Tag Archives: young adult

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Witch Hunt

 

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Title: Witch Hunt

Series:  The Witch Game Novels, Book Two
Author:  Kasi Blake
Published:  October 6th, 2015
Publisher:  Clean Teen Publishing
Genre:  YA Paranormal Romance


Synopsis:
A magical game of hide-and-seek begins.
Find the missing player and win.
The game resets.
They all forget and start the game again.

     Seventeen-year-old Starr Hughes hasn’t believed in magic since the day her mother died. As an aspiring reporter, the only thing she cares about is cold, hard facts. So when she hears the popular kids at school (the It-Squad) are about to start a secret game, she wants every detail, especially since she has a major crush on gorgeous Dylan Winchester. Hiding under the headmaster’s desk, planting bugs, and breaking into a classmate’s home are all on her to-do list. With her boy-crazy best friend Lily at her side, Starr discovers that witches are not only real, but they also need her help. Someone is using the game to steal their memories, their powers, and perhaps even their lives.
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Get Book one, Crushed FREE on Amazon!

 
 

~Excerpt~
 
     “It’s him,” Starr said as she grabbed Lily’s foot. “He’s here.”
     “Huh?” Lily halfway sat up, looking dazed. “What are you talking about?”
     “Dylan Winchester is at my house.” She couldn’t believe it was true even as she heard herself say the words. “He’s knocking on my front door. What do I do?”
     Lily sighed. “Answer it so he’ll stop with the pounding.”
     Starr glanced down at what she was wearing, black pajamas with purple and silver stars on the top. “I can’t let him see me like this.”
“He already saw you in pajamas once. What’s the big deal?”
     And that was when Starr’s ears picked up voices coming from downstairs. Someone else had already opened the door to their young visitor. Hands over her mouth, she freaked out. “Oh no! Dad is talking to him.”
     Wide awake now, Lily leaped off the bed. “We’d better stop your dad before he says something that will embarrass you for life and ruin your rep at school. As your best friend, if you go down, I go down.”

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About the Author:
     If you ask Kasi Blake how old she was when she started writing, she will probably say twelve. That’s when she wrote her first short story. But it started long before then. Her first characters were invisible friends she played with as a child. In the third grade she wrote a one-page story about a mummy for an assignment, and the teacher read it to the class. Even though she was embarrassed, the other kids laughed in all the right places, and she realized she could affect other people through her writing. She loves to get lost in emotional stories, crying and laughing with the characters, so she thinks it’s the most amazing thing in the world to be able to do this for other people.
     Kasi is a hardcore Supernatural fanatic and practically has the shows memorized line for line. If you want to see her freak out, tell her you’ve never watched an episode. Then be prepared to listen to a long list of reasons why you should. In her spare time, when she’s not reading or writing, she does nail art, engages in day-long shopping trips with friends, and takes care of her many animals.
     Originally from California, she resides in the Midwest on a farm with cows, chickens, ducks, a dog, and two cats.
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Clean Teen Publishing Links:
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Giveaway Details:
There is a tour wide giveaway. Prizes include the following:
  • If US, the winner will receive a mystery box from Clean Teen Publishing
  • If International, the winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card.

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Awakened (The Gods and Guardians Trilogy #1)

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Title:   Awakened
Series:  The Gods and Guardians Trilogy #1
Author:  CJ Anderson
Published:  August 28th, 2015
Genre:  YA Sci-Fi Fantasy
Content Warning:  Mild violence
Recommended Age:  13+

 
 
 

~Synopsis~

 

     The new guy in town has a few secrets …one of which is the ability to levitate and use telekinesis to move objects – Dru Sanjay hasn’t been able to share his secrets with anyone. That is until he meets…HER.
     Alayna West can see and experience emotions as color. Her only desire is to complete high school, go to college and create a better life far away from her rural roots. But plans change when she meets…HIM.
     When Dru and Alayna meet they experience a hair raising, skin prickling, and unexplainable connection. As Alayna is drawn into Dru’s world, she learns of the Guardians; others like her who have special abilities, whose genetics can be traced back to the Gods. Only the Gods and the other Guardians are actually extraterrestrials who have been banned from Earth for the last 2,000 years.
     Alayna’s plans for a better life are shot to H-E-double toothpicks when she discovers another gift and Dru struggles with keeping his last secret. All the while, the chemistry between them, along with outside forces, pose a threat that could change their futures forever.
GoodReads

