Christine Duval's 'Positively Mine' Book Blitz: Excerpt & Giveaway

 

Positively Mine by Christine Duval
(Freshman Forty #1)
Published by: Bloomsbury Spark
Publication date: December 19th, 2013
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult

 

Synopsis:
 

It is four weeks into her freshman year of college, and Laurel’s first test was unexpected. Discovering she’s pregnant isn’t exactly what she had planned for her first semester, and while she intends to tell her emotionally-distant father, being away at school makes it all too easy to hide.

An imperfect heroine plagued by bad choices and isolated during what should be the best time of her life, readers are sure to identify with Laurel as she confronts teen pregnancy, in secret.

 

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AUTHOR BIO:

Christine Duval is an author and freelance writer who lives in New Jersey with her guitar-playing husband and two children. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, New Jersey's Women Who Write, and the Authors Guild. When not creating fictional characters, she writes for an upscale real estate company and has overseen online content and social media for several well-known magazines.

 

Website | Goodreads | Twitter

 

Excerpt:
 

“The holidays can be stressful for everyone, but especially if you’re pregnant or just had a baby. As you leave here tonight and deal with potentially difficult people or situations over the holidays, I want you to focus on acceptance. In other words, don’t try to control the uncontrollable, and don’t try to change a person who can’t be changed. People are who they are. With acceptance comes forgiveness, and with forgiveness comes inner peace, and we can all use some of that.”

Her words strike a nerve, and I can’t help speaking up. “But what if the problem isn’t that you can’t accept them, but they can’t accept you?” I ask.

“In what way?”

“It’s like, with my father, I’m the symbol for everything that has gone bad in his life. So instead of us getting closer, he pushes me further away. And now he’s getting married, and he’s about to start a new life with someone, and I’m afraid I’ll never get the chance to show him that I’m a real person, that I exist.”

The entire group is looking at me, staring actually. Kyle is the first to speak up. “But you aren’t giving him a chance to accept you. You haven’t even told him you’re pregnant and you’re five months into it. You push him away as much as he does you.”

“That’s not true.”

Audrey chimes in. “It is, Laurel. You’re nice and all, but you’ve told, what? Two people you’re pregnant, other than us and a couple of doctors. You drive an hour to a support group when there is probably one right near Milton. How much longer are you going to keep this secret? If you told your dad, maybe he’d see that you’re a real person. Real people screw up.”

“Wow.” I wrap my arms across my chest. I feel invaded.

 
 

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C.J. Duggan's 'That One Summer' Book Blitz: Excerpt & Giveaway

 

That One Summer by C.J. Duggan
(Summer #3)
Publication date: December 17th 2013
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

 

Synopsis:
 

Loving Chris Henderson would be wrong. Diabolically disastrous. I mean, what is there about him to love? He’s moody, bossy, brooding, a control freak, and that’s on a good day … but there was one achingly obvious fact that haunted my every thought, every minute of every day …

He sure could kiss.

As the countdown to the new millennium begins, there is one thing everyone agrees on: no one wants to be in Onslow for New Year’s Eve.

So that can only mean one thing: road trip!

No longer the mousey, invisible, shy girl from years ago, Tammy Maskala is finally making up for all those lost summers. A new year with new friends, which astoundingly includes the bossy boy behind the bar, Chris Henderson.

She likes her new friends (at least most of them), so why does she secretly feel so out of place?

After chickening out on the trip, a last-minute change of heart sees Tammy racing to the Onslow Hotel, fearing she’s missed her chance for a ride. The last thing she expected to meet was a less-than-happy Onslow Boy leaning against his black panel van.

Now the countdown begins to reach the others at Point Shank before the party is over and the new year has begun. Alone in a car with only the infuriating Chris Henderson, Tammy can’t help but feel this is a disastrous start to what could have been a great adventure. But when the awkward road trip takes an unexpected turn, Tammy soon discovers that the way her traitorous heart feels about Chris is the biggest disaster of all.

Fogged up windows, moonlight swimming, bad karaoke and unearthed secrets; after this one summer nothing will ever be the same again.

