Sprung Cover Reveal

 

 

Book Synopsis:

 

Since she discovered magic, seventeen-year-old Skye Jackson’s life is almost perfect. Almost. Even perfect has its glitches. 

What happens when the one with all the power makes the biggest mistakes? Welcome to my life.

Four months ago, I couldn’t have been happier. When my parents got divorced, I wasn’t exactly thrilled. Especially when Mom married a guy half her age. But then I found out I wasn’t the average Joana. Discovering magic existed and, best of all, I could use it, made everything easier to deal with. That is until I got a little too spell happy. But what girl wouldn’t defend her best friend against a world-class creep? Now I’m stuck in a nightmare, forced to make life and death decisions I never dreamed I’d face.

 

Love the magic, hate the responsibility

 

*************

 

Book Trailer Embed Code:

 

 

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16171498-sprung

Website: http://www.kelbian.com

Twitter: @KELBIAN_NOEL

 

 

About the author:

Kelbian is the author of Elemental and a blogger at Diverse Pages. She lives in Toronto, Ontario with her two children.

 

Cover Design by Parajunkee Design: parajunkee.net

 

 

 

 

 

 

RACHEL RIVERA . PJ BLOG TOURS

the book blog | the design blog | twitter | facebook

 

 

Rachel Rivera . PJ Blog Tours

the Book Blog | The Design Blog | Twitter | facebook

 

 

 

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Creating Your Own Space

English: Red Pinterest logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Creating Your Own Space

Traci Kenworth

 

As writers our creativity knows no bounds. We can set up a blog, tweet or post on Facebook, pin things to Pinterest, whatever makes us happy. It’s important to pick and choose spaces that matter to us, and as authors, can show others what we’re about. I’m not suggesting you to describe every last detail of your life, in fact, with the dangers of the internet, I think it would be best to wary out there. But there’s so much you can do with the little you decide to share.

Favorite places. Recipes. Pictures of pets, favorite TV shows, movies. Inspirations. Articles on writing. They and more can be shared. And so much the better. They help us introduce ourselves to readers, update us with friends and family, and show an agent and editor we mean business. With the time constraints, I understand that we don’t have massive amounts to spend on every social media out there, but the ones we like and visit regularly should feel our presence.

What I do is switch around. Three days out of the week, I visit Facebook, two, Twitter. I reverse this week to week. I do the same with Pinterest. My blog, of course, I try and post on twice a week. There are occasions when I spend more time. During book releases for friends. Muse stories by the YAFF members. Blog hops. Anything and everything to help others which in turns helps my own blog. Give back of yourself and you’ll show others you care. Caring equals interest in you and your work.

So get out there and share. Splurge a little time on getting others to know you. It’ll pay off in the end. What are some of the ways you use to promote/establish yourself to your visitors? Do you find the methods work for you? What would you have changed/improved about your process?

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Another day off…

Wednesday (Photo credit: teachernz)

Sorry, everyone. The book review for this week will be set back till the following one. Welcome to summer on Wednesday!! It’s this and the kids being out of school that have my time dwindling for reading, blogging, writing, etc. Oh, and the third week of recovery from surgery is going well, thank God!! Just figured I’d have more time for things with not being able to do much but my attention is needed elsewhere frequently. Maybe I’ll get a resprite this weekend when I go away with kids to Columbus or rather a country suburb of it. Have a great week everyone!!

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My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century Cover Reveal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blurb: On the precipice of her sixteenth birthday, the last thing lone wolf Cat Crawford wants is an extravagant gala thrown by her bubbly stepmother and well-meaning father. So even though Cat knows the family’s trip to Florence, Italy, is a peace offering, she embraces the magical city and all it offers. But when her curiosity leads her to an unusual gypsy tent, she exits . . . right into Renaissance Firenze.

Thrust into the sixteenth century armed with only a backpack full of contraband future items, Cat joins up with her ancestors, the sweet Alessandra and protective Cipriano, and soon falls for the gorgeous aspiring artist Lorenzo. But when the much-older Niccolo starts sniffing around, Cat realizes that an unwanted birthday party is nothing compared to an unwanted suitor full of creeptastic amore.

Can she find her way back to modern times before her Italian adventure turns into an Italian forever?

 

Author website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

 

(YouTube trailer link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYacoZNjz_A)

 

 

Never-Before-Seen Excerpt from MY SUPER SWEET SIXTEENTH CENTURY:

 

“I thought I’d teach you a dance from where I come from,” I tell him. “One that’s much easier than that multi-step mess inside.”

