Short Story Anthology – Worlds of Wonder by Emily Martha Sorensen @CleanYAFantasy

Posted on April 3, 2017 by fundinmental

I have recently found author Emily Martha Sorensen and am loving her writing, so when I was offered a chance to read this short story anthology, I couldn’t resist.

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

These sixteen short stories will have you traveling, flying high, using magic, and having action and adventure in bite sized pieces. We have some science fiction, some fantasy and some life lessons, with choices to be made.

Many of them are fairy tale remakes with morals to the stories that may leave you thinking…

A few of my favorites:

Beauty and the Brave: A fun twist on the Ugly Duckling. The young female dragon becomes the hero.

The Dragon and the Santa: What would you think if you heard a clatter on the roof top at Christmas, only to see Santa claus and a dragon? The ending…oh so good, you bad bad dragon.

Invoice: Ya gotta read that yourself. It is a HA HA HA morbid moment.

4 STARS

GOODREADS BLURB

A bunch of science fiction and fantasy short stories aimed at young adult and middle grade readers. There are fairy tale retellings, time-traveling, giant babies, dragons, and even a short story set in the middle of Black Magic Academy.

Contains the following short stories:

“Rite of Passage”
“A Phone Conversation”
“The Spinning Talent”
“Unicess”
“Cindy’s Fairy Godmother”
“Monster Under the Bed”
“Time Switch”
“The Apple of Discord”
“Advanced Precognition”
“Beauty and Brave”
“The Dragon and the Santa”
“Invoice”
“Interplanetary Edition”
“Schedule TMTR”
“On the Way Through the Woods”
“When the Wilkinsons Grew”

The anthology is about 26,500 words

Emily Martha Sorensen

ABOUT EMILY MARTHA SORENSEN

Emily is a prolific writer with many titles to choose from. She writes of fairies, dragons, fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, world peach in short stories and flash fiction.

You can find her on Goodreads & Amazon

You can see my Giveaways HERE.
You can see my Reviews HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

MY REVIEWS FOR EMILY MARTHA SORENSEN

Dragon’s Egg

YA Fantasy – The Perfect Tear by Connie Lansberg @theperfecttear @YABoundToursPR

Posted on March 23, 2017 by fundinmental

The cover for The Perfect Tear by Connie Lansberg caught my eye and I had to investigate.

What do you think?

Amazon / Goodreads

The Perfect Tear
by Connie Lansberg
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: November 11th 2015

Summary from Goodreads:

Eleanor, a timid orphan, is a Singer. Her songs keep nature in balance, but when they are stolen from her the grey mist descends, and her world fails to thrive. This timid orphan is forced into a course of action she never asked for, nor envisioned.

Eleanor grapples with crippling self-doubt and fear until she learns these are far more perilous than the physical dangers she faces moment to moment on her terrifying, puzzling and often funny search for The Perfect Tear, a crystal which contains the Third Vibration and able to heal the land. She is horrified to discover that she must defeat an inter-dimensional being or become his accomplice in the destruction of she loves.

But Eleanor is no savior, just a simple girl with strong instincts and she must learn to trust them. Just like the notes of a song must form connections to create a melody, Eleanor must discover the connections needed to create the harmony required to truly save her world.

Add to Goodreads

About the Author

Connie Lansberg is a singer/songwriter and now author based in Melbourne Australia. She’s had her original songs placed in some of Australia’s best loved TV shows that play around the world and The Connie Lansberg Quartet is a fixture in the Melbourne jazz scene. Her most recent original musical project is Tsera’s Gift, written especially for The Perfect Tear and she performs these songs throughout Melbourne. This is Connie’s first novel and the movie is coming. The record will be out soon.

Connie has received several grants from the Victoria Council of the Arts for the development of mobile phone games that she created.

Connie joined the Melbourne Writers Group in 2010 to work on ideas and scripts and during this time the idea for The Perfect Tear began to develop and take shape. She continued her education by taking scriptwriting classes at the Australian Film and Television School in Melbourne. She has two more stories to complete The Perfect Tear Trilogy and is hoping to have the second book finished in 2017.

