The Ark by Laura Liddell Nolen

The Ark by Laura Liddell Nolen
Published by: HarperVoyager
Publication date: March 26th 2015
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

There’s a meteor headed for Earth, and there is only one way to survive.
With her criminal record, sixteen-year-old Char is never going to get a place on an Ark, one of the five massive bioships designed to protect Earth’s survivors. The Arks are reserved for the real goody-goodies, like Char’s mom, dad, and brother, all of whom have long since turned their backs on her.
With Earth on the brink of destruction, Char must use all her tricks of the trade to swindle her way into outer space, where she hopes to reunite with her family, regardless of whether they want to see her or not.
Once she arrives on the North American Ark, Char discovers that the remnants of humanity haven’t achieved the egalitarian utopia they’d planned for. For starters, the “Officers of the Peace” are anything but peaceful, especially since stealing a spot on an Ark is a crime punishable by death…
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Suzy: I love the premise of your book, can you tell us more about the story that inspired it?

Laura: I’m not sure I can put a finger on exactly why I needed to write a story about the end of Earth. I wanted the story to be reminiscent of an old-school space adventure, but told through the eyes of a young girl struggling for survival. I wanted her to be resourceful but not particularly wise yet, and to have a strong desire for redemption without fully understanding what that might involve. I wanted to explore the breaking down of polite society during a big catastrophe. So an end-of-the-world scenario seemed like a good fit!
In the end, The Ark turned out to be about a girl who can’t seem to get it right. Sixteen-year-old Charlotte Turner has been behind bars, off and on, since she was twelve. Even before that, she felt trapped– hemmed in at every angle by her parents’ relentless drive toward status and achievement. But at least in juvy, people seem to get her. They call her by her chosen name, Char, and they even pronounce it correctly: with a hard ch, as in charred. Something that got burned.
But when The Ark begins, Char really is trapped. She’s stuck in prison, and there’s a meteor headed straight for earth. Because of the date of her latest conviction, she’s ineligible for a spot on an Ark. The most she can hope for is to apologize to her family, all of whom have been awarded salvation. She doesn’t know whether they’ll stop by the prison before they leave, but if they do, she hopes not to botch her final chance to make things right before she dies.
The idea is that the closer she gets to redemption, the more of an outlaw she becomes. In the end, it’s about Char’s journey toward knowing herself, and humanity’s endless quest for survival and peace.

Laura grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where she spent an excellent childhood playing make-believe with her two younger brothers. The Ark is the direct result of those stories and a lifelong devotion to space-themed television. It received a Work in Progress Grant from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Laura has a degree in French and a license to practice law, but both are frozen in carbonite at present. She lives in Texas with her family.
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The Summer the World Ended by Matthew S. Cox

The Summer the World Ended by Matthew S. Cox
Published by: Curiosity Quills Press
Publication date: June 29th 2015
Genres: Post-Apocalyptic, Young Adult

As far as Riley McCullough is concerned, her best friend getting ‘dragged’ off to Puerto Vallarta for the first two weeks of summer vacation was the end of the world―at least until the bombs fell.

Life in suburban New Jersey with her mother has been comfortable, not to mention boring, to an introverted fourteen year old. As if her friend’s surprise trip wasn’t bad enough, her expectations for the ‘best summer ever’ disintegrate when she gets sent across the country to stay with a father she hasn’t seen in six years. Adjusting to a tiny, desert town where everyone stares at them like they don’t belong proves difficult, and leaves her feeling more isolated than ever. To make matters worse, her secretive father won’t tell the truth about why he left―or what he’s hiding.
Her luck takes an unexpected turn for the better when she meets a boy who shares her interest in video games and contempt for small town boredom. In him, she finds a kindred spirit who might just make the middle of nowhere tolerable.
Happiness is short lived; fleeing nuclear Armageddon, she takes shelter with her dad in an underground bunker he’d spent years preparing. After fourteen days without sun, Riley must overcome the sorrow of losing everything to save the one person she cares about most.
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I asked Matthew for his top ten dystopian books...

1 Sprawl trilogy: Neuromancer, Count Zero, and Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson
2 Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick
3 Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
4 The Minority Report by Philip K. Dick
5 A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
6 Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
7 Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
8 A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick
9 The Running Man by Stephen King under the pseudonym Richard Bachman
10 Animal Farm by George Orwell

Born in a little town known as South Amboy NJ in 1973, Matthew has been creating science fiction and fantasy worlds for most of his reasoning life. Somewhere between fifteen to eighteen of them spent developing the world in which Division Zero, Virtual Immortality, and The Awakened Series take place. He has several other projects in the works as well as a collaborative science fiction endeavor with author Tony Healey.

Hobbies and Interests:
Matthew is an avid gamer, a recovered WoW addict, Gamemaster for two custom systems (Chronicles of Eldrinaath [Fantasy] and Divergent Fates [Sci Fi], and a fan of anime, British humour (<- deliberate), and intellectual science fiction that questions the nature of reality, life, and what happens after it.
He is also fond of cats.
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Guest post by Compendium author Alia Luria

Welcome to the tour for Compendium by Alia Luria, a sci-fantasy novel that is adult but clean and appropriate for young adult readers. 

On the heavily forested planet of Lumin, the Network has slept, dormant, for over six hundred cycles. Only a select few remember that it resides beneath the crust of the planet, waiting, and for them, the battle for Lumin’s future has raged in the shadows.

When Mia Jayne’s path crosses with an ancient volume in the Archives of the Order of Vis Firmitas, this ancient battle moves from the shadows into the light. Compendium opens up a world of knowledge, and, for the first time since arriving at the Order, Mia has the key to reclaim the freedom she has lost. To do so, she must choose between her conscience and her heart. Conceived against an ailing world of fantastical beauty where long-lost technology tips the balance between extinction and survival, Mia must remember that there is always a choice, and that makes all the difference.