 

Excerpt from Awakened – Book 1 of the Gods and Guardians series by CJ Anderson

 

“It all happens so fast. Dru is calling my name and I look up toward the cliff. When I move my head I catch a glimpse of something in my peripheral vision; something big, something that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up straight. It’s some sort of large and scary looking creature and it’s prowling straight toward me.
The creature is as large as a bear, but it has the body and head of a lion with something that looks like a goat rising out of its back and a long tail, at least six feet long, whipping around with the head of what looks to be a large, creepy venomous snake. My pulse quickens as if fear itself were trapping me and I’m incapacitated.
I think I must be either a) dreaming, b) crazy, or c) dead because then I see Dru flying through the air. What the hell? He is going to kill himself! What is he doing?
Dru slams into the monster; it flies through the air and then drops to the ground. As far as I can tell, with the exception of the snake, which is partially smashed beneath the body, the monster is knocked out. The snake head is making a high pitched hissing sound and it makes me feel sick to my stomach.
Then, Dru is right beside me holding me tight against him. Both of our hearts are pounding.
“Alayna! Alayna, luv, are you OK?” Dru asks, his voice uneasy.
I’m baffled. “Me? Am I OK? What about you? You just jumped, no flew, no, I don’t know what the hell you did but you just slammed into a…a …a…was that a chimera?!…and after jumping from that height, you just walked away!” I stammer.
“I know,” Dru says, “and I can explain. But first, I think we need to head back the way we came before our friend wakes up. She is going to be pissed off!”
He grabs my hand and we run. I’m fast, but it’s hard to maneuver through the woods with all the brush and vegetation, much of which is waist high.
We’re about a quarter mile from the motorcycle when we finally see the trail. Dru slows down for just a moment, looks around and grabs my hand. “Faster!” He yells. “It’s coming.”
I chance a quick glance behind us and see three enraged heads. One is roaring, one hissing, and one is making a terrible ear-deafening bleating sound. I run faster than I have ever run before, even faster than yesterday at the track. Adrenaline is rushing through my veins so quickly that it keeps me going.
We’re almost there but the creature is gaining on us. We can see the motorcycle at the bottom of the cliff. All we have to do is run down the hill and turn the corner and we will be home free.”

 
 

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                                          About the Author:

     CJ Anderson has been obsessed with science fiction and fantasy for as long as she can remember. Star Wars, Superman and Transformers are among her earliest memories. But it was Madeline L’Engle’s book, A Wrinkle in Time, that first grabbed her attention as an elementary student to the genre in the world of books. She has been reading Young Adult, Science Fiction and Fantasy ever since!
     Creating stories has been a life-long journey for CJ. As a young child she create stories to tell her imaginary friends. Later on in school, when she became bored during class, adventures in fairytale lands, were a common theme running wild in her imagination. It never really occurred to her to write them down, though, until she was older and taking a class on creativity. Once she started writing, she never wanted to stop. She says it’s one of the best decisions she’s ever made.
     CJ has been teaching Gifted & Talented for six years and has been both encouraged and inspired by her students. She lives in Iowa with her husband, two beautiful daughters and two cats. When she isn’t writing, teaching or spending time with her family, you can find her working out, reading or fangirling, of course! The God Kissed: Awakened is her first novel and the first book in a planned trilogy.
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Giveaway Details:
There is a tour wide giveaway. Prizes include the following:
  • A $25 Amazon gift card
  • 5 $5 Amazon gift cards

Giveaway is International.

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Minutes Before Sunset

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Title:  Minutes Before Sunset
Series:  The Timely Death Trilogy #1
Author:   Shannon A. Thompson
Published:  July 28th, 2015  
Publisher:  Clean Teen Publishing
Genre:  YA Paranormal Romance
Content Warning:  Violence, Adult Language
Recommended Age:  13+


 

 

~Synopsis~

 

     Two destinies. One death.

