Blog Tour- UNHINGED Halloween Post and Giveaways!!!!!

Ok y’all! I’ super psyched because today is my favorite holliday and one of my dear friends and favorite authors is here today for her UNHIMGED Blog Tour!!! Yep A.G. Howard the amazing author of SPLINTERED is here with Jeb (swoons), Alyssa, and Jenara to talk about their Halloween Memories! Also make sure to check out the TWO awesome giveaways I have going on!!!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN and welcome to stop #10!

Memories play a pivotal role in the Splintered series. Though they are as unique as the people they belong to, one universal thread binds them all: emotions.

Today, Jeb, Jenara, and Alyssa are sitting at a table and sharing some past Halloween memories and what they felt while experiencing them.

*****

*Jenara flips through a scrapbook and settles on two pictures*

Jenara: Okay, Bro. The directions were to pick a costume that had an impact on you. I don’t remember it saying anything about choosing two.

Jeb: *frowning* That’s weird, I just picked the foil mask. I don’t know how that other one got--

Alyssa: Uh, I chose that one. It impacted me. I bent the rules a little. *twines red strand of hair around a fingertip*

*Jeb studies Alyssa, intrigued*

Jenara: Well, I can’t blame you, Al. It was a masterpiece. Even if I do say so myself. My artistic prowess must’ve imprinted indelibly on your mind that day.

Alyssa: *snorts* Pretty sure it imprinted on Jeb’s butt even more than my mind.

Jeb: *scowls at his sister* No kidding.  I hated that tail. I asked you to make a black devil costume, and you used a feather boa to skimp on sewing. Nice. *clenches jaw* I almost got the crap beat out of me for wearing that trick-or-treating. Those two older guys kept calling me a kitty cat.

Jenara: The way I remember it, the words ‘kitty’ and ‘cat’ never figured into the equation. And you’re the one who had them both pinned to the ground and wouldn’t let them up until they gave over their candy.

Alyssa: Yep. Shiny black fabric, stretched across straining muscles in the moonlight. Enough said.

Jeb: *slants a gaze at Alyssa and grins a sexy smile, hot enough to scald her cheeks* I really am a kitty cat. If you pet my belly, I purr.

Alyssa: *holds his gaze* Don’t I know it.

Jenara: *fakes a yawn* Getting back to the one you picked, Jeb. Fill us in on the deets. The aluminum foil musketeer. How could you even see out of that thing?

Jeb: *taps a thumb against the table* I didn’t want to see. Dad had given me a black eye. 

Alyssa and Jenara: *silence*

Jeb: I made a mask like the one Leonardo DiCaprio wore in that movie to cover it up. Kept telling myself that somewhere I had a twin brother who would take my place so I could take his, even if it was in a dungeon.

*Alyssa weaves her fingers through Jeb’s*

*Jeb squeezes her hand back*

Jenara: *gulps and turns pages* Sorry, Bro. Let’s move on to something happier, okay?  Mine and Al’s costumes.

Jeb: *tilts head in agreement*

Jenara: I chose my Tinkerbelle costume from when I was thirteen. It was the first one I ever made, and after that I knew I wanted to be a designer.

Alyssa: And I can’t wait for you to rock the fashion world.

Jenara: *grins* Thanks, bestie. So, give us the deets on your pink ghost.

Alyssa: It was a popsicle.

Jeb: *wraps an arm around her waist* Your mom?

Alyssa: *nods*

Jenara: What am I missing?

Jeb: She used to make Al Jello popsicles when she had a sore throat.

Jenara: Gah. You two are such downers.

Alyssa: *smiling* It’s not a bad memory. It’s a good one. And pink was her favorite color. That’s why I wore it that year. To remember her even when she was away. I think I was eight at the time.

Jenara: * dabbing her eyes* You guys are going to make me ruin my mascara. Stop it.

*Alyssa and Jeb exchange smiles*

*Jenara flips pages*

Jenara: Okay, last, we were supposed to find two memories we share. The worst and the best of our Halloweens together. I think we can agree on these. Definitely, those random clowns at that park next to our duplex rate as the most disturbing memory. Even though later we found out it was a publicity stunt by that ice cream place … Creamery Carnival.

*Alyssa shivers*

*Jeb’s hold tightens around her waist*

Jenara: Dang guys, it was four years ago. You’d think you just saw it two seconds ago.

Alyssa: For some reason it feels like yesterday. *her eyes meet Jeb’s*

Jeb: *lifts Al’s hand and kisses it reassuringly* Al doesn’t like clowns. Let’s get to the puppy picture, J.

