Spotlight: WOLF'S STRENGTH BY AMBRIELLE KIRK @AmbrielleKirk @Shades_of_Rose #Giveaway

WOLF'S STRENGTH - CAEDMON SERIES BY AMBRIELLE KIRK

Genre: Paranormal

Tension grows between old rivals...

Cold-blooded murder sparks a feud that could lead to the deadliest civil war in Pack history. Alpha Devin Caedmon and his council are tempted to risk all that is precious to protect their bloodline. Tristan Arnou, the rival Pack's leader, isn't the only force trying to tear down the unity holding them together. All threats must be eliminated before their entire race is destroyed.

Forbidden love burns like a wildfire... There is one woman who Blake DeLuca loves more than anything else: Naomi Valentine. Despite the escalating battle and power struggles among their leaders, the erotic fire between these two lovers has yet to be extinguished. Naomi's heart belongs to Blake, but her allegiance lies with Arnou. She's left with two choices...assume her duty or accept Blake's eternal bond?

In Wolf's Strength secrets are exposed, and memories that were buried long ago have resurfaced. The game of deception is a deadly one. There can be no peace until the bloodshed ends.

Excerpt:

"Why, Naomi? Why do we have to go on like this?"

She swallowed. "There are a million reasons why, and you're aware of every single one of them."

"Let's run away. Somewhere far…and then we won't have to worry about it."

That had been the plan when they were young, but now they were adults with important responsibilities.

"Stop talking nonsense. You know that's impossible. You have your duty and I have mine." As she said this, she glimpsed a bit of remorse in his eyes, but there was something strange mixed with it. "You're different.

Your eyes are…"

"Then the news hasn't reached your Pack?" he inquired.

"There are traitors among Arnou. Tristan and his Council are selective about whom they share information with." She peered across the other side of the building, sensing her brothers had not left the area. "I have to go."

"Wait!" He tightened his grip on her hand and lifted a brow. "What do you mean traitors?"

She nodded. "Real traitors. Apparently, vital secrets were released about Arnou's plan for our Pack. Tristan has interrogated many suspects. He threatens the life of any who cross him."

Blake's nose flared and his fingers tightened on her waist. "Get out before it's too late."

"It is too late," she said firmly. "Back to the subject. What news are you referring to?"

"I don't want you concerned."

"Really? Or is it because you think word will reach Arnou after you've told me?"

Blake grinned but only for a split second. "Trust me, your leader knows what happened. Maybe he's ashamed to admit his failure to his followers."

"What failure?"

In that moment his eyes grew red and he stared at her under heavy dark eyelashes. She tried to pull away, but his firm hold on her prevented them for parting.

"What's been missing for centuries that both Alphas want?"

Naomi narrowed her eyes. "They both want absolute power of the North American territories. But what do you mean? What has been missing?"

"It's been so long, but have you forgotten already?" He lowered his voice as he spoke this time.

"As an Elite we're handpicked to guard the Alpha, eliminate his threats, and clean up after his messes. I'm not paid, nor do I make it my priority to delve into anything else."

"Ah…is that so? You and I both know you don't follow Arnou's rules to the T." He slid his nose against the side of her neck, causing her to shiver against him. "I'm a threat to your leader and the pledge you made to him, am I not?"

Naomi bit her bottom lip as Blake's canines replaced his nose against her throat. "Just tell me what the fuck you're talking about. What is missing?"

His manhood hardened against her belly. "What should I do with that naughty mouth of yours, huh?" He pressed his hot tongue against her pulsing jugular.

Her knees buckled as he released the pheromones from his tongue and awakened her wolf. It was his way of marking her internally, and her hungry pores absorbed all of it.

"Tell me," she urged.

"I-"

A long howl from the distance startled them both. It was Nathan warning her she needed to hurry.

"Come with me-permanently," Blake demanded without releasing her. "And you'll know everything."

"No." She pulled out of his embrace. "I have to go before someone discovers us. Why are you still here?

You'll get caught too."

"I know the sheriff downstairs. We'll handle the cover up."

"Must be nice to have ranking in the human world."

His lips spread into a smile. "The sheriff isn't humankind."

"Figures." Caedmon royalty had connections like that inside as well as outside the shifter world. It almost made her think they had more of a chance than her Arnou leader.

Blake frowned. "How do you expect me to protect you from so far away?"

"You left me years ago." She pointed at his chest. "You should have thought about that before you made that decision."

