Day 15 of 31 books in 31 days- Mary Elizabeth Summer book giveaway, Qualify to win a kindle & 25$ giftcard!

Welcome to the 15th day of 31 books in 31 days, where you win prizes for reading.

Recap of Rules

Everyday that you participate in the giveaway of the day, you are eligible to win a brand new kindle.

How to participate
  a) Subscribe via email, so you can get the author & prize of the day sent directly to your email.
  b) Like the author of the day on facebook
  c) Follow the author on Twitter
  d) Read any of the author's books
  e) Answer the occasional quiz on author's interview
  f) Scroll to the bottom of each interview and enter the raffle (you'll have to unlock the raffle with your email first)

That's it- then enter the kindle giveaway!

All giveaways will be sent out by the 7th day in April. Good Luck.

                                           
Julep Dupree tells lies. A lot of them. She’s a con artist, a master of disguise, and a sophomore at Chicago’s swanky St. Agatha High, where her father, an old-school grifter with a weakness for the ponies, sends her to so she can learn to mingle with the upper crust. For extra spending money Julep doesn’t rely on her dad—she runs petty scams for her classmates while dodging the dean of students and maintaining an A+ (okay, A-) average. But when she comes home one day to a ransacked apartment and her father gone, Julep’s carefully laid plans for an expenses-paid golden ticket to Yale start to unravel. Even with help from St. Agatha’s resident Prince Charming, Tyler Richland, and her loyal hacker sidekick, Sam, Julep struggles to trace her dad’s trail of clues through a maze of creepy stalkers, hit attempts, family secrets, and worse, the threat of foster care. With everything she has at stake, Julep’s in way over her head . . . but that’s not going to stop her from using every trick in the book to find her dad before his mark finds her. Because that would be criminal.

                                        Interview- Mary Elizabeth Summer

Hello Mary,

Thanks for volunteering your time to answer some questions. 

1) What do you love about reading? What is the last book you read?

I love how it transports me to another world and someone else’s set of problems. It makes me forget 

my own struggle for a while, and I can focus on reading another person to their happily ever after (or 

at least satisfying resolution ;-)). Fiction just makes so much sense when real life often does not. I 

love connecting with characters on such a deep, personal level by sharing their headspace. If the 

book is particularly good, I’ll actually miss them afterward, as if they really existed and we were 

actually friends.The last book I read was THE CONSPIRACY OF US by Maggie E. Hall.

2) Is there a Young adult book that you wish you had written? If so, what was it and why does it speak to you?

This is a tough one. There are so many amazing books out there that stole my heart and breath away. 

If I have to pick one, I’ll go with RUN TO YOU by Clara Kensie. The emotions that book evoked 

from me were incredible. I haven’t felt that much for a character in a loooong time. 

3) Why do you choose to write young adult books?

I write books for teens, because I was a teen when books were the most magical to me. I still don’t 

find nearly as much magic in adult literature as I do YA. When I open a YA novel, I know I will be 

utterly and completely transported. I’ll face impossible challenges and heroic characters who aren’t 

afraid to leave it all out on the table. Adult books, to me, are too guarded, too self-conscious, and far 

more likely to either bore me or tick me off. YA is where story comes alive. And frankly, I don’t 

have time for books that don’t.

4) Did any one book inspire you to be an author? If so what was it and why?

Every book I’ve ever read has inspired me in one way or another, even the ones I didn’t like (which 

just inspired me to write better). Inspiration is a constant need for me, so I get it from everywhere I 

can. 

5)  Why did you choose to write about the bad girls and boys of fiction? What drew you to the 

theme?

Honestly, I can’t figure out why anyone would not write about them. It’s the perfect character 

mashup of strength and inner conflict PLUS exciting car chases and guns going off. The bad kids are 

always going to wind up in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s easy to put them there, because 

they’d already be there—no awkward plot devices necessary. Also, the bad kids are going to be 

strong and flawed right out of the gate. They have to be strong to be a villain, and clearly they have 

interesting flaws, because they’re a villain. Then you pit them against an even nastier villain, and 

watch the sparks fly—not just in the plot, but in their own hearts and minds as they try to reconcile 

their bad-kid identity with their atypical heroic actions. LOVE. Also, it may have something to do 

with the fact that my favorite He-Man episodes when I was kid were the episodes where He-Man 

and Skeletor had to team up against a common enemy. Those were the BEST. 