Jenara: *brow wrinkling in confusion* O-o-o-okay. That was the year the local ASPCA had a Halloween parade pet adoption and Al and me fell in love with the pirate Weiner puppies.

Alyssa: And we sent Jeb to buy them for us while we filled out the paperwork.

Jenara: But he used our money and bought the dogs for those two little foster girls instead.

Jeb: *shrugs* You would’ve done the same thing if they’d looked at you with their sad eyes. Plus, they were sisters, which meant the puppies got to stay together, too. And you both loved watching them get their faces licked.

Alyssa: Yeah. I’ll never forget those sweet smiles. *sighs*  Puppy-breath fixes everything.

Jenara: Ain’t it the truth? *smiles*

Jeb: *grinning* They should bottle the stuff.

(Picture Attributions: Tin foil mask by Clive Brittain; Devil costume by Emmanuelle Bourgue; Fairy costume by Kirsten Skiles; Pink ghost by Thirteen of Clubs; Creeper Clowns  by George F; Pirate puppies PIO Marietta, GA)

 *****

In Unhinged, there’s a memory keeper and a magical place where lost memories are stored, much like we store our memories here in scrapbooks or journals to preserve them. In honor of that, today we’re offering this Alice in Wonderland journal as a prize. Simply enter the rafflecopter below, and leave one of your favorite Halloween memories in the comment section.

PLEASE NOTE: Keys not included

*****

Tomorrow, be sure to stop by for tour post number eleven when Morpheus will share the origins of dressing up at Halloween and the Dos and Don’ts of entertaining when your guests are of a netherling persuasion. If you have any costume party plans this weekend, you’ll want to be sure to take notes.

Also, if you haven’t entered the giveaway for a chance at one of the 12 Unhinged ARCs, check out the rafflecopter below.

Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes & Noble

Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the guy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly seductive Morpheus and the vindictive Queen Red. Now all she has to do is graduate high school and make it through prom so she can attend the prestigious art school in London she's always dreamed of.

That would be easier without her mother, freshly released from an asylum, acting overly protective and suspicious. And it would be much simpler if the mysterious Morpheus didn’t show up for school one day to tempt her with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland—where she (partly) belongs.

As prom and graduation creep closer, Alyssa juggles Morpheus’s unsettling presence in her real world with trying to tell Jeb the truth about a past he’s forgotten. Glimpses of Wonderland start to bleed through her art and into her world in very disturbing ways, and Morpheus warns that Queen Red won’t be far behind.

If Alyssa stays in the human realm, she could endanger Jeb, her parents, and everyone she loves. But if she steps through the rabbit hole again, she'll face a deadly battle that could cost more than just her head.

 About A.G. Howard

A.G. Howard was inspired to write SPLINTERED while working at a school library. She always wondered what would've happened had the subtle creepiness of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland taken center stage, and she hopes her darker and funkier tribute to Carroll will inspire readers to seek out the stories that won her heart as a child.

When she's not writing, A.G.'s pastimes are reading, rollerblading, gardening, and family vacations which often include impromptu side trips to 18th century graveyards or condemned schoolhouses to appease her overactive muse.

Website/Blog/Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr/Pinterest/Goodreads

Unhinged trailer:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway Details:

12 ARC’s of UNHINGED Domestic Only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule: All dates have amazing Guest Posts with a shared rafflecopter. A few stops have an extra contest or a giveaway.

10/21/2013         Pages From My Thoughts            

10/22/2013         Fiction Freak      

10/23/2013         The White Unicorn

10/24/2013         Icey Books- Character Naming Contest          

10/25/2013         The Cover Contessa        

10/26/2013         Book Hounds      Extra Giveaway

10/28/2013         Reading Teen     

10/29/2013         Book Haven Extraordaire   Extra Giveaway

10/30/2013         The Lifelong Bookworm                

10/31/2013         Two Chicks on Books       Extra Giveaway

11/1/2013            Fiktshun               

11/2/2013            I am a Reader     Extra Giveaway

Blog Tour- DAYLIGHTERS by Rachel Caine

Today is my stop on the Daylighters Blog Tour check out my rumor of the day if you have a question post it in the comments and Rachel will answer (if she can lol) and make sure to check out all of the other sites for theirs!

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow: The Daylighters Blog Tour

Rachel Caine says goodbye to Morganville

Master storyteller Rachel Caine has her hands full with her bestselling Morganville Vampires novels coming to an end, and a brand new book (a retelling of Romeo and Juliet titled Prince of Shadows) on the way. But with speculation about Daylighters (Nov. 5, 2013), the series finale, at an all time high, she just couldn’t resist dropping some hints. She’ll be stopping by to answer your questions in the comments below, but she can neither confirm nor deny what’s true and what’s not!