“The first thing anybody tells you about this business is to say what makes you unique and different, but I couldn’t and the very idea of it never sat well with me and after much deliberation, I finally realized why.

Because, I’m not unique or different-I’m exactly like you and I love that. We each have a unique filter through which we interpret the world, and with this filter in place, I write stories and songs and you might find them surprising or intriguing or confronting, you may relate or you may not. They may make you laugh and sometimes, even cry.

You may or may not understand what I’m trying to say and you may not understand me, however, rest assured, once we get past the filters, at our core, we are wonderfully and beautifully, exactly the same.”

Author Links: Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook│Youtube│Instagram

Blog Tour Organized by: YA Bound Book Tours

You can see my Giveaways HERE.
You can see my Reviews HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Save

Giveaway YA Dystopian – Into Shadow by T D Shields @td_shields @GoddessFish

Posted on March 1, 2017 by fundinmental

Welcome to my stop for Into Shadow by T D Shields.

Will poor kitty survive this YA Dystopian…and the President’s daughter?

Amazon / Goodreads

Into Shadow by T.D. Shields

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: YA Dystopian

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB

She’s nineteen. The President’s daughter. They want her dead.

Poppy’s father may be the President of the North American Alliance, but that just makes her a target for those wishing to topple the regime.

Barely escaping with her life, she must travel across a country ravaged by war and climate change to seek safety amongst a people who only recently opposed her. There she must use every skill learned from her military upbringing to survive terrifying beasts, deadly plant life, and lawless gangs before finally finding a group willing to accept her.

But her peace soon proves to be illusory. It’s not only the government that wants her dead now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT

We sped through the streets, taking turns recklessly fast as we tried to lose the bikes on our tails. As we flew around yet another corner, one of the bikes caught up to me and slapped into the back of my bike. It wasn’t a particularly hard collision, but it popped my bike loose from the mag-lev rail, and I went skidding sideways across the pavement. When the base of the bike hit the curb at the edge of the road, I was flung over the handlebars to land in a crumpled heap on the cracked sidewalk.

All I could do was lie there, staring blankly at a weed growing inches from my nose as I tried to catch my breath. From the corner of my eye I saw Sharra slow and look back, trying to decide if she could help me. Then she leaned low over the handlebars and shot off into the dark streets, leaving me behind.

A million small aches and pains made themselves known as I rolled slowly to my knees. I didn’t bother to get up any further than that. I was completely surrounded, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to move fast enough to break loose from all of these people and retrieve my downed bike. Instead, I waited in silence to see what would happen next and watched for an opportunity to escape.

AUTHOR Bio and Links

After writing stories in her head for the last 30+ years, Tara finally decided to take a stab at writing them down to share them with others.

Tara has a husband, 4 kids, and 5 cats to care for along with a full-time job and contract work on the side, so finding time to write is the biggest challenge. Since her most productive hours are from 12-5 a.m. anyway, Tara usually gives up sleep in favor of writing.

Amazon / iBooks / Kobo

Tara’s social media

FB www.facebook.com/tdshields.author

Twitter handle @td_shields

Website http://taradon.wixsite.com/tdshields

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12042892.T_D_Shields

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY

The author will be awarding the first book (ebook) in three YA series: Into Shadow, by TD Shields; Awaken, by Michelle Bryan; and The Other Inheritance, by Rebecca Jaycox to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour and comment. The more you comment the better your chances of winning. Follow the tour HERE.

You can see my Giveaways HERE.
You can see my Reviews HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

International Young Adult Giveaway Blitz @YABoundToursPR

Posted on February 22, 2017 by fundinmental

During the blitz, readers will find out about the authors, their books and their amazing international giveaway. Four winners will receive a selection of best selling paperbacks, hard cover editions and the all new Amazon Echo Dot!