6) What can people expect from your debut novel? Romance, humor, action?

I like to say it’s 90% criminal shenanigans, 5% romance, and 5% ouch. There’s definitely a lot of 

snark, because Julep is just that way. But mostly it’s her trying to figure out what happened to her 

dad and avoiding deadly encounters with her nemesis—the horrible dean of students. Well, and the 

Ukrainian mob. ;-) 

Thank you so much for participating. 

Thank you so much for inviting me.

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Day 12 of 31 books in 31 days-Joseph Delaney book giveaway & qualify to win a kindle

Welcome to the 12th day of 31 books in 31 days, where you win prizes for reading.

Recap of Rules

Everyday that you participate in the giveaway of the day, you are eligible to win a brand new kindle.

How to participate
  a) Subscribe via email, so you can get the author & prize of the day sent directly to your email.
  b) Like the author of the day on facebook
  c) Follow the author on Twitter
  d) Read any of the author's books
  e) Answer the occasional quiz on author's interview
  f) Scroll to the bottom of each interview and enter the raffle (you'll have to unlock the raffle with your email first)

That's it- then enter the kindle giveaway!

All giveaways will be sent out by the 7th day in April. Good Luck.

                                            Author of the Day-Joseph Delaney

Joseph Delaney is the international bestseller of the Spook series, a series with over 100 5-star-reviews on amazon. This tale of a region plagued with witches, bogarts, and magic, and the young apprentice who must protect against them will keep you riveted. The book has spawned a movie which is currently out in theaters. If you haven't seen the movie, yet, run out and catch it while its still in theaters. His interview and autographed book giveaway is below. 

Featured book-5.99 Kindle

                                                 Interview with Joseph Delaney


                                       

So tell us a little bit about your relationship with reading. How often do you get to read?

I am reading all the time. As soon as I finish one book I start the next. Mostly now I read on

my iPad or Kindle but I also go into bookshops, browse and buy what takes my fancy. After

writing for a couple of hours I find it relaxing to read for a while before getting back to work.

What is the last book you read that had an impact on your life and why?

Tolkien (‘Lord of the Rings’) and Frank Herbert (‘Dune’) were important to me because their

books fed my imagination and made me want to become a writer. I read a lot now and

occasionally re-visit the ones that I enjoyed or perhaps stimulated my mind in some way. I

occasionally read my own books to keep the background fresh in my mind as I continue to

write a series. I re-read ‘The Spook’s Apprentice’ recently. That book certainly had an impact

on my life; it allowed me to leave my teaching job and become a full-time writer.

What are your favorite books to read as an adult? I know when you were younger you 

liked Tolkien. Do you still enjoy him? Do you still read fantasy?

My favourite books are still from my favourite genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror,

Ghost Stories and Folk Tales. But I also read widely and sample other genres. Yes I still like

Tolkien. It must be about ten years since I last read his books. It is probably time to read them

again. That is the test of a really good book. Is it worth another read?

 If you could be any character from any book who would you be and why?

I would like to be Paul Atreides from Dune. I like the way that despite a great setback he rises

to dominate and control his environment. I would also like to be able to exercise his special

gift – that of prescience. Paul can glimpse the many futures that lay ahead of him and he is

aware of how a single decision might change everything.

What is your favorite world from literature? If you could jump into the pages of any 

book, what book would it be? Why would you choose that world to explore?

Paul Adreides also belongs to my favourite science fiction world – Dune. It is a rich complex

universe that contains such groups as the Bene Gesserit who are really witches; they

manipulate the human bloodline and seek to shape the future. It has the Guild navigators who

have mutated into beings who can pilot huge Heighliners across the vast stellar distances that

separate the known inhabited worlds. It is a classic creation by a very imaginative writer.

There are lots of possibilities and wonders to discover. It would enjoy being a part of it.

Why do you write Children’s books? What inspired you to write to that demographic?