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Exploring Your Characters Through Free Writing: “Deleted Scenes” from Compendium

Hi! My name is Alia Luria, and I am the author of the new novel Compendium, the first book in the Artifacts of Lumin series. I’m really excited to be here at Suzy Turner’s site, and I hope you enjoy this post. On Monday, at Mythic Books, I wrote about those authors that I find most inspiring from literary, speculative fiction, those which I feel have contributed the most when it comes to expanding my mind to the craft of writing. This post, I want to talk a little about my process. The world of Lumin, my characters, Mia Jayne and Cedar Kannon, Thaddeus SainClair and Nikola Draca, didn’t spring to into my imagination fully formed. Like J.K. Rowling, I had a flash in my mind. My flash, however, rather than being something define like “Harry Potter goes to wizard school,” sparked a very small piece of the concept for Lumin. 

As I was holding a Kindle, I thought about what it would be like for someone who had never had access to the Internet or any device that displays real-time information of any kind to suddenly have access to such a device with no understanding about how it works, what it’s capable of, or even what it is. That was the initial thought that popped into my mind. It was the seed, but it was only the beginning. What really made my characters come to life was free writing. I got the initial idea for free writing from a video game designer who free wrote in a giant notebook and used it as a story development tool. He created a documentary series following his game company as it tried to create a game via crowd funding. It is bothering me SO MUCH right now that I can’t remember his name. Figures that I can’t find it easily via an Internet search! It will probably come to me after this gets posted and I can’t update it. I started free writing after seeing part of his documentary series, which my brother forced me to watch. Thanks Isaac!

After I already had a basic concept in place for Mia and Lumin, I added character perspective prompts to basic free writing as a way to explore my characters I didn’t just write from Mia’s perspective, but from a number of perspectives in my novel. It is really easy. All you do is start with the beginning of a sentence, and just keep writing about it. I did a lot of these exercises to get a sense of where Mia comes from. I thought it might be fun to share some of these snippets. Keep in mind that these are early in the process (read: Mia is still being developed), I have not had them edited (read: sorry if they are trite), and they were never meant to see the light of day! That said, hopefully if you are an aspiring writer or you just want to know more about my character Mia, you will enjoy these free writing snippets. The bit in bold is the prompt, and all of them are from Mia Jayne’s perspective. Bracketed text is where I break form and start writing as myself or where I censor names that have changed.

1. I fear that when people look at me they see a child who has no confidence. I try to project toughness but I know they can see right through the facade to the mealy, squishy, unformed center of my being. They know that I’m a fraud and a liar with no family, no friends, no past and no future. I fear that they will see my failure or smell its stink and snicker at me. They will equate my clothes and hair and dirt with poverty and incompetence and reject me. They don’t laugh at me in the streets, but sometimes they stare and sometimes they look away. I always wonder if they are laughing about me after. Then I tell myself I am paranoid and narcissistic for thinking that anyone cares enough to laugh or spit or to give me a moment’s thought, not even the ones who stare or look away. And then I worry that they don’t see me at all… that I am invisible and have never been here and will leave no mark on this world, for better or worse.

2. The place where I go when I don’t want anyone to find me is as high up in the trees as I can climb. I have a particular tree that is a favorite. It is so large that two people can stand on either side of the trunk and not touch each other’s hands. I have carefully carved hidden steps and holds into the moss-covered bark where only I know. I use these to scale the tree up into a high branch. There, I carefully hollowed out a portion of the trunk to form a small cubby, and I sit there and daydream. Sometimes I would pull small vines with light in and read or pretend I lived there and no one could bother me. I would often hide there. It was just me and the plants and a few select animals and birds. [I have to think about what kinds of animals live in my world. They will have to be different if the plants are power sources. They maybe are smaller? Would they be furry or hairless? More like bats? Leathery? Would there be birds, snakes and lizards? Would they eat through power sources? I expect not because then it would be impossible to keep things running. Will have to think about this more.]

3. The last time I remember laughing hard was when we were excavating the space for our home from the giant [?] tree. We had dug out the rooms and were building some supports on the outside. It had begun to rain fiercely but our supports were not in yet. [Father] insisted that we keep going and tried to place a beam along the side of the tree’s trunk. The excavated dirt quickly became a muddy quagmire and [Father’s] boat sunk into the muck. He tried to pull his leg up, but the force caused the plank to slip and took him down with it. He landed with a squelch in the muck, rain beating down on his head. All of this happened in a split second. When it happened, I was under the cover of the trunk looking out. I stifled back a smile, seeing the anger flash across his face. My composure quickly fled however, because every time he would try to stand up, he would slip and slide in the slick, fine mud and land back in the muck. After a few attempts, I could no longer contain my laughter and was cackling with glee. The anger in his face dissolved at the complete helplessness of the situation and by the time he was able to gingerly crawl to the cover of the trunk, he was laughing too. Both of us laughed, tears squeezing out of the corners of our eyes, until we were all laughed out. Then I got up and heated some water for tea over the [hearthroot]. [Father] and I haven’t laughed like that since.

Well, as you can see, these types of prompts can oscillate between the mundane, the funny, and the self-reflective. A lot has changed about Mia and her backstory since I wrote these snippets from her perspective, and even though none of this writing makes it into the book, I, as the author, am able to internalize her experiences and (hopefully!) bring some depth to her as a character. I hope you enjoyed this peephole into my writing process. If you want to read more about Mia, please feel free to pick up Compendium, or if you are a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, read it for free! Thanks very much to Suzy Turner for having me as a guest poster!

