Tour Stop: Lucid by Natalie Roers, Guest Post~The Importance of Books that Teach Empathy

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Lucid Banner Tour 450 x 169Lucid

Natalie Roers

 

Publisher: Twilight Times Books

 

Genre: paranormal fantasy

 

Print ISBN: 978-1-60619-027-2

eBook ISBN: 978-1-60619-026-5

 

May 15, 2013 ebook

July 15, 2013 print

 

Pages: 168

 

Book Description:

 

Disfigured at birth and ostracized at school, Travis Hunter dreams of acceptance and secretly yearns for the affection of a beautiful young woman named Corrine. When a mysterious doctor promises to help Travis through something called lucid dreaming, Travis gets more than he ever bargained for and soon finds himself learning the secrets of love and life in a fantastic unconscious world.

Guest Post:

 

 Guest Post:

 

The Importance of Books that Teach Empathy

I was a sensitive child. Books that taught empathy spoke to me in ways that to this day I still cannot verbalize. To Kill a Mockingbird, Grapes of Wrath, and Charlotte’s Web were read so many times that they became more than stories, they became personal memories.

Now in my thirties, I can still clearly see myself at twelve, sitting on the deck of our small suburban home, sipping iced tea, tears streaming down my face on a hot summer day, as I hurled the book Of Mice and Men away from me in defiance. I knew how it ended. I’d already read the book maybe half a dozen times. But somehow I thought that if I read it enough, if I wished hard enough — maybe, just maybe — I could change the ending- that these two misunderstood best friends could stay together.

When I decided to write my first book that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to write a sweet, simple love story that spoke of acceptance. The problem? Today’s world is different. The books that so spoke to me as a young woman don’t exactly fit in a modern world. Today, there are computers and cell phones to interrupt a character’s every thought, books are five hundred page melodramas, and love is best served cold with a side of fangs.

The wonderful stories from my past did not contain epic battles. They were intense, internal struggles consisting mainly of dialogue between a just handful of characters. But they made you feel. Those stories made you walk away a better person. Lucid serves to show people that these kinds of stories are not doomed. They just need to be reworked a bit to incorporate bits and pieces of the real lives that young people live today. Today’s kids are the same people we were. They simply live in more fantastic surroundings and that needs to be acknowledged.

Thank you for your interest. I hope you enjoy Lucid. Not only is it a tool in reinforcing empathy through the story itself, but ten cents of every dollar I make will be donated to anti-bullying organizations.

Best,

Natalie

Chapter excerpt:

http://twilighttimesbooks.com/Lucid_ch1.html

I gave her a funny look and loosened the drawstrings. A dark green stone

fell out into my hand. It had little red splotches on it and was hung with three

small chains from a silver crescent that looked like the moon. The metal of the

crescent looked very old, as if it had been pounded by hand.

“You made me zink of it when you mentioned your dreams earlier.” Kelly

said. “I zought you might appreciate it.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a talisman. According to legend, it was originally used by da Lucid as a

gateway to da dream world.”

“That’s really cool,” I said, “What’s it got to do with me?”

“Talismans are very magical. Dey have da power to make extraordinary

transformations. Why don’t you keep it for a while? See how it works?”

“Oh, come on,” I disagreed. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

Doctor Kelly smiled. “I believe very much in powerful transformations.”


 

Reviews

 

“Roers’ debut novel heralds the arrival of an intelligent, heartfelt voice in the world of young adult fiction. The rich characters, emotional complexity, and confident prose are matched only by the landscape of dreams that Roers sets them against… a landscape brought vividly to life by the author’s seemingly boundless imagination. This is a novel that respects its readers as much as its characters, and that’s a beautiful rarity.” ~ Mike Flanagan, Filmmaker, Absentia and Oculus

 

“Natalie Roers’ debut novel is both riveting and relevant. More than a paranormal/fantasy/thriller, this is a complex tale that cuts to the very of heart of issues facing young adults today. Well sculptured characters and powerful imagery propel Roers’ fascinating narrative.” ~ Jason Tinney  Award-winning freelance journalist, musician, actor and the author of the story collection Bluebird.

