Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Book Blast + Giveaway!: Killer's Instinct

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Add to Goodreads | Purchase on Amazon
    Published by: Leap Books on November 27 2013Formats:Paperback, eBookGenres: Young Adult, ParanormalPages: 380

Synopsis:

Where there is NO life there s Hope Hope has always been a bit of a freak. But when her mother crawls from her grave and her undead corpse goes MIA, Hope s last thread of normal snaps with a vengeance. Enrolling in a militia-style school for monster hunters seems her best bet for tracking down Mommy-dearest and putting what s left of her mother to rest. But the stakes are raised when she s partnered with three unique male recruits each with their own personal demons to slay if they want to survive basic training. But does Hope have a true killer s instinct? If she finds her mother, will she have the guts to do what must be done to save her soul? In a place like Le Manoir, all bets are off. What could be creepier than hunting down your own zombie mommy?....A single page in, I was hooked. Jacqueline Mitchard, author of What We Lost in the Dark and The Deep End of the Ocean Killer s Instinct is going to knock other YA monster-battling books off the shelves. Gary Braver, bestselling and award-winning author of Tunnel Vision

Watch the Book Trailer:


About the Authors


                
Dawn Dalton is the author of creepy young adult fiction. When she isn’t dodging monsters, you can find her at creepy crossroads with her husband and two hounds — you know, just skulking around. Dawn also writes adult thriller, romantic suspense ad contemporary young adult under the last name Ius. She is represented by Mandy Hubbard at D4EO Literary Agency.




Judith Graves has multiple young adult novels and short stories published with Leap Books,  Orca Book Publishers, Compass Press, and, under the pen name, Judith Tewes, is also published with Bloomsbury Spark. In addition, Judith is abscreenwriter and playwright, writes freelance articles for literary magazines, and facilitates writing workshops for both adults and young adults.



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Monday, June 23, 2014

Monday Madness: JJ DiBenedetto (Author of Dreams Series)

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Hello fellow book geeks. Monday Madness is basically about anything that is too much to handle. Or might contain too much information. SO if you are up for that, welcome.

Today I will be doing an author feature to the one and only author of the 'Dreams Series', JJ DiBenedetto.

Author Bio:


J.J. (James) DiBenedetto was born in Yonkers, New York. He attended Case Western Reserve University, where as his classmates can attest, he was a complete nerd. Very little has changed since then.
He currently lives in Arlington, Virginia with his beautiful wife and their cat (who has thoroughly trained them both). When he's not writing, James works in the direct marketing field, enjoys the opera, photography and the New York Giants, among other interests.
The "Dreams" series is James' first published work.





The 'Dreams' Series:

Dream Student (Dreams # 1)



Published by: Amazon Digital Services Inc. and CreateSpace

Genres:  Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery
Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audiobook
Pages:  Kindle - 287 , Paperback - 286


Blurb:

What would you do if you could see other people’s dreams?  If you could watch their hidden fantasies and uncover their deepest, darkest secrets…without them ever knowing?
Sara Barnes is about to find out.  She thought that all she had to worry about was final exams, Christmas shopping and deciding whether she likes the cute freshman in the next dorm who’s got a crush on her.
But when she starts seeing dreams that aren’t hers, she learns more than she ever wanted to know about her friends, her classmates…and a strange, terrifying man whose dreams could get Sara killed.
“Dream Student” is the thrilling first installment of the Dreams series.

Excerpt:

I have to admit, it feels very strange to be drinking wine, like an actual adult, with my parents.  When I’m at school, obviously, I don’t have these thoughts.  I’m twenty one years old.  I’m in charge of my life, making real, important choices.  I’m working hard, making serious progress on as adult a goal as I can think of.  I’m in a real, serious relationship with a man I love.  Then of course there are the damned nightmares, and the fact that I’m still even close to being in one piece after several weeks of them qualifies me as a functioning grown-up for sure.
Still, something happens to me when I come home from school, even now, even though rationally I should know better.  It’s not that Mom and Dad do anything, really, to make me feel that way – it’s pretty much all in my head. 
I realize that partly it’s just the fact of sleeping in the same bed I’ve slept in since I was in kindergarten, and looking at the picture of Kermit the Frog that’s been on my wall since 1977 or so as I fall asleep.  Everywhere I look in my bedroom there’s a reminder of my childhood.  Especially the poor ratty, dog-chewed stuffed rabbit that’s sitting on my bed right now.  Good old Mister Pennington.
But right now, my father is looking at me very differently.  He’s been ever since lunch and I just now realized that’s why.  I guess he was right, when he said I’m slow on the uptake.  What it is, is he’s seeing me as really and truly an adult for the first time.  Well, if he thinks I am, I certainly ought to be able to believe it myself.
I get more proof when we get home.  Mom and Dad don’t know it, but I learned years ago, when the conditions are just right and the heating vents in their room and my room are both open but the heat isn’t actually blowing in either room, I can hear them quite clearly. 
What I hear tonight, as they’re getting ready for bed, is Dad telling Mom about his day with me.  Then he tells her that he’s thinking about putting off the big kitchen renovation they’ve been planning for the last year.  He wants to save the money for something much more important that he thinks might be coming a lot sooner than he expected.
My wedding.   
I don’t know what to say to that.
I’m willing to bet that Mom and I have exactly the same expression on our faces right now, and that we both just went precisely the same shade of white.  I don’t know how I keep from fainting at the shock of hearing those words. 
There’s only one reasonable thing to do then.  I jump out of bed and over to the thermostat, crank the heat as high as it will go and with the blast of hot air out of the vent, the voices of my parents are gone.  I lay back down on my bed, grab Mister Pennington to me in a death grip, and try to put my father’s crazy words out of my mind and fall asleep. 

***

Two hours later I’m still clutching Mister Pennington, and Lumpy is snoring at the foot of the bed.  I’m finally just now drifting off to sleep.  The last thing that goes through my mind before I’m out is that, maybe, my father’s crazy words might not be quite so crazy after all.

Dream Doctor (Dreams # 2)



Published by: Amazon Digital Services Inc. and CreateSpace
Genres:  Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery
Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audiobook
Pages:  Kindle - 270 , Paperback - 270


Blurb:

“I didn’t expect to be woken up by someone I don’t know dreaming about killing somebody.  I thought I was done with that once and for all…”
But Sara’s not done with it.  As if adjusting to life as a newlywed and starting medical school weren’t difficult enough, she’s started seeing the dreams of everyone around her, again.  Before everything is said and done, those dreams might destroy Sara’s hopes of becoming a doctor, wreck her marriage and even end her life…
“Dream Doctor” is the thrilling second novel in the Dreams series.




Dream Child (Dreams # 3)



Published by: Amazon Digital Services Inc. and CreateSpace
Genres:  Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery
Format: Paperback, Kindle
Pages:  Kindle - 278 , Paperback - 278


Blurb:

"I would give anything to take this away from her.  I would gladly go back to having the nightmares myself – the very worst ones, the ones that had me waking up screaming in a pool of my own vomit – rather than see Lizzie go through this..." 
As a resident at Children's Hospital, Sara can handle ninety hour workweeks, fighting to save her young patients from deadly childhood diseases.  But she's about to be faced with a challenge that all her training and experience haven't prepared her for: her four-year-old daughter has inherited her ability to see other people's dreams...
"Dream Child" is the suspenseful third novel in the "Dreams" series.



Dream Family (Dreams # 4)



Published by: Amazon Digital Services Inc. and CreateSpace
Genres:  Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery
Format: Paperback, Kindle
Pages:  Kindle - 333 , Paperback - 332


Blurb:

"Why is this so hard for me?  Why am I having so much trouble?  Why do I feel so helpless, so hopeless?  What the hell is wrong with me?"
After tangling with murders and mobsters, not to mention medical school and three years of residency, Sara thought she could handle anything.  And then the police show up without warning at her new office and arrest her for a crime she can't possibly have committed.  Sara's confidence, and her grip on reality, is shattered during one terrifying night in jail.
Now, the very dreams that have endangered her life and driven her to the edge of madness may be the only thing that can help Sara find herself again...
"Dream Family" is the powerful fourth novel in the "Dreams" series.