Goodreads | iTunes Australia | iTunes US | iTunes UK | iTunes Canada | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Australia | Amazon Canada

 

AUTHOR BIO:

 

C.J Duggan is an Australian author who lives with her husband in a rural border town of New South Wales, Australia.
The Boys of Summer is Book One in her Mature Young Adult Romance Series.
For more on C.J and ‘The Summer Series’, visit www.cjdugganbooks.com

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Excerpt:
 

Chris leaned forward to lower the music, but it was too late now; there was a ringing in my ears.

He had nice hands, tanned by the sun, tidy fingernails; he could totally be a hand model with hands like those. If you were going to notice Chris and like him, his hands would probably be the first thing that would draw you to him, seeing as his face was always an intimidating scowl. It wasn’t the first time I had noticed his hands – there had been countless times he had served me a drink at the bar, or handed me change and I had noticed how nice they were. The second thing I noticed about Chris (if I was noticing things) was his shoulders. They were so square, so symmetrical; he looked like he was a swimmer. He had great posture, even when he stood behind the bar between customers, with his arms folded – his stance was straight, proud, expectant. Yep! Your eyes would trail from those hands to those shoulders and usually be met with a piercing flick of the deep brown eyes that would cause you to quickly look away, or caused me to, anyway.

He had been pretty intimidating in the beginning, but as time wore on I just found him downright rude, no matter how lovely his hands and shoulders may be.

“What are you staring at?” Chris’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

Oh crap! Was I staring?

I snapped my head away to look out of the window. “Nothing.”

“They’re not that white, are they?” he said.

My attention moved from the window to Chris again with a confused frown.

“Sorry?”

His head tilted downward as he shifted his leg a little to expose … a kneecap.

I smiled. “You’re wearing shorts?”

“You don’t have to sound so surprised.” He lowered his leg.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you in shorts before.” My eyes trailed over his tan cargos; it seemed that in line with nice hands and shoulders, Chris had nice legs. Okay, best not to stare, I thought. But then something grabbed my attention.

“You have impressively tanned legs for someone who lives in Levi’s,” I mused. “You don’t sun-bake in a pair of budgie smugglers on the weekends, do you?” That would just be too much.

Chris burst out laughing, so loud and abruptly it caused me to flinch at the unexpectedness of it. Laughter from Chris was as rare as seeing him in shorts.

“Budgie smugglers?” he asked.

“Yeah, you know, Speedos, Y-fronts,”

“I know what they are, Tammy, and the answer is no, no I don’t do that.” He grinned, concentrating on the road.

I took a moment to study Chris, not out of the corner of my eye this time but to unapologetically study him. I wanted to fully absorb the rarity of his smile, of his goodhumour, because let’s face it, it would probably be the first and last time I saw it.

I curved my brow. “So exceptionally tanned legs but no weekends spent in budgie smugglers, eh? Curiouser and curiouser,” I smirked.

Chris coughed. His face flexed back into those familiar stern lines as he straightened in his seat. “Tamara?”

I cocked my head. “Yes, Christopher?”

His lips twitched as he fought not to smile. “Stop staring at me.”

 

 

Giveaway:

 

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Stephanie Erickson's 'The Cure' Book Blitz: Excerpt & 2 Giveaways

 

The Cure by Stephanie Erickson
Publication date: November 14th 2013
Genres: Dystopia, Young Adult

Synopsis:
 

“One life will make the difference.” Macey Holsinger has been hearing that promise her whole life. But it hasn’t saved anyone yet, not even her little brother.

The disease has claimed countless lives in the last hundred years, and the government is working hard to find a cure through human testing. Testing that has killed nearly as many people as the disease.

At sixteen, Macey has better things to think about than saving lives and submitting to any rule other than her parents’. As a budding artist, she has her whole life ahead of her, at least until she faces her own testing.

Questions plague Macey. Questions that make everyone else nervous. How can death be justified with more death? What’s the point of all this?

Answers evade her until she’s left with only one question: How much will she sacrifice in the name of the cure?

Goodreads | Amazon

 

AUTHOR BIO:

Let's see. What do you want to know about me? I love apocalypse movies like 2012 (which is probably why my first book is sort of apocalyptic), I love to read, I love my fur babies, my husband and my family.