 

 

“Lucid is an interesting story and a fun read.” ~ Amy Carol Reeves, author of Ripper and Renegade

 

“Natalie Roers’ voice is amazingly confident for a first novelist. Her journalist’s eye for human detail draws you in, and makes you care about the people who populate the LUCID world. The more I got to know them, both awake and asleep in the world of lucid dreaming, the more time I wanted to spend in their world.” ~ Jeff Howard, writer for Film District and Focus Features.

 

 


NatalieAbout the Author

A veteran writer, voice artist, and on-air personality, Natalie Roers has been the host of hit radio and television shows in just about every region of the United States.

 

She also owns her own voice-over business where she creates everything from songs and ringtones to commercials and sound effects for clients around the globe.

 

A journalist by trade, Natalie is excited to venture into the world of fiction and hopes to raise money and social awareness for worthy causes with each book she writes. She lives with her husband Cory, and son Austin, in Columbia, South Carolina.

 

www.Natasha-r.com

 

www.jointhelucid.com

 

http://jointhelucid.com/blog/

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/natalie.roers

 

https://www.facebook.com/jointhelucid

 

Goodreads

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16214486-lucid

 


Heavily based on the intriguing and relatable real world phenomenon of lucid dreaming (the ability to control ones’ dreams), Roers’ debut novel tells the anything but ordinary, coming of age story of a small town, teen aged, misfit named Travis Hunter.

 

Disfigured at birth and ostracized at school, Travis dreams of acceptance and secretly yearns for the affection of a beautiful young woman named Corrine. When a mysterious doctor promises to help Travis through lucid dreaming, Travis suddenly finds himself ushered into a secret society called “The Lucid”, a collection of social outcasts like himself, who have created their own world inside of dreams.

 

When Travis discovers he is able to bring Corrine into these dreams, he gets more than he ever bargained for and soon finds himself learning the secrets of love and life in a fantastic unconscious world.

 

With the doctor serving as their guide, Corrine and Travis embark on a powerful and often painful journey of self-discovery in order to unravel the mystery behind the lucid world and the people who inhabit it. The plot thickens when a destructive outside force uncovers their abilities and will stop at nothing to steal their power.

 

Debuting during the height of the anti-bullying movement, Lucid is a timeless story of self-acceptance with a portion of the author’s proceeds being donated to bullying prevention efforts.

Tour Dates

May 16 Spotlight and review
Faerie Tale Books
May 16 Spotlight
Tiffany H.
May 17 Guest blog
2 Bibliophiles
May 20 Interview
Michelle @ Mom With A Kindle
May 20 Review
Pedacinho Literário
May 20 Spotlight
4 the LUV of SANITY
May 21 Guest blog
So Much To Write So Little Time
May 21 review
Elfie Books
May 22 review
Fandom Fanatic
May 23 Interview
Pembroke Sinclair.
May 23 review
Welcome to Larissa’s Life –
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Roxanne’s Book Review: The Six Train to Wisconsin by Kourtney Heintz Contemporary Fantasy

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The Six Train to Wisconsin (Volume 1)

4.8 out of 5 stars (6)

Sometimes saving the person you love can cost you everything.

Her debut novel, The Six Train to Wisconsin, was a 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Semifinalist.

There is one person that ties Oliver Richter to this world: his wife Kai. For Kai, Oliver is the keeper of her secrets. When her telepathy spirals out of control and inundates her mind with the thoughts and emotions of everyone within a half-mile radius, the life they built together in Manhattan is threatened. To save her, Oliver brings her to the hometown he abandoned–Butternut, Wisconsin–where the secrets of his past remain buried. But the past has a way of refusing to stay dead. Can Kai save Oliver before his secrets claim their future? An emotionally powerful debut, The Six Train to Wisconsin pushes the bounds of love as it explores devotion, forgiveness and acceptance. Brief Summary: When Kai’s telepathy spirals out of control, her husband Oliver brings her to the quiet Wisconsin hometown he abandoned a decade ago, where he must confront the secrets of his past to save their future.