     “Her kiss could kill us, and my consent signed our death certificates.”

     Eric Welborn isn’t completely human, but he isn’t the only shade in the small Midwest town of Hayworth. With one year left before his eighteenth birthday, Eric is destined to win a long-raging war for his kind. But then she happens. In the middle of the night, Eric meets a nameless shade, and she’s powerful—too powerful—and his beliefs are altered. The Dark has lied to him, and he’s determined to figure out exactly what lies were told, even if the secrets protect his survival.

     Jessica Taylor moves to Hayworth, and her only goal is to find more information on her deceased biological family. Her adoptive parents agree to help on one condition: perfect grades. And Jessica is distraught when she’s assigned as Eric’s class partner. He won’t help, let alone talk to her, but she’s determined to change him—even if it means revealing everything he’s strived to hide.


Amazon | Barnes & Noble | GoodReads


Excerpt from Minutes Before Sunset by Shannon A. Thompson:

 

“You look mad,” he said, quieter this time.
I wouldn’t look at him. “I am.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t get you,” I admitted. “I have no idea why you’re acting this way, and it makes me feel like I don’t know you.”
“I didn’t realize you wanted to know me,” he said, and I turned around, momentarily meeting his eyes. They were dark, shadowed by an expression I hadn’t seen before.
“Why wouldn’t I?” I asked, feeling heat crawl over my neck. “We’ve already spent a lot of time together.”
“For a project that’s completed, Jessica,” he said, and he shook his head, driving silently through my neighborhood. I waited for him to speak, but he didn’t. Soon, we were at the end of my driveway. Eric shoved the gears into park, and I reached for the door, but he locked it.
“Why are you so interested in my life?” he asked, and my heart pounded. I didn’t say anything. His eyes met mine, filled with an intensity that made me shudder. “It’s not that great.”
“I know,” I managed. My voice was shaking.
            His face reddened. “But you ask questions.”
            “And you answer them.”
            His mouth opened, but then it snapped shut. He sighed, turned away, and grabbed the steering wheel as if he were driving again. We remained parked. “I’m Eric James Welborn,” he stated, his voice wavering into an awkwardness I’d never heard with his normally confident and cocky attitude.
            James? His middle name felt personal—like he had opened up a side of himself he’d forgotten about. But I didn’t feel intrusive. I felt comforted, like I already knew the answer before he’d spoken it. But I hadn’t.
            “Your name doesn’t tell me who you are,” I said, surprised by my fluidity.
            He barely smiled. “Maybe I like it that way.”
            “I don’t.”

 


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About the Author:
Shannon A. Thompson is a twenty-three-year-old author, avid reader, and habitual chatterbox. She was merely sixteen when she was first published, and a lot has happened since then. Thompson’s work has appeared in numerous poetry collections and anthologies, and her first installment of The Timely Death Trilogy became Goodreads’ Book of the Month. As a novelist, poet, and blogger, Thompson spends her free time writing and sharing ideas with her black cat named after her favorite actor, Humphrey Bogart. Between writing and befriending cats, she graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in English, and she travels whenever the road calls her.
Amazon Author Page | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Blog | Instagram | Pinterest





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Clean Teen Publishing Links:
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Giveaway Details:
There is a tour wide giveaway. Prizes include the following:
  • A bookmark swag pack and winner’s choice of any Clean Teen Publishing eBook.
Giveaway is International.

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So Shall I Reap

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Title:  So Shall I Reap
Series:  The Unseen Series
Author:  Kathy-Lynn Cross
Published:  June 30th, 2015  
Publisher:  Clean Teen Publishing
Genre:  YA Paranormal
Content Warning:  Violence and adult language

 



~Synopsis~

 

     There is no protection from the Unseen.

     Las Vegas, Nevada can’t contain Alexcia Crystalline Stasis, who is living the ideal teenager’s dream as the school’s elite socialite. That is, until a fatal car accident changes everything. Now Alexcia’s emotions are on the verge of combusting. As if mourning the loss of her boyfriend isn’t enough, she is also dealing with extreme night terrors that leave her wondering if she just might need to be fitted for a straightjacket.