Alia Luria resides in Orlando, Florida with her partner and two Pembroke Welsh Corgis. When she is not busy writing her epic sci-fiction/fantasy series, she is very, very busy practicing law as a corporate mergers and acquisitions and data privacy attorney. Apart from writing and reading voraciously, she really enjoys travel and photography and mixing the two. She also spends an inordinate amount of time enjoying fountain pens.

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Ignite The Shadows by Ingrid Seymour

Ignite The Shadows by Ingrid Seymour
(Ignite The Shadows #1)
Published by: HarperVoyager
Publication date: April 23rd 2015
Genres: Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult

Sixteen-year-old Marci Guerrero is one of the best teen hackers in Seattle. However, she’d give up all her talents to know she isn’t crazy.
Marci feels possessed by what she perceives as shadowy spectres that take control of her body and make her do crazy things. While spying on the clandestine group known as IgNiTe, she’s confronted by the leader, James McCray. His presence stirs the spectres inside her brain into a maddening frenzy. Her symptoms and ability to control them don’t go unnoticed by James, who soon recruits her and shows her the awful truth.
Half of the world’s population is infected by sentient parasites. They bind themselves to the human brain and replace the pathways for all thoughts and actions. The creatures then morph their hosts into grotesque monsters with extraordinary strengths. Winged, clawed, fanged half-humans become living nightmares. Now Marci wishes she was crazy, because the truth is worse.
She’s infected.
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I asked Ingird, 'Why teen hackers? Are you a secret hacker?'
If I tell you the truth, I would have to hack your blog. Just kidding ;)
Nope, I’m not a hacker. I’m too much of a straight-up citizen to ever manage being a hacker. I’m not as brave as my protagonist, Marci, either. She’s a very courageous girl with an insanely high IQ, so she can get away with it. I’d probably get caught the very next day O.o
The truth, though, is that I had always wanted to write a book with hackers and computers in it. They say you should write what you know and, although, I’m not a hacker, I do work as a programmer and have some knowledge of computers. I figured it would be fun to have those elements in one of my books, and I wasn’t wrong. Writing Ignite The Shadows was a blast.
We live in a super high-tech society and hear about security breaches caused by hackers all the time. But maybe hackers don’t have to always be bad. Marci isn’t, and she’s, instead, fighting for the world and the survival of humankind.
IgNiTe and FiGhT!

Ingrid Seymour is the author of IGNITE THE SHADOWS (Harper Voyager, April 23rd, 2015). When she’s not writing books, she spends her time working as a software engineer, cooking exotic recipes, hanging out with her family and working out. She writes young adult and new adult fiction in a variety of genres, including Sci-Fi, urban fantasy, romance, paranormal and horror.

Her favorite outings involve a trip to the library or bookstore where she immediately gravitates toward the YA section. She’s an avid reader and fangirl of many amazing books. She is a dreamer and a fighter who believes perseverance and hard work can make dreams come true.
She lives in Birmingham, AL with her husband, two kids and a cat named Mimi.
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The Infinite Expanse by BC Powell

The Infinite Expanse by B.C. Powell
(The Journals of Krymzyn #2)
Publication date: March 31st 2015
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult, Science Fiction

Evil lurks in the desolate Barrens of Krymzyn. For millions of Eras, predators with insatiable cravings have prowled the wasteland. When a traitor of the Delta enters their realm, the solitary beasts may finally have a leader to unite them.

As a new order emerges in the Barrens, Chase and Sash begin their lives together. While Chase fights to prove he belongs in Krymzyn, the power inside Sash flourishes in ways no one could have imagined. But a vengeance from the wasteland is soon unleashed upon them.
After Chase is trapped deep in the Barrens, his only escape is into the Infinite Expanse. Unaware of the deathly perils that take shape there, he may be lost forever. For Sash to return him from the endless wilderness, she’ll have to harness a mystical energy not seen since the beginning of time.

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I asked BC, "Please explain your fascination with sci-fi fantasy"

Why I’m Passionate about Science Fiction Fantasy
As a young reader, “The Chronicles of Narnia” and “A Wrinkle in Time” opened my mind to the possibilities of the fantasy genre. As a teenager, “Dune” introduced me to pure science fiction, while “The Lord of the Rings” took me on the most incredible reading journey I’ve ever been on. As much as I love many books set in the real world, “The Sun Also Rises,” “The Outsiders,” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” among my favorites, science fiction fantasy presents an opportunity to do something no other genre can.
The genre gives the author a chance to suspend the reader’s belief in reality. Our imaginations can run free without the boundaries and limits of scientific laws. An entire new world can be created, the impossible suddenly part of everyday existence, and the different elements of that world shaped into something believable. If the world is properly developed, a vivid picture of every detail can be brought to life in a reader’s imagination. As the story becomes almost hyperreal, something more important happens.
My goal as a writer is to trigger an emotional response in the reader. As a reader, I want to feel true empathy and caring for the characters, and hopefully learn something important about myself while I share their journeys. When a fantastical world becomes real in a reader’s mind, a very deep emotional connection to the story can evolve.
The terror we feel from a vampire in pursuit of our beloved protagonist, the exhilaration of traveling across the universe at faster than the speed of light, or the sheer adventure of fighting a dragon are all emotional responses sparked by something outside the confines of the real world. The more we believe the in the imaginary or impossible, the more emotionally vulnerable we become.
We live in an incredible era of mankind. Technology has grown by leaps and bounds over the past thirty years. A huge part of our education, communication, and entertainment is now based on technology. Advancements and ideas thought to be impossible just half a century ago are our reality. But technology can never replace imagination, and the more our imagination expands, the more we’re able to feel the real world around us. Nothing in my life has had a greater impact on my imagination than great reads in science fiction fantasy. 