International giveaway is open to US, Canada, The United Kingdom and Australia

Link to Giveaway: http://bit.ly/2jPpOhK

Presented by: Melissa A. Craven, Michelle Madow, Kristin D Van Risseghem, Kelly St Clare, Norma Hinkens, J.A. Culican, Raye Wagner, Siobhan Davis, Anna Santos, Sarah K. Wilson, Michelle Bryan, Erin Hayes, Kelly Carrero, Karen Tomlinson and Heather Hamilton Senter.

Melissa A. Craven

Emerge: The Awakening

Allie has always believed life is simple.

You’re born. You live. You die.

But she’s about to learn those rules don’t apply to her. For years, she has suffered as those around her avoid her at all costs, too intimidated to get to know her. It’s left Allie feeling like an outcast for fifteen years.

When an unexpected move brings Aidan McBrien crashing into her life, he doesn’t shrink from her touch. With Aidan, she will discover what true equality means and she’ll finally have a friendship unlike any she’s ever known.

Karen Tomlinson:

A Bond of Venom and Magic

Magic awakens. Darkness stirs. The Wraith Lord is hunting.

For Diamond Gillon the war raging in the South seems a remote danger, until her home is brutally attacked. Catapulted into a terrifying new world in which legendary beasts arise, magic is condemned and half-blood fae have no rights, Diamond is drawn ever closer to her saviour, Commander Hugo Casimir. But Hugo is a heartless killer, owned by the cruel immortal fae queen; a queen who will murder her own people for magic…

Sarah K. Wilson:

The Ex-Pacifist

Vera and her bodyguard, Roman, are connected by the computers in their heads and can silently coordinate. The downside? They’re on an impossible mission set by a vengeful emperor who would prefer to see them both dead. Not many sixteen-year-olds have to fight an entire empire for survival – and not many would be so good at it.

Norma Hinkens

Girl of Fire

A smoking hot new science fiction tale of dark dealings and treachery in space. In a high-stakes story of shocking secrets, a gutsy heroine with grit and personality takes on the seedy Galactic underworld of cutthroat body poachers and double-crossing space pirates!

Kelly St. Clare

Fantasy of Frost

The veil I’ve worn from birth carries with it a terrible loneliness; a suppression I cannot imagine ever being free of.

Sometimes it takes the world bringing you to your knees to find that spark you thought forever lost.

Sometimes it takes death to show you how to live.

Heather Hamilton-Senter

To Make a Witch

Being the good girl doesn’t always pay off.

‪Lacey McInnis is hoping to make a fresh start in New Orleans—she’s also hoping to forget she almost became a powerful witch, and that she almost sold her soul to do it. But when the tomb of the Voodoo queen Marie Laveau is desecrated, and then a gruesome murder is committed in the very heart of Westover Academy, Lacey will need to decide if she’s ready to become the witch she was always meant to be.

‬

‪

‬

Anna Santos

Save Me

Jacob is a gargoyle with a curse, waiting for decades for his soul-mate. When he saves a beautiful werewolf girl from near death, he finds the one he’s been looking for. But true love comes with a price and, in Jacob’s case, it can cost him his very own existence.

Erin Hayes

How to be a Mermaid

All Tara ever wanted was to be a mermaid. So she takes a year off between high school and college to don a fake tail and tour aquariums across the country in a professional mermaid troupe. Everything’s great until she meets a gorgeous real-life merman named Finn. Suddenly, what she thought was a dream turns out to be a nightmare — she’s turning into a real mermaid herself.

Michelle Madow

Elementals

MAGICAL. ROMANTIC. ADDICTING.

‪Nicole Cassidy is a witch descended from the Greek gods… but she doesn’t know it until she moves to a new town and discovers a dangerous world of magic and monsters that she never knew existed.

‬

‪“Harry Potter meets Percy Jackson with an added twist of teenage angst, hormones, and uncertainty… I am officially HOOKED!”

‬

‪

‬

Siobhan Davis:

Saven Deception

In a futuristic undersea city, Sadie falls hard for captivating Logan — only to discover that he comes from another world! Action, romance and intrigue combine in this addictive page-turner. “The X-Files meets Twilight and blows them both away!”