     Tevin isn’t your normal daemon. He’s the leader of his clan, and he also happens to be a very active Grim Reaper. He never wanted to be charged with babysitting the one girl who can sway Creation’s Balance. Tevin has known and kept Alexcia safe most of her life. Now that he has to become even more personally involved in her protection, Tevin finds himself having a hard time separating his sworn duty and pure curiosity. What does make Alexcia tick?

     Will Tevin be able to keep Alexcia safe from the Unseen? And will Alexcia’s emotions eventually help Tevin attempt to understand what being human is all about? Or will the entities and assassins’ of the Unseen get what they want … her dead.


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Excerpt from So Shall I Reap by Kathy-Lynn Cross:

 

     Flames and darkness served as a reminder of the future we faced. Resting both forearms around my middle and feeling defeated, I shuddered. Filling in my view with his unreadable stare, he then glanced away briefly and whispered, “I wonder if a soulless creature is worthy to be bound by a heart, tied to a soul? Yet, as you stand there looking at me, I continue seeing the eyes of the child I once knew. Do you still want to offer me your soul?”

     Without hesitation, sorrow for him exploded inside my chest. Thin lines of ink trailed down his cheeks, and I reached up to caress this face while pulling him closer for a chance to kiss his lips. Even for a moment, to give him a taste of my soul.

     How did I know him?

     I hadn’t grasped the words he spoke, let alone the feelings I had for him. Without conscious control over my voice, it answered him for me, “I can only choose what is right and pure. This is my only function. My heart is all the power I can give you right now.” I was unsure what I meant, but he smiled at me. The creatures formed a tighter circle around us and their wings appeared to be dripping hot silver acid that melted into what looked like cloaks made of the same black mist rising from the ground. Without notice, I found myself wrapped within two massive wings.

     His wings sizzled as he pulled me into his icy embrace, leaning in to whisper against the inner part of my ear, “They say love knows no bounds. Death only has one boundary, and you cross over it when your heart stops. But written on the Unseen scrolls, it states this one emotion will last even after the breath ceases.”

     With his trail of words still lingering against the inside curvature of my ear, my composure disappeared. The blankets were wrapped tight around me like a cocoon. If I didn’t know better, I would have sworn it had snowed in the room overnight. Shadows were thick and barricaded the bedroom and closet doors. No escape from the nightly terrors. Rubbing the grit from each lash, I unwrapped from the cocoon of covers, followed by flopping one leg at a time to the floor. My mind was clouded in the thick fog making it difficult to push off the bed. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever been so weak and chilled from sweating. An overwhelming need washed over me to open the drapes and cleanse the bedroom from the unknown with the glow from the streetlights. His presence remained in the room with me. Turning slowly from the window, it felt as if I were wearing lead shoes. Pushing their weight toward the mirror, I was horrified at the face gaping back at me. I leaned closer to try and comprehend what the glass was telling me. Two small, dried streams of red gleamed on my cheeks. I was frozen in a nonexistent moment of time. My breath caught as I gasped… and woke up.
 
 
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About the Author:

     Born in Pomona, California, Kathy-Lynn Cross lived there for twelve years until her family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada—where she resides still to this day. Inspired by the backdrop of Sin City, Kathy-Lynn took her English professor’s advice and wrote about the hometown that she knew.

     Kathy-Lynn wasn’t always a writer. In 2008, when her niece was hospitalized, Kathy-Lynn decided to do something special for her so she wrote a short tale for her to read. After devouring it in a single day, her niece and the nurses in the pediatrics wing quickly asked her, “What’s next?”

     That was when a new chapter in her life opened up, and Kathy-Lynn realized that she wanted to become a Storyweaver.

     Kathy-Lynn loves the color red and obsessively uses it in everything, including her bottle-blonde hair accented by red highlights. She has a knack for baking and cake decorating—that is, when her fingers are not busy writing mayhem. When recharging, you could find her curled up with a cup of coffee and a good book or spending time with her hubby of nineteen years, two kids, four cats, and the family dog.