BC Powell is a fantasy author from Los Angeles, CA. His debut science fiction fantasy novel "Krymzyn" was published in October, 2014. "The Infinite Expanse", the highly anticipated second book in "The Journals of Krymzyn" series, is scheduled for release on March 31, 2015.

Powell has a diverse background, having held several creative positions in the entertainment industry, including executive roles at ABC-TV and Technicolor. In recent years, he's authored several non-fiction works, primarily educational books and training programs for trading the financial markets. He dual majored in journalism and philosophy at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.
Writing fiction has been his lifelong passion and goal. “The Journals of Krymzyn” represents, in his words, “finally finding the story I want to tell with characters that are able to bring that story to life.” He's an avid reader and lists Ernest Hemingway, Frank L. Herbert, Stephen King, Jane Austen, and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. as his favorite authors.
Brad, as he prefers to go by in personal communication, lives with his longtime girlfriend, three sons from a previous marriage, and their rescue dog and cat. He enjoys hiking, ocean kayaking, spending time at Southern California beaches, movies, and reading.

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The Dawning of Firebird Alex by Orren Merton

Welcome to my tour stop for The Dawning of Firebird Alex by Orren Merton. The tour runs April 27- May 8th. Check out the tour page for more information.

The Dawning of Firebird Alex by Orren Merton

Eighteen-year-old Alexandra Gold is a Seduman: her humanity and compassion come from her deceased human mother, and her powers over spirit fire and super-human strength from her demon-like Sedu father. Collecting the first three novels inThe Sedumen Chronicles, this volume includes:

Firebird Alex: When Alex unearths her father’s Sedublade, it sets in motion a journey that challenges everything she thought she was. Rescuing her friends from another Seduman gives her a taste of the heroine she might become.

Lady Firebird: Her old nemesis, down but not out, executes a horrific plan to conquer both Earth and Sediin. It’s up to Alex to assume the mantle of Lady Firebird and hunt her adversary across universes.

Firebird Vengeance: Just when Alex thought she’d won, she discovers her victory has unleashed a horrible vengeance that threatens to destroy human and Sedu alike. In order to save everyone, she must convince skeptics in both universes that she truly is the heroine that she claims to be.

Also in this collectionFirebird Manor: In this bonus novelette, Alex and her friends unwittingly awaken a murderous eldritch horror in a beachside manor. They must defeat the monster before it kills again.

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My Favorite Failure

By Orren Merton

In a very real sense, The Sedumen Chronicles came out of a failure. An epic failure, really. But it was an epic failure that taught me a lot.

After I'd published my first novel, The Deviant, in 2010, I had an idea to write a young adult paranormal romance, featuring an eighteen year-old protagonist named Melanie who could communicate with ghosts. I was very excited about the characters and the environment I had in mind, and I started working on it in 2011.

Almost immediately, it became clear this was a novel that simply didn't want to come easily. I had various story elements but they didn't quite connect up smoothly. I got carried away fleshing out and creating the characters; I was extremely proud of how uniquely I had developed their independent voices, but I suddenly realized after nearly a year of work, I'd written almost 150,000 words—that's almost double the length of the individual Sedumen Chronicle novels—but I had barely written half the story! And after all that time, I still didn't come up with a title I liked.

I tried to edit the novel, to rewrite it, but I'd spent so much time and energy on it, and it just wasn't working. So I put it aside and wrote an adult science-fiction novel, Skye Entity. But I always wanted to revisit the YA genre, specifically with an eighteen year old girl as the star.

It was at this point, I got the idea for an eighteen-year old girl who was half-human, and half-demon—but she wasn't a monster, she was a hero. If she was a demon, what would her power set be? Obviously, fire would be a part of it. And at that point, a name came to mind: Firebird Alex. I loved the name for the character, but also for the novel.

All the hard lessons I'd learned with my failed novel came back to help me here. When I plotted out the novel, I made sure that it made sense and moved quickly. I still did my best to flesh out the characters and give them unique voices, but not to the point of self-indulgence. And if something wasn't working, I cut it out, which sometimes is the hardest part of all.

And thus, Firebird Alex, and The Sedumen Chronicles was born. Sometimes we need to fail before we can succeed, and this was one of those times. In the moment, I felt quite disheartened, but looking back, I can see how necessary it was, and I'm glad that I tried so hard and learned so much. I came out of that experience a better writer, and for that I'm grateful. And that's why it's my favorite mistake.

Orren Merton started writing fantasy and science fiction at an embarrassingly young age. In high school, he picked up guitar and start playing up and down California in a few bands, culminating in his industrial rock band Ember After. During that time, magazines, developers, and corporations began to pay him to write and edit music software related articles, manuals, and books. Since then he has written the urban fantasy novel The Deviant and the science fiction novel Skye Entity before working on his current series of YA novels. He lives in Southern California with his family, pets, collection of sci-fi/fantasy memorabilia, and curiously large stuffed animal collection.

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Zombie-saurus Rex by Mark Souza

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Rex Morton, a seventeen year-old zombie, has arrived in the small farming town of Plain View, Nebraska; just another stop in a long string of small towns left behind in their rear view mirror. Unlike the zombie stereotype, Rex is bright and friendly - as long as he doesn't get hungry. He hopes this time he can manage to stick around long enough to get his diploma.Rex’s fiercely protective mother has strong armed yet another school district into accepting her son by threatening a discrimination lawsuit. At Plain View High, a dismal pattern of fear, prejudice, and bullying steers Rex down a familiar path toward expulsion. The difference this time is that Rex has fallen for fiery Goth girl, Ariella Klopenstein, the daughter of the Police Chief, and decided he will make his stand in Plain View.
As the Z-virus spreads west and the country panics, Rex and Ariella must find a way to overcome Rex’s mother who wants to break them apart and flee town, a school principal who wants Rex expelled, Ariella’s father, the Police Chief, who thinks Rex is dangerous, and a government zombie round-up aimed at solving the zombie problem once and for all.
Zombie-saurus Rex is a story about perseverance, overcoming prejudice, stereotypes and adversity. What it isn’t is a story about dinosaurs. The title is inspired by a nickname a school bully hangs on Rex due to his size, posture, and slow plodding gate.