‪

‬

Siobhan Davis:

True Calling:

‪For Ariana Skyee, Planet Novo was everything it promised to be until the authorities introduced “The Calling” as their response to repopulation. Now, all seventeen-year-olds are to participate in this Bachelor-style pageant to find their perfect match, marry, and have children. “Fans of Matched and The Selection will really love this book … it’s amazing!”

‬

Kristin D. Van Risseghem:

Swords & Stilettos

17-year old Zoe needs to devise a kick-ass plan to save the world ASAP. Otherwise, Armageddon starts the day she turns eighteen—and if that happens, everything is going to hell. Literally.

‪“Swords & Stilettos; an absolute winner. Could not put it down!”

‬

‪

‬

Michelle Bryan:

Strain of Resistance

Bixby and her crew of survivors lost everything on the day the world was invaded by the alien predators. Their homes. Their families. Everything they held dear. No more. This is the story of their resistance.

‪

‬

Kelly Carrero:

Severed Wings

Luciana dreams of being normal. In reality what she is, is far from normal. But feeling other people’s pains does that to a girl. That is until she meets the one man that makes it all go away. Now, Luciana must decide if she should trust her feelings and believe in the man from her dreams who says he’s a Soul Collector and she was the girl he refused to collect.

You can see my Giveaways HERE.
You can see my Reviews HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Save

YA Lit Giveaway Blitz

Posted on February 22, 2017 by fundinmental

YALit Giveaway Event!

A bunch of authors who got together to bring you a YOUNG ADULT Big Box of Paperbacks Giveaway! One lucky winner is going to win FIFTY (50) Young Adult Paperback Books! How’s that for an epic Book-Lover’s Prize?!

THIS BOX OF BOOKS IS VALUED AT OVER $500! And this giveaway is open worldwide! Our first giveaway went to a winner in ROMANIA–and yes, we’re willing to pay the insane shipping on this oversized, overweight package to get the prize to WHOEVER wins!

—

Here’s a sneak peek from a couple of the sponsors:

Adrenaline Rush by Cindy M. Hogan

As I hurtled toward my destination at 500 miles an hour, I pulled out a notebook, placed it on the shiny mahogany table in front of me, and scribbled a quick to-do list. Pick out an outfit. Get folders and notebooks. Switch into fourth period drama. I chewed on the end of my pen. Oh yeah—just one more thing. Get kidnapped.

According to my pre-mission briefing, kidnappings were up in the States by five percent over the last five years. The significance of which didn’t hit me until I found that the statistics for kidnappings had remained static for a good thirty years. The spike caught the attention of the FBI, and they put their best men on it. The problem? Right when they thought they’d discovered the pattern of the kidnappers, it seemed to change.

We hit some turbulence, and the force of it pulled me out of my reverie. I sucked in a deep breath, my hands resting on the soft leather side arms of my big comfortable seat as the Gulfstream jet jumped. I let the rollercoaster feeling wash over me like a wave, forcing myself to enjoy every last tingle. I only had this flight and a few hours tonight to assume my new thrill-seeking alias—the one that would lure the kidnappers and save the day before the pattern changed again. I might as well make the most of it.

Chosen Wolf (Curse of the Moon #2) Excerpt

The full moon inched higher in the night sky, growing bigger and brighter by the moment. One by one, the members of the pack ran behind the Moonhaven mansion to remove their clothes before they tore to shreds as their bodies turned from men to wolves. Howls sounded in the distance.

Toby squeezed my hand, holding my gaze. “Maybe this will be the month you can finally shift again, Victoria.”

Sharp pains ran through my body. My right hip cracked. I bit my tongue, trying not to cry out in pain. My skin felt on fire as fur tried to poke through, but couldn’t.

His face tensed, a pained look in his eyes. “Are you shifting?”

I shook my head. There was nothing normal about this, and it was proving to be more difficult and painful than my other months of un-shifts. Each one grew worse than the last.