I struggled for years attempting to publish fantasy books for adults. My agent suggested that I

try writing for children and, at first, I resisted because it seemed to me that I was abandoning

a dream and accepting failure. But I wrote ‘The Spook’s Apprentice’ and very much enjoyed

writing it and the world that I had created. It didn’t seem that much different from what I had

been trying to write for adults. So now I like writing for children and young adults.  Many

older people read and enjoy the series particularly those who live in Lancashire, the county in

England where the stories are set. So I reached my adult audience after all!

 Tell us a little about your latest novel.  What makes your book different from other YA 

books in its genre?

I think my latest novel, ‘Arena 13’ is very different in most respects from other YA books in

its genre. It has been almost 25 years in development. It was a book I wrote for adults back in

1990 and the reason that my agent took me on in the first place. So it has not in any way been

influenced by what is out there in the genre now. Now I have adapted it for a younger

audience. It is partly about gladiatorial combat but it is not just humans who face each other

in the arena. Other entities play a significant part. There is violence, combat, a powerful

predatory being that terrorizes a city and a love story. Those are just some of the elements. I

have a contract for three books but I suspect there will be at least twice that number before

the story is concluded. It is published in the UK in June 2015 and should also appear in
France before the end of the year.

Other books by Joseph Delaney

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Audiobook- Daughter of Smoke and Bone

So recently my amazing coworker took me into the audio room and helped me to figure out the setup for constructing my audio book. The room is just awesome- and scary. I'm afraid that I am going to touch something and cause a blackout throughout city.

Anyway, I'm starting recording for The Exemeus soon and I'll be providing recording for the Azemeon as soon as all of the editing is done. In order to prepare for this daunting task I am listening to audio books that have received glowing praise. First on my list is this book I've always wanted to read, The Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I know I'm late on that one, but better late than never. The summary sounds amazing and the character has blue hair-- just like my character. What could be better? This is my first audio book purchase ever, which makes me sound both old and lame, but I'm  a bit stoked all the same.

Now where am I going to listen to it? That just might be a problem.

Stay tuned, our Saturday morning post announces our first giveaway and says what you'll need to do to cash in on the action. Feel free to leave us comments, share with your friends, or join our blog.

Loving Ya

Folami

The Past Remembers

For most of my life, my dreams have been fairly useless. Occasionally, I have had a prophetic dream or two, but that is a rarity. My dreams normally come with people randomly shape shifting, or in such a hodgepodge of activity that I am too confused to remember them.

Today, however, I feel like I was given an episode of a TV series. The whole thing with a cast of characters and the pilot episode just dropped in my lap. It could be nothing or it could be everything.

The dream is too lengthy to share, but its about a group of people, two of whom have powers, attending their friends' wedding. One person, however, is beginning to realize that the day has been repeating for sometime now.  Little things he changes doesn't alter the day, but when his friend senses the shift comedy ensues and the entire day goes topsy turvy.

I'm definitely going to flush this out. It just happened, so all of the content is running together in my head. But what I remember was the silly character's last reminder "The Past Remembers".


So how do you get inspiration? Does it appear like Hagrid in the Sorcerer's Stone, a full burst of light from nowhere? Or does it slowly trickle in? However you get it feel free to post it in the comment's section this week. I would love to know what you're working on.

The hottest males in YA

Everyone is always asking me why I love YA. I answer the question all the time, but today I thought I would zoom in on the males in YA.

 I love the fact that female heroines are popular, because we get to see the men through their eyes. We get to see the things that they love about their guy and hate about their guy. But most importantly, it keeps us guessing. Does he like her? Does he hate her? Why is he acting like that? It all adds to the suspense. And then theirs the moment we realize that she really does like him, it made (hopefully) all of those pages of angst worthwhile.

But not every YA man is created equal. What I like in a YA hero is different than what you would like. I love my men strong, loyal, and highly sarcastic. I love a sensuality that eases off the pages. So my male crushes would have to be:


1) Ayden from Demons at Deadnight. He is protective. He's hot-- both literally and figuratively.  He's got a sense of humor and he's got a cute way of dealing with Aurora. I love their interactions and how he treats her family. And he's got a body to die for. What more could a ya reader want.