Waking Dream (Dreams # 5)



Published by: Amazon Digital Services Inc. and CreateSpace
Genres:  Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery
Format: Paperback, Kindle
Pages:  Kindle - 292 , Paperback - 292


Blurb:

“Oh, God! We can hurt each other. Whatever we do to each other in the dream, we’ll do it to ourselves for real…”

When her own dreams are visited by a mysterious woman in a red dress, Sara realizes she has something she never expected: a counterpart, someone outside her family who shares her talent to see other people’s dreams.

When the woman in red keeps showing up in other dreams as well, leaving ruined lives in her wake, Sara knows she has something she never imagined: a nemesis.

Now, Sara must track the woman in red down in the waking world, before she’s forced to fight for her life in her dreams…



Dream Reunion (Dreams # 6)



Published by: Amazon Digital Services Inc. and CreateSpace
Genres:  Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery
Format: Paperback, Kindle
Pages:  Kindle - 254 , Paperback - 250


Blurb:

"I wish someone - my mother, my husband, anybody - would really let me have it, instead of telling me everything's not my fault when it obviously is..."

Sara's seen the cost of interfering in other people's dreams firsthand; it's measured in ruined lives and cemetery plots. When her supernatural dreams start up again, Sara is faced with problem after problem. And the only solution she can see is the one she's sworn never to attempt - changing the minds of the dreamers from the inside-out. Sara thought that fighting against serial killers, mobsters and crooked politicians was difficult, but she's about to come up against the most difficult foe she's ever faced: her own conscience. 

Dream Reunion is the emotional sixth book in the Dream Series.



Dream Home (Dreams # 7)



Published by: Amazon Digital Services Inc. and CreateSpace
Genres:  Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery
Format: Paperback, Kindle
Pages:  Kindle - 280 , Paperback - 278


Blurb:

“Oh, my God, I’m not even starting the job for four months! How can I have an enemy already?” 

Sara thought she had found the perfect job, the perfect new house and the perfect place to build a bright future for herself and her family. But her new life is not quite perfect. Her husband and her children are fitting right in, but before Sara even shows up for her first day of work, her coworkers are dreaming about getting rid of her. If that wasn’t bad enough, the one friend she’s made is dreaming nightly about a disaster that could wipe out the entire town…and Sara is beginning to think he might be right… 

Dream Home is the exciting seventh book in the Dream Series.


All the books are available at: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/starkllr

 Check out its Facebook Page on: Dreams Series


I believe that there's this 8th book coming up, not sure with it though. I think it'll be called 'Dream Vacation.' I am really hoping you'd hear about it first, on Bittersweet Blogs.

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Cover Reveal : Angel Eyes by Mary Beth Lee

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"As a teenager Sharlene chose to be a survivor. As a Guardian, she helps others make that choice."
I have recently posted a review about Dead Girl Walking by Mary Beth Lee. It is the first book in the Guardian trilogy. It was so so so great you can check this link if you haven't yet: Dead Girl Walking by Mary Beth Lee (Book Review + Interview)
The second book in the trilogy is up as well, being 'An Angel Earns Her Wings'. 
'The Guardian Trilogy' is basically about Sharlene Gallagher, a superstar gone missing. Rumors says she was murdered. And Addison proved it. Addison is a girl that can see ghosts. Before she only had to tell them to go to the light, but Sharlene's a bit different. She is an angel on a test.
I haven't read the second book but I would love too! But without further ado, here it is. The cover of the third book, "Angel Eyes."