Toby scooped me up, carried me inside, and helped me onto my bed. “I can’t keep my wolf inside any longer. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” I fought to keep my voice steady. Tears threatened.

He brushed hair from my face and kissed my forehead. “Ziamara’s upstairs sleeping. She said to wake her if you need anything.”

“I’ll be fine.” I grimaced, the pain nearly choking me.

Toby cried out and the sound of ripping fabric tore through the room. He spun around and dashed out the door. The back of his shirt had ripped, and fur poked through the split material.

I gripped a pillow, squeezing it as hard as I could to distract myself from the pain. It didn’t work, and the pillow exploded, filling the air with white feathers.

A loud pop sounded and then a horrific pain shot through my shoulders. I slumped down and screamed, unable to take the pain.

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE!

You can see my Giveaways HERE.
You can see my Reviews HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Giveaway & Guest Post – The Ashes and The Sparks by Mary Victoria Johnson @YABoundToursPR

Posted on February 16, 2017 by fundinmental

The cover for The Ashes and The Sparks by Mary Victoria Johnson made me curious about the story inside.

I think it describes it pretty good. What do you think?

Amazon / Goodreads

The Ashes and the Sparks
by Mary Victoria Johnson
Genre: YA Alt-History Fantasy
Release date: October 18th 2016
Fire and Ice Young Adult Books

Summary from Goodreads:

Welcome to the age of airships. It is a world powered by steam and innovation, ruled by an elusive empress at its heart.

Seventeen year-old Jorun is not part of this world. Hers is one of hidden tunnel networks and lights that dance across night skies, on that has remained separate from the rest of society for over a thousand years. This all changes when a boy appears from nowhere, raving about invaders from a faraway land. Purely by chance, Jorun soon finds herself in the middle of a struggle unlike anything she could have ever dreamed of, and must come to the realization that only she can stop an impending war.

Add to Goodreads

BUY LINKS: Smashwords / Nook / iBooks / Lulu.com Paperback

GUEST POST

Alternate History (about the “rules” and “limits” when writing Alt Hist)

As with most genres, althistory begins with one question: what if? What if Rome never fell? What if the Nazis won World War II? What if the Dark Ages turned into a period of great scientific advancement, or what if dragons really did exist in Ancient China? The possibilities are infinite, which is part of what makes the alternate history such a fascinating topic to explore. My novel takes place in the 1880’s, a period that many would recognize as Victorian. There’s just one key difference: Queen Victoria is dead. Gone. Assassinated. And when you remove such key players, society obviously develops far differently from what happened in our timeline. Really, that’s the core of what althistory is: creating a new, ‘alternate’ timelines.

Few writers enjoy the idea of rules and limits, and as far as genre boundaries go, alternate history offers lots of flexibility. You want the fairies of Irish folktales to be real? Sure. You want massive, gilded airships to be Europe’s primary mode of transportation? Go for it. You want Da Vinci and Michelangelo to be rival vampire-hunting vigilantes? Why not! Time travel, steampunk, and post-apocalyptic dystopias are all totally reasonable subgenres to delve into, but you’ve got to remember to keep the ‘history’ part too. You’ve got to remember that Earth –real Earth- has got to be the basic setting. Even if the magical land of Altoria mimics 3^rd century Peru, if there are no connections to reality, then you’re writing straight-up fantasy. There has to be a connection to the real historical timeline. Of course, liberties can be taken; The Ashes and the Sparks involves a completely fictional society based on a mishmash of real Nordic cultures, set on a completely fictional archipelago of islands. But since it’s still set in this universe, with connections to other, real countries, it’s a go.

Another point to remember, is that usually, you only want to shift one major event. It gets way too confusing if the Spanish Armada successfully conquers Britain, leading to a chain of events that make them win the American Revolutionary War, but then a plague wipes out the entire country, so the moon landing never happens, so….lost? Exactly. Keep it simple; it’s amazing how a single event can create a massive ripple effect. Also, don’t leave plot holes. Since you are dealing with real history, your timeline shift has to be somewhat feasible. Nothing irritates readers more than logic jumps.

