Thursday, September 21, 2017

Blitz + Excerpt and Giveaway: Karina's Silver Shoes by Denise Marques Leitao


Karina's Silver Shoes
by Denise Marques Leitao
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: September 18th 2017

Summary:


She’s got the fate of a kingdom in her hands—or rather, in her shoes.

14-year old Karina is not sure what she wants, but she knows what she’s found: fascinating silver shoes. Fascinating, dangerous, and potentially evil. On the upside, they do bring cool visitors.

When two princesses ask her to go to Whyland, a kingdom in a parallel dimension, to destroy the shoes, of course Karina accepts. Who would refuse a free trip to an alternate world?

Advised by a wise master, threatened by a beautiful stepmother, Karina goes on a journey with a princess to defeat a powerful witch. But Whyland is nothing like she expected. Karina finds herself stuck in a kingdom she doesn’t understand, with no clue on who to trust. Before saving anyone, she’d better save herself—if she figures out how.

From Brazilian / Canadian writer Denise Marques Leitao comes a teen parody of fantasy and fairy-tale tropes with many female characters, friendships between girls and women, and some subtle romance. If you like to read about strong girls and women, you’ve found your book.


Buy on Amazon!

Excerpt:

Slowly, the sense of reality came back to Karina. Sparkly dust. Yeah, that was from blinking or whatever. Grant a wish. Was Karina still at the age of believing in fairy tales? She was a normal, logical person. Most fairy tales she knew were from a time when she had no word on the kind of entertainment assigned to her. How could she have fallen for such crap? Thankfully she didn’t sell the shoes for an empty promise. Wait. Did the woman have the nerve to steal the shoes right under her nose? Karina hurried to the closet and picked up her purse. The shoes were still there. What had this visit been all about then? Maybe Karina was just tired and seeing things, but what troubled her most was not having visions but believing what they said. Instead of watching a movie, she put on her pajamas, turned off all the lights and lay on her bed. If she was going to believe in fairy tales, she’d better sleep before nine.
While midway on her journey between being awake and asleep, Karina heard what seemed to be something heavy falling in her bedroom. The sound would have startled her, had she not had enough of weird stuff and decided just to convince herself she was dreaming. Then she heard girls’ voices:
            “Ouch.”
            “Careful.”
            “You’re the one who needs to be careful. You fell over me.”
            “What can I do? It’s all dark in here. I didn’t think it’d be like that.”
“Ayanna, you weren’t even supposed to come. We need lights.”
“We can try to find them.”
“No, I’ll take care of that.”
“Cayla, you’re not supposed to!”
“Shhh. Nobody will know about it.”
“Wow! That’s so cool. Look, you broke something. Do you think you can fix it?”
“You mean you broke it. We’re not supposed to.”
“I wanna see it.”
“All right. I’ll try.”
At this point, Karina had the notion that she was awake and the voices were really in her bedroom. Her eyes were still closed in the hopes the voices would fade away on their own, but instead, they only got clearer and more real, to a point she could no longer hold her curiosity and had to look. She opened her eyes just enough to see without being noticed. A strange, orange glow illuminated the room. Two teenage girls were there, reminding her of the woman she had previously seen, especially the older one, but dressed in very simple green and orange dresses. The oldest girl passed her hands over Karina’s study lamp, which seemed to have been broken.
The younger girl laughed. “I don’t think you can do it. Can I try it?”
“Break something of your own.”
“Didn’t you say I was the one who broke it?”
This was getting too much. One thing was arguing in her room, but starting to break things, no. Karina sat up. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

About the Author

Denise Marques Leitao was born and raised in Brazil. When she’s not creating worlds and characters, she’s discussing the meaning of the Universe with her son, writing unintellectual poetry, podcasting about popular culture, or teaching. She lives in Montreal, Canada, and has a Master's in English Literature.

   

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Sunday, September 17, 2017

Blitz + Excerpt and Giveaway: Pain Less Ordinary by L.V. Pires


A Pain Less Ordinary
by L.V. Pires
Genre: YA
Release Date: September 2017

Summary:

Becca's life is anything but ordinary. 

