Blog Tour: The Boys of Summer (Excerpt + Guest Post + Giveaway)

Title: The Boys of Summer
Author: C.J. Duggan
Publication Date: December 17, 2012
Purchase: Kindle (US) | Kindle (UK) | Paperback (US) | Paperback (UK) | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | Smashwords

Synopsis: It seemed only natural to nickname them the ‘Onslow Boys’. Every time they swaggered in the front door of the Onslow Hotel after a hard week’s work, their laughter was loud and genuine as they settled onto their bar stools. I peeked through the restaurant partition, a flimsy divider between my world and theirs. I couldn’t help but smile whenever I saw them, saw him ... Toby Morrison.

Quiet seventeen-year-old Tess doesn’t relish the thought of a summertime job. She wants nothing more than to forget the past haunts of high school and have fun with her best friends before the dreaded Year Twelve begins.

To Tess, summer is when everything happens: riding bikes down to the lake, watching the fireworks at the Onslow Show and water bomb fights at the sweltering Sunday markets.

How did she let her friends talk her into working?

After first-shift disasters, rude, wealthy tourists and a taunting ex-boyfriend, Tess is convinced nothing good can come of working her summer away. However, Tess finds unlikely allies in a group of locals dubbed ‘The Onslow Boys’, who are old enough to drive cars, drink beer and not worry about curfews. Tess’s summer of working expands her world with a series of first times with new friends, forbidden love and heartbreaking chaos.

All with the one boy she has never been able to forget. 

It will be a summer she will always remember.

Excerpt:

Moon rays filtered through the windshield, giving the cabin an otherworldly glow.

Toby’s perfect teeth were illuminated when he smiled. “You know, you are the worst winner!” He shook his head. “Ever since you won the bet, you’ve been apologising. Just go with it, enjoy it, because I assure you, next time …” - he leaned closer - “… you will not be the winner.” He pulled back, smug.

I curved a brow. “Next time?”

He nodded. “I fully intend to redeem myself.”

“Want a chance to rebuild your shattered ego, do you? I bet you’re itching to fix my bike so you can be rid of me once and for all.” I shouldered him gently, teasing him as I would Adam. And then I realised what I had done; I had treated him like my friends. He looked down at his shoulder, then up at me. His eyes shadowed with untold meanings that I couldn’t read.

“What if I didn’t want to fix your bike?” he said in all seriousness.

“Why, is my company so stimulating that you can’t bear the thought of being without me?” I teased nervously.

I was aiming for light and airy, but something must have gone wrong with my delivery because Toby’s face went blank. He looked out into the lights of Onslow, ran his tongue over his bottom lip and sighed.

Inspiration for THE BOYS OF SUMMER by C. J. Dugan

It was something that has been churning in my mind since I was a little girl, even if it was something no more mapped out than a group of friends hanging lakeside over a summer. It was an idea that has manifested into an entire world and I felt that I owed it to that eleven-year-old little me to develop it into a story. I know I was eleven because I had found an old exercise book with the story plotted out in my child-like handwriting and I could seldom believe it was something that had been swimming around in my subconscious for so long. It fell perfectly in line with me doing NaNo that year (National Novel Writing Month) and that was that, in one month I smashed out the bones of ‘The Boys of Summer’ (TBoS). In writing TBoS I really wanted to capture the essence of growing up in Australia. I set it in a small fictional lake side town in the 90’s to give it a certain flavor and provide a rich setting for a coming of age story, it is an absolute labor of love.

About the Author:

C.J Duggan is an Australian author who lives with her husband in a rural border town of New South Wales, Australia.

The Boys of Summer is Book One in her Mature Young Adult Romance Series.

For more on C.J and ‘The Summer Series’, visit her website and blog.

Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | The Boys of Summer (Facebook Page)

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Win an eBook copy of The Boys of Summer. Open INTERNATIONALLY.

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Teaser Tuesday: Terra

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading and slightly altered by Coffee, Books & Lipgloss

Basically a CBL TEASER TUESDAY works like this:

• Grab your current read

• Share 2 “teaser” sentences from a random page or a part you rather enjoyed and post it as a teaser.

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Make sure that what you share

doesn’t give too much away; you don’t want to ruin the book for others!

• As an option, you can give a short snippet of what you think so far... or not. That's optional.

• Share the TITLE and AUTHOR too, so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser.

For this week's Teaser Tuesday: *drum roll*

Title: Terra

Author: Gretchen Powell

Publication Date: December 10, 2012

Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Synopsis: In the distant wake of a plague that has decimated the Earth's population, humanity is split in two. The rich and powerful live in skycities that float overhead, while those who remain on the ground have gathered in settlements strewn across a dying planet. Eighteen-year-old Terra Rhodon makes her living as a scav, scouting the earth for discarded scraps and metals to recycle for profit. While on a routine scavenging run, she discovers something that shocks her home settlement of Genesis X-16.

Terra suddenly finds herself asking questions no one will answer. Fueled by curiosity, her search for the truth ultimately leads her to Adam--a beguiling boy with a secret that has the power to change humanity's existence forever.