My Review: 31/2 Stars out of 5

The Six Train to Wisconsin is a contemporary fantasy that is mostly true to life except some of the characters have special abilities such as hearing thoughts or being able to enter other people’s dreams. The main characters, Oliver and Kai, are a married couple living in New York. The concentrated population is having a detrimental effect on Kai who hears everyone’s thoughts and experiences their deaths if they are in close enough proximity.  To make the situation worse, Kai works as a social worker helping abused children. All these things combined together sends Kai in a suicide spiral that her husband wants to save her from. Oliver decides to kidnap his wife from the big city and take her to the small town he grew up in so his wife can escape the voices.

Right away when I started reading I liked the voices of the two characters and the way the story is written. I also liked the very artistic, visual way Kai’s power is handled throughout the story. Everything  came across realistically, until the kidnapping.  The kidnapping part is written well, but I don’t know if it’s a realistic action of a husband. It’s more likely he would have worn her down over time until something happened that convinced her to try his idea for a while. The death of the girl would have been a great reason for her to change and follow him to the small town. I’m sure many will disagree and that’s OK. The kidnapping parts, as I said, are written well and Oliver is desperate enough and Kai is stubborn enough to make it believable.

The story continued well and kept my interest until the part of the missing child. Here, about 60% in and continuing until close to the end, I felt the story started to drag, too much character thoughts on the situation. Some of it was repetitive and I think it could have been cut or shortened to keep the novel moving forward. Again, some readers will disagree loving all the internal drama. I love it, too, but not when it’s the same info. Once is enough for me. Perhaps the author was trying to delay the ending to keep the reader in suspense longer. I didn’t have that effect on me. I wanted to skip it to get back to the good stuff.

One thing I’m really happy about, this self-published book has an ending. So many don’t and I never read on when the first book doesn’t end because I don’t trust the author to know how to end a novel if they can’t end their first novel. Kudos to the author. The ending is a pretty decent one, too.  I think most readers will enjoy it. I guessed it earlier in the story, but that’s OK. I don’t think it was meant to be a surprise ending to the reader, only the characters.

One point that bothered me that brought the star rating down, the explicit sex descriptions. I don’t like erotica, preferring a more Gone With the Wind handling of sex scenes. Detailed descriptions of the act turns me off and makes me cringe, but for those who like it, you’ll definitely be satisfied. Someone else complained about the language in the novel. It didn’t bother me. The characters are adults and adults cuss. With that said, this book is not for young readers, eighteen and above only.

Would I recommend reading this book? Yes. Despite the slow area and the sex, I did enjoy the story and the characters. The plot is solid and well constructed, the characters are developed and have pasts and issues like normal people, and the novel won’t leave you hanging without an ending like so many other self-pubbers.

About the Author

Kourtney Heintz writes emotionally evocative speculative fiction that captures the deepest truths of being human. For her characters, love is a journey never a destination.

She resides in Connecticut with her warrior lapdog, Emerson, her supportive parents and three quirky golden retrievers. Years of working in financial services provided the perfect backdrop for her imagination to run amuck at night, imagining a world where out-of-control telepathy and buried secrets collide.

Her debut novel, The Six Train to Wisconsin, was a 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Semifinalist.

Guest Post: Get Savvy with Self-publishing Your Book! by Jasmine Roy

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Get Savvy with Self-publishing Your Book!

Are you a book writer who wants to jump on the publishing bandwagon? Wow, that’s a great idea. So, now it is you who will decide what will go into the book regardless of fear of rejection by publishers. You attain freedom to put into your book whatever content pleases you. That doesn’t mean you will be successful as an author, but you will certainly cross that first stage with ease where most writers stagger.

Self-publishing gives you a leeway into deciding the structure, cover page, design, and layout of your book. You get a lot of time to do your work as there are no deadlines or fixed guidelines unless you set them for yourself. You save yourself from the disappointment resulting from manuscript rejection,  the commonest fear among book authors.

How to Self Publish Books?