At fifteen, she's already experienced her share of pain. With a mom who drinks too much, a revolving door of father figures, and struggles at school, Becca wonders if she'll ever have a chance at a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane is her little sister, Chloe; that is, until her mother's breakdown leads to her sister's disappearance.

A PAIN LESS ORDINARY follows Becca as she figures out life on her own while searching for her family and her new role in the world. 

In this powerfully moving novel, L.V. Pires explores Becca's struggle with abandonment, drug abuse, homelessness, relationships, and how pain connects her to others.




Buy on Amazon

Excerpt:
It takes us a good ten minutes to back out of the driveway. Mom yells at me a few times to hurry up. My pulse speeds up. A throbbing pain pluses at my temple. There’s a kid in the street. How am I supposed to not hit him? I scream out and slam on the breaks.
Mom taps at the window, ignoring I just nearly killed someone. She drinks the clear liquid from her water bottle. I bite back tears.
I go about a half a mile from the house, speeding to a cool fifteen miles an hour, so we’re in a smooth glide, but keep my foot hovering over the brake sure we’re going to collide with a tree, fender, or small child any moment. Finally, the light turns yellow and I slam my foot down on the brake bringing the tires to a screech.
“Cut it out,” Mom says.
Right as I’m about to get the courage to tell her I don’t know what I’m doing, she moans as if I just ran over her foot.
I follow her gaze straight and suck in a breath. Arthur pushes the stroller ahead of us in the pedestrian lane. I can’t believe it. He’s got the phoniest smile on his face. He looks over, directly into our car. His plastic expression cracks. Mom’s face turns red. Her eyes fix on Chloe. 
“Mom?” I try to redirect her. The light turns green.
Mom’s eyes are filling with rage. She watches him scurry to the sidewalk.
The car behind us honks.
“We have to go,” I say, gently, releasing the brake.
“Don’t move,” she says, cold and serious.
I slam down on the brake again.
 She unbuckles her seatbelt and flings open the car door.
“Mom!” I yell, but it’s too late. 

About the Author
L.V. Pires is the author of several stories for young readers including EXTENSION, THE PORTRAIT, and SUMMER OF WINGED CREATURES. 

She is a recipient of the Eileen Spinelli Award, a finalist in the Saturday's Child Press Fiction Contest, and a graduate of Spalding University's MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults.


Author Links:
   

Friday, September 15, 2017

Blast + Giveaway and Episode: Steal the Stars by Mac Rogers and Nat Cassidy


Steal the Stars by Mac Rogers and Nat Cassidy

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THE NOVEL BASED ON THE DEBUT SCIENCE FICTION PODCAST FROM TOR LABS

Dakota “Dak” Prentiss guards the biggest secret in the world.

They call it “Moss.” It’s your standard grey alien from innumerable abduction stories. Moss still sits at what looks like the controls of the spaceship it crash-landed twenty-five years ago. A secret military base was built around the crash site to study both Moss and the dangerous technology it brought to Earth.

The day Matt Salem joins her security team, Dak’s whole world changes.

It’s love at first sight—which is a problem, since they both signed ironclad contracts before joining the base security team, vowing not to fraternize with other military personnel. If they run away, they’ll be hunted for the secret they know. So Dak and Matt decide to escape to a better life on the wings of an incredibly dangerous plan: They’re going to steal the alien body they've been guarding and sell the secret of its existence.

And they can’t afford a single mistake.







AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY


Don't Break Things Exclusive Episode

Listen to the rest of the EPISODES HERE!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nat Cassidy is an actor, director, musician, and playwright. He has appeared on shows such as The Following (Fox), The Affair (Showtime), Red Oaks (Amazon), High Maintenance (HBO), Law & Order: SVU (NBC), as well as on stage in numerous productions and workshops both Off- and Off-Off-Broadway. Nat’s plays have been nominated for a combined total of 17 New York Innovative Theatre Awards, including 3 times for Outstanding Full-Length Script (which he won in 2009, and in 2011 for Outstanding Solo Performance for his one man show about H.P. Lovecraft). In 2012 Nat was commissioned by The Kennedy Center to write the libretto for a world-premiere opera, and in 2014 his play Any Day Now was chosen to be part of Primary Stages’ ESPADrills (The Duke Theatre, directed by Tony-nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel). He is also thrilled to be writing the novelization of Steal the Stars, which will be published by Tor Books in November 2017.