2) Dmitri. Hopefully everyone knows who I'm talking about, from Vampire Academy. Once I got over the slightly pedophilish nature of their relationship, I really loved him. He struggled to do the right thing, like a dieting kid at a pizza party. But even as he waited for her to turn 18, he was protective, he was loyal, and he had his own little sense of humor. Did I mention his Godlike physique?  His body was to die for, I had to keep myself from drooling on the pages. Even when he didn't feel the same about Rose anymore-- at least, so he said-- he was willing to take on an army for her. Swoon.

3) Aiden. I must have a thing for Aidens, because I love the Aiden of Jennifer L Armentrout's half-blood series. I love his loyalty to her and to his beliefs. He is such acharacter of substance, because morals and values are important to him. What I love the most about him is that he is willing to break with the morals and values that he has adhered to all of his life just to keep Alex safe. I love how he looks at her and loves her even when she is "acting up". He is a well written character that I wish I could bring into real life.

Those are my main three for now. I'll be posting my new loves of YA again at the end of March to kick off the promotion of The Azemeon. Whoever posts their favorite ya heros or heroines will be entered to win a prize. Stay tuned.



Loving YA

Feel free to Comment or subscribe to this blog if you love The Exemeus and want to be made aware of all the updates.

Giveaways

Very excited! We are deep into the process of editing and marketing our upcoming book, The Azemeon. We're trying to figure out the best way to reach out to you guys and to make your time on our site as enjoyable as possible. We appreciate how you all have waited patiently for the long awaited sequel. So to reward our faithful followers and fellow Exemeus lovers, we'll be holding giveaways up until the day of our release, with extra prizes for those who pre-order the book.

The giveaways will begin at the beginning of November and continue until the end of the 1st week of  book sales, April 17. We'll be giving away giftcards, cash, an ipad and more. There will be a lot going on here over the next few months, so stay tuned, refer your friends and be ready for an awesome sequel.


Loving YA

Audiobook Fears

As a self-published author, creating and publicizing your ya book is not easy.  There are many hats that an author has to wear as a publicist as well as a publisher. It's hard to keep everything straight and make sure that you are focusing on what is most important and not what is the most present.

However, as I focus on the launch of my new book a new avenue has just opened up for me- audiobooks. Apparently there are a religious following of audiobook zealots. These people only "read" audiobooks, but most publishers overlook this market, because, frankly, its quite costly. 

I, however, have been offered this amazing opportunity to use a professional sound studio and self create my audio book for free. Its very exciting- and scary. I have done everything I can to create a professional quality book. I always want my name to be synonymous with the perfection that you expect from a top notch publishing company. I have spent years educating myself on how to create a first quality book, but how does one create an audio book? Do I need to create voices?  Can I even keep the voices straight if I did? I am pretty sure that I am paralyzed with fear, but hopefully through research and perseverance I will be able to create a quality product. 

So hopefully you guys can tell me what you want in an audio book. What makes an audio book great? What is the ultimate turnoff in audio books? Let me know.

loving Ya

Feel free to post a comment, join this blog, or pass the word on to others. As the year looms on we'll be having a ton of giveaways that you don't want to miss out on.  See you soon.

Why is The Exemeus different-Sequel updates

We wrote The Exemeus before the dystopian craze: before every book on the shelf talked about what plague, revolution, or natural disaster had wiped out man kind. We wanted our book to be different. So we gave it two eyes- two perspectives: one of the world the way it was and one of the world the  way it is. In books, and in life, we rarely ever see what in society led up to the moment. What led up to the revolution? What is so important that the character you love, must fear, must fight, must die for the truths of a world that we may or may not believe is possible.

The Exemeus is different. It is the story of how the revolution failed. It is a story of struggle and hope, with a mixture of magic. 

The Azemeon is far better than The Exemeus was, luckily. And it deserves far more publicity than the Exemeus received. So we're delaying our release date. In the meantime we'll be conducting giveaways to build up to the big day. 

Thanks for being awesome

Feel free to join our blog or shoot us a comment. 