Rumor #6: Someone’s getting married!

From Daylighters:

She put a hand over his mouth. “You asked me to marry you. Were you serious?”

She took her hand away. He didn’t say anything. His lips formed what would have been the start of a word, maybe a sentence, but he didn’t actually speak.

She’d actually scared the words right out of him.

“Uh … that came out of nowhere,” he said.

PRINCE OF SHADOWS is out February 4^th!

Be sure to watch the official book trailer and read an excerpt!

Daylighters Blog Tour Schedule:

Oct. 23: Awesomesauce Bookclub

Oct. 24: Supernatural Snark

Oct. 25: Chapter by Chapter

Oct. 28: Gone with the Words

Oct. 29: The Bookish Babe

Oct. 30: Two Chicks on Books

Oct. 31: Page Turners

Nov. 1: Girls in the Stacks

Nov. 4: My Bookish Ways

Nov. 5: The Story Siren

Rachel Caine is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including the Weather Warden series, the Outcast Season series, the Revivalist series, and the Morganville Vampires series. She was born at White Sands Missile Range, which people who know her say explains a lot. She has been an accountant, a professional musician, and an insurance investigator, and, until recently, carried on a secret identity in the corporate world. She and her husband, fantasy artist R. Cat Conrad, live in Texas, which so far as she knows does not actually contain any vampires.

Check out Prince of Shadows!!!

Read an excerpt



Preorder:

US buyers:
Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon
Canada:
Chapters Indigo | Amazon CA
UK:
Waterstones  | Amazon UK

A thrilling retelling of the star-crossed tale of Romeo and Juliet, from the New York Times bestselling author of the Morganville Vampires series.

In the Houses of Montague and Capulet, there is only one goal: power. The boys are born to fight and die for honor and—if they survive—marry for influence and money, not love. The girls are assets, to be spent wisely. Their wishes are of no import. Their fates are written on the day they are born.

Benvolio Montague, cousin to Romeo, knows all this. He expects to die for his cousin, for his house, but a spark of rebellion still lives inside him. At night, he is the Prince of Shadows, the greatest thief in Verona—and he risks all as he steals from House Capulet. In doing so, he sets eyes on convent-bound Rosaline, and a terrible curse begins that will claim the lives of many in Verona…

Review- ENDLESS KNIGHT by Kresley Cole

ENDLESS KNIGHT (The Arcana Chronicles Book 2)

Kresley Cole

Release Date: October 1, 2013

Hardcover: 336 pages

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

ISBN:  978-1442436671

Source: Hardcover from the publisher

Rating: Obsessed!!!!!!!!!!!

Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes & Noble/The Book Depository

From Goodreads.

In this seductive follow-up to Poison Princess, #1 New York Timesbestselling author Kresley Cole takes us deeper into the dark world of the Arcana Chronicles.

Shocking Secrets

Evie has fully come into her powers as the Tarot Empress, and Jack was there to see it all. She now knows that the teens who've been reincarnated as the Tarot are in the throes of an epic battle. It's kill or be killed, and the future of mankind hangs in the balance.

Unexpected Allies

With threats lurking around every corner, Evie is forced to trust her newfound alliance. Together they must fight not only other Arcana, but also Bagmen zombies, post-apocalyptic storms, and cannibals.

Gut-Wrenching Treachery

When Evie meets Death, things get even more complicated. Though falling for Jack, she's drawn to the dangerous Endless Knight as well. Somehow the Empress and Death share a history, one that Evie can't remember—but Death can't forget.

So it took me a bit longer to get out of my reading slump than I thought but ENDLESS KNIGHT was the perfect book to do such that!

I loved POISON PRINCESS with a fiery passion and I didn’t think that ENDLESS KNIGHT could come close but peeps let me tell you IT WAS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH BETTER!!!!!!!!! 

We finally get to meet Death and of course I fell head over heels in love with the guy. We also get to meet a couple new cards... I won’t spoil here but they’re both very intriguing characters. Oh and there were some scenes in this one that were so hot I felt like my book was going to light on fire from all of the sexiness! I mean I can’t believe Kresley got away with it in a YA book! I just love Kresley’s writing and I can’t wait for book 3 since she left us with a killer ending that actually had Mindy from Magical Urban Fantasy Reads and I in a debate over what happened lol

I chose a passage from the beginning of the book because I loved it. It was sexy and I didn’t want to be too spoilery and Jack makes me laugh. I’d do a death one but it’d be too spoilery ;)

He was right; I was gone for him. Stupid to fight it. I gazed up at

him, whispering, “Just, just don’t hurt me again. If I kiss you, and then

you get disgusted . . .”