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Guest Post - What’s In A Title 

Hi Suzy. I’m glad you like the title of my novel, Zombie-saurus Rex. Book titles can be a very tricky thing. If they don’t express the essence of a book, they should at least give the reader a flavor for what’s inside.
I didn’t have the title when I started writing. Sometimes the title comes first, expresses the theme and the writing follows. Not this time. I had my idea, a story about overcoming prejudice and stereotype set in that bastion of bullying, high school. I knew I wanted my protagonist, Rex, to be a zombie, someone who was clearly different based on his appearance alone, and based his appearance would carry a stigma, a stereotype he had to overcome. But Rex does not fit his stereotype. He’s bright, kind, and well mannered – as long as he’s not hungry. So I started writing.
Sometimes a writer will finish their book and have to search through what they’ve written for a title. In the case of Zombie-saurus Rex it came organically from a scene early in the book. During lunch on the first day at his new school, Rex is looking for someone to sit with. He spots an opening at a table of jocks. They are clearly the cool kids, the “in crowd.” They close ranks as he approaches and rebuff him. As Rex walks away, one of the boys makes an explosion sound at every step Rex’s takes, making fun of his size and slow plodding gait. The other kids laugh. The boy taunting Rex shouts out, “There he goes, there goes Zombie-saurus Rex,” and I knew I had my title.
Was this the end of the process? No, if only it was this easy. With most books, once a writer has an idea for a title, typing it into Amazon should be the next step. No matter how witty and appropriate, it doesn’t do any good to be one of twelve books titled The Zombie Survival Guide. As a writer, you don’t want your book lost in the crowd, readers thinking they’ve found your book and buying someone else’s by mistake. Zombie-saurus Rex was unique enough that I was sure I’d have the only book with that title. And it was.
So that should have been the end of it, right? I wish. After my novel was released, it dawned on me that the title could be misconstrued. What if readers are expecting a story about zombie dinosaurs? They’d be pretty disappointed, wouldn’t they? Fortunately, that hasn’t happened yet. The book description on Amazon doesn’t mention dinosaurs. That and the Look Inside function should make it clear what the book is about. But if it should become an issue at some point, am I willing to go back to the drawing board despite loving my current title? Sure, though it would kill me. Long live Zombie-saurus Rex. Here’s hoping.

Author Mark Souza has always been a storyteller, whether explaining who filched the ice cream, or what happened to the cat’s tail. He learned most of life’s lessons from the business end of a wooden spoon, and the rest from public schools spanning the breadth of North America, all of which were overjoyed to be rid of him. He became an author of short stories and novels in the horror, mystery, thriller, and young adult genres later in life, after time and a desk job had softened his edges, transforming him into the round, doughy shape Big-&-Not-So-Tall shops crave.

Mark was the proud recipient of the 2013 Indie Reader Award for Best Science Fiction for his debut novel Robyn’s Egg.

He now resides in Western Washington with his wife (also an author), two daughters, and their dog of questionable heritage, Tater. Visit his website; http://www.marksouza,com. There you’ll find a multitude of ways to make contact. Mark enjoys cordial correspondence and will write back. He’s always on the lookout for that next victim reader.

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Losing the Ice by Jennifer Comeaux

Series: Ice #2
Release date: February 23rd 2015
Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:
Courtney and Josh are in love and excited to finally compete as skating partners. When they take the ice for their first competition, they want to show everyone, especially Josh's family, they are the perfect pair.
But ice is slippery, and one misstep puts all their dreams in jeopardy. Now they must show each other both their love and their partnership are strong enough to survive.

How much of your life experiences are in your writing?

I travel to a lot of figure skating events, so I’ve used those experiences quite a bit for my books. It’s been so helpful to have actually been in the cities and stadiums where the competitions in my books take place. It makes visualizing the events much easier!

Do you have a favorite comment or question from a reader? 

I received a comment from a reader (and aspiring writer) recently that said she wanted to model her romance writing after mine, and that was the greatest compliment I could receive!

Tell us about your book. 

LOSING THE ICE picks up Courtney and Josh’s story right before their first time competing together as a team. They have such high hopes, but then they encounter some unexpected challenges that throw everything into upheaval. They find themselves frustrated with both their on-ice and off-ice relationships, and they have to rely on the strong bond between them to pull themselves through.

What do you have planned with your writing in the near future? 

Right now I’m working on the third and final book in the Ice series, TAKING THE ICE. It will also be a novella and will wrap up Courtney and Josh’s story. I’m hoping to publish it in early autumn. After that, I plan to start working on another skating romance centered around Liza, one of the secondary characters from both the Edge and Ice series.

What is your favorite type of hero and heroine? 

My favorite type of hero is a sweet, funny, and caring guy who’s passionate with the heroine but not overbearing or arrogant in any way. I like heroes that show some vulnerability. My favorite type of heroine is a strong woman who’s not afraid to fight for her dreams or the people she loves.

What are your hero and heroine of the story like? 

Courtney is a strong young woman who’s experienced disappointment but hasn’t let it stop her from dreaming. She’s not afraid to speak her mind, and she loves passionately and with her whole heart. Josh is the definition of a sweetheart. He’s a quiet guy, but he’s not shy about showing Courtney how much he adores her. He is also incredibly talented both athletically and musically.

