Release Tour: The Peculiar Lives of Circus Freaks, an anthology

We are so proud to present the blog tour for The Peculiar Lives of Circus Freaks, a YA paranormal anthology featuring stories from Tia Silverthorne Bach, Amy Evans, Allyson Gottlieb, Liz Long, Kelly Martin,Misty Provencher, Mindy Ruiz and BJ Sheldon!

Join us to celebrate the release of The Peculiar Lives of Circus Freaks! Mindy Ruiz will be hosting a party Saturday, April 1st, at 8 p.m. EST in her street team, The Heart Breakers. We’d love for you to join us! https://www.facebook.com/groups/HeartBreakers4Ever/

Cover Design: Regina Wamba of Mae I Design

Interior Formatting: Allyson Gottlieb of Athena Interior Book Design 

Release Date: April 1, 2017

Come one, come all to the Kipling Carnival, 
where you'll meet beasts and beauties and everything in between. 
Inside the Big Top you'll find daring adventures from:
Tia Silverthorne Bach ~The Animal Tamer trying to deny her own animal instincts. 
Amy Evans ~ The Mermaid Prince who’s determined to stand on his own two feet.
Allyson Gottlieb ~ The Magician running from the sins of his past.
Liz Long ~ The Ringmaster, whose last wish is to be in the center ring.
Kelly Martin ~ The Cursed Performer free for one day only.
Misty Provencher ~ The Fortune Teller who takes more than just your breath away.
Mindy Ruiz ~ The Bearded Lady trying to break an ancient curse.
BJ Sheldon ~ takes us behind the circus curtain with her Roadie. 
Unveil the mysteries of The Peculiar Lives of Circus Freaks. 
Where things are never what they seem.

Amazon

Kobo

iBooks

Nook

For more information on The Peculiar Lives of Circus Freaks, and to interact with the authors, join The Peculiars, a Facebook group dedicated to all things circus freaks! https://www.facebook.com/groups/ThePeculiar8/

Tia Silverthorne Bach has been married to her college sweetheart for twenty-two years, has three beautiful girls, and adores living in the beautiful state of Colorado. Her daughters were born in Chicago, San Diego, and Baltimore; and she feels fortunate to have called many places home. She believes in fairy tales and happy endings and is an avid reader and rabid grammar hound.
She is an award-winning, multi-genre author and an Editor for Indie Books Gone Wild. From an early age, she escaped into books and believes they can be the source of healing and strength. If she’s not writing, you can find her on the tennis court, at the movies, reading a good book, or spooning Jif peanut butter right out of the jar.

Newsletter ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ Website ~ Instagram

Amy Evans is a storyteller, wife, and mother with a life-long obsession with the ocean. In addition to writing books, she loves developing story worlds for all kinds of technology.
She loves dolphins, aliens and pugs, and sometimes writes for so long they all look like the same thing.
Clicks is her debut novel about instincts, a Surf Carnival, and the hottest beach patrol on the California coast. Clicks are the sounds that the universe makes when it warns you that your world is about to change forever. If you listen to them, you get on the wave before it crests; control your path, surf into your destiny. If you ignore them, the wave crashes around you, and you try desperately not to drown.

Website ~ Twitter ~ Pinterest ~ Facebook ~ Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ Instagram

Allyson Gottlieb- Growing up, Allyson was always the girl with a big imagination and even bigger dreams. A California girl by birth, she currently lives in Boston while attending Emerson College. She has a slight addiction to Starbucks, eyeliner, and chocolate—and, of course, books.Visit her at www.allysongottlieb.com for the latest book news and fun extras.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Twitter

Liz Long is a proud graduate of Longwood University. Her inspiration comes from action and thriller genres and she spends entirely too much time watching superhero movies. Her day job as Associate Editor includes writing for a magazine publisher in Roanoke, VA.
Comic book readers and fans of CW Network smash hits Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Netflix’s Daredevil will root for Liz Long’s bestselling YA summer series as the HoA’s gifted teen superheroes attempt to save their city from its impending demise. The Donovan Circus series has best been described as "X-Men meets the circus." Adult horror story Witch Hearts tells the tale of a serial killer hunting witches for their powers. New Adult PNR A Reaper Made is about a teen Reaper who gets caught between falling in love or saving her sister's soul. All titles are available for paperback or ebook on Amazon.
To learn more about Liz (including more information on her books, plus writing, marketing, and social media tips), visit her website: http://lizclong.com.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ Pinterest