Amazon Author Page | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Website
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Clean Teen Publishing Links:
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Giveaway Details:
There is a tour wide giveaway. Prizes include the following:
  • A bookmark swag pack, winner’s choice of any Clean Teen Publishing eBook, and a $15 Amazon gift card.
Giveaway is International.

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Milayna’s Angel

 

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Title:  Milayna’s Angel

Series:  The Milayna Series, Book 2
Author:  Michelle K. Pickett
Published:  July 7th, 2015
Publisher:  Clean Teen Publishing
Genre:  YAm Paranormal Romance
Content Warning:  Adult language and violence
Recommended Age:  16+

 
 

~Synopsis~ 

 

     Now that the battle with Hell’s angel, Azazel, has ended, you’d think eighteen-year-old Milayna’s life would take a turn for the better. After all, what could be worse than having the angel of Hell trying to steal your soul? Plenty. Abaddon, the demon of destruction, is angry that Azazel failed to convert Milayna before her demi-angel powers matured. Now she’s untouchable… or so she thinks. It seems even in Hell, there are loopholes.
     Not only is her life in danger, but her love life is crumbling, too. Just when Milayna and fellow demi-angel Chay get comfortable on their little cloud of bliss, Xavier comes to town. He’s one angel that’s as hot as the very embers of Hell, and he has his sights set on Milayna.
     Now she has the demon of destruction out to kill her, Xavier out to steal her heart, and she still has to take final exams before she can graduate high school.
     Sometimes life sucks, even if you are half angel.
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~About the Author~

     Michelle is the bestselling author of the young adult novel “PODs.” She was born and raised in Flint, Michigan, but now lives in a sleepy suburb outside Houston with her extremely supportive husband, three school-aged children, a 125 pound “lap dog,” and a very snooty cat.
     Red Bull or Monster Khaos are her coffee of choice, and she can’t write without peanut butter M&Ms and a hoodie. A hopeful romantic; she loves a swoon-worthy ending that will give her butterflies for days. She writes across genres in the young adult and new adult age groups. She loves to hear from her readers.
     Michelle signed her new young adult contemporary novel— Unspeakable, with Clean Teen Publishing in 2014.
Amazon Author Page | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Blog

 

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Clean Teen Publishing Links:
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter
Giveaway Details:
There is a tour wide giveaway. Prizes include the following:
  • A bookmark swag pack and winner’s choice of any Clean Teen Publishing eBook.
Giveaway is International.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Twists in Time

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Title:  Twists in Time
Authors:  Various
Published:  June 16th, 2015
Publisher:  Clean Teen & Crimson Tree Publishing
Genre:  Science Fiction, Time Travel
Content Warning:  Some stories may include mild violence and language.

 
 

 
 

~Synopsis~

 

     What would happen if time, the fragile thread that both leads and binds us, could be unwound as simply as untying a knot? Would we go back, charging through our own history, changing and tweaking, plucking at that fragile thread until time itself unraveled all around us? Would we create countless universes through which we could live our fantasies—or would we become our own nightmares? Would we blaze ahead, reckless and wild, into our own futures? Would we become our own heroes, or would we become villains?
     Join us for a series of stories that explore time, through the eyes of those bold enough to conquer it, and foolish enough to try to control it. From the award-winning team of authors at Clean Teen Publishing, Twists in Time will both entertain and challenge the way you see the world around you. Because when one finds a way to break the barrier of time, endless worlds of possibilities emerge.