"Don't…" He tried to reach her, but she continued to back away. "You still want to use that against me? We agreed to a plan years ago. You didn't follow through."

She swallowed. He was right. At the last minute she'd all but betrayed him. "I would go with you, but just like it was years ago, there is more than my life at stake."

Wolf's Desire (Caedmon Wolves, 4)

When Keira becomes a widow, she realizes that the life she once had wasn't normal after all. After her husband is brutally murdered, she is more than just alone but vulnerable to threats and tangled in a web of greed. Her decisions lead her into a corner, and safety is jeopardized.

Aiden, Caedmon Council member, has never failed when it comes to fulfilling the terms of his employment contract. When he is hired to protect an heiress, he doesn't plan on her being the only woman to bring both challenge and purpose in his life. Without hesitation, he vows to keep the grieving Keira safe-even from himself.

Keira trusts Aiden unconditionally and finds joy whenever they are together, but can love transcend a tragedy? Aiden's urge to protect her is just as great as his desire to claim her. Once the passion is unleashed and fueled by the need to have all of her, the wolf will accept nothing less than his mate.

Buy Links: Amazon ARe Barnes & Noble

Wolf's Haven (Caedmon Wolves, 1)

Tamara would risk her life to gain freedom. She's finally built up the courage to escape from a world of abuse by the hands of the man who promised her the world. One night she makes a break for it, but her plans backfire. She begins to believe that she was never meant to be happy. When all hope of freedom fades, she stumbles across a wolf that brings her to safety. She learns to trust the wolf, but has yet to trust the man.

Devin, potential future leader of the Caedmon Pack, returns to the foothills of his Virginia home after five long years as a lone wolf. Rivals within the circle challenge him and threaten to strip him of his true birthright. Being bound to lead the pack was not something Devin had planned for his life, but letting his people fall prey to turmoil under the rule of his cousin Darius is out of the question. The night of Devin's rise to Alpha leader is approaching. Despite opposition, he's gained an impressive following. That is until he brings a human among the pack.

Tamara can't deny the attraction she feels toward Devin. The Alpha leader-to-be simply cannot resist Tamara's lure. When they are together, their tribulations take the backburner. Their desire for one another grows as they consummate their passion in wolf's haven. Will Devin forfeit the most coveted position within the Caedmon Pack to bond with his chosen mate? Can Tamara trust Devin with her mind, heart, body, and soul or will the memories of her abuse dissuade her from being bound to the wolf?

Buy Links: Amazon ARe Barnes & Noble

About The Author:

Multi-published author Ambrielle Kirk writes diverse, edgy and seductive romance: multicultural erotic, paranormal romance, and urban fantasy. A bestselling author in several sub-genres at ARe and Amazon, she's a 2012 Swirl Award Winner and 2014 RONE' Awards Nominee in the paranormal romance. She's a PAN member of RWA, FF&P special interest chapter of RWA, and co-founder and treasurer of Cultural, Interracial, and Multicultural special interest chapter of RWA.

She loves weaving tales where undying love is the main element. When she's not writing, she's plotting. When she's not writing or plotting, she's reading. She's a thirty-something year old wife, mother, book hoarder, 90s music fan, earl grey tea drinker, dark roast coffee fiend, platform and stiletto shoe collector, Keurig lover, and martial arts/action movie fanatic.

Author Links: Site Blog Facebook Twitter

Giveaway:

Ambrielle Kirk is giving away to one lucky winner a $15 GC.

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Book Blitz: How to Seduce a Band Geek By Cassie Mae @cassiecook2 @swoonromance @NereydaG1003 #Giveaway

How to Seduce a Band Geek (How To #2)

by Cassie Mae

Release Date: 05/06/14

Swoon Romance

Summary from Goodreads:

Sierra Livingston's got it bad for her sister's best friend, Levi Mason-the boy who carries his drumsticks in his pocket, marches with the school's band, and taps his feet to whatever beat runs through his head. Sierra racks her brain for ways to impress the sexy drummer, but the short skirts and bursting cleavage don't seem to cut it.

When Sierra gets paired with Levi's sister, Brea, for a mentorship program, they strike a deal. In exchange for Sierra keeping her mouth shut about Brea ditching the program, Brea lets Sierra dig for more info on Levi to help get the guy of her dreams.