Jennifer Comeaux is a tax accountant by day, writer by night. There aren’t any ice rinks near her home in south Louisiana, but she’s a die-hard figure skating fan and loves to write stories of romance set in the world of competitive skating.

One of her favorite pastimes is traveling to competitions, where she can experience all the glitz and drama that inspire her writing. Jennifer loves to hear from readers!
jennifercomeaux.blogspot.com | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

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The Burned Bridges Protocol by Abigail Borders

Welcome to my tour stop for The Burned Bridges Protocol by Abigail Borders. This is a YA science fiction published by Giant Squid Books. 

The tour runs March 2nd-13th with reviews, author interviews, guest posts and excerpts. Check out the tour page for the full schedule.

The Burned Bridges Protocol by Abigail Borders
238 pages, young adult, science fiction
Seven hundred years ago, disaster forced humanity to abandon Earth. Life on the colony ship New Edinburgh is all sixteen-year-old Lilliane, the best programmer in her year at the Institute, has ever known. A week ago, Lilliane woke up in a life-pod. Its destination? Earth itself. Because it's time to rebuild. It's up to Lilliane and the four other survivors of the New Edinburgh to reclaim humanity's ancestral home. Today, the life pod arrived at Lady Diana--the lunar holding station that was once the luxury holiday destination for Earth’s super-rich. It’s supposed to be a good place. A safe place. Not anymore. Today, Lady Di is a battlefield. Because while Lilliane and her friends thought they they were the only humans left, somebody else got to Lady Di first. And he will stop at nothing to keep Lilliane from ever getting to Earth.
BBP on Giant Squid Books | Goodreads | Amazon | Indiebound



Guest post by Abigail Borders

BBP, partly dissected.

Firstly, thank you for allowing me this space in you blog. I am truly, very grateful. That being said, onward ☺

Protagonists’ names: Have I mentioned I am bad at generating names for my characters? Because I am truly horrible at it. So Kiddo was in school and I was racking my one working brain cell for names when inspiration struck from my salad bowl. Lilliane’s Yellow is a type of heirloom tomato. Tomain rhymes with romaine. Balsaine is a corruption of balsamic – as in balsamic vinegar. Hecuba is a Greek name associated with the sea – where we get sea salt. And Lemon is… well… lemon.

Antagonist’s name: I picked Kiddo’s brain for this one. Actually, quite a few of my characters are named after Kiddo’s friends. I’d tell him that I need a name, and he’d start listing his classmates until I hear a name I like the sound of. Davie Boy sounds so innocuous and benign, I could not resist. It also reminds me of the song Dannie Boy – which is sweet, sad, and (given what my character did) suitably creepy.

The Ark names: I must confess mea culpa. This bit didn’t make it into the manuscript because I couldn’t figure out how to include it without infodumping. The New Edinburgh colony ship did not actually originate from Edinburgh. When disaster struck seven hundred years before events in the novella, the human race unified and worked as one to fund, build and launch the Arks. All the Arks were named after cities – centers of history and civilization – because people saw the colony ships, and the evacuees on board, as symbolizing the best of humanity. Which is why the twins and Balsaine are Caucasian, Cleo is of African descent and Hecuba is of Afghani descent.

The Gentle Ladies: I’ve mentioned in Maureen’s blog that I’m a humanities person. Not a science person. Ironic, I know. So the Gentle Ladies is actually a bit of a cheat for me. I find it much easier to borrow and re-frame an existing myth, than to re-invent the wheel. Besides, scorpions flails are cool, no? It should be ranked right next to jellied skulls.

Cleo and chocolate cake: Cleo loves chocolate cake. As do I. When she talks about chocolate cake, she speaks for us both. I tend to make pound cake though, because that happens to be Kiddo’s favorite. But if I had my way, it’s chocolate all the way ☺

Abigail is fluent in three languages, grew up in Asia, studied History in the UK, and now calls sunny Southern California her home. When not working with flowers (and daydreaming about what a ranunculus flower fairy looks like) she sings about Winnie the Pooh while baking treats like pineapple tarts and sand dollar cookies for her son, El Kiddo. She has an-going love/hate relationship with all things chocolate, although coffee will always remain her first love. She also holds graduate degrees in International Management and Special Education.
The Burned Bridges Protocol is Abigail’s first novella. Her first novel, Cyrion, is scheduled to be released by MuseItUp Publishing in spring 2015.
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Giveaway:
Five (5) digital copies of The Burned Bridges Protocol (INT) & a signed paperback copy (US)
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Redemption by Randi Cooley Wilson

Redemption (The Revelation Series, #3) by Randi Cooley Wilson

To be Released: December, 2014

Genre: New Adult Paranormal Romance

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A LOVE RETURNS.

A LOYALTY IS BROKEN.

AND WAR BEGINS.

For Eve Collins, darkness has descended after her love vanished into the night sky. A new protector has been appointed, one who challenges everything she’s believed to true.

In this third installment of The Revelation Series, Eve will become aware of dangers and worlds that exist only in her nightmares and bloodline secrets that will trigger a centuries old war.

You can escape anything, except your destiny.

Readers captivated by Revelation and Restraint will become enthralled with Redemption

Favorite Reads of 2014

By Author Randi Cooley Wilson

Thanks so much Suzy for having me as a guest on the blog tour today. This was a difficult one, because it’s so hard to choose only ten of my favorite reads of 2014. That said, here they are in no particular order.

Play By Kylie Scott
Sinfully sexy Mal. I mean, who doesn’t love Mal. Anne and Mal’s story is funny, sexy and super sweet. You can’t help but fall in love right along with them. I almost peed my pants several times reading this book and when it was over, I missed Mal, and pumpkin. Killer too.

Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost
There is nothing I love more than a good paranormal story with a hot vampire. Enter Vlad, the original Dracula, add a strong female lead, Leila and this series becomes literary crack for me. I’ve already pre-ordered book three and it am all...hurry up and release.

Step Brother by Penelope Ward
Penelope Ward has written an incredible story about falling in love. There was so much depth, humor and hotness. I loved this love story, even if unconventional.

Reaper’s Stand by Joanna Wylde
What can I say, this series is a sexy addiction without doubt. Picnic’s story made my heart happy. I just adore this biker series and this book did not disappoint.

Black Lies by Alessandra Torre
It takes a lot to blow my mind and ‘plot fool’ me when reading. I normally can pick up the twists and turns of where a story is going to take me. NOT HERE! Alessandra is simply brilliant and this book is a whirlwind of romance, recklessness and What The What moments. When I finished, my mouth was literally hanging open in shock and love.

Elicit by Rachel Van Dyken
I’m a huge Rachel Van Dyken fan. Eagle Elect is probably one of my favorite series. This book though, IS OUTSTANDING! There are no other words for Tex’s story. It’s beautiful, dark and deep, just like the Mafia prince himself.

A Whole New Crowd by Tijan
A broken girl, a twist of fate, a strong heroine and a love story like no other. Tijan’s story-telling abilities always leave me breathless. This was gritty, full of emotion and romance. I loved it.

Wing Women by Bella Jewel
This might just be my favorite book of 2014. Here’s my favorite quote from the book. I think it says it all: “Why do people drink? I mean seriously, what's the catch? It makes us crazy, we do stupid things and then we wake up the next day with a headache, a sore stomach and quite possibly, an STD.” ― Bella Jewel, Wingwoman

Better When He’s Bad by Jay Crownover
Many of us write about the bad boy, but Jay Crownover really just takes bad boy to an entirely new level in this book. Bax is just so bad you want to love him. Truly. This is a raw and intense story. I soaked up every word.

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
Tate and Archer…my face was tear stained and my sleeve full of snots. Enough said.

Randi was born and raised in Massachusetts where she attended Bridgewater State University and graduated with a degree in Communication Studies. After graduation she moved to California where she lived happily bathed in sunshine and warm weather for fifteen years. Randi and her husband recently moved back to Massachusetts with their daughter where she was encouraged to begin writing again. Revelation is her first novel and The Revelations Series is her first New Adult Paranormal Romance book series. “I’ve had a love affair with books, writing and storytelling since childhood. It has been a dream of mine to introduce this world and these characters to you. I hope I’ve done them justice.” Randi loves to hear from readers, you can reach out to her via Twitter: R_CooleyWilson and/or Facebook: authorrandicooleywilson

Excerpt

Strong arms wrap tightly around my waist and tug me back to a warm, muscular chest. Asher lifts his hand and moves my hair to one side, over my shoulder, so he can have access to my neck. I tilt my head to the right, making it easy for his lips to gently brush the sensitive skin under my left ear before leaving a trail of soft kisses.

“Someday, when this is all over, I promise you’ll have the peace you’re craving. It will be just me and you, siren,” he vows quietly.

I sigh in contentment. “That’s all I want, Ash.”

“Then I’ll move Heaven and earth to make sure you get it."

I turn to face him and push up on my tiptoes. Leaning in, I give him a slow, molten kiss. I push everything I feel for him into the gesture. I want to fill every space of his soul, the way he does mine.

It’s like I’m trying to climb inside his heart and live there. I’m not sure how long we stay like this, in our own private, perfect moment, but I never want to leave.

Breathlessly, I pull away. My eyes find Asher’s. “What is it you want the most?”

Asher’s intense gaze holds mine, taking my breath away. “Redemption.”

The Giveaway 

$25 GC to B&N or Amazon (winners choice) and a digital copy (Nook or Kindle, winners choice) of: Revelation, Restraint and Redemption by Randi Cooley Wilson

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Malice by Amity Hope

Malice by Amity Hope
*First book in a trilogy. Young Adult Romance/Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
Malice is currently on 99 cents on Amazon. Pick up your copy today at the link below!
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Samara Cavanaugh has grown up in a world filled with magic users. She’s used to bizarre and peculiar. But when a stranger checks in at The Bella Luna, the bed and breakfast her family owns, the strange occurrences in Granite Falls escalate. 

Many people are leery of Levi, their new guest. He claims to be in town doing research but Samara’s friends aren’t so sure that his claim is as innocuous as it appears to be. When two of her classmates disappear, her friends seem convinced Levi had a hand in it.
Those closest to her have been keeping secrets from her. Those secrets put everyone close to her in danger.
Suddenly, her unrequited crush on her best friend, Tristan becomes the least of her troubles.

I asked Amity, 'Do you read the same kinds of books that you write? What authors have influenced you?'

I have a fairly eclectic taste in books. I like a little bit of everything: Romance, mystery, suspense, and of course, I read a lot of young adult romance.
That said, my favorite genre is young adult. I read a good mix of both YA contemporary romance and paranormal romance.
Most of the books I’ve published to date have been YA contemporary romance. However, paranormal is by far my favorite. I love books that can pull you out of everyday life. I think paranormal romance does that in a way that no other genre can. There is just so much more an author can do with paranormal romance. They can really take the reader anywhere. The characters have fewer limitations put upon them.
My favorite authors are Kim Harrison and Richelle Mead. I’ve read everything they’ve written. I’ve actually read several of their books twice. That’s not something I do often because my TBR pile (like everyone else’s) grows by the day. I believe that of all of the books I’ve read, these two authors have influenced me the most. I aspire to someday be as wonderful at world building and storytelling as these two amazing ladies are.