I'm a graphic designer by trade, but hoping to some day be able to write full time.

Dan, my husband, and I are brand new parents and loving life!

As far as writing goes, The Blackout was my first published novel, but I've been writing for quite awhile. I won honorable mention in the 72nd Annual Writer's Digest Competition for a short story junior year of college, so that was...awhile ago anyway. Although I published a scholarly paper senior year, fiction writing has always been my passion. Can't wait to see what's next!

 

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Excerpt:
 

“I gladly sacrifice my life for the good of others.  One life will make the difference, and that life could be mine.  For this reason, I’m devoted to finding the cure.”  I said the words out loud, but I wasn’t thinking about them.  A couple of squirrels chasing each other held my attention more securely than the pledge we’d been forced to say since kindergarten.  By tenth grade, the thing had lost all meaning.  

I sat back down among the rows of desks, still eyeing the squirrels.  I folded one of my legs under me and let the other one swing.  At five foot three, I wasn’t the tallest member of my class, but I wasn’t the shortest either.  My violet eyes followed the dance of the squirrels while I toyed absently with a lock of my jet-black hair.

My teacher was blabbing about our latest reading assignment, but those dang squirrels were so cute I couldn’t focus on her.  

“Macey?”

I turned to face her.  She was one of the younger members of the faculty, but dressed to try and fit in.  Her loose-fitting floral print blouse was tucked into her high-waisted navy skirt.  She stared at me over half-glasses perched at the end of her nose.  I imagined she referred to them as spectacles and liked to put the end of them into her mouth while pondering literary stuff.  

“Hmm?” I asked.

“Care to answer the question?”

I glanced out the window to curse the squirrels, but they were gone.  “Could you repeat the question?”  

She half-smiled as she leaned against the front of her desk, knowing she’d caught me.  “Certainly.  Why do you think Billy has a stutter?”  

“Oh jeeze, I don’t know.  I didn’t understand a single page of this book, Mrs. Whitehead.”  A few snickers escaped from some of my classmates.  “Hey, guys, don’t throw me under the bus here!  I couldn’t have been the only one who didn’t get anything from this!”  A few faces turned to Mrs. Whitehead and nodded.  “Look, I know this was the shortest thing we’ve read so far, but it was all moon language to me.  Quite frankly, I hated it and think it was a waste of time.”  I nodded to accentuate my point.  

A couple of kids clapped, but soon it died down under Mrs. Whitehead’s unceasing gaze.  The bitter taste of regret worked its way to the back of my throat.  It burned a little like a vurp.  

Mrs. Whitehead frowned.  “Fair enough.  Let’s go over it, then, and maybe you’ll get more out of it.”  

Even after talking about it for the next hour, I still didn’t get it.  I mean, Mrs. Whitehead seemed to find Billy Buddvery enlightening, and if all that was in there, great.  I didn’t see it.  Sometimes I wondered if people overanalyzed a book.  Maybe the writer didn’t really mean all that stuff, and you saw something that wasn’t meant to be there, ya know?  In this case we’d never know.  Melville had been dead over two hundred years, so asking him wasn’t really an option.  

When the bell rang, I gathered my things quickly, hoping to escape the classroom without confrontation.  With her gaze burning a hole in the back of my head, I kept my eyes glued to the floor.  I was pretty sure her spectacles magnified her stare, the way the sun’s heat is more intense through a magnifying glass.  I reached up to scratch my scalp, making sure she hadn’t given me a bald spot.  I rounded the front row of desks and, by some miracle, made it out into the hall where I disappeared among the sea of bodies.  

Once I was a safe distance from Mrs. Whitehead’s room, I leaned against a row of lockers.  One of these days you should really learn to hold your tongue, I thought.  I took a deep breath, checked the top of my head one more time, and continued on to my next class: History.  

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Etsy Shop Opening: Mopsy's Designs

I know this is a book blog and it will continue to be a book blog, but I wanted to do a quick post about my mom's new jewelry shop on Etsy. Her jewelry rocks and I want to help her get as much exposure as possible. She makes a variety of bracelets and necklaces from a number of different materials including natural stones, mixed metals, pearls, and glass.

