeeze information out of her tight-lipped sons, or playing with the two cutest dogs you’ve ever seen, Eva’s creating chapters in her own love story.

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Giveaway:

$50 Amazon/BN GC

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