  1. If your manuscripts have been rejected several times in the past by various publishers and that was the very reason that made you take up self-publishing, do not overlook your mistakes. Put aside your ego, accept your mistakes, improve upon them, and then go ahead with self-publishing your book.
  2. Don’t make the mistake of believing that when you are self-publishing, you can publish any raw content that you write directly out of your imagination. By doing this, you will quickly finish the technical process of publishing, but no sane reader will want to buy your book. Make sure you edit it completely; ask a senior editor to do it for you.
  3. Design your cover page using the most attractive and eye-catching style and colors. You can do it yourself if you know Photoshop or ask an expert graphic designer to do it for you. The cover page is the first chance of impressing the visitors and turning them into buyers.
  4. Be honest and practical. Do not overestimate your abilities as an author. No book author is perfect. Identify your flaws early on, work on them, or find a way to subvert them. Don’t think your book has it all. Target your book at a specific group of people. Have your book’s draft read by a handful of friends who would give you an honest and frank opinion. Ask whether they feel like reading the book further after a few pages. Do they find anything amiss in the book? Take their criticism constructively and make amends in the book, if needed.
  5. Take the aid of book publishing companies that provide you with resources to self-publish your book. They let you take charge of all the aspects of publishing like editorial control, cover design and layout selection royalties and book distribution rights, marketing, and others.

Jasmine Roy has extensive experience in writing on a range of topics. These portals they not only support publishers, new authors, freelance illustrators, but they also provide valuable information and services to publishing agents and agencies.

Blog Tour: Love is Darkness by Caroline Hanson, Urban Fantasy, Spotlight and Giveaway

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Love is Darkness (The Valerie Dearborn Trilogy– Book 1)

Caroline Hanson

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Host of the Hills

ISBN: 9781465819901

ASIN: B005JMJ046

Number of pages: 322

Word Count: 90,000

Cover Artist: Phat Puppy Art

Amazon BN   Smashwords   iTunes

Kobo  Sony

Book Description:

Valerie Dearborn wants a cotton candy life, but it’s more like a puffer fish: pointy, unusual, and—if not prepared exactly right—deadly.

In London for graduate school, Val knows she’s finally free. Her father and ex-almost-boyfriend are back in California and she’s out of the Vampire hunting biz for good. Or is she?

She draws the attention of Lucas, a 1600 year old Vampire, and King to his kind. He’s also wicked hot. As golden as Lucifer, and just as tempting, he makes Valerie an offer she can’t refuse— help him find out if the Others (Empaths, Fey and Werewolves) still exist or he’ll stop protecting those she loves.

Lucas tells her that Empaths were a Vampire’s biggest weakness before going extinct hundreds of years ago. While the Fey or a Werewolf might kill a Vampire, an Empath could enslave them, seducing or harming with emotions at will. The one detail he leaves out? Valerie is an Empath.

And after 1600 years of an emotionless existence, Lucas wants Valerie like a recovering alcoholic wants a wine cooler.

Can she keep those she loves alive, stop Lucas from munching on her, survive a fanged revolution and still find a way to have that boring, normal life she’s always wanted? Probably not, but boy is she gonna try!

This is a full length novel and contains adult content.

Excerpt:

Decision made, Lucas grabbed Roberto, biting into his neck before Roberto could defend himself. Blood coursed into him with a hot rush. The taste was bitter because it came from another vampire, but underneath that was a faint sweetness and spice that infected him.

Just a taste and then I’ll stop.

He knew that for a lie. He’d stop only when the blood finished riding him.

Lucas drank furiously, like he’d just emerged from the desert, some unknown amount of time passing before he became aware of himself and his surroundings. Gathering himself, he forced himself to slow his drinking, feeling a physical pain as he released fangs from flesh.

He threw Roberto from him and Roberto scrambled away, his hand at his neck, holding the torn flesh together.

Lucas paced away from Roberto, hand over his mouth. What am I doing? His hand was frozen, blood coating his lips and now his fingers. He wanted to lick his lips, suck his fingers clean, go back to Roberto and find more. What a mistake.