But when Sierra discovers Levi no longer plays the drums, his family has moved into a trailer, and he's traded in his Range Rover for a baby blue moped, Sierra's not sure if she can go through with violating his privacy. She'll have to find the courage to ask him straight out-if he's willing to let her in-and explore other ways to seduce the school's band geek.

Available from:
Amazon * Kobo

Link to book one:
(cover linked to Goodreads)

Available from:

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Kobo

Excerpt:

I pull out my notebook and doodle his name all over the page while I wait for him to walk in the room. The saxophone players are the closest to me, and they're smack-talking the flutists. I'm stifling my laughter when one of them makes a comment about how Sammy's (flute chair one) blow form is all screwed up and she needs practice.

"How she got first chair is beyond me. She has no embouchure."

"And she needs desperate help with her fingering."

"Yeah, and Ms. Hamilton wants her to take Levi 'under her wing.' Seriously, I can teach him better fingering than she can. And I'm a sax player."

"Flutists get special treatment. It's a bunch of crap."

Wait, back it up. They said Levi somewhere in there. My eyes flick up to the three saxophonists, or whatever they're called. One of the girls is looking straight across the half circle of band players. I follow her gaze to the flutists, and right there in front, is Levi pulling out this teeny tiny stick from the small case he's been carrying around all day.

Is that an instrument? It's like the size of my forearm. Maybe not even that.

What happened to his drums?

About the Author

Amazon multi-category and international bestselling author of HOW TO DATE A NERD, HOW TO SEDUCE A BAND GEEK and HOW TO HOOK A BOOKWORM

Cassie Mae is a nerd to the core from Utah, who likes to write about other nerds who find love. Her angel children and perfect husband fan her and feed her grapes while she clacks away on the keyboard. Then she wakes up from that dream world and manages to get a few words on the computer while the house explodes around her. When she's not writing, she's spending time with the youth in her community as a volleyball and basketball coach, or searching the house desperately for chocolate.

Cassie Mae is an Amazon.com bestselling author of the teen contemporary romance novel REASONS I FELL FOR THE FUNNY FAT FRIEND, which she self-published. In addition to publishing with Swoon Romance, she is published by Random House Flirt.

Author Links:

    

*GIVEAWAY*

1 ebook of How to Seduce a Band Geek & $10 Amazon gift card (INT)

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Review: Smash By Susan Child @Shades_of_Rose #Giveaway

Smash by Susan Child

Genre: Erotic Paranormal Romance

Can a vampire and a human find love, or will the rules of his society tear them apart?

When Melissa Waters attends the opening of Smash, a newly renovated nightclub, she meets a man who will change her life forever.

David thought his time with Melissa would just be a one-night stand, but he can't get the beautiful redhead off his mind. He wants more. But she's human. David's father, the king of the vampires, will never allow them to pursue a relationship. He will stop at nothing to ensure that his son mates with another vampire. When he abducts Melissa, David is in a race against time to locate her and save her life.

Content Warning: contains graphic sex and explicit language

Excerpt:

David got up from the bar and walked to the shadows so he could watch the beautiful redhead. He looked at her with a growing need to shelter her from the club. More importantly, what and who was in the club. He'd never felt this way before. What was it about this woman? She was human for gods' sake! Why did he feel this primal pull toward her?

He nearly smiled as she looked over her shoulder at the bar to find he was no longer there. At least he knew he wasn't the only one affected by what was between them. When she looked back to the man sitting at the table with her, David wanted it to be him that she was looking at. Was the guy her boyfriend? At the thought David felt a growl coming on…she was his.

His imagination ran wild as he started to picture his hands running through her shiny, wild red hair. How her head would tip up to look at him. Her mouth would part as her eyes closed, and he would lean over to have a taste of her neck. Slowly, his elongated fangs would draw softly over her pulse and she'd shudder, exposing her neck and giving him better access.

Buy Links: Beachwalk Press Amazon Barnes & Noble

My Review:

I received a free copy of the book from the author for my honest opinion.

Melissa and John have been best friends for a very long time. John has come to a point in his life where he had kind of rather stayed at home and not get out. But Melissa has other plans she is not going to let him sit behind closed doors and shut the world out. She is determined to help her friend John be happy. So Melissa talks him into going with her to this night club called Smash. Smash is not your ordinary club. You know where you go out have a few drinks, dance and maybe meet someone new. Oh you will probably meet someone new but more than likely you won't remember it when you leave.

