Tag Archives: fiction

A Spring in Your Step Blog Hop Winner and Cover Reveal

A Spring in Your Step Blog HopThank you everyone who stopped by and entered my giveaway for the Spring in Your Step Blog Hop. And now for the winner…

Drum roll please…

Cindy ! Congrats on winning the Amazon gift card! I will be sending you an email 🙂

And now for the cover reveal for Forever Layla by Melissa Turner Lee:

Forever Layla
What if the woman you envied most is the person you are destined to become?

In 1994, high school senior David Foster was the lackey and soundboard geek for his best friend’s grunge band. During spring break, the band lands a dream gig playing at a motel in Myrtle Beach, SC. David expected all the girls to ogle the guys on stage, but when a beautiful blond “Bond Girl” approaches him and calls him by name, he’s shocked to find out she knows more about him than a stranger should.

She even knows about his notebooks and his visions of time travel.

What she thought was a quick time-travel-sightseeing trip takes a surprising turn when she meets the young adult version of the man she’d heard stories about as a child. His fairy-tale romance with the woman he’d loved, Layla, inspired her to accept nothing less than a love just as strong…but hopefully not as tragic. When she won’t tell the younger version of him her name, he calls her Layla–and the world as she knows it changes forever.

***

To add Forever Layla to your Goodreads list, click here.

And to enter the giveaway for an advance copy of Forever Layla, enter here: Rafflecopter Giveaway

melissaturnerleeMelissa Turner Lee holds a BA in Communications with a concentration in Journalism from the University of South Carolina. She has studied fiction writing since 2008, attending various writing conferences and workshops, along with guidance from professional writing coaches. She resides in Spartanburg, SC with her husband and 3 sons.

A Spring in Your Step Blog Hop

A Spring in Your Step Blog Hop

Hi! Welcome to the Spring in Your Step Blog Hop. As part of this blog hop I will be giving away a $10 Amazon gift card (details down below)

So who is ready for spring to come? Tired of the snow and cold weather? What is your favorite part of spring?

I love flowers and gardens. The moment I don’t have to worry about frost, I’m at my local nursery picking out plants. This year I’m even more excited because we just moved into a new house with built in flower boxes, many flower beds, and a raised garden spot. So excited!

Along with gardening, I also love to bike. In my hometown we have a paved trail that runs the entire town. This is especially nice since I bike with my kids. There is nothing like a warm day with the wind in your face, racing along with your kids and enjoying the scenery.

So how about you? What do you look forward to the most in the spring? Getting outside? Barbequing? Planting flowers? Share in the comments. I would love to know!

Now for my giveaway for a $10 Amazon gift card: Rafflecopter Giveaway

And don’t forget to check out the rest of blogs along this hop for more gift cards, swag, and other prizes! Click here

Book Review: If One Falls

If One FallsIf One Falls is a fantasy novel by Elaine H. Baldwin. The story is about two young women who are caught in a war between the Emperor and the Cardinal and Allelon, the exiled true king of Terrah.

Esa is young, beautiful, and selfish. She trains to someday be the bride of a rich man. But little does she know what that life will really entail. Wynn is her companion, a woman of sense and duty, and bearer of a secret: She is part of the Allelon family. When Esa is auctioned off to the highest bidding rich man to become his future wife, the women discover that he killed his previous wives and plans on leaving Wynn (Esa’s companion) at a temple to become a temple prostitute.

So the women run. While running, they stumble upon a community that exists outside Terrah, a community filled with magic. It seems like an idyllic village filled with peace and communion between the inhabitants. Then Wynn discovers that someone in the village has used magic to suppress her and Esa’s memories, replacing them instead with false memories.

I enjoyed If One Falls. It is not the usual medieval fantasy. Instead, the story takes place in a fantasy world that feels more like the 1800’s. I liked how it was a different kind of world. I also enjoyed the characters, especially Wynn. She is a no-nonsense, get things done kind of woman. And she is (most of the time) patient with Esa.

And speaking of Esa, usually characters like her (young, beautiful, naive, selfish) can annoy me, but Esa did not. Instead, I saw her the way Wynn did, as someone who need protection and guidance.

I recommend If One Falls for anyone looking for a fantasy novel 🙂

 

Daughter of Light on Tour

Daughter of LightThis weekend my first novel, Daughter of Light, is on tour with Team Novel Teen! I have enjoyed the tour and met new readers. But I don’t want to hog all the fun. So here are the links to the blogs on tour. Many of them are holding giveaways including ebook and paperbook copies of Daughter of Light. And if you already own a copy, then enter to win one for a friend or family member :). So what are you waiting for? Click away!

Jill Williamson

ADD Librarian

Blooming with Books

Colorimetry

CTF Devourer

Katy McCurdy

The Librarian’s Bookshelf

The Ramblings of a Young Author

Shadow Writer World

A Simple Life?!

Who YA Reading?

Worthy2Read

 

Son of Truth is Now Available

The sequel to Daughter of Light is now available!

I am cold. Ruthless. I always get the job done.

I am the left hand of the Lord of Temanin. I have murdered countless, doing away with those who would obstruct the Empire. I live in the shadows, and I am never found.