He gave a low laugh, moving his hips against mine. “Does it feel like

I’m disgusted?”

I gasped. “Jackson!”

“You smell like honeysuckle. You likin’ ole Jack now?”

“I never stopped liking you. Even when you were warding me away

with the power of Catholicism.”

“Can’t help the way I was raised—anything supernatural is supposed

to be either a miracle or satanic.”

I rolled my eyes. “And you’re still trying to figure out which I am?”

“Non. I’m trying to figure out if I’m still Catholic.” He grinned that

heart-stopping grin.

Gorgeous lips. I wanted them on mine.

Just before he kissed me, he said, “You might be different from what

I thought, but I’m goan to protect you anyway. I’m goan to try to accept

all this. But you got to accept me.”

“Accept you? What are you talking about?”

“I’m a nineteen-year-old bayou boy. I got a fondness for liquor. I’m

goan to say stupid shit. Doan you go getting your feelings hurt at the

drop of a hat.”

I laid my palm against his face. “You’re going to get more than your

feelings hurt if you stay with us. And it will be my fault because I don’t

want to separate from you. You wanted me to let you go.”

“That was before I realized something this week. I wasn’t goan to

live a long life even before the apocalypse. Before there were Baggers,

cannibals, and plague. Now I figure I’ll spend my limited time left

doing what I want.”

“And what do you want?”

His grin deepened. “You’re what I want, and I’d like to be doing

you.” He leaned down, pressing his lips to mine.

At that contact, the rain began to pour down at last, pelting the cabin’s

tin roof. I hadn’t heard that sound since the night I’d gone to Jack’s

home in the bayou.

He drew back. “Christ, your lips are sweet. Douces comme du miel.”

Sweet like honey. He yanked off his shirt, revealing his damp chest, the

rosary around his neck. I’d missed seeing him like this.

My fingers skimmed over the raised scar on his arm. How I loved

that mark. If he hadn’t been getting that wound tended to the night of

the Flash, he would’ve died like most everyone else.

His hands landed on my ass, giving it a possessive squeeze. “T ’es

pour moi, Evie. You’re mine. Every part of you.” He leaned down, took

my lips once more. Between kisses, he said, “I told you once and I’ll

tell you again: there is nothing that can happen to you that we can’t get

past. Just give me a chance to get to you. Promise me.”

“Jack . . .”

“Promise me. You doan leave me again.”

“I promise.” Staring at his lips, I said, “Would you always come for

me?”

He drunkenly murmured, “Chase you like a junkyard dog.”

Blog Tour- WATERFELL by Amalie Howard a Playlist

Hey y’all! I have an awesome playlist from Amalie Howard today for her novel WATERFELL!

Haven’t heard of WATERFELL? Check it out!

$9.99 U.S./$11.99 CAN
ISBN: 978-0373211050
Young Adult
304 pages
Harlequin TEEN

October 29, 2013

Nerissa Marin hides among teens in her human form, waiting for the day she can claim her birthright-the undersea kingdom stolen from her the day her father was murdered. Blending in is her best weapon-until her father's betrayer confronts Nerissa and challenges her to a battle to the death on Nerissa’s upcoming birthday-the day she comes of age. 

Amid danger and the heartbreak of her missing mother, falling for a human boy is the last thing Nerissa should do. But Lo Seavon breaches her defenses and somehow becomes the only person she can count on to help her desperate search for her mother, a prisoner of Nerissa’s mortal enemy. Is Lo the linchpin that might win Nerissa back her crown? Or will this mortal boy become the weakness that destroys her?

 Now on to the playlist! I’ll share some videos of my favorites!

THE MUSICAL INSPIRATION BEHIND WATERFELL & PLAYLIST REVEAL

As part of my creative process, I create a playlist for every book that I write. I usually pick out the songs beforehand when I have a budding idea for a story, but it’s a work in progress as the story progresses. For me, the right piece of music can make a scene flow magically, whether it’s a romantic scene or an action sequence. Sometimes, I’ll have a certain song on repeat depending on the scene I’m writing. The theme song that I had on repeat for WATERFELL was Lights by Ellie Goulding.