While Melissa and John are sitting in their booth talking and sipping on their drinks, Melissa is casually starts checking out all the men in the place when she makes eye contact when this one dude that shoots her temperature up about fifty or sixty degrees. He is one good looking, tongue brain slapping, out of this world, rock my boat dude. But when Melissa turns to look at him again he is no longer sitting at the bar and Melissa feels her heart plummet right down to her feet.

But Melissa is not the only one whose body temperature is on the rise so his the dude that she sees. Oh yeah David's world is about to be rocked as well. David sees Melissa and wants her badly. While he is standing off in the shadows watching her talking with her friend wondering who he is if he is her boyfriend or what he is to her David is thinking that he wants a one night stand with this beautiful woman sitting before his eyes.

David wants a little more than a one night stand with this woman oh yeah he wants to drink her blood. Yes David is a vampire and is hooked on human blood like humans get hooked on alcohol or food. His addiction is more like when a human is hooked on food than alcohol. David needs the blood to survive but he also just has this craving that is so strong that sometimes he can't control it and he ends up killing the human that is drinking from. But later on that night David runs into Melissa and finds that someone has drugged her so he takes her home with him. He realizes that what he feels for her is like nothing he has ever felt before and is not sure that a one night stand is going to do the trick anymore.

I loved reading Smash and going along on each and every characters journey with them. Sometimes I would laugh with them because they were so happy and then sometimes I would cry with them when things would go sour for them. I wanted to get inside the book with them and help them out, keep them safe from the bad people in the world. I loved how David felt about his mother and his sister Sage. David would have given his life for his mother, sister and Melissa. If you love reading about vampires then Smash is not the book to let slip out of your hands. Pick up your copy today! You will not regret it in the least.

About The Author:

When Susan was in high school she never really liked to read, but when she was a child she did. Go figure. It wasn't until after she graduated that she caught the reading bug. She had to go to a bookstore to sell off her textbooks and a particular book caught her eye. This book stood out from the other second-hand books because it had a pink cover. It was only a couple of dollars, so she thought Why not? But she couldn't quite bring herself to read her bargain book. It had a pink cover!

Then, after it tormented her for three weeks, she finally picked it up and…could not put it down. She finished it in two days.

After googling the author Susan found that she'd written a heap of books for Harlequin Mills & Boon as well as Single Titles. So of course Susan had to buy all her other books. And when she realised that there were other Mills & Boon authors out there, she just had to search out their books too. And she loved them!

Susan got a ton of inspiration from those books. But the most important thing she realized was that she wanted to write those books too. She wanted to be a paranormal author! Because let's face it, who doesn't like things that go bump in the night?

Author Links: Site Facebook

Giveaway:

Susan is giving away to one lucky winner an eCopy of her book More Than Friends.

For a chance to win please fill out the rafflecopter below.

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Top Ten: Ride of Your Life By Shevi Arnold @SheviStories @GHBTours

Ride of Your Life
By Shevi Arnold

Blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Tracy Miller met the love of her life . . . thirty years after her own death.

Tracy was working at the House of Horrors at the Amazing Lands Theme Park when the fire broke out. Instead of running, she lost her life trying to save eleven-year-old Mack. Now thirty years have passed, and suddenly everything changes with the arrival of two new ghosts: a little girl named Ashley and a cute, seventeen-year-old boy named Josh. Josh would do anything for Tracy, but can he help her let go of the past?

Ride of Your Life is a bittersweet, romantic, YA ghost story that was inspired by a true event, the Great Adventure Haunted Castle fire, which killed eight teenagers in 1984, exactly thirty years ago this May 11th. It is a fantasy novel about undying love, and it won third-place in Smart Writer's Write It Now (W.I.N.) contest in the YA category, which was judged by Alex Flinn, the author of Beastly and Cloaked.

Hang on. Love can be as terrifying as a roller coaster, but it can also be the Ride of Your Life.

Additional information about the Six Flags Great Adventure Haunted Castle fire- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haunted_Castle_(Six_Flags_Great_Adventure)

  

Excerpt:

They started with the arcade. The virtual reality games were most popular with the living, but they required wearing goggles, which meant ghosts couldn't enjoy them without going into a living person. Still, Josh and Tracy could play almost all the other games. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a handful of quarters.

"How did you get those?" Josh shouted over the loud music.

"I knew I had them, so they were there." Tracy put a quarter into a pinball machine. The ghost version of the machine woke up with lights, dings and electronic music. The score returned to zero, and a silver ball slid down the chute, ready to be launched. She moved to the side and offered the game to Josh.