 

 

She also has a number of promotions going on to celebrate the opening of her shop in time for the holiday season.

 

*For every necklace purchased in the next 4 days you will receive a free bracelet and bookmark with your order.

 

*If you make any purchase in the next 5 days you will be entered into a raffle to win a signed copy of either 'Frostbite' or 'Shadow Kiss' by Richelle Mead. Just forward me your etsy receipt to be entered (carolinewaddell1985@gmail.com). Open internationally.

 

*And, finally, the next person to make a purchase will get a set of Vampire Academy temporary tattoos with their purchase. (I will delete this once they are gone.)

 

 

Below are a few of the items available in the store. Clicking on them will take you to that item. If you wish to be taken directly to her shop just click the etsy badge on the top right of the sidebar of this blog or on the link for MopsysDesigns at the bottom of the listings.

 

Thank you and have a very happy holiday!!

Melissa Foster's 'Lovers at Heart' Book Blast Giveaway

Synopsis 

“Steamy sex scenes and heartfelt confessions…a satisfying addition to the ‘Love in Bloom’ series.” — Midwest Book Review

**CONTENT WARNING: Due to mature content, recommended for readers aged 18+** Lovers at Heart is a steamy contemporary romance with alpha male heroes and sexy, empowered women. They’re flawed, funny, passionate, and very relatable for readers who enjoy adult romance, contemporary romance, and women’s fiction. Enjoy Lovers at Heart as a stand-alone novel or for more enjoyment, read the entire Love and Bloom series (nine full-length novels featuring the Snow Sisters and the Bradens).

Handsome, wealthy resort owner Treat Braden is used to getting what he wants. When Max Armstrong walked into his life six months earlier, he saw right through the efficient and capable façade she wore like a shield, to the sweet, sensual woman who lay beneath. She sparked an unfamiliar desire in him for more than a one-night stand, leaving his heart reeling and his blood boiling. But one mistake caused her to turn away, and now, after six months of longing for the one woman he cannot have, he’s going home to try to forget her all together.Max Armstrong has a successful career, a comfortable lifestyle, and she’s never needed a man to help her find her way–until Treat Braden caught her attention at a wedding in Nassau, causing a surge of emotions too reminiscent of the painful past she’d spent years trying to forget. Max will do anything to avoid reliving that pain–including forgoing her toe-curling, heart-pounding desire for Treat.When a chance encounter turns into a night of intense passion, Treat realizes that the mistake he made six months earlier may cause him to lose Max completely. He will do everything within his power to win her heart forever–and Max is forced to face her hurtful past head on for the man she cannot help but love.

Watch for the full LOVE IN BLOOM series:

.

SNOW SISTERS

Sisters in Love
Sisters in Bloom
Sisters in White

.

THE BRADENS

Lovers at Heart
Destined for Love
Friendship on Fire
Sea of Love
Bursting with Love
Hearts at Play

 

Goodreads | Amazon

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
 

Melissa Foster is the New York Times Best Selling author of four International bestselling novels. Her books have been recommended by USA Today’s book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the Women’s Nest, a social and support community for women, the World Literary Café. When she’s not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on  Fostering Success. Melissa is also a community builder for the Alliance for Independent Authors. She has been published in Calgary’s Child Magazine, the Huffington Post, and Women Business Owners magazine.

Melissa hosts an annual Aspiring Authors contest for children and has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Melissa lives in Maryland with her family.

Visit Melissa on The Women’s Nest, Fostering Success, or World Lit Cafe. Join Melissa and the YaYa Writer Girls at their annual in-person event. Melissa enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups, and welcomes an invitation to your event.

 

Website | Goodreads

GIVEAWAY:

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Jenni Moen's 'Finding Joy' Release Day Book Blitz with Giveaway

Remembering Joy

by Jenni Moen

Release Date: 12/13/13

Book Summary from Goodreads:

Love is patient. 

It can happen when you least expect it, where you least expect it, with whom you least expect it.

Love is kind.

But love may not grow out of kindness. It can happen with the person who hates you most because love knows no bounds. 

And it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love doesn’t hold a grudge.

Love forgives.

Love forgets.