Amity lives in beautiful northern Minnesota with her two sons, two cats and their Rottweiler. She has a degree in elementary education andunnamed workedunnamed in that field for ten years before deciding to self-publish. Her first self-published novel, Twisted, was listed by Amazon as a Top 100 Kids & Teens Kindle Book of 2012. If she’s not writing, or spending time with her boys, she’s most likely reading.  
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The Giveaway
5 Kindle copies of Malice by Amity Hope
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The Tour Schedule:  November 17th
Elizabeth Delana Rosa – guest post
NaYa Books and More – promo post
YaReads – Interview
November 18th
Archaeolibrarian – I Dig Good Books! – Review
A Writer’s Tales - guest post
Reader Girls - guest post
November 19th
Just One More Chapter - Review
All my Book finds - Review
Pearls Cast Before A McPig – guest post
November 20th
Friends With Characters – promo post
Suzy Turner, YA Author - guest post
November 21st
Book Talk Reviews – promo post
ReadWriteLove28 – interview
Cassandra M’s Place – Top Ten Post
November 22nd
Just One More Chapter – Interview
For the Love - promo post
Bookworm in Barrie – promo post
November 23rd
Mythical Books - guest post
Lisa Loves Literature – promo post
Book Lovers Life – promo post

Krymzyn by BC Powell

Krymzyn by BC Powell
Publication date: October 4th 2014
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult, Science Fiction
Chase was twelve the first time he arrived in a strange land where dark, ominous clouds never move, ancient trees violently spring to life during Darkness, and people seem to live without emotion. Doctors tell him they’re hallucinations, but he knows his visits are real. She’s there-Sash-and she’s more real than anyone he’s ever known.
His visits stop but, as years pass, the memories haunt Chase. Without warning, the young man suddenly finds himself again in a world called Krymzyn. Arriving during Darkness, he’s rescued from death by the extraordinary, beautiful but terrifying young woman he first met when he was twelve.
When Chase is thrust into the war of balance against vile creatures who threaten all who live there, Sash helps him understand his purpose in Krymzyn. A dark secret from the beginning of time reveals he might be able to stay there forever. To prove he belongs in Krymzyn and be with the only woman he can ever love, Chase will have to risk his own life in the ultimate battle.
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Does Anyone Have a Case of “Cover-Love”?

Based on comments I receive about the “Krymzyn” cover, many do.
As a first-time indie author, I wanted a cover that would capture people’s attention instantly. A cover that would stand out from the plethora of self-pubs in the genre, combining a fantasy feel with enough realism to say “adult.” I enlisted the talents of an amazing UK designer named Ravven for the Krymzyn cover, and she’ll be creating the covers for the entire series.
The great internal debate I had before sending notes to Ravven was: “Do I want Sash on the cover?” Sash is the extrarodinary, mysterious, and powerful female protagonist in the novel. The reason for my debate was that I want the reader to have their own image of Sash based on the male protagonist’s descriptions of her, not necessarily a mental imprint from the cover. This was a dilemma.
I sent Ravven a descritpion of Sash from the book and a few paragraphs about the world. In my notes to her, I made it clear that, if we went with Sash on the cover, she needed to be mysterious in appearance. We couldn’t know what she’s thinking—is she angry, happy, sad?—but she had to seem ferocious. The focal point needed to be her fiery, amber eyes.
We also discussed using a tree as the primary subject of the cover since the trees that come to life are important characters in Krymzyn. The background is fairly simple: ominous storm clouds over crimson hills, all in rich, vibrant reds. That is the world of Krymzyn, after all.
I stepped away to let Ravven do her thing for a few weeks. She looked through hundreds of potential model photos and stock photos of trees—until one day, a number of cover comps showed up in my email.
I instantly found something I didn’t like in every comp . . . except one. I was actually surprised to be so enamored by a version with Sash on the cover. But the look on the model’s face, with a little Photoshop help from Ravven, is exactly what I see in my mind when I think of Sash. She’s compelling because I don’t know what she’s thinking. Her face expresses an underlying fury but also a deep sense of knowledge. I look at her and think, “She knows something I don’t.”
But more than anything, her eyes captured me. They’re intriguing and make me want to know more about her, about who she really is and what secrets she might be hiding. More importantly, from a design standpoint, the eyes create a central point of focus to draw you into the cover.
As Ravven said to me, something I never considered, the cover has to look good as a thumbnail. That’s how most people will see it for the first time, and that may be the only chance to grab their attention. So we went back and forth a few times, fine-tuning her eyes, her gorgeous scarlet-streaked hair (Ravven is such a master at painting hair), and perfecting the world of Krymzyn in the background. In the end, my only reaction was to say, “Stunning!” I hope others agree.
More of Ravven’s cover art can be found at http://www.ravven.com/

BC Powell is a fantasy author from Los Angeles, CA. "Krymzyn" is his debut science fiction fantasy novel, the first book in a series titled "The Journals of Krymzyn."
Powell has a diverse background, having held several creative positions in the entertainment industry, including executive roles at ABC-TV and Technicolor. In recent years, he's authored several non-fiction works, primarily educational books and training programs for trading the financial markets. He dual majored in journalism and philosophy at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.
Writing fiction has been his lifelong passion and goal. "Krymzyn" is his first published novel and represents, in his words, "finally finding the story I want to tell with characters that are able to bring that story to life." He's an avid reader and lists Ernest Hemingway, Frank L. Herbert, Stephen King, Jane Austen, and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. as his favorite authors.
Brad, as he prefers to go by in personal communication, lives with his longtime girlfriend, three sons from a previous marriage, and their rescue dog and cat. He enjoys hiking, ocean kayaking, spending time at Southern California beaches, movies, and reading.
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100$ Amazon gift card

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