So go ahead: assemble all your outbreaks and assassinations, and give the past a twist! Set your chain of events in motion.

About the Author

Hi! I’m Mary Victoria Johnson, author of fantastical Young Adult fiction. I wrote my first novel when I was fourteen, and I haven’t stopped since! Now eighteen, my bibliography includes BOUNDARY, the first part of the Other Horizons Trilogy (Lodestone Books, 2015) and THE ASHES AND THE SPARKS (Fire and Ice YA, 2016). I was born in Cambridgeshire in the UK, and I now live on Vancouver Island where I study Creative Writing at the University of Victoria.

Author Links: Website│Goodreads│Facebook

GIVEAWAY:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Organized by: YA Bound Book Tours

You can see my Giveaways HERE.
You can see my Reviews HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Save

Giveaway – Returned by Kimberly Griffiths Little @KimberleyGLittl

Posted on February 11, 2017 by fundinmental

Returned Trilogy

Returned by Kimberley Griffiths Little

After tragedy strikes on the day they were to wed, Jayden must support Kadesh as he ascends the throne and becomes king of Sariba. But with the dark priestess Aliyah conspiring to control the crown, and the arrival of Horeb, Jayden’s former betrothed, Kadesh’s kingdom, as well as his status as king, is at stake.

Jayden knows that the time to be merciful has come and gone, and that some enemies can only be halted by death. Now she and Kadesh must prepare to fight not only for their love, but also for their kingdom.
This is the final book in the epic trilogy that began with Forbidden and Banished. Jayden and Kadesh’s love will be put to the ultimate test as they fight a war to save their kingdom.

Praise for the Book

Booklist (starred review)

“At its core, this is a romance, with all the push and pull that goes along with impossible love, and Little elevates the story by creating a perilous landscape, both outward and inward, as Jayden must deal with the hardship of desert life as well as her own desires. . . descriptions of the landscape are evocative in both desolation and in beauty. Just as good is the pacing, which gets the blood pumping for both characters and readers. This will heighten anticipation for a no-doubt exciting conclusion.”

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Rich historical details are deftly woven into Jayden’s narration, and the dynamics of Jayden’s tribe are vividly drawn. Jayden’s story becomes as much about finding herself as it is about finding love.”

Reader: “This book took my breath away. I loved the immersive story and the rich setting of ancient Mesopotamia. The customs, traditions, and beliefs of the desert people were captivating and every time I set the book down I couldn’t wait to pick it up again. I’ve never read anything like this before.”

Reader: “Forbidden was so captivating that I awoke early in the morning, while my family was still sleeping, so I could finish the last pages of this beautifully haunting tale.”

SONY DSC Author Kimberley Griffiths Little

Kimberley Griffiths Little is the author of ten award-winning Middle-Grade and Young Adult novels with Knopf, Scholastic and Harpercollins, including the Whitney Award, the Arizona/New Mexico Book Award, the SCBWI Crystal Kite, the Southwest Book Award, and others. ALA BOOKLIST named FORBIDDEN, the first book in her Ancient Mesopotamian historical fantasy a Young Adult Top 10 novel for the Historical category, Romance category, and Religious/Inspirational.

Kimberley adores anything old and musty with a secret story to tell. She once stayed in the haunted tower room at Borthwick Castle in Scotland and didn’t sleep a wink; sailed the Seine in Paris; ridden a camel in Petra, Jordan; shopped the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul; and spent the night in an old Communist hotel in Bulgaria. She was born in San Francisco but now lives on the banks of the Rio Grande with her husband and three sons.

Website * Facebook * Twitter

Blast Giveaway

$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 2/27/17

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can see my Giveaways HERE.
You can see my Reviews HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Giveaway – Age of Order by Julian North #JulianNorth

Posted on February 10, 2017 by fundinmental

Welcome to my stop for Age of Order by Julian North.