His hand trembled, in moments he’d be overwhelmed.

His whole body pulsed in time to his heart, the blood snaking through him, leaving each nerve, blood vessel and cell altered and waiting for the magic to strike.

He was a rod in a lightning storm.

Was there even time to dispose of Roberto before he succumbed to the blood? He had to kill him, couldn’t risk anyone finding out about the daughter.

The daughter.

Swiftly, he went back to Roberto, circling behind the crying man, hiding death for a few moments longer. With one solid blow his fist punched through Roberto’s back and into his chest, gripped the man’s heart in his hand and tugged it free, Roberto dissolving into ash.

Lucas felt caged, the need to move, run, cry, laugh and hurt all vying in him for control.

No.

He could control himself. After almost two thousand years he was his own master. He was the oldest and the strongest. Lucas was his own law.

His hands clenched.

Emotion touched him like a cattle prod and he fell to his knees, dead heart pounding in a staccato rhythm. His hand rose to his chest like he could catch the sharp pain knifing from his heart outwards.

Then it was gone. For just a second he thought that was it, that over the last four hundred years he’d become so deadened and powerful that the magic touched him, sputtered and died.

Then there was a pulse.

It’s not over.

A small kiss of sensation that was almost visible, like heat shimmering off asphalt, tickled down his spine.

This was a fatal mistake.

Emotion crashed over him. Feelings of joy filling him until he wanted to laugh like Roberto had, laugh like he was happy, carefree and mortal. But he couldn’t remember how to laugh, a rough sound erupting from him instead.

The feeling changed, became a heavy pulse that left a deep throb in his sex. He was suddenly hard, full to bursting, aching painfully. Desire gripped him and he began to tremble in his need to—

No.

But the blood twisted through him, invaded every cell and molecule of his being, urging him onwards.

He’d forgotten this power. The tide of emotion that even a small amount of blood had upon him.

He’d known and forgotten.

Lucas remembered being a man, the pleasure taken and given. He could almost smell feminine heat around him, what it was like to feel a woman’s thighs lock around his head in pleasure. The whimpering cries as he kissed her deeply. Once he’d become a vampire, sensations and feelings had become muted, but not now. Now he felt human again.

Desire became a fire within him, consumed him so that he was nothing but need. He fell to his knees, staring at his fisted hands. He swore, surprised to find his own hand gripping his cock. His hips rose jerkily, body demanding release even as his mind resisted.

And lost.

His whole body seized, feelings of pleasure twisting within him, the power rebounding. He shouldn’t fight it, he knew that, but it went against his nature to give in, and so he tried to hold out against the blood’s call.

His breath sawed out of him as he remembered the blood’s rich sweetness. He squeezed himself reflexively, the memory of flavor flashing through his mind and then his body.

Like a landslide, the orgasm swept through him, his mental shields collapsing and he felt the heavy spasm of his cock as he came. He breathed heavily, unable to move as the aftershocks of pleasure gripped and released him.

An empath.

Stumbling to his feet, Lucas went to his rooms, discarding his clothes haphazardly on his way to the shower.

His mind raced and he remembered the world as it had been centuries ago. An uneasy balance of vampires, witches, werewolves, empaths and Fey. For centuries there had only been vampires, the Others gone. But an empath had escaped. Maybe the vampires were not as alone as he’d thought. Maybe the Others were scattered or hiding. What if they could come back? Restore a balance to the world and keep vampires under control. Could he find them? Did he want to?

The thought was… intriguing.

And then he remembered the dead empath had a daughter.

Interesting.

Other Books by Caroline Hanson

 

 

 

 

About the Author:

Caroline Hanson grew up in California and moved to London in order to dance and go to pubs. Adulthood ensued and she returned to California, bringing back her very own Englishman.

After becoming an attorney she had two children and now tries to parent, read, write and play tennis. She’s heard rumors that other mothers clean and cook but is trying valiantly to keep those rumors from reaching her family.