Angel Eyes
by Mary Beth Lee

Expected Publication: July 20
Genres:  Young Adult, Paranormal, Mystery
Pages:  217


Le book blurb:

New Case, New Charge, New Choices. 
Sharlene Gallagher's new charge, Dagan Miller, knows about the sinister side of the world. Dagan’s little sister is missing. Sharlene doesn’t know if the disappearance is why she’s been assigned to protect Dagan. She does know she’ll be able to help Dagan one way or another. 
The last thing Sharlene expects to discover is another Guardian at her new school. Another Guardian who seems sketchy even though he’s totally gorgeous. 
But Sharlene knows all about gorgeous guys. Add Guardian to the mix, and she figures there’s a world of danger she never knew existed. A world that could get her killed. And while she might be dead already, dying as an angel would mean no more helping others and going to the light, so that’s out of the question. 
What’s not out of the question? Finding out who kidnapped Dagan Miller’s little sister and why Dagan’s life is at risk. What Sharlene doesn’t know is the second Guardian is only one of the dangers to her in town. Figuring out the others will be key to not only saving Dagan’s life but hers as well. 

Angel Eyes, A Sharlene Gallagher mystery, The Guardian Book 3 by Mary Beth Lee.




What I think about it ...

Really? Really? Okay, I never read the second book so I am not particularly sure if Addison's character is still in here. But duh, I needed her. I hope she was actually in the 2nd and 3rd book. But basing on the blurb, that's sorta impossible. One, because Sharlene's the main character and two, I think this is a completely different story. The only similarity is that Sharlene's still a ghost and she's still on a test I bet. I am really excited to be reading the second book and marathon-ing up to this last book! Mark your calendars! This book is a must-buy!







~Message to Readers~


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Friday, June 6, 2014

Guest Post: When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade…and Turn to Books By Marilyn Peake

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When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade…and Turn to Books
By Marilyn Peake
http://www.marilynpeake.com

If you’re a news junkie like me, life can get seriously depressing.  Never mind can get, it just is.  With all the violence among individual people and entire nations, all the hate speech online and on cable TV, all the corrupt politicians, all the poverty and suffering in the world, all the prejudice, all the economic crashes, it can seem pretty dim out there.  Add in the bazillion news reports on impending disaster and possible apocalyptic futures, and it is dark.  I mean really dark, as in a meteor has struck Earth and sunlight is a thing of the past.

If you’re a writer or reader, you have a way out of the darkness.  As a writer, you can use your pen (or more aptly, your computer keyboard) to paint a world that leads you into a place of light.  As a reader, you can step into that world and follow the path that leads to a better place.

Think of lemons.  Bright yellow lemons.  And sweet, delicious lemonade.  I’m thirsty already.

As a writer, I’ve set the main characters of my novels and short stories in difficult circumstances and helped them find their way out.  Or not.  Sometimes there is no way out, but the story points to ways in which the real world could make things better.  Many of the particular circumstances are similar to stories in the news.

I wrote the short story, OCCUPY FAERIE, when members of the Occupy movement were being tear-gassed by police.  In this short story, an evil faerie has an affair with a corrupt politician and uses him to undermine the Occupy movement.

I wrote the short story, COYOTE CROSSING, after hearing harrowing tales of illegal Mexican immigrants being mistreated and turned into slaves by cruel employers in the United States.  In COYOTE CROSSING, I dealt with the horror of this type of treatment by turning a realistic story into Dark Fantasy and added a twist of Dark Fantasy at the end.  In this case, there was no light at the end of the tunnel, just an attempt to shine light on a painful subject.

My most recent publication, SHADE, a Young Adult Mystery novel with Paranormal elements, introduces a teenaged girl named Shade.  Her real name is Galactic Shade Griffin, but she hates the quirkiness of it, so she simply goes by Shade.  Life has dealt her a bad hand of cards.  Her mother is addicted to drugs and alcohol and is constantly breaking up with boyfriends and moving with Shade to a new town.  Shade is forced to start at a new school over and over again, and her strange name is catnip for bullies.  In order to control the chaos in her life, Shade cuts.

In her junior year of high school, Shade is once again starting at a new school.  This time, however, she has a ghost boy in her attic bedroom who serves as a mentor.  She also has a new best friend, Annie.  When Annie goes missing, Shade discovers just how much inner strength she has.  She ends up facing a situation similar to one of the most horrifying stories frequently on TV news.