I place my left hand on Lorenzo’s shoulder and slip my right one into his. I pause to listen to the music floating over the tinkling voices and bubbling fountain, and begin counting the three-beat tempo. “One, two, three. One, two, three.”

I stand still, only my head moving, slowly nodding with my words so he can hear the rhythm.

When his head begins subtly bobbing with mine, I show him how to add his feet. He takes a tentative step forward with his left while I step back with my right, then we side step, close, and repeat the steps with our other feet, all while I lightly whisper the beat count.

The breeze picks up, blowing my skirt and skimming my veil across the back of my neck. Chills run down my spine, but the warmth coursing through my veins from being in his arms provides a delicious contradiction.

Lorenzo continues nervously darting his eyes to our feet, but he is dancing. As he relaxes into the movement, his shoulders rising and falling with the steps, the confidence he always seems to exude creeps back on his face, and he tightens the hold around me. Our faces are kissably close, our lips a hairs breadth away from touching. I stare into the chocolate depths of his eyes and the rest of the ball fades away. The only music guiding our steps is my light whisper and the erratic rhythm of our breathing. Time slows. Lorenzo grins.

“I think you got it,” I say breathlessly, running my hand along the soft fabric of his shoulder, feeling the rock-hard muscles underneath.

My body curls inward, pressing against his. The proper form for the waltz is a straight spine and shoulders back, but if there was ever a time to break the rules, this is it.

 

As a teen, I threw raging parties that shook my parents’ walls and created embarrassing fodder for future YA novels.

 

As an adult, I read and write obsessively, rehash said embarrassing fodder, and dream up characters who become my imaginary friends.

 

When I’m not typing furiously or flipping pages in an enthralling romance, you can find me homeschooling my two beautiful princesses, hanging out with my amazing husband, or taking a hot bubble bath…next to a pile of chocolate.

 

 

MY SUPER SWEET SIXTEENTH CENTURY is my first novel. I did have my own fantabulous Sweet Sixteen in high school. Sadly, it wasn’t televised.

 

 

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Awards

I am totally grateful to W. Chaser for stopping by my blog during Rache’s Fourth Platform Buidling Campaign and liking my blog enough to award me. I’m both surprised and humbled by it. This blog started off as “the little engine that could.” I knew no one outside of my yaff group but slowly, I’ve been picking up readers here and there. I’ve learned to embrace writing my blog and those that stop by in a way that amazed me. You see, I’m a pretty shy person but when I sit down to write–a whole new side emerges that is ready to take on the writing community. I’ve learned so much from other writers out there. From Kristen Lamb, I learned to post twice a week to increase traffic, and I’ve gained so many friends by doing so. When I write, I write what strikes my heart and though I feared it wouldn’t be enough to draw other readers in, it worked. I try to go back and forth with a book review and a writing related item each week. This week, I’m behind on the review due to some unexpected medical problems.

There have been many, many bloggers that have helped me along the way, and I’d like to give them a shout out by handing them out awards as well. At the top of my list are, of course, the ladies of YAFF which I can’t begin to express what their help and support have meant to me over the last year and a half now. They are:

Penny Randall

Rebekah L. Purdy

Vanessa Barger

Jenn Fischetto

Miranda Buchanan

Kit Forbes

Kelbian Naidoo

Go visit their websites if you would and show them some love!!

I also nominate:

Stina Lindenblatt

The Bookshelf Muse (for the wealth of information they’ve taught me)

Now then, the first award up is The Sunshine Award. In order to claim it, the nominee and I must: a. Thank the person who gave it and provide a link to them. b. Write a post about it. c. Answer the questions below and d. Pass it on to 10 bloggers you know and who you really enjoy reading.  

Answers to 10 questions–

1. Favorite color: violet.

2. Favorite animal: horse.

3. Favorite number: 7.

4. Favorite non-alcoholic drink: water. Lol. It’s good for you, I hear.

5. Facebook or Twitter: hard to decide. I like them both for different reasons.

6. My passion: definitely writing. I couldn’t imagine not doing this. I love it.

7. Getting or giving presents: giving. I love to make people happy.

8. Favorite pattern: diamond.

9. Favorite day of the week: Saturday. The weeks behind, it’s not Sunday and ending, and heck it’s fun and relaxation time.