Teaser:

"Why do you have to question everything? Why can't you just be happy that something good has finally happened to us?" 

Thoughts so far:

This has a very interesting premise. I really love how the history of their settlements was immediately explained at the first few chapters. It also has a very good world building.

It has less action compared to other dystopian novels but it has a very good pacing that keeps things in the dark but gives some hints from time to time on what seems to be the exact problem.

You can hop on to the next link for more teasers:

Release Day Blog Tour: Hereafter (Excerpt + Giveaway)

Title: Hereafter
Author: Jennifer Snyder
Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Synopsis: In Death I could finally see the importance of Life…

After being forced to become a Reaper Council member and being torn away from the one she loves, Rowan Harper must learn to accept her altered Fate as well as her death and move on. A task easier said than done, especially when witnessing those you love suffer in the wake of your death.

When an unlikely alli provides information that could change everything, Rowan sets out on a journey through Purgatory with her beloved by her side and a nonchalant Tracker to learn the true meaning of the word sacrifice. Another task which seems easier said than done, especially with the threat of Purgatory’s ability to corrupt your soul the longer you’re in its grip looming above their heads.

Excerpt:

Jet was what had made all of this seem tolerable. If I had to be a Reaper, then I could endure it, but only if I was able to visit with Jet from time to time. Sorrow cracked its way through my soul again. I didn’t want this. I didn’t want the waiting and the yearning. I didn’t want to be a part of the horribleness death was, not alone, not without Jet.

I didn’t want this to be my hereafter.

“Rowan?” a familiar voice called out to me. I left my eyes closed and smiled, afraid that if I opened them disappointment would crush me because he wouldn’t be there in front of me, afraid that it was nothing but a memory of him calling my name swimming to the surface of my broken mind in my moment of heartbreaking want.

A hand softly brushed against my cheek, and I slowly allowed my eyes to flutter open. Glistening sapphire eyes held my attention as I fumbled to make sense of how Jet was in front of me. Happiness and excitement bubbled through me and escaped in the form of laughter. My arms wrapped around his neck, and I drew him in closer to me, vowing to never let him go again.

“I’m glad to see you, too.” He chuckled, a sound I’d missed more than I knew.

“I feel like I’ve been waiting forever,” I said, releasing the grip I had around his neck in favor of simply holding his hands in mine.

“Death has a way of making things feel eternal,” he said, his tone etched with heartache.

I didn’t want to talk of death. I didn’t even want to think about it. All I wanted was to savor this moment because I wasn’t sure how long we would get. Leaning forward, I pressed my lips to his and felt my desire to be with him always pulsating through my soul.

About the Author:

Jennifer Snyder lives in North Carolina were she spends most of her time writing young adult fiction, reading, and struggling to stay on top of housework. She is an instant coffee lover with an obsession for spiral bound notebooks and smooth writing pens. Jennifer lives with her husband and two children, who endure listening to songs that spur inspiration on repeat and tolerate her love for all paranormal, teenage-targeted TV shows.

Know more about her blog.

Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook

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Review: The Navy Seal's Promise

Title: The Navy Seal's Promise
Author: Soraya Lane

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis: With only 48 hours back on home soil for Christmas, United States Army Corporal Saskia Cullen is desperate to spend every minute with her young son. So when heavy snowfall closes JFK airport and she misses her connecting flight, she’s devastated. Until Navy SEAL Luke Gray offers to keep her company… and then personally finds a way to get her home.

Luke is back in the US on leave, waiting to hear the details of his next mission, and Saskia proves to be a pleasant distraction. And when he hears that she needs to get home to see her son, he’s prepared to do anything to help the sexy single mom. Trouble is, he hadn’t planned on falling for anyone, let alone a beautiful soldier about to return overseas.

Review:

"Her saviour. Her knight on a white horse somehow promising to get her where she needed to be."

This book just screams sweetness! I expected a bit more hard ass characters in this since they were in military, but no. Saskia is so feminine and cute, while Luke seems like a man-next-door/knight-in-shining-armor kind of guy. I can easily forget them being in the military and get lost in the story.

A chance meeting that turned into something. I love the fast-paced plot that didn't gave room for drama or conflict. Well other than their schedules, but you know what I mean. The author made such lovable characters that I wish we had the chance to get to know more.

I really wish this was longer. There were parts I'd really want to discover and I wish there was enough space/time to see these nice characters develop. Also, I want to have more scenes with Jack. The lines were just perfect—not cheesy but not boring. I also love how the love scene was written. It wasn't just sex. It was sensual and intimate. And although it was too soon to call their affections for each other, love, it seems like it was present in that scene.

For the second time, Lane did an awesome job in make us fall in love with her story and characters. This is a story about family, promises and finding love when you least expect it.

Blog Tour: Stitch (Excerpt + Review + Guest Post + Giveaway)

Title: Stitch
Author: Samantha Durante

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Purchase: Paperback | Kindle

Synopsis: Her heart races, her muscles coil, and every impulse in Alessa's body screams at her to run... but yet she's powerless to move.