I have a deep respect for Shade.  Struggling with circumstances similar to some of the most heartrending, bitter stories on the news, she’s capable of creating a bit of lemonade.

Shade is a girl on a hero’s journey, going from smart-ass to badass.  If you handed her lemons, she’d squeeze them into a pitcher, add water and sugar…and then plant the seeds in the ground and grow a lemon tree!




Marilyn Peake is the author of both novels and short stories. Her publications have received excellent reviews. Marilyn’s one of the contributing authors in BOOK: THE SEQUEL, published by The Perseus Books Group, with one of her entries included in serialization at THE DAILY BEAST. In addition, Marilyn has served as Editor of a number of anthologies. Her short stories have been published in seven anthologies and on the literary blog, GLASS CASES.

Awards: Silver Award, two Honorable Mentions and eight Finalist placements in the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards, two Winner and two Finalist placements in the EPPIE Awards, Winner of the Dream Realm Awards, and eight Top Ten Finisher Awards in the Preditors and Editors Readers Poll.


P.S. Be sure to check her other books out for me, okay? Okay. x

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Dead Girl Walking by Mary Beth Lee (Book Review + A Mini Interview)

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Dead Girl Walking
by Mary Beth Lee

 Add to Goodreads 
Published by: Amazon Kindle on June 1st 2012
Genres:  Paranormal Fiction
Pages:  204
Source:  Author - eBook (in exchange for an honest review)
My Rating: 4/5
Teen scream movie queen Sharlene Gallagher was the biggest thing to happen to Primrose, Texas. Until she died. Now Sharlene's back as a guardian angel. Only her real objective is a bit more intense. Her charge: figure out the identity of her murderer before high school junior Addison Karchusky falls prey to the killer. Enlisting Addison's help without letting her know her life's in danger? No problem...she hopes. High school's never been easy. Now it just might be murder.
(c) Goodreads



This book is marvelous! As soon as I read the synopsis, I knew I would love it. If you would give thoughts about the plot, the story is quite ordinary. But with the characters, especially the ghost being a celebrity, it's really quite different. And the fact that this celebrity was brought to Addy not just to discover who murdered her but to also save Addy herself from being the next victim, WOW! And no, I'm not spoiling anything to you, it's based on the synopsis, remember?



This whole "ghosts" thing was quite different from the genre that I'm reading. Never really been a fan of ghosts, you know. So it was quite a cool experience, reading this book. I've said this in my last book review but I will say this again, I will regret not having to read this book. 



I have said a lot of times, I think, that I am not really a fan of books having romance in it all the time, but I was kinda disappointed that nothing much happens in this book. I was really a fan of the Andrew-Addy pair. Hahaha. But I was also glad that this book focused more on its main genre. Sooo yeah. I might just be confusing you guys, let's move on.


So why did I rate it 4/5?

Well, obviously, I love the book. But that does'nt mean that it doesn't have it's flaws. I would be glad to enumerate this teeny tiny things:

1. There was this one part in the book, which was like from the beginning that mentioned what will happen in the end. But it's not the ending-end , if you know what I mean. So I was kinda like, "I think I know what will happen already." which was disappointing because I wanted to be surprised by the end of the book.

2. I can't believe that the murderer's the murderer. I mean, it wasn't bad that it was surprising. But I think no one will expect that he/she's the killer. Normally, what happens in this kind of story is that they will look for clues, which leads to a person whom they all think has a motive. But this murderer, Addy's right. He was invisible in the entire story and then he suddenly pops out as the killer. Maybe I was just hoping that the author could've provided  information about the murderer. 
That's it. But I didn't really mind those, because the author's just starting. She can improve more. Keep writing Mary Beth!

Do I recommend this?
Yeah. Supeerrr.






And now for the much awaited interview .....
I've asked Mary Beth some questions related to this book and her personal life as well.