It’s nice to have you here, Julian. I am a big fan of covers and they have a big influence over me. I am always curious to find out what authors think about them and how much they have to say about the final product.

GUEST POST

Covers by Julian North

Until I wrote my first novel, Age of Order, I never gave much thought to book covers. Of course I noticed them. I’m an avid reader, so I look at hundreds of the things a year. As a kid, before there was such a thing as the internet, I used to stare at the covers of my favorite books, imagining the scene playing out before me. But I never thought about covers the way I do now.

When I made the decision to “go indie” with Age of Order, I learned about the business of covers. There are “experts” out there (some very successful, some less so) who will sell you training videos about what a cover needs to do and don’t do: tell a reader what the book is about, catch their eyes, look the right way on an Amazon thumbnail, don’t create a scene from the book, conjure emotion. I got dizzy from it all. For Age of Order, I just wanted something that I would want to pick up.

For all that declared simplicity, I confess that I used two different artists on my Age of Order cover. The first produced several mock-ups, from which I picked the best and refined it. That first cover was fine work. But I never loved it. It was eye catching, but too generic. It didn’t capture the essence of what I wanted. After a couple of weeks of it itching me, I broke down and got another cover made from a different artist (luckily writing is a hobby, and I’m not trying to earn a profit, because covers aren’t cheap). He presented two choices, one was the current cover. No further revisions necessary, I took it as it.

I love it because it conveys the two worlds of Age of Order, a place of “haves” and “have nots.” I love the feel of the contrasting cities. I love the presentation of title. I’m told by the experts the bright colors are good for Amazon thumbnails. But most of all I hope that one day my son will stare at it, imagining a different world playing out before his eyes.

Thanks Julian…and now for more about the book.

Amazon / Goodreads

Age of Order by Julian North

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Dystopian Young Adult/New Adult

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB

What if the people who thought they were better than you… really were?

In this world, inequality is a science. Giant machines maintain order. And all people are not created equal.

Daniela Machado is offered a chance to escape the deprivation of Bronx City through a coveted slot at the elite Tuck School. There, among the highborn of Manhattan, she discovers an unimaginable world of splendor and greed. But her opportunity is part of a darker plan, and Daniela soon learns that those at society’s apex will stop at nothing to keep power for themselves. She may have a chance to change the world, if it doesn’t change her first.

Age of Order is a novel that explores the meaning of merit and inequality. Fans of the Hunger Games, Red Rising, and Divergent will enjoy this world of deception and intrigue, where the downtrodden must fight for a better future.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT

I dashed towards the dilapidated collection of storefronts hugging the fringes of the worn avenue, the rusted metal gates firmly closed, lean-to homes piled on their concrete roofs. Makeshift cardboard dwellings crowded the sidewalk. I ran for one of the lightless alleys between the buildings. Lurkers lived in those narrow corridors as surely as rats lived in the sewer, but I’d rather face them than the machines. I leaped towards the darkness.

A finder beam latched onto me as I sailed through the air, the comparative safety of the alley as tantalizingly close as candy in a shop window. I imagined the tight little dot on my leg, hot and hungry. I could almost touch the alley wall. But not quite. The hulking metal slave fired.

A correction pellet sliced through the fabricated leather of my sneaker and bit into my flesh. The force of the impact was enough to screw up my balance too. I landed on one foot instead of two, falling forward. Chewed-up concrete surged towards me. I sacrificed my right palm and left elbow to protect my head, and the viser strapped to my left forearm.

I scrambled to my feet and ran down the alley, my jaws clenched, but the pain wasn’t what was bothering me. I told myself that my shoe had blocked a lot of the pellet. That I probably hadn’t gotten hit with a full dose. That what was coming wouldn’t be that bad.

Liar.

AUTHOR Bio and Links

I’ve been writing since I could grab a pencil (remember those?). Then I had kids. Not much time for writing anymore. Until they started school… in New York City. I’m not from here, and the tumult of that experience inspired me. AGE OF ORDER grew from a diary of injustice. Now I write what I’m feeling, and let the rest flow from there. I hope you enjoy it.