Love YA

Folami

The beginning of The Azemeon

In light of my impending birthday, I thought we would release a little of the Azemeon. We hope you like it. Feel free to join our blog, post a comment, suscribe to us on facebook and twitter or buy our book at  . Whatever you can to support the Exemeus. Hope you guys love it.

            
Chapter 1

Dephon wove his way through the crowded streets, his fear propelling him forward. Out of place in this new time, Dephon wasn’t sure of much, but he was sure of one thing:he was being followed.

In the sewers of Trepton, the first thing you learned was how to tell when you weren't alone.  There were no second chances in Trepton, but at least there, he knew who his enemies were. Here he had no idea. And that was much worst. He stopped and hid behind a building at the corner of Kezar Drive, peering cautiously down the street in the hopes of catching his stalker unaware. The streets were brimming with so many people that he couldn’t see anything. Or rather he saw too much. A dark-haired man to the left of him looked suspicious, and a masculine-looking woman was staring at him a little too intently for comfort.  Was she evil, or was she just staring because Dephon just looked crazy, peeking at people around the side of buildings?

Dephon tried to clear his head, but everyone was starting to look suspicious. He could have sworn that he saw the girl in the flowery white and pink dress with long, swinging black hair three streets ago.  And there was a man in a blue suit pushing a stroller who looked familiar, too. Dephon wasn’t sure who was following him, but he was smart enough to never doubt his instincts.

Dating chronicles

Sometimes I am the coolest person on the planet and then there are moment when I'm so socially akward you would think that I had just turned 13.  In these moment of verbal clumsiness the only ways to redeem myself is with one of my many dating stories. People have told me that I should write a book about my dating chronicles, because some of the things that have happened to me have been just so weird they seem like fiction.  Oh, how I wish they were.

A lot of them are a little inappropriate for this audience, but I'm sure I can find a few that can appeal to all audiences, so I thought every now and again I'll share. 

I had recently been avoiding dating like the plague. Not just because no one interested me-- although they didn't-- but because the horrors of the last 3 men (frogs) still left a foul taste in my mouth. More on them later. So the only thing that could make me date again was shear necessity. 

My last date, if you can even call it that, happened because I had to take my car in for an oil change. And in a rare stroke of anti-luck, everyone I knew who could drive, including my father, was out of town. So I decided to go out with a guy who I had met at the food max in hopes of hitching a ride to my car. To avoid being a total user I indicated that we could go to the movies and I would meet him there. 

 I texted to say that I was running late, literally, since I was on foot . He said no problem and that he was already there. I arrived and proceeded to look for him. I couldn't find him anywhere. I stood out front. I walked the parking lot. Finally, I took out my dying phone and called him. No answer. I texted and finally he responded with " where are you?"

A little annoyed I texted that I was in front of Deer valley. I assumed he had gone to the wrong movie theater. Deer Valley is the name of  the movie theater by my house. What I should have remembered was it was also the name of the high school.

Ten minutes later, I get a call. "Where are you?" he asks.  

More than a bit irritated, I remind him "I am still at the movie theater."

He apologizes saying "I thought you meant the high school."

Does that make any sense? Why would I, a 30 year old woman, be at the high shool on a Sunday?

Ten minutes later he shows up with his shirt un-buttoned, showing his protruding beer belly and no undershirt. 

I am leery of getting in the car. 

I ponder my options: getting in or walking the 7 miles to Firestone to get my car. 

Although the second option was wiser, I thought of Layla, my Infiniti, waiting patiently for me at the Firestone.

With a sigh I get in. 

The man, who we will call Gabe, began to talk excitedly. He seemed-- and smelled differently-- it took me a second to place the smell. 

"Have you been drinking?" I asked incredulously.

"Yeah, but not too much. Just a beer and a little weed. I take care of my body and I know my limits."

Before I could comment he leaned out the window and yelled at a man leaving Chase bank, "Hey man, you gonna split that with me?"

The man laughed and shook his head.

"Do you know him?" I asked.

"No, I just like messing with people."

Uh huh.

"Where's your car?" He asked me.

"Over at the Firestone on Somersville."