 

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~Featured Authors and Stories~

 

“After Time” by Sandy Goldsworthy
“The Fall” by Holly Kelly
“The Kiss of Time” by Amanda Strong
“With a Grain of Sand” by Kathy-Lynn Cross
“The Before Sky” by Sherry D. Ficklin
“What You Wish For” by Kelly Risser
“Tides of Time” by Julie Wetzel
“It’s The Little Things” by Jon Messenger
“Romeo and Juliet Times Infinity” by Kasi Blake

 
 

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Clean Teen Publishing Links:
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter
Giveaway Details:
There is a tour wide giveaway. Prizes include the following:
  • A bookmark swag pack, winner’s choice of any Clean Teen Publishing eBook, and a $15 Amazon gift card.
Giveaway is International.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Wicked Luck

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Title:  Wicked Luck
Series:  Wicked Luck Trilogy #1
Author:  Shannon L. Maynard
Published:   June 23rd, 2015
Publisher:  Crimson Tree Publishing
Genre:  NA Romance
Content Warning:  Violence, Adult Themes
Recommended Age:  14+

 

~Synopsis~

 

     How can Ava Starr’s worst nightmare be Dax Miller’s dream come true?
     For the past three years, Dax has been stranded on Lamarai Island with his stepsister and two tribes of cannibals. But now a beautiful girl named Ava has washed up on shore. After secretly reading her journal, he believes she is a perfect match to the girl of his dreams. He’s determined not only to keep her alive, but also to win over her heart by convincing her to forget about her past and the secrets that continue to haunt her.
     Ava Starr has always been the epitome of bad luck, but she never imagined she would wake up and find herself on a cannibal-infested island with no memory of how she got there. The last thing she remembers is boarding a plane with her pilot boyfriend, Preston. But now he and his crew are missing, and she must find him before a tribe of hungry cannibals finds him first. But Ava’s troubles have followed her to Lamarai, where once again she’s surrounded by danger and people who want her dead. She finds herself caught in a web of deceit and soon discovers the answers to her mysterious past can be found in the most unlikely of places, and that no one is actually who they seem to be.
Amazon | GoodReads

 

                                                                                                           

~Excerpt~

 

     With a satisfied grin, I drop the book in my pocket and step out from behind the tree.
     “Well, well, well. What a predicament. Gives new meaning to the phrase ‘sticky situation’ doesn’t it?” My voice startles her and causes a sharp intake of breath as she opens her eyes.
     “Dax,” she says with a relieved exhale.
     “Hey princess.” I give her my best Cheshire smile. “Looks like your little escape plan didn’t work out so well, huh? Well, I hope you have better luck escaping from that pit of quicksand.”
     I turn to walk away.
     “Wait! Where are you going?” she asks, and desperation oozes from her voice.
     I pause to get control of the amusement cracking away at my serious expression before turning around. “I don’t know. I think I’ll head back to the beach and wait for a hot blonde to wash up on shore.” Her mouth falls open right on cue. “Oh, and sorry to break it to ya’, but you didn’t get the part. Since it’s my fantasy, I was looking for someone friendlier, a little more trusting, a little less sassy, and what was the last thing? Oh, yeah. Someone who actually likes me. But don’t feel bad—you nailed the physical profile,” I say with a wink.
     “Stop being a jerk and help me,” she says, and then softens her tone. “Please?”
     I uncross my arms and rest my hands on my hips. I’m pretty sure she already regrets that last comment, but I can’t stop now. “Look, princess. I’m a lot of things, but a jerk isn’t one of them. And don’t worry; I’m sure someone else will find you soon. A hungry cannibal—or Roxy. And I’m starting to think you and her might make a good team. The pity-party duo. She’s hateful, complains constantly, and she’s also a member of the ‘I hate Dax club’, just like you.”
     I turn my back on her again and take a step.
     “Wait! I don’t hate you. Please don’t leave me. I’m sorry.”
     I’m a sucker for apologies but when I turn to face her, I can’t resist putting one hand behind my ear and tilting my head.
     “I’m really sorry,” she says again. “For running away and being so grumpy.” I wait for more, and she grits her teeth. “And for not listening to you.”
     This is the part where I know she expects me to jump to her rescue, but I lean against a tree with a cocky grin and pull a banana from my pocket. She stares while I peel it, take a bite, and chew slowly. I’m savoring the fruit but also my triumph in having the upper hand.
     “Aren’t you going to help me?” she finally asks with a hint of worry.
     “I’m still debating. If I leave you here, at least I’ll know where you are and won’t have to worry about you running off. I could even build a little hut around you and toss you food and water now and then. You’d be a lot less trouble that way.”
     “Very funny,” she says, but I think it is and I can’t keep from laughing.