He reached out to grab the plunger, but he didn't bring his hand down. Instead it remained open, palm down, a few inches above the plunger. Tracy could tell he was having doubts, and doubts weren't good. Everything in the ghost world depended on what you believed. If he didn't believe he could play the game, it wouldn't work.

"Don't worry," she said. "It's real. You're real. You just have to believe it, and everything you think is supposed to happen will happen."

But Josh's hand still hovered above the plunger. Tracy slowly brought her hand on top of his and gently pressed it down. She curled his fingers around the plunger, pulled back, and released. The ball went flying. Josh reached for the buttons on the sides of the game, setting the ghost flippers in motion. He was playing, just as he would have been when he was alive.

"Thanks," he said. "I don't know why I thought this would be hard."

"You're welcome," she shouted above the noise. "The principle is the same for most of the games here, but it's easier to play the less popular games. Less interference."

"Were you always able to do this?"

"I don't know." Tracy almost laughed. "They only put the arcade in a few years ago. I played this machine right after they installed it. Mack would tell you that's one of the perks of being a ghost here. When things are under construction, you get dibs."

They played a dozen different games in the arcade, sometimes together and sometimes taking turns. Then Tracy checked someone's watch and realized they only had a little over an hour left to see the rest of Cyber City before the park closed.

She took Josh to the spaceship-styled restaurant and then the Space Bar. A live band was playing new-age music there. Josh asked about karaoke, and Tracy explained that it ended every night at eight o'clock. Luckily, they had missed it. They skipped the virtual reality rides and the roller coaster, but rode the other rides. They rode the Silver Wheel with a woman and her daughter, and Josh jokingly tried to make a bet with Tracy on whether they would make out. Finally they entered the 3D multi-media theater just in time for the last showing of the night.

The movie was about a spaceship crashing on a strange planet where a new danger suddenly appeared every few seconds. It wasn't much of a plot, but it utilized the 3D and other effects well. Bubbles, sparkling confetti, and a mist of water fell on the audience from above, while lights flashed on the sides of the theater, and dry ice created fog below. Lasers occasionally flashed overhead. The audience smiled, gasped, and jumped out of their seats. Josh and Tracy stood in the aisle and watched the movie, but the picture-designed for 3D glasses-showed two images at once.

"Can't we make ghost copies of the glasses?" Josh asked.

"We can," Tracy explained. "But it's kind of the opposite of walking through a glass door."

"In what way?"

"You can easily walk through a glass door, because you can imagine nothing is there. But when you look through the lenses of these glasses, you can't see that they're 3D ones. They just look like clear plastic."

"So . . . when you make a ghost copy, it only has clear plastic instead of the kind needed for 3D?"

"Exactly."

Josh looked around. "But we can see the movie if we get inside someone who's watching it, right?"

"Yup."

He ran his fingers through his hair. "Let's do it."

"What?" Tracy almost laughed. "No, you don't want to do that."

"I do."

"It's hard."

"Then show me how."

"I don't know . . ."

"Please?"

She looked around and tried to find a suitable couple, one that matched them in height. A tall, middle-aged man and a slightly short woman sat almost at the exact center of the room. Tracy pointed at them. "First we have to get over there, and that means going through some legs. You up to it?"

"Can you walk me through it?" He laughed. "Sorry, bad pun."

"At least you found it funny." She paused to think. "There are two ways we can do this: Mack's way or mine."

"I'm probably going to regret asking this, but what's Mack's way?"

"Mack accepts that he's a ghost. He tells himself that ghosts can walk through stuff, so it's not a problem for him."

"And your way?"

"My way is to tell myself that everything around me isn't real."

Josh tilted his head. "Isn't

?"

"No, it's not." This was hard to explain, but she had to try. "It's real for living people, but not for us. We can sort of fade it out. What I do is choose to fade out some things while holding onto some other things. In this case, I would fade out the people who are sitting in the seats over here, but I wouldn't fade out the theater, the floor, my body, or the people I'm trying to get to."

"Oh." Josh paused. "I think I might have done that already by accident."

"What? When?"

"When I went out with Mack. He left me for . . . a few minutes. Everything stopped seeming real. Then it all kind of blurred."

"That's it, but you have to hold onto the reality of something. Body, theater, floor, and the couple in the middle. Think you can do it?"

Josh nodded. "Let's do this."