Kelly Martin is an Amazon bestseller and award-winning author. She loves abandoned house photography, ghost stories, and trying to figure out what goes bump in the night.
She lives in the heart of Middle Tennessee, where all the cool ghost stories happen.
Kelly loves supernatural TV shows, watching horror gamers on youtube, and driving around taking pictures of abandoned houses. All of which would make you assume Kelly is very brave... you'd be very wrong. She has to watch Sherlock safely behind her fingers at times.
She has been married for over ten years, has three little girls, and a one-eyed cat named Sam.
Subscribe to her newsletter to be notified of new releases: www.kellymartinbooks.com (click on "sign-up")
If you ever have a question or comment, feel free to email her at kelly@kellymartinbooks.com ♥ You can follow her writing adventure at http://www.kellymartinbooks.com/

Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Youtube ~ Twitter ~ Pinterest

Misty Provencher/ Misty Paquette is a prolific author, long-term wife and mama. The second two are a bit more recent, but Provencher’s writing roots date back to the hieroglyphics she left in her mother’s womb.
While Provencher can ride a motorcycle, knows how to Karate chop, and has learned enough French, Spanish, and Sign Language to get herself slapped, Misty's life is dedicated to connecting with the people who cross her path. She is totally enchanted with the world and spends her days trying to translate her everyday muses into words.

Misty Provencher's catalog includes fantasy books for Young Adults and Teens.

Misty Paquette's catalog houses contemporary romance, literary fiction, Sci-fantasy, and erotica for New Adult and Adult readers. 

A little something for everyone.
Misty Provencher lives in the Mitten. Knock on her internet blog door and sign up for her newsletter at www.mistyprovencherauthor.com and wherever great coffee is sold.  

Amazon ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Fan Group ~ Goodreads

Mindy Ruiz is the author of Utopia Con’s 2015 Best Debut Novel: ENCHANTED HEART in The Game of Hearts series. Since her first story about a magical, museum-hopping chair in the fourth grade, she’s loved exploring the things that cannot be explained, and must simply be believed.
Now, Mindy writes paranormal romance guaranteed to make your heart race. Her stories combine snarky heroines, tormented heroes, and buckets of swoon. Mindy is the lover of a good romance, the underdog, and all things John Hughes. She spends her free time chasing after three boys or flirting with her hunky husband. In the quiet moments, she’s watching fantasy television shows, cheering for the Dallas Cowboys, or hanging out at the beach with her incredibly loud Italian family.

Mindy lives in a sleepy beach town in Southern California with her toes in the sand and her mind in the clouds.

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BJ Sheldon is a Young Adult author who has a penchant for the paranormal and supernatural. She is obsessed with strong female characters and the strength and determination that a young adult protagonist can bring to the page. She is the author of The Dusty Chronicles trilogy and The Gibborim Series. She has a B.S. degree in Project Management and a PhD in life. Throughout the years, BJ has found endless inspiration through her childhood in rural Iowa, the mysteries of the paranormal, and her ceaseless need to question everything.
Most days, she can be found in front of her laptop or reading a good book when she isn't trying to keep her dog and 3 cats from taking over the world. Her hobbies include cuticle care, fighting off zombies, and traveling through space and time with a mad man in a blue box. BJ prides herself in being a Whovian, Sherlockian, Potter Head, and an all-around giant nerd.
BJ lives near the Black Hills in South Dakota with her husband, a veteran of the US military, and is the mother to 3 beautiful daughters, 2 of whom are still living at home and making her crazy.
Awards/Honors:Haunting: The Dusty Chronicles - Book One – Readers Favorite Silver Medalist 2011Hear the Crickets: The Gibborim Series - Book One – Best Paranormal Book Nominee UtopiaCon 2016

Website ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Facebook ~ Pinterest ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon

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Blog Tour + #Giveaway: A Pizza My Heart: An Anthology by Various Authors @hocuspocusco @yaboundtourspr #Pizzathology

A Pizza My Heart: An Anthology
by Various Authors
Genre: YA Fiction Anthology
Release Date: February 9th 2017
Hocus Pocus & Co.