Caroline grew up listening to Brit pop and reading about vampires. As a teenager her favorite authors were Anne Rice and Jude Deveraux. Now she loves Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Laura Kinsale, Lisa Kleypas, Loretta Chase, Nalini Singh and JR Ward–that’s the short list.

In terms of TV she’s big into Game of Thrones, anything by Mr. Whedon, Ms. Plec or Ms. Rhimes because she likes a love story– the more messed up and disastrous the better!

Her books have been on various Bestseller lists and she loves to hear from fans so long as they understand that Lucas is not real, she can’t hook them up, and he CERTAINLY isn’t chained to her bed.

Website: http://carolinehanson.blogspot.com/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/carolinehanson

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Caroline-Hanson/205847429481635

Twitter: @Caroline_Hanson

bookgiveaway

Tour Wide Giveaway
5 ebook copies Love is Darkness
2 entire ebook sets of The Valerie Dearborn Trilogy

Rafflecopter Giveaway

Tour Dates

May 6 Interview
Book Lovin’ Mamas –
May 6 Spotlight
Whatever You Can Still Betray
May 7 Spotlight and review
Cana Elene
Place of Reads Book Blog
May 7 Review
May 8 Interview
Bookish Randomness
May 8 Spotlight
Fandom Fanatic
May 9 Interview
Welcome to Larissa’s Bookish Life
May 9 Spotlight and review
Kristy Centeno
May 9 Spotlight
From, Jody’s Book Reviews & Giveaways
May 10 Interview
Reading and Writing Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance -
May 10 Interview and review
Shut Up & Read
May 10 Spotlight
Book Liaison –
May 13 Interview and review
Dangerous Romance
May 14 Spotlight
Paranormal Romance and Beyond
May 15 Interview
She-Wolf Reads
May 15 Spotlight and review
Faerie Tale Books
May 15 Spotlight
A Bibliophiles Thoughts on Books
May 16 Spotlight and review
May 16 review
Paranormal Cravings – Paranormal Book Reviews
May 17 Interview
Cloey’s Book Reviews and Other Stuff
May 17 Spotlight
So Much To Write So Little Time
May 17 review
Into the Worm’s Hole
May 17 review
Bornean Bookworm Reads
May 20 Interview
Laurie’s Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews
May 20 review
Books Books and More Books
May 20 review
Demons do it Better
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Free Until May 17th: Shirley Link and The Treasure Chest by Ben Zackheim, Juvenile Mystery

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Shirley Link & The Treasure Chest 

Ben Zackheim (Author), Robin Hoffman (Illustrator)

Shirley Link loves pirates. Well, she loves the idea of them. She wouldn’t like them if they were running up the street stealing bikes, but digging for treasure and swashbuckling adventure are on the top of her to-do list. So when a clue pops up that there’s a hidden pirate treasure under her hometown, Shirley gets to work.

In Shirley Link & The Treasure Chest, the third volume in the critically-acclaimed Middle-Grade Mystery series, our heroine takes on her toughest challenge yet. But this time the stakes are bigger than ever. If she fails to find the treasure, or if it ends up being a hoax, then Shirley’s elderly neighbor, Mrs. Smiley, will lose her home to the bank.

More Shirley, Dad, Wiley and Marie than ever before. That’s right. Even Mr. Link gets to join in the adventure!

Other Books by Ben Zackheim

About the Author

What do you want to be when you grow up? For a couple of decades I had a lot of answers to that question. I was a filmmaker, a travelling salesman, a bookseller, a videogame tester, and a videogame producer before I figured it out. What I discovered was that sometimes we save the best part for last. Now (and forever) I’m a writer.

Shirley Link, a series for kids 8-12 years old, has been my focus since 2012. Both books in the series have hit the top 5 in Teen Mysteries on Amazon, which was a dream come true. Shirley’s fun because she knows what she’s doing. There’s no stumbling across victory. She plans eight moves ahead. I could write her forever, and plan to.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t have other worlds ready to spring! In fact, I can’t wait to roll out my next series, The Camelot Kids. Merlin, the greatest wizard to ever live, may be prepared for the random rogue wizard, or a hive of… Read more