Tracy went first. She told herself the people sitting in the seats that blocked their path weren't real. They faded away, and she walked up to the couple in the middle. She turned to see how Josh was doing. He looked at her. Then he walked straight without taking his eyes off her and stopped at her side.

"You know," he said, "there's a third way of doing this."

"There is?"

"I let everything else slip away and just focused on you."

Tracy half smiled, but turned away to avoid showing it. "Okay, that was the easy part. Now we have to go inside these people, and we have to match all their movements, particularly their eyes. It's . . . kind of creepy, really. Makes my skin crawl. Anyway, it's like a dance. The living person is your partner, and you have to follow your partner. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Sure, I'm ready to dance with you anytime."

She rolled her eyes. "How about with this guy over here?"

"Yes, I'm ready."

"'Cause if you're not-"

"I'm ready."

"Okay . . ."

She stepped into the women's feet. The woman was wearing sneakers with short socks. The woman's feet must have been hot, but it was smarter to wear sneakers to the park than sandals, because of all the walking and standing in line. That was why Tracy always wore sneakers when she was working there: white ones to get to work, black ones while she was working indoors. She couldn't wear white sneakers in the House of Horrors because they would have glowed in the blue light, and she couldn't wear her black sneakers in the sun because they would get too hot. The woman didn't compromise comfort for fashion. Tracy liked that.

She sat down in the woman's lap. She brought her hand down to the woman's hand. Thin fingers, and a wedding ring. Tracy took a deep breath, as if she were about to go underwater, and slid into the woman's body and head. She flowed with the woman's movements, keeping her eyes always in sync with the woman's eyes. This dance of ghost body and living body felt so weird. Tracy couldn't wait until it was over, but in the meanwhile she would try her best to enjoy watching the movie through 3D glasses, as it was meant to be seen.

She couldn't see Josh, because the woman was staring straight at the screen. Then Tracy felt someone graze the woman's hand. The woman glanced at her hand and then turned to look at the man. Tracy could see Josh floating inside him, only slightly above the surface. Josh's curly dark hair sat on the man's bald head. Tracy was impressed. Josh was a pretty good ghost dancer for someone who had never done this before.

The woman turned her hand over, and the man wrapped his fingers around hers. Then he leaned in close. The woman leaned in, too, and the man and woman kissed.

Tracy felt her heart race. Or was it the woman's? No, it was definitely hers. The kiss lasted a long time. Laser beams shot across the room. The man and woman pulled apart, but Tracy's heart continued to race.

When the movie finished, Tracy and Josh walked slowly back to the room in the first-aid office. Josh no longer paid attention to where the people were walking, and didn't flinch when someone ran through him. He just stared at Tracy and smiled.

Top Ten Favorite fictional characters:

My favorite fictional characters come from a variety of places. Some are from the books I loved when I was a teenager. Some of from TV shows or movies I've loved and still love. And some are from my own imagination, characters I dreamed up because I wanted them to exist so badly that I had to write them myself. I enjoy spending time with all of these characters, and I enjoy carrying them around in my head. I love writing stories for all of them in my head, even the ones I didn't create myself. And I love seeing the world through their eyes. They remind me that there's magic and wonder and love and heroism to be found in the most surprising of places.

1. Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice is honest, curious, and daring. She doesn't see the point of books without pictures or dialogue, and she's not afraid to tell you that right there on the page. She dares to sit down at tea parties with Mad Hatters and March Hares. Her adventures in Wonderland become your adventures in Wonderland, and it's a strange and wonderful place to be, a place on infinitely strange possibilities. Someday I'd like to write a modern American version of Alice in Wonderland, and I hope to capture that same sense of nonsense and wonder.

2. Doctor Who
I don't remember how old I was when I first saw Doctor Who, although I'm sure it was in reruns and I must have been younger than ten. Tom Baker was my first Doctor, and I loved him because he was funny, nonsensical and yet strangely wise, and a safety net in a dangerous universe. It felt like you could wrap yourself up in that long knitted scarf of his, and it would keep you safe and warm against Daleks and whatever other evil lurked out there. Of course, I probably would have forgotten that feeling if they hadn't revived it and updated it for the twenty-first century. Now my favorite Doctor is David Tennant, but I still have a soft spot for the Doctor of my childhood. One of the wonderful things about the Doctor is that he could be anyone and anywhere--and he could take you with him to any time and place, even to the stars.