Summary:

Gooey cheese and warm pepperoni, with a side of kissing and murder.

A Pizza My Heart is a quirky and fun anthology that crosses all genres. Fifteen extraordinary authors have united to tell stories of mystery, mayhem, romance, danger, deceit…and pizza.

Sometimes spicy, sometimes cheesy, but always delicious, A Pizza My Heart invites you to explore life, happiness, and the pursuit of pizza.

Stories Include:

A Slice of Adventure by Maria Carvalho

Between Slices by Andy Grieser

Fresh, Hot, and Deadly by Rena Olsen

KissingDancingPizzaMURDER by Darci Cole

Kneadful Things by Jenna Lehne

Love Pizza No. 9 by Vanessa Rodriguez

Madame Miraval’s Pizza Place by Kelly deVos

Password Is… by Jolene Haley

Pizza on the Brain by Emily Simon

Pizza Buddy by Brian LeTendre

Pizzamergency by Brett Jonas

Survival Pizza by Rebecca Waddell

The Last Stop at the End of the World by Jamie Adams

The Pizza Guy by Jessi Shakarian

Where There’s Pizza by Jasmine Brown

Add to Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon

Guest Post:

How to Publish an Anthology

By Jolene Haley

I love pizza. Always have and always will. And one day I thought—wouldn’t it be so cool if there was some sort of pizza anthology (pizzathology, if you will)?

I wasn’t sure if anyone would want to participate because I wasn’t sure that other people shared the same level of pizza obsession that I had. So I put out a call for pizza stories, not really expecting to get any, and I got fifty amazing stories! I narrowed them down (it was so hard!) into what you see today for the A Pizza My Heart pizzathology—fifteen amazing stories from fifteen amazing authors and all of them revolve around something very important: pizza!

The nice thing about anthologies is that YOU normally don’t have to write all of the stories in them. Normally, if you write all of the stories in a book, it’s called a short story collection (and that’s another post for another time). For those who are new to this altogether, an anthology is a book or collection of stories, usually written by different authors, with a common subject thread.

If you really love a certain type of story or if you can picture something you would love to read but you can’t find, consider putting out your own anthology. The cool thing is that you can put eBooks out for almost no cost to you these days.

Here is what you will need to consider if you want to put out an anthology:

1.   What will be the common thread?

Will these be a book about pizza, like my Pizzathology? Will this be an anthology about space? Romance? Think of what kind of stories you want your anthology to be about.

2.   Who will be editing?

I have been the editor for all of my anthologies and I’ve loved doing it. But if you do not want to be the editor, if you have a friend or know someone who loves editing and is great at it, put out those feelers! Or, if you have the money, you can always hire a professional editor to help you.

3.   What guidelines will you have for your future authors?

You need to think about your guidelines and post it when you put out the call for stories. How long do you want your anthology stories to be? Normally 1,000 – 3,000 is my guideline. What about other things. Any specific setting? Time? World?  Going for any specific vibes or tone? Looking for a specific target audience? Be clear in what you’re looking for so you can get the best stories possible and the authors know what you are looking for. Here is a link to my original call for submissions so you can see how I did it.

4.   What kind of cover will you have?

Amazon Direct Publishing has Cover Creator that allows you to make a cover for free for your book. There are a gazillion stock photograph websites out there that you can get images from. Or, you can always consider hiring a cover artist. Our cover artist for A Pizza My Heart is Haley Crosby and she completely killed it with the type of cover I envisioned and the vibe I was going for! She’s amazing and so easy to work with. Check out her art work. It blows my mind.

5.   Will you provide payment to your authors?

I’m a fan of paying your authors for their work, even if it’s a flat fee. The authors in A Pizza My Heart were paid a flat fee. However, some people are happy just getting their work and their name out there. Whatever you decide or can do, make sure to be clear up front.