Please visit my website at www.juliannorth.com and join my book club to receive a free short story set in the same world as AGE OF ORDER.

http:// www.juliannorth.com

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/539032.Julian_North

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY

Julian North will be awarding a $50 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. Follow the tour HERE.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can see my Giveaways HERE.
You can see my Reviews HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Teaser Tuesday #89 – A Pair of Docks by Jennifer Ellis @jenniferlellis

Posted on January 31, 2017 by fundinmental

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday hosted by The Purple Booker, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR, or just share what you are currently reading. It is very easy to play along:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

~~~~~~

I won A Pair of Docks by Jennifer Ellis some time ago, but am just getting around to reading it. I am very pleasantly surprised with the storyline and want to read more.

Amazon / Goodreads

MY TEASE

“That’s quite the leap, Caleb. We don’t even know if we were on Earth, never mind if it was real. It could have all been a dream,” Abbey said.

(page 56% in paperback)

GOODREADS BLURB: Fourteen-year-old Abbey Sinclair likes to spend her afternoons in the physics lab learning about momentum and gravitational pull. But her practical scientific mind is put to the test when her older brother, Simon, discovers a mysterious path of stones that allows them, along with Abbey’s twin, Caleb, to travel back and forth between their world and what appears to be…the future.

Unfortunately, they’re not the only ones who know about the stones, and they soon realize their lives are in danger from a man known only as Mantis. Abbey, Caleb, and Simon must follow a twisting trail of clues that will lead them from their autistic neighbor, Mark, to a strange professor who claims to know the rules of the stones, and to multiple futures—some of whose inhabitants don’t want to stay put.

It will take all of Abbey’s analytical skills to unravel the secrets of the stones, uncover the threads that tie the futures together, thwart Mantis’s plan, and, most importantly, keep her family alive—now and in the future.

A Pair of Docks explores Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, the meaning of time, the potential for parallel universes, and the boundary between science and witchcraft. It is the first novel in the Derivatives of Displacement series.

You can see my Giveaways HERE.
You can see my Reviews HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Save

Giveaway – Like A Rainbow by Eileen Colucci @YABoundToursPR

Posted on January 30, 2017 by fundinmental

She’s Like a Rainbow
by Eileen Colucci
Genre: YA Magical Realism
Release Date: June 13th 2016

Summary from Goodreads:

“The summer I turned ten, my life took a fairy tale turn.”

So begins Reema Ben Ghazi’s tale set in Morocco, SHE’S LIKE A RAINBOW. Reema awakes one morning to find her skin has changed from whipped cream to dark chocolate. From then on, every few years she undergoes another metamorphosis, her color changing successively to red, yellow and ultimately brown. What is the cause of this strange condition and is there a cure? Does the legend of the White Buffalo have anything to do with it? As Reema struggles to find answers to these questions, she confronts the reactions of the people around her, including her strict and unsympathetic mother, Lalla Jamila; her timid younger sister, Zakia; and her two best friends, Batoul and Khalil. At the same time, she must deal with the trials of adolescence even as her friendship with Khalil turns to first love. One day, in her search for answers, Reema discovers a shocking secret – she may have been adopted at birth. As a result, Reema embarks on a quest to find her birth mother that takes her from twentieth-century Rabat to post-9/11 New York.

Reema’s humanity shines through her story, reminding us of all we have in common regardless of our particular cultural heritage. SHE’S LIKE A RAINBOW, which will appeal to Teens as well as Adults, raises intriguing questions about identity and ethnicity.

Add to Goodreads

About the Author

A native New Yorker, Eileen Colucci has been living in Rabat with her Moroccan husband for the past thirty-plus years. She is a former teacher and recently retired after twenty-eight years as a translator with the U.S. Embassy, Rabat. Her articles and short stories have appeared in various publications and ezines including Fodor’s Morocco, Parents’ Press, The New Dominion and Expat Women. SHE’S LIKE A RAINBOW is her second novel.