Until now.

I heard of the Eldarans, words spoken on my mother’s deathbed. A race of beings left in the Lands to protect mankind. Her words I dismissed as the ramblings of a dying woman. There were no such beings. Only myth, or distant legend.

Yet now I stand before one.

The woman’s hand glows as if she were holding a sliver of sunlight. I see the light, and I fear it. My mother’s words haunt me. I know the moment the woman touches me, I will be undone.

I cannot run, I cannot move. Her hand touches my cheek and fire sears my soul.

Everything I have done plays before my eyes: the women I have used, the lies I have spoken, the way I abused others, my disdain and arrogance.

And the deaths. All those deaths.

I feel her horror as she watches every act of murder. I try to hide what I have done, pull my past back into the shadows. But I cannot. It is now laid bare in the light.

The woman disappears. All is silent. I look at my hands. They are covered in blood. I try to wipe away the evidence of my darkness, but the blood remains.

A shadow appears before me and I look up.

A deformed and scarred man stands there. He looks upon me with dark, fathomless eyes. This is no ordinary man. He is more. And he is here to deal with the blood on my hands.

He is my judge.

I bow, my heart full of fear. The time of my reckoning has come.

And I know it will cost me my life.

***

Son of Truth CoverThe war in the north is over, but the war for all the Lands has just begun. As the Shadonae solidify their hold on the city of Thyra, Rowen Mar, the last Eldaran and savior of the White City, awakens to find herself hunted by those she has saved.

Meanwhile, the assassin Caleb Tala finds himself in the presence of the Word. The time of reckoning has come, and he must pay the price for all the lives he has taken. But in his moment of judgment, Caleb is given a second chance to change his life.

These two hold the power to save the Lands from the Shadonae. One must escape slavery, and one must choose to forsake everything before the world is consumed in darkness.

Son of Truth.

 

 

Book Review: The Ryn (Eyes of E’veria, Book 1)

The Ryn is a cross between a fantasy and a fairytale retelling. It centers on a young woman who grows up not knowing who her real family is, only to discover she is the Ryn, the long thought dead daughter of the king.

As Rose discovers who she is, she also learns she possesses telepathic-like powers, the power to hear the thoughts of others. But there are those who do not want the Ryn (Rose) to live, who tried to kill her as a baby and are now hunting her down. For she is the one from the prophecy who will finally defeat them and bring peace to the lands.

I enjoyed The Ryn. I love fantasy and especially anything like a fairytale retelling. The story and writing style reminded me of Jill Williamson‘s Blood of King Trilogy and Melanie Dickerson’s fairytale novels. You have the usual young person learning she is more than she thought, that she is the only one who can stop the encroaching evil, and possesses an amazing power. But what makes The Ryn unique is the world and the magic system.

There are storytellers who don’t just tell stories, but have a magical ability to bring the stories alive (imagine smoke and white sand forming characters in the story, coming forth from the storyteller’s hands). Great forests, a magical island, books that when you read them, you are drawn into the words and actually meet the writer (this is one of Rose’s unique abilities). Chivalrous knights, pirates, and a group of people with telepathic abilities.

The one thing I did notice is there are not a lot of battles or fight scenes. This first book seems to center more around Rose discovering who she is and growing in her power. But I suspect there will be more action in the following books.

Overall, if you enjoy fantasy, then I recommend this book 🙂

To find out more, check out these links:

TWITTER @Serena_Chase

*I was given a free ARC for an honest review of this book.

 

Son of Truth Cover Reveal

Here it is, the cover for Son of Truth, which releases next week (April 1st, 2013).

Son of Truth CoverThe war in the north is over, but the war for all the Lands has just begun. As the Shadonae solidify their hold on the city of Thyra, Rowen Mar, the last Eldaran and savior of the White City, awakens to find herself hunted by those she has saved.

Meanwhile, the assassin Caleb Tala finds himself in the presence of the Word. The time of reckoning has come and he must pay the price for all the lives he has taken. But in his moment of judgment, Caleb is given a second chance to change his life.

These two hold the power to save the Lands from the Shadonae. One must escape slavery, and one must choose to forsake everything before the world is consumed in darkness.

Book Review: The Dark Man

Mission Impossible meets post-modern America where Christianity is against the law. Welcome to the book The Dark Man.

Charles Graves is a man of many disguises who goes undercover to root out underground cells of Christians. But when the disguises are taken off, Charles does not know himself. He hears voices in his mind, telling him what to do, what to think. And he is haunted by a guilt ridden past.

The Dark Man is a fast-paced action packed book (helicopters blowing up and everything :)). If you’re into action, this is the book for you. The only thing I found confusing sometimes were the voices inside Charles’ mind (and some of the other characters too). But overall, the writing is good and the plot moves fast.

I recommend this book for anyone who likes action filled books with a twist.

On that note, today only Marcher Lord Press is running its annual Black Friday sale. If you found yourself interested in any of the books I have reviewed the last few weeks or have a sci-fi/fantasy lover on your list, check out the books available at http://www.marcherlordpress.com

 
*I received a free copy of this book from Marcher Lord Press in order to review.