6.   Where will you sell it?

Decide if you’re only going to sell on Amazon or Barnes and Noble, etc. Amazon is my favorite place to sell books because you don’t need to purchase an ISBN for eBooks and that saves money if money is tight. Also, in my opinion, Amazon has a wider reach than most places.

Once you figure these things out you are set to go and can start working on putting out your very own anthology! It’s a fun thing to put together and, especially in this case, the authors and our cover artist make it even more fun because we’re all so excited.

I asked a few authors in the A Pizza My Heart anthology for tips and thoughts on writing and what makes a good anthology. Here is what they had to say.

Tips from the Authors

Maria Carvalho

Website

Probably stating the obvious here, but it's important to stick to the theme and the target audience. Don't try to take a story you've already written and then tweak it to make it fit the theme; instead, let the theme inspire you. I love writing for themed anthologies because it's a fun challenge to come up with something that has to incorporate a specific idea, and that tends to spark my imagination and lead me to stories I never would have thought of otherwise. I think a good anthology is one that has strong stories, each incorporating the theme in a different way and in a unique voice, that all work together to form a cohesive whole.

Jamie Adams

Website

I approached the anthology in pretty much the same way I approach my books—by asking "what can I do that will be most unexpected?" Whenever I have a general concept, I almost always immediately discard my first 3-5 ideas about how to bring that concept to life. I find those ideas are too easy, too general, or too close to a version someone else could tell. After I discard those, I consider their opposites, and then as I write I look at each turning point and ask if I want to do the expected or the unexpected. Sometimes I go with a more predictable path, because who doesn't love the slow build?! Other times I go for the shock and awe option, but I never let myself assume a story must go a certain direction—especially when a whole group of amazingly talented people are taking on the same task!

Rebecca Waddell

Website

Finding a theme that speaks into my soul the way pizza does is a great way to start writing an anthology story. A good anthology story is a good story all by itself. 

Like any flash fiction, it speaks to the theme as well as capturing my attention and making me feel things. The characters need to capture me and pull me into their world.

*****

A Pizza My Heart will be out on Amazon February 9^th, 2017, which is National Pizza Day!

We’ve got a special pizza promotion happening if you pre-order or buy it in the first two weeks. You can get the entire thing for only 99 cents. That’s less than a pack of gum these days! After that, it will go up to its normal price.

If pizza isn’t your thing, there are some amazing anthologies out there and I highly recommend checking them out if you are looking for fun reads that tie together.

If you have questions, feel free to check out my website for more tips or reach out to me on Twitter!

Here are some of my favorites from people all over the writing world:

Beware! The Little White Rabbit

Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd

Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron

Grim (yes, fairy tales)

Rags and Bones

Halloween Night: Trick or Treat

Dark Carnival: An Anthology of Horror

Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYa anthology

Slasher Girls and Monster Boys

About the Publisher:

Established in 2014, Hocus Pocus & Co. loves to bring unique voices and stories to fruition.

Publisher Links:

Website│Twitter

Cover Design by Haley Crosby

Join the book buzz using hashtag #Pizzathology

GIVEAWAY:

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Book Release Blast: Happily (N)Ever After- An Anthology @GHBTours

Happily (N)Ever After- An Anthology

Authors- Aramey, Emilie E. Faye, C.L. Foster, A.M. Hart, Allana Kephart, K.B. Mathias, E.R. Rada, David Roraff

Publication Date- November 25th, 2014

Sometimes you are lucky enough to dodge a bullet...but sometimes it strikes straight to the heart without an exit wound. It rattles around, leaks out our trust, and brings us to our knees making us wonder; why the %&$@ did I date you!?

From the darkness of emotional and/or physical pains we crawled out and eventually found a way to dust ourselves off and carry on with life.

So let these stories serve as a guide, that all that glitters is not always gold. That the felling of the hairs rising on the back of your neck is a warning, a primal scream to let us know that some things are not as they seem. Trust your gut. Yes, some people are worth fighting for but others have somehow tricked us into seeing a wolf in sheep's clothing.

With hindsight fully engaged, we can now see the clarity of our past and appreciate the lessons we learned in our very own happily never after.

 

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