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~About the Author~

     Shannon L. Maynard lives in Colorado with her five girls where she is a legal assistant by day and an author by night. In between working and writing she can be found driving kids to soccer, folding mountains of pink laundry, or eating her weight in chocolate. Other addictions include shoe shopping, reading YA, and Australian and British accents (which may be partly to blame for her massive crush on Thor). If she had one wish it would be for more hours in the day to spend enjoying all of the above. Okay, everything except the laundry.
     Shannon studied art and criminology before getting a license in cosmetology, but eventually wound up an expert daydreamer; a skill that occasionally leads to getting lost while driving, but has been a huge asset to her love for writing. Her debut novel WICKED LUCK is set to release June 2015 and is the first book in the Wicked Luck Trilogy.
Amazon Author Page | Facebook | GoodReads | Website

 

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Crimson Tree Publishing Links:
(an adult division of Clean Teen)
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Giveaway Details:
There is a tour wide giveaway. Prizes include the following:
  • A bookmark swag pack and winner’s choice of any Clean Teen Publishing eBook.
Giveaway is International.

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Becoming Jinn

 

Becoming Jinn

 

          Azra has just turned sixteen, and overnight her body lengthens, her olive skin deepens, and her eyes glisten gold thanks to the brand-new silver bangle that locks around her wrist. As she always knew it would, her Jinn ancestry brings not just magical powers but the reality of a life of servitude, as her wish granting is controlled by a remote ruling class of Jinn known as the Afrit.
 
         To the humans she lives among, she’s just the girl working at the snack bar at the beach, navigating the fryer and her first crush. But behind closed doors, she’s learning how to harness her powers and fulfill the obligations of her destiny.
 
         Mentored by her mother and her Zar “sisters”, Azra discovers she may not be quite like the rest of her circle of female Jinn . . . and that her powers could endanger them all. As Azra uncovers the darker world of becoming Jinn, she realizes when genies and wishes are involved, there’s always a trick.
 

5 Flames

A define 5 flame book!

 
           Not since Cinder has a book held my attention as well as this one. Now one of my new favorite authors, Lori Goldstein has done an amazing job of creating an impressive world of magic.

          Becoming Jinn is full of conjuring, intrigue, emotion and sisterly devotion. She nails the young snarky protagonist, breathing such reality into her that I fell she is a real person and not a character in a book. Well done. I can’t wait until book two.

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The Song of the Mermaid

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Title:   The Song of the Mermaid
Author:  Melissa Davies
Published:  January 15th, 2012
Genre:  YA Mystery Adventure
Recommended Age:  11+

 

~Synopsis~

 

     “Yesterday morning, local boat-builder Mr Roger Trevithick was found dead at the foot of the cliffs on the Zennor Coast…”
     When Stef Brightbay goes to visit her Aunt May in the village of Zennor in Cornwall, she expects to have an uneventful trip. But when her mother persuades her to research their family history and she begins to uncover a tragic event that took place there in 1812, she is determined to find out more. She also learns of the local folklore; the legend of Matthew Trewhella who was enticed to his death by a beautiful mermaid.
     Why is her aunt so uncommunicative? What secret is being hidden by a strange local family who seem to want to put a stop to her investigation? And even more mysteriously, why are unusual things happening at her aunt’s cottage?
     With the help of sea-salt fisherman Arthur and his faithful chocolate Labrador, Stef pieces together the past and realizes that a frightening parallel is unraveling in the present day. Will they be able to take action before it’s too late?