10. Favorite flower: wildflowers.

Now for the Kreativ Blogger Award:

In order to claim, here’s what my friends and I need to do:

a. Thank the blogger who gave you the award and provide a link.

b. List 7 interesting things about yourself.

c. Nominate 7 (I’m sticking with the 10) other bloggers for the award

Okay, here’s my 7 interesting (well, hopefully so) things about myself–

1. Writing was my salvation after a bad marriage.

2. I keep getting nominated for the Who’s Who Award. Lol.

3. My first 3 books were based on a soap opera I made up for my Barbies.

4. I read my first horror novel while babysitting (Comes a Blind Fury) during a time when prank calls about, “Do you know where your children are?“

5. I got a fishing hook injury above my eye from my brother.

6. I always keep a light on within the middle of the room at night. Comfort from bad dreams.

7. I sometimes “scare” myself when writing scenes. I guess that’s a good thing though, what with writing horror.

I’d also like to add a shout-out to a newcomer to YAFF: Stephanie Sauvinet.

 

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And a New Tag from Laurie Dennison…

Cover via Amazon

Thanks, Laurie!!

1. What kind of music (if any) do you listen to while writing? I don’t usually listen to music as it distracts me and pretty soon, I’m singing and tapping along and there goes my focus for the day. Lol.

2. Do you rush right out to see the movies adapted from books you love, or do you avoid them? Usually I wait for them to come out on dvd. I like the comfort of my own and free access to unlimited snacks (lol) while settling in. Currently awaiting Breaking Dawn Part I. I MAY actually go see Hunger Games when it comes out though.

3. Pick five fictional characters you’d love to have over to your house for dinner. Does it count if their from TV? Lol–Sam and Dean Winchester from Supernatural, Buffy, and lest you think I don’t read: Stu from The Stand, and Claire Fraser from The Outlander series.

4. Do you have any pets? Yes. I have 3 cats, and one dog.

5. What foods would you pick for your last meal? A steak, baked potato with butter and sour cream, mushroom stuffing, and a slice of my Mom’s cherry pie.

6. Name the number one person who would make you faint if he/she commented on your blog or tweeted you on Twitter. (Can be a celebrity, author, or anyone else, but it has to be a real, living person.) Stephen King.

7. What’s the last song you listened to? Mean by Taylor Swift.

8. If you could pick one book that all teenagers would have to read in high school, what would it be? I would have more freedom of choice, so there’s no ONE book. I would rather see them be able to pick what they wanted more instead of having to read only required/approved books.

9. Which fictional character is most like ‘real-life’ you? Hmmm. Carmel from Anna Dressed in Blood. That scene where she runs in to save her friends from the ghost with only a baseball bat would so be me. I’d be scared as hell, but to save someone I loved, I would do it.

10. Do you believe in love at first sight? Yes and no. I believe it happens for some people, unfortunately for me, it delivered me into a scary situation which took me years to get freed of. Don’t get me wrong though, I know that it DOES happen. Evidence in the people around me. I still hope for it to happen for real for me again, so not giving up but I definitely will take my time even so, getting to know the person first before being committed again.

11. You can only pick one book to read over and over for the rest of your life. What would it be? The Bible. It’s the original book and has so many stories and uplifts and restores your soul.

 

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Where I Am

Image via Wikipedia

Where I’m At

Traci Kenworth

 

I finished rewriting SH finally, now I’m double-checking words, grammar, and typos. Even with Spell & Grammar on Word, sometimes things are wrong and there’s no reason not to do a hands-on check. Besides which, an agent will thank you for paying attention to details and such. I should have this all ready to go out by the middle of next week. Still have to tweak synopsis, re-check query, and all that good stuff.

I am so, so, so happy to be at the subbing stage. I’ve done everything I possibly could to make this as good as I can. I want to, hopefully, do things right. I’ve been keeping my eyes on agents thanks to the help of twitter and their blogs, and hope I’ve gleaned the right facts & personality for each. Yes, personalization on a query is very important. It is your introduction to an agent, why not make it as friendly as a handshake?

Next up, is hoping and praying the agents on my list are still accepting submission during this Thanksgiving to New Years’ time when some close. So, it’s possible I won’t be able to do so until after January. What’s up next? The all-important follow-up book. Actually, I have one waiting in the wings but I don’t want to hurry with that one until SH takes flight. I’ve decided to write a third book in the meantime. It’s a work-in-progress, tentatively titled The Angel.

I don’t like to give out too much information about it at first, not only because the book changes as it “grows,” but I find it stifles my creativity when I talk too much about it. When it’s finished, that’s a different deal. Mostly because it’s time to get an agent/editor interested and if you “don’t” talk about it, you’re in trouble and wasting your and their time.

So, yeah, it’s time to get out there, trek through the forest, and pray to God to find my way out again, an agented writer. What are some of your secrets to getting ready to publish? Any advice on the sub process? I wish you all luck on getting your books ready for the same.

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