Book-related:

1. What inspired you to write this book, or generally to write books?

- I was a storyteller before I could read. I was a late reader, but I desperately wanted to be able to read. I loved them so much. Once I learned to read (THANK YOU Valley View Elementary in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, and Mrs.Tagee), the library became my favorite place, wherever we happened to live. I was a military brat, so we lived a lot of places before settling in Burkburnett, Texas when I was nine. I made it a goal to read all the books in the Burk library. I think I got close. :) When I was in junior high I fell in love with the Sweet Valley books AND Silhouette started a teen line. My friends and I inhaled those books, but there weren't enough of them, so I started writing my own spin on the fairy tale love story. I wrote them as serialized novels in spiral notebooks with Eraser Mate pens. My friends pushed me to write faster because they'd get to the end of a spiral before I finished the next part of the story. My mom bought me a subscription to Writer's Digest my senior year in high school. I quit writing fiction in college until one of my last classes. The professor made us write a play. When he handed mine back, he told me I needed to be writing fiction. That man, Dr. Thomas Hoffman, became one of my many mentors. He encouraged me to continue writing. When I started teaching, I put fiction on the back burner for a short time, but Dr. Hoffman always asked what I was writing. I'm glad he pushed me to hold on to my dream. 

As far as Dead Girl Walking and The Guardian Series in general goes, I love the YA genre. I always have. From SE Hinton's Outsiders to Sarah Dessen's romances to Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls, I love it all. I advise student media at the high school level, and I think teenagers are amazing. So often people say "this generation will be the death of us," but I see a generation of kids who are smart and tech savvy and aware of the world around them. Writing a teen-centered book appealed to me. And then one day Sharlene Gallagher just showed up in my head. I put her down on paper and the rest is history.
2. What is it about the whole concept of the story that appeals to you?

-I love that both Addison and Sharlene learn something about themselves. I love that Sharlene thinks the mission is about saving Addison, but it's as much about saving herself...even though she's dead already. And I love that Sharlene doesn't realize yet that it's really about saving the world. Peter's good like that. He knows telling Sharlene that truth too early would make her "go to the light."
3. What should we watch out for in the next books coming up? Did you use the same characters? Are there new ones popping up and more mysteries to solve?

-The Guardian series is centered on Sharlene Gallagher and her quest to become a great Guardian Angel. Every mission involves a new charge and a new mystery and a new school. Every charge will die if Sharlene doesn't succeed, and if the charge dies, Sharlene loses her place in The Guardian. There's also a darker element in the background of the stories--a war to take over the world of The Guardian. Sharlene holds a special place in that world, but she doesn't know it yet. Several characters make repeat appearances in the series, but Sharlene is the star.


4. Will we see this book in paperback soon? And if so, mind sharing the cover here some time?

-An Angel Earns Her Wings, The Guardian Book 2 is out now. And Angel Eyes, The Guardian Book 3 comes out this summer. All the books are available in paperback as well as in ebook format.



Work/Personal-related Questions:


1. Can you consider yourself a very religious person? Since this book is sort of God-related too.

-The series is definitely a good vs. evil story. There are forces of evil trying to destroy Sharlene and The Guardian and there are forces of evil trying to kill her charges. I like to write stories where the good guy wins, but they should have to fight to get that ending. I've never looked at The Guardian series as religious, but in terms of good and evil, I guess it could be seen that way. I believe writers write and readers take what they will from the stories. Books and their messages are very personal. I always hated when my teachers asked "what was the author trying to say here?" because I don't know that I could ever answer that question definitively unless I actually spoke to the author. Now as an author, I don't think I can tell my readers what my books mean. They should mean a million different things to a million different readers, and that's what makes reading and books so amazing.

2. If you are not into writing, what do you think are you doing now?

-Reading or watching an entire series of television shows on Netlfix in two days.


3. Do you have any advice for those new authors who wants to write a book in this genre?

-Read a lot and write a lot. Repeat.

 Thank you so much for trusting Bittersweet Blogs, I'd love to see more of your works!

~Message to Readers~


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