 

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Excerpt from The Song of the Mermaid 
by Melissa Davies:

 

     Once outside, Stef inhaled deeply, feeling her lungs expand and her mind sharpen. It was strange how rarely she actually remembered to breathe – just to stand in the open air and take deep, cold, sparkling breaths of clean, clear air. It felt so invigorating. She could taste sea salt on her lips even through the mist, and it wasn’t so thick that she couldn’t quite easily see where she was walking. Even so, she stayed far from the edge of the cliffs and strolled in the same direction as yesterday, towards the church and the rest of the village. She wondered if she might bump into Hayley again but it didn’t look like anyone else was around as far as she could see, and the mist gave sounds a muffled quality, making her feel like she was wrapped in a cocoon that she couldn’t get out of, and which nobody else could enter. It was a pleasant experience for a while, but after about ten minutes it grew a little eerie, and Stef shivered, beginning to feel the cold, and pulled her scarf more tightly around her neck and folded her arms to keep in the warmth. She turned to head back to the cottage. Her eyes darted around in panic. The mist had thickened and all she could see of the way she had come was a swirling cloud of white. She tentatively walked a few paces and waved her arms in front of her but it made no impact. She turned back again – she had been able to see ahead of her without many problems so maybe she could continue towards the church and wait there until it cleared. But the fog had fallen thickly all around her suddenly and silently, and she was no longer sure in which direction she was facing. Breathing heavily, she stopped and tried to remain calm. She knew that the most important thing was not to walk blindly, in case she roamed too close to the cliff-edge in her disorientation. She suddenly heard a sound to her right and she spun uncertainly.
     “Hello?”
     The mist was silent.
     She sank down to her knees and crawled carefully in the direction she thought that Mermaid Cottage should be. Although she wasn’t totally sure where she was going, she knew it was a lot safer to feel with her hands in front of her on the ground than to go blundering off on foot as she might easily trip. Her knee scraped across a sharp stone and she swore, feeling a trickle of blood. Her jeans felt damp and heavy as she crawled on, her hair was plastered across her face and she breathed quickly, heart thumping. She was vaguely aware in the author’s part of her mind that she would laugh about this later, crawling through the mud not half a mile from the cottage, totally lost. But right now it was far from a joke. She knew distances could be deceptive but surely she was nearly at the cottage now? She stopped and peered around again in case the mist had lifted. It was still as thick as ever.
     She thought she could hear something. Like someone speaking? No…she strained her ears, keeping her body completely still…it was like someone singing.
     “What the hell?” she growled. “I’m stuck in the mist and someone is singing?”
     It struck her as odd that she could actually hear anything anyway – even when she spoke aloud the sound was oddly dampened, but the voice she could hear was clear even though it was distant. She carefully turned on her knees, feeling around on the ground to steady herself, and painstakingly made her way in the direction she perceived the voice to be coming from. If someone was there, albeit someone weird enough to be singing outside in the morning, she wanted to head in the direction of civilization rather than go blundering further away. From time to time she paused and listened. The singing was definitely growing louder. It was melodic and female. She couldn’t detect any words but she was suddenly struck with the feeling that she had heard it somewhere before. In a dream! That was it – the half-remembered dream she had the night before had been about mermaids singing.
     “Christ, I am really cracking up” Stef muttered, heart pounding furiously. Even underneath her coat, the hairs on her arms prickled and a chill tingled at her spine.
     “I am thinking way too much about my book. I swear I’m going crazy”.
     But still the voice continued, and Stef very carefully followed it, half out of curiosity and half out of desperation because right then, she had no better idea of how to find her way back. Her knees throbbed and her head ached, and the singing was now so loud it filled her ears with a haunting melody. She stopped and closed her eyes and shoved her hands over her ears to block it, crying out in frustration. The music stopped. She opened her eyes tentatively and removed her hands.
     The mist was gone.

 

~About the Author~

 

     Melissa Davies is a young author who has to date released 3 books available for the Amazon Kindle. She has always enjoyed reading and writing, and loves to craft short, fast-paced adventures which are particularly aimed at young adults aged around 11 or 12 and upwards, but they have also been enjoyed by adults of all ages.
     Her premise is to write stories which she would want to read herself. She feels strongly that people shouldn’t be put off reading by books which try to be too literary and obscure, so instead she focuses on the story itself, making it engaging and exciting, rather than worrying too much about using as many long words as possible. However she also refrains from including drugs, sex, swearing or excessive violence because she feels they take away so much from the plot.
     Her other hobbies and interests include animal rights, veganism, healthy living and yoga, and she hopes to spend more time on creative writing and improve her work in the future.
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