"That far," he asked.

"Yeah?" I was truly confused because Antioch was a small city. If you blink you will miss it. And Firestone was just one exit over. It was close enough that walking had been an option.

I glanced over at him. He was looking at his gas tank. The gas tank light was on. We were lucky the car was even moving. 

I realized something more was wrong then just the inconvenience of stopping for gas. 

"Do you need money?" I supplied.

"I don't need for anything, but the car does."

I was confused did that mean he needed money or he didn't?

We entered a gas station and he started yelling out the window to some guy.

Another stranger he was messing with? 

"How's it going?" Gabe yelled

"Good, I got a job. But I got to take a drug test."

" What are you on?" 

"Weed and a little methoxy."

Gabe went on to chastise the man for using meth and how weed was fine, but not meth.

I found the hypocrisy to be irritating. 

We pulled up to the pump and Gabe fiddled around for a while. I realized he definitely needed gas money. I pulled out a twenty. 

"I don't need that much. I'll bring you back a ten. I'm not that type of guy. You'll see who you're dealing with."  He said taking the twenty from me.

I really wasn't sure the type of man he was trying to distinguish himself from, but I don't think he was successful. 

When he came out of the gas station. He ran into yet another friend. this man followed him back to the car, discussing the virtues of Gabe's intellect. Apparently, no one had ever broken things down to him in the way Gabe had. He droned on about how he would always go with them on Sundays. He spoke to Gabe like he was  a God, I looked over Gabe's shoulder to see if the man was possibly talking about someone behind Gabe. 

He wasn't.

Gabe got back into the car. "He's homeless," he explained to me. "Every time I see him, I pick him up and will take him to In Shape for a shower or something. Today I took him to the marina. On Sundays preachers preach outside so we can hear the word, smoke a little weed and just get uplifted.

Hmmm. I wasn't sure how to take that. 

Review of Shadows

Most people know how much I love Angelfall. However, most other angel books have not compared. I can pass on most of the angel series, so I was reluctant to read Shadows by Paula Weston, but the name kept popping up. I'm a believer in fate and destiny (on a good day anyway) so I ordered the book and started reading. In the neginning, I was far from interested. I wasn't exactly bored, but there was very little reason to keep reading. And then in stepped Rafa. the book quickly became interesting-seizing my attention. Everything took off from there.

I'm normally farily good at reading the signs. Most authors put enough writing on the wall so that there are no surprises. Not the case here. There were so many times that I was just shocked. The secondary characters all had their own motives and they kept derailing the story -- in a good way. No one was what they seemed. The main character even kept you off your toes, but she was always loyal, funny and true to herself- whoever herself managed to be. You want a funny story that keeps you on your toes? This is the story for you.

Eradicated

Newest addition to our story line:

In 2223 A.D. humanity realized they were not alone. An alien group from the planet Gliese 581-d came to Earth to escape the destruction of their home planet. Earth's leaders allowed it because the aliens were peaceful, they were beautiful, and something about them was utterly irresistible.

400 years later humanity has all but been eradicated. Most humans have been absorbed into the alien population. Maya Richardson is one of the few thousand remaining humans. She lives in a fledgling where she had lived with both of her parents, until they each disappeared, abandoning her to for the glittering allure of the Gliesian society.

Unfortunately, she is branded a traitor when her best friend vanishes with the commune’s money. Maya has to prove her innocence to take her rightful place in the commune hierarchy.

But Maya has a secret. Actually, she has two secrets: one that can save the commune and the other that can save humanity. Unfortunately, exposing one of her secrets will get her kicked out of the commune. If she exposes the other, she'll find out that the aliens aren’t so peaceful after all.

It has been forever

It has been forever since I blogged.

I have definitely missed it, but I have every intention of remaining consistent. Soon the launch of my new novella series, Eradicated, will hit the stores. The sequel to the Exemeus is almost done, which means promotions and giveaways for my loyal readers.

I also have a million YA books to review, so they should be coming your way-- coupled with the giveaway of some of the best books of the year.

Feel free to send in lists of your favorite books, especially if you read ya, fantasy, romance with a touch of humor.

I'll be posting soon.