3. Frodo Baggins
I discovered The Lord of the Rings in the library of a high school in Israel, where I had off during English classes because they didn't have a teacher for the English-speaking girls. I borrowed the first book and read it through. Then the second. And finally the third. It took a while, but I was fully absorbed in the story within the first few pages. Frodo Baggins is a true hero, a little guy who takes on a huge responsibility and must face obstacles much bigger than him. Who doesn't love an underdog? And Frodo Baggins is probably the greatest literary underdog ever.

4. Shmendrik the Magician
Shmendrik the Magician is the main character of my favorite book when I was sixteen: The Last Unicorn. He's funny, he tries really hard to do the right thing, and he doesn't always succeed. While I wouldn't want to be him, I do love the character.

5. Jessie the Cowgirl from Toy Story
Jessie is joy and fun and love personified. No one has ever been happier than Jessie is when she meets Sheriff Woody and screams, "It's you! It's you, it's you, it's you! It's really you!" And when she remembers how she lost Emily, the song "When She Loved Me" just breaks your heart. It makes you want to pick up that little toy cowgirl and give her a hug. Jessie doesn't do anything by half. She goes all in, and I love that about her.

6. River Tam
River Tam from Firefly is beautiful, strong, unpredictable, and dangerous. Joss Whedon--who created Buffy, The Avengers, Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along, and Firefly--knows how to create kick-ass heroines, and of all of them, none are more kick-ass than River Tam. Also, she can kill you with her brain.

7. Amy Pond
Doctor Who always travels with a companion, and Amy Pond was the ultimate companion. Like many of us who watch the show, she started as a little girl, and when the Doctor came back for her, she was all grown up. But she never forgot the Doctor she called "Raggedy Man." In fact, he was able to return only because she remembered . In the end, she leaves the Doctor to join her husband, Rory Williams, in another time. Oh, and after she retires as a companion, she becomes a children's book writer.

8. Amy Farrah Fowler
I love all the characters from The Big Bang Theory, but my heart really goes out to Amy. She's in love with someone who might never love her back, and yet she never gives up hope. She gets excited over tiaras and princess dresses, and she can be pretty devious when she wants to be.

9. Toren the Teller
I created Toren in my head when I was about sixteen years old, because I felt there was a kind of magic in stories, and I wanted to read a story about a girl like me who understood how to use that magic. Toren stayed with me for decades. Her story ran in my mind like a movie or a TV show, one I enjoyed watching over and over. When I finally decided to start writing novels, hers was the first story that demanded to be told. I love her because her story is my story. It's the story of every person who has ever experienced the magic that stories hold.

10. Gilbert Garfinkle from Why My Love Life Sucks
I've long felt that geeks are the true heroes of our world, and I've long felt surprised that this isn't reflected in fantasy and science fiction. After all, we're talking about the exact people who read these genres. Shouldn't we geeks be represented in the books we love? I define a geek as a person who loves something to the point that others might consider it socially unacceptable. But that's what passion is, and I believe it takes passion to change the world. Gilbert Garfinkle is exactly that kind of teenage geek. He dreams of creating something that will someday fix the world, and he has the knowledge and skills to do it. Unfortunately, he never counted on a certain cute vampire girl getting in his way, and that's where some goes terribly, hilariously wrong on the way to the future.

In general, I like characters who are larger than life and not afraid or ashamed to be fully who they are. I like characters that make me laugh and think and feel. And I like characters that persevere against great odds, because they give me hope. That's not the only reason why I read or watch TV or movies, but it's a pretty good one.

About the Author:

Shevi Arnold grew up in Philadelphia, and her family had a season pass to Great Adventure in the early 1980s. She was nineteen-years-old and studying overseas when a fellow college student asked her if she had heard about the Great Adventure Haunted Castle fire. Eight teenagers had lost their lives. Like many, Shevi was shocked by the news. In her mind, she wanted to give that tragedy a happy ending. Ride of Your Life is the result.

Shevi loves writing, illustrating, and making people laugh-and she's been doing all three since 1987 when she started working as an editorial cartoonist for a newsweekly. She's also worked as a comics magazine editor, as an arts-and-entertainment writer specializing in comedy and children's entertainment, and as a consumer columnist. Nowadays, though, she enjoys writing (and sometimes illustrating) humorous fiction, fantasy, and science fiction for children, teens, and geeks of all ages. Her other books include Toren the Teller's Tale, Dan Quixote: Boy of Nuevo Jersey, and Why My Love Life Sucks (The Legend of Gilbert the Fixer, book one). She is currently working on Why It Still Mega Bites, the second book in the Gilbert the Fixer series.