Mac Rogers is an award-winning audio dramatist and playwright. His audio/podcasts dramas The Message and LifeAfter have been downloaded over eight million times. His stageplays include The Honeycomb Trilogy (winner of the New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Premiere Production), Frankenstein Upstairs, God of Obsidian, Ligature Marks, Asymmetric, Viral, Universal Robots, Hail Satan (Outstanding Playwriting Winner at FringeNYC 2007), and Fleet Week: The Musical (co-written with Sean Williams and Jordana Williams; winner of Outstanding Musical at FringeNYC 2005). He has earned acclaim from The New York Times, The Guardian, Backstage, The Wall Street Journal, Time Out New York, New York Post, Flavorpill, io9, Fangoria, Tor.com, Show Business Weekly, New York Press, and many others.


Photo Content from TOR Labs

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Monday, September 11, 2017

Blitz + Giveaway: Marked by Fate by Various Authors


Marked by Fate
by Various authors
Genre: YA Fantasy/Sci-fi
Release Date: October 24th 2017

5 Brand new YA SFF stories and 21 bestselling favorites!! All pre-orders will get exclusive access to a Secret Reader Portal on release day.

Defined by Their Choices — Marked by Fate.

26 full-length novels for a limited time only!

Champions rise, shadows fall and magic rules in Marked by Fate: A Young Adult Fantasy and Science Fiction Collection. Battle alongside gods, travel across foreign lands, and fall for handsome heroes in this action packed young adult collection featuring witches, shifters, angels, cyborgs, and more. Venture to oceans deep with mermaids, fly upon the backs of dragons, or speak with ghosts in this group of 26 coming of age novels from some of the best writers in the industry today, including USA TODAY and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling authors.

The friendships are real and the romances are breathtaking. Travel through new galaxies, explore fantastic fairy tales, take down dystopian governments and escape urban fantasy worlds. Full of time travel mysteries and paranormal lore, Marked by Fate is a box set with a message — that all women, no matter the age, can conquer their fears and heartaches to become the fierce, strong heroines they were always meant to be.

Will you fall in love … save the world … or become the villain? Who will you be?

Have YOU been Marked by Fate? One-click to get this extraordinary collection today, before it’s gone forever!



Pre-Order for only $0.99! Amazon | Nook | Kobo | iTunes     

Authors
USA Today bestselling author, Kristin D. Van Risseghem
International bestselling author, Rhonda Sermon
Award-Winning author, Melissa A. Craven 
International bestselling author, Kelly St. Clare
Amazon bestselling author, Raye Wagner
USA Today bestselling author, Ednah Walters
New York Times bestselling author, Erin Hayes
USA Today bestselling author, Siobhan Davis
New York Times bestselling author, Jamie Thornton
Award-Winning author, Debra Kristi
Amazon bestselling author, Sarah K. L. Wilson
Amazon bestselling author, Hilary Thompson
Amazon bestselling author, Ingrid Seymour
International bestselling author, Jeanne Bannon
USA Today bestselling author, Melle Amade
USA Today bestselling author, Lena Mae Hill
Award-Winning author, C. J. Anaya
International bestselling author, Jackson Dean Chase
Award-Winning author, D. L. Armillei
USA Today bestselling author, Emily Martha Sorensen
Amazon bestselling author, Amalie Jahn
Amazon bestselling author, Dionne Lister
USA Today bestselling author, J.L. Weil
Amazon bestselling author, Alisha Klapheke
USA Today bestselling author, Angela Fristoe
Amazon bestselling author, Meg Cowley

GIVEAWAY:
Enter the MARKED BY FATE Pre-Order Giveaway and Sweepstakes!! http://woobox.com/32f5tp