“I had a way then losing it all on my own

I had a heart then but the queen has been overthrown

And I'm not sleeping now, the dark is too hard to beat

And I'm not keeping now the strength I need to push me

You show the lights that stop me turn to stone

You shine it when I'm alone

And so I tell myself that I'll be strong

And dreaming when they're gone

'Cause they're calling, calling, calling me home

Calling, calling, calling home”

I probably played Lights over a hundred times while writing WATERFELL. It just embodies Nerissa’s struggle of trying to run away from who she is while being pulled by an innate sense of duty. She wants nothing more than to escape her future by pretending to be human and living life without any care for anything but herself—this behavior is painfully obvious in the first few chapters of WATERFELL. 

Other songs like Stupid Girl by Garbage really helped me to get inside Nerissa’s mind—she’s very hard on herself, and she knows that she is selfish and flawed, pretending to be something she’s not: “you stupid girl, all you had you wasted.” Trust me, she’s smart enough to know that what she’s doing is wrong and isn’t who she wants to be. Going from this song to The Lonely by Christina Perri demonstrates Nerissa’s realization that she has to change: “I'm a ghost of a girl that I want to be most. I'm the shell of a girl that I used to know well.” These lyrics are incredibly profound. She’s looking at herself in the mirror and doesn’t like what she sees or who she has become.

Songs like Spitfire by Porter Robinson, Aural Psynapse by DeadMau5 and Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites by Skrillex embodied the fierceness and alien nature of the Aquarathi as well as the undersea world of Waterfell. Those songs were the inspiration for underwater sequences and fight scenes. And of course, there are a few romantic songs like Maybe I’m Amazed by Jem and I Love You by Sarah McLachlan that put me in the right mood to write the love scenes and underscore the intense relationship between Nerissa and Lo. Lastly, the song Arms by Christina Perri is where Nerissa realizes that she is falling in love with Lo and that she wants him to see through all her walls. Best line: “How many times will you let me change my mind and turn around? I can't decide if I'll let you save my life or if I'll drown.”

Overall, the WATERFELL playlist itself is a progression of emotions, and also the hallmark of Nerissa’s journey from a selfish alien royal who accepts human love and friendship to become the queen she was born to be. The playlist starts with Lights and end with a Bassnectar remix of Lights that has a touch of “other” to it—meaning that Nerissa has finally come full circle.

OFFICIAL WATERFELL PLAYLIST

Lights by Ellie Goulding           

Eyes Open by Taylor Swift       

Deep Blue by Arcade Fire

Underground  by Sneaker Pimps

Pieces  by Sum 41  

Stupid Girl by Garbage  

Yellow by Alex Parks      

The Lonely by Christina Perri   

You Can Go Your Own Way by Lissie        

Arms by Christina Perri  

Closer to the Edge by 30 Seconds to Mars      

Too Close by Alex Clare  

Spitfire by Porter Robinson       

Aural Psynapse (Original Mix) by Deadmau5       

Wake Up by Arcade Fire

The Reason by Hoobastank

Sink 'n Swim by Plumb  

Maybe I'm Amazed by Jem (Jaime says great remake btw!)

I Love You by Sarah McLachlan        

Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites by Skrillex 

Lights (Bassnectar Remix)        

Thansks so much Amalie that is an awesome playlist :D 

A rising star among young adult writers, Amalie Howard developed a loyal following after releasing her debut book, “Bloodspell,” in 2011. Now, she is returning with five new books that are sure to excite her devoted fans and catch the attention of new readers.

A bookworm from the beginning, Howard grew up on a small island in the Caribbean with her nose buried in books. When she was just 13 years old, her poem “The Candle” was published in a University of Warwick journal, marking a sign of great things to come. Howard immersed herself into other cultures, globetrotting through 22 countries in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. After moving to the United States, she earned a bachelor’s degree in international studies and French from Colby College in Maine. She also holds a certificate in French literature from the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, France. Traveling around the world, Howard has lent talents as a research assistant, marketing representative, freelance writer, teen speaker, blogger and global sales executive.

Howard is a recipient of a Royal Commonwealth Society award, an international youth writing competition. She is also a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Howard’s first book, “Bloodspell” (June 2011, Langdon Street Press) earned rave reviews and was named a Seventeen Magazine Summer Beach Read. Readers will hear more from Howard as she releases a pair of two-book series, “Waterfell” (November 2013, Harlequin TEEN) and “The Almost Girl” (January 2014, Strange Chemistry), as well as “Alpha Goddess” (March 2014, Skyhorse/Sky Pony Press) over the next two years.

Howard lives in New York with her husband, three children and one willful feline that she is convinced may have been a witch’s cat in a past life.

Author Website/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads/Amazon