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Book Blitz: The Man Without Rules By Tyffani Clark Kemp @TyffaniCKemp @GHBTours

The Man Without Rules

Without Rules Series # 1

By- Tyffani Clark Kemp

Genre-Erotica

Publication Date-September 5th, 2013

Sebastian Boa is "The Man Without Rules." Rules just don't apply to him. When he meets Mariss Red one night at one of his night clubs, he sets his sights on her and makes a play. But Mariss is married and she has no desire to lose what she loves for a one night stand. The harder Sebastian tries the more Mariss refuses and he realizes that his feelings for her may be deeper than he ever thought possible for a man like him. And he finds himself changing to be worthy of the one woman who has ever told him no.

  

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#Review: The Z Contingency By W.I. Eganson @WIEganson

The Z Contingency
By W.I. Eganson
Genre: Science-Fiction

Book Description:

A world-renowned virologist with an uncanny knack for predicting outbreaks of viral hemorrhagic fevers has a terrifying realization that one of these viruses will soon mutate into something that kills its victims, but also moves them about to further spread the virus.

In an attempt to prevent the start of a zombie apocalypse, he needs to create a vaccine before the virus naturally appears, so he needs the help a colleague to help create the very virus he predicted.

Something convinces her to help him in spite of every fiber in her being screaming out against it, but before the two scientists are able to work on the vaccine, the unthinkable happens….

  

Excerpt:

It seems highly unlikely that the virus, no matter how many mutations, will be able to maintain higher-level cortical functions, but it may well be sufficient to innervate the brainstem and the autonomic nervous system. It is unclear at this point how long this state can be maintained, as the model does not predict how the neurons will receive nutrients and oxygen following organ failure; however, it is possible that the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems may operate to keep what circulation would be minimally necessary to sustain the neuronal activity.

My Review:

I was given a free copy of the book from the author for my honest opinion.

I gave The Z Contingency a five star rating only because that was the highest rating I could give it. If I could give it my own rating I would give it a hundred stars. I am sitting here typing this and thinking that you are probably wondering why I would give it a hundred star rating. Am I right? Of course I am and I am not being sarcastic at all I am just saying. No, no, no seriously the reason I would give it such a high rating is because I have told my family over and over again that the zombie virus could actually come true. Maybe not in the way that we think or have seen on tv or even read in a book. The thing that I have said again and again is that the CDC has all kinds of viruses and a lot of them. They have so many that there is no way we could ever know what or how many they have. But of course there is no way they are ever going to let any kind of information like that out in the public either. So yes I do believe that there may be a virus at the CDC that could actually start a zombie apocalypse.

So therefore I really and truly loved, loved reading The Z Contingency so, so much. I was like yes a book where the virus came from the CDC just like what I have been saying all along. While I was reading it I would get so mad at myself because I couldn't get into it. I know that doesn't make any sense right? Well let me explain ok it is like this you know how a writer gets writers block well I had reader's block while reading it. I hate getting readers block so bad especially when you are reading a book that is out of this world.

Ok now that I have told you how much I really liked the book let me tell you a little of what the book is about. There are a couple of the characters that work for the CDC and they are Gary and Natalie. They study these viruses and try to find a cure for them. Gary has this gift of predicting a virus outbreak. Gary is working real hard on trying to find a cure for a hemorrhagic fever virus that could make people act like zombies, but before he can find the cure the CDC starts sending people on furlough. Gary is not real keen about this idea at this particular time but unfortunately he has no choice.

But when someone breaks into the CDC and yes I said break into the CDC, a friend of Gary's Simon his roommate from college calls him up to help him find the person who stole the virus hopefully before it is let out in to the world and infects millions and millions of people. Gary needs Natalie's help in finding the cure so after Simon finds him they start out on a quest to find Natalie before it is too late to save the world. Will Simon and Gary find Natalie in time? Can Natalie and Gary save the world from the biggest catastrophic events of all time? Pick up your copy of The Z Contingency today to find out. You will not regret it if you love zombies!

About The Author:

W.I. Eganson leads a double life in the San Francisco Bay Area. By day, Eganson helps people live better lives working at a large healthcare organization, then turns to plotting good against evil with a selection of mighty fountain pens (or computer) by night. The Z Contingency is Eganson's debut novel.

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