But when the healing of your heart 

breaks the hearts of the ones you love …

it may seem impossible to

Find joy.

Available from:

Book One:

(linked to Goodreads)

Available from:

  

About the Author

Jenni Moen lives in Oklahoma with her husband and three crazy, exuberant kids that have the potential to burn the house down at any moment. 

When she’s not chauffeuring kids around town, performing her mom duties as a short order cook and maid, or vacuuming for her fastidious husband, she hammers away at her keyboard at her big girl job as a patent attorney. While vodka and exercise have provided some relief from the daily grind, it is reading … and now writing … that are her true escapes.

Author Links:

   

 

 

Excerpt:

 

I felt his body give a little in my arms, and he finally put his arms around me. We stood there with our arms wrapped around each other, saying nothing. The movement of the train gently listed us back and forth, but Adam’s feet remained firmly planted, holding us steady.

“We just had our first real fight,” I whispered.

It wasn’t entirely true. We had fought once before. It had been about the accident and had ended with me running out on him with the intention of never going back. It had been a turning point in our relationship. So it was hard to think of it as nothing more than a ‘fight.’ This was our first argument that wasn’t related to our past.

I looked around to see if anyone had witnessed this monumental event, but the only other passenger was a woman with earbuds stuck in her ears at the other end of the car. She tapped her foot along to whatever she was listening to and read from a book she held in front of her face.

Adam’s hand wandered from around my waist to my backside. He squeezed it and buried his face in my hair. “You know, there’s only one thing to do after a fight,” he growled, just as we conveniently pulled into our stop.

“What’s that?” I asked coyly.

“Make-up sex. I need to get you home. Right. Fucking. Now. If you’re lucky, we’ll make it.”

“If I’m lucky, maybe we won’t,” I chided him.

“Oh, that’s it,” he said. Before I knew what was even happening, his hands were back around my waist, and he hoisted me over his shoulder. This was the second time in as many weeks that he’d thrown me over his shoulder in a public place.

“Adam,” I said, smacking him on his butt as he strode purposefully through the open train door. “You’ve got to stop carrying me around like this. It’s not dignified.”

“I don’t give a shit about dignified.” Oblivious to everyone around us, he carried me through the tunnel and up the stairs to the street. Only after we were on Broadway did he put me down.

“Now keep up,” he said, dragging me toward our building. “Or I’ll be forced to carry you the whole way.”

I had to admit that I didn’t really mind the caveman show. In fact, there wasn’t much that I didn’t like about my occasionally cocky, subtly tattooed, movie-quoting, cat-whispering, t-shirt-wearing, Eminem-singing, muscle-car-loving, sweetheart of a man.

 

 

 

 

***GIVEAWAY***

1 – Print book set of Remembering Joy and Finding Joy (US only)

3 – eBook sets of Remembering Joy and Finding Joy (INT)

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Book Blitz Organized by:

Cover Reveal: Sigal Ehrlich's 'Inner Core'

 

Inner Core by Sigal Ehrlich
(Stark #2)
Publication date: January 2014
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

 

Synopsis:
 

When Hayley makes a resolution to take back the control over her life, and declare their relationship R.I.P, it’s all good in theory…

That is until Daniel decides to prove her wrong and get her back.

Together, Hayley and Daniel seem to have it all. But can love ever be enough when two strong personalities collide and while reality takes the lead?

Faced with more obstacles than she could have ever bargain for when it comes to Daniel, struggling to keep her own identity while sharing a life with her man. Buds of doubt start rooting in Hayley’s confidence, making her rethink her decision.

And just when it seems that they might make it together after all, life happens. Bringing a threat that neither Hayley nor Daniel could ever anticipate, a threat that could break them apart forever . . .

Goodreads

 

AUTHOR BIO:
 

By teen age, Sigal already lived in three different continents where she had the luck to experience and visit varied places, meet unique people, which only helped fuel her overly developed imagination. Currently, Sigal calls Estonia home where she lives with her husband and three kids.

Not exactly sure where they will end up next…

When she is not hiding in her office, writing, she enjoys music, reading and taking care of her little clan.

With a great believe in "don’t wait for things to happen - make them happen," she enjoys anything exciting life has to offer.

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