Still struggling to find her footing after the sudden death of her parents, the last thing college freshman Alessa has the strength to deal with is the inexplicable visceral pull drawing her to a handsome ghostly presence. In between grappling with exams and sorority soirees - and disturbing recurring dreams of being captive in a futuristic prison hell - Alessa is determined to unravel the mystery of the apparition who leaves her breathless. But the terrifying secret she uncovers will find her groping desperately through her nightmares for answers.

Because what Alessa hasn't figured out yet is that she's not really a student, the object of her obsession is no ghost, and her sneaking suspicions that something sinister is lurking behind the walls of her university's idyllic campus are only just scratching the surface...

The opening installment in a twist-laden trilogy, Stitch spans the genres of paranormal romance and dystopian sci-fi to explore the challenges of a society in transition, where morality, vision, and pragmatism collide leaving the average citizen to suffer the results.

Excerpt:

Nikhil and Alessa were pressed together ever closer by the crowd, their bodies moving as one in time with the music. Alessa could feel the hair sticking to the back of her neck as her skin started to glisten, but she didn’t care. She threw her arms up and tossed her head with the beat, reveling in the moment.

Nikhil gently placed his hands around Alessa’s hips, seemingly mesmerized. The crowd swelled and they were pressed together once more, his arms wrapped around her waist, her hands on his taut swimmer’s chest and shoulders. He leaned over, nudging his face so close to hers that she could feel the heat rising off his skin. Alessa parted her lips and looked up at Nikhil, preparing to surrender to her body’s impulses.

But instead of the dark brown eyes she expected, she saw only blue. Unfathomable, sparkling blue, glittering with facets of ocean and sky, boring deep into her soul and clutching at her heart. Once again, a single word rose in the back of her throat – Isaac – and she knew this night was over.

Review:

"She felt a deeper connection to him than she had with anyone since her parent had died, and her fixation with resolving his mystery had given her focus and provided her with something to strive for after so many months of drifting away."

Samantha Durante, you just blew me away. This debut waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than what I expected. Stitch was written with amazing world building, unique plot and very likable characters. With it's carefully constructed plot, nothing can spoil you as you read along the way. Since I first saw this on Goodreads until I started reading the first half of the book, I am curious why it was shelved under Dystopian, Sci-Fi and Post-Apocalyptic.

Here, we get to meet Alessa who lost her parents to a car accident and is currently living in Zeta Epsilon Pi sorority house. As she struggles to adjust to her new life, she sees a ghost that suddenly rattled her mind and made her want to uncover all about him.

The first half will make you think that you're reading a Paranormal story. I thought it would be sort of the same as the 2006 movie, The Lake House, with apparitions instead of letters. And just when I started to solidify that theory about this story would go, the next page would throw my idea out of the window. This one keeps you guessing and guessing but not to the point where you'd get lost and wouldn't understand what's going on. It is actually very intriguing. The first few chapters might be a bit slow-paced but it actually complements to an awesome world building. It makes you feel invested in the setting then would suddenly switch gears and turn it around to another Dystopian world. I know some of you are asking why is there a sorority house in a Dystopian world..

I love how it the author kept the characters to the minimum, too. Other than a few mentions, this has actually few characters the readers should focus. These characters also developed along with the story. Alessa's character was strong despite the depression over the loss of her parents. She wasn't a kid who doesn't have a life, although she only has one friend and avoids mingling with her sorority sisters. She also seems independent and not a damsel-in-distress. With Isaac, I feel like I need to know more about him. Some memories shows a bit of his personality but not much. I think what he was and how he acted as Isaac Mason is different to who he really is. Joe.. well he intrigues me and I think we might see a love triangle in the future.

When I think about the theories and concepts discussed in this novel, it seems to blow my mind but the author managed to included Physics without giving us information overload. She used it to the minimum while providing enough explanation.

A part of the conclusion of this book reminded me of the Delirium trilogy (a world beyond the fence), but I hope my heart won't break with the assumed love triangle.

Overall, Stitch is an intriguing, mind-boggling and unique novel that would pull you and make you keep on turning the pages. This first book actually feels like a major prologue to a big bang and I'm excited for that.

Top 5 Things I Love About Being an (Indie) Author by Samantha Durante

I recently published my first novel, Stitch, and though I’m still new at this whole “author” thing, it’s really been a dream come true! To celebrate, here are the top five things I LOVE about being an author (so far!), in no particular order:


1. Total empowerment.

There were a lot of reasons I decided to go the indie route when publishing Stitch, but by far the main one is that I’m a bit of a control freak and I really liked the idea of having final say over every little detail of my book. I worked with an artist to design the cover, devoted painstaking hours to formatting the e-book versions, and made the final decision about every word, every punctuation mark, and every plot twist. While this is a little scary (after all, I know there are people out there who can do all of these things far better than me!), it also means that the success of my book lies solely on my shoulders… And therefore, as long as I’m willing to put in the work (which I am!), I know my book will do well!


2. My book IS me.

Following with #1, since I didn’t have to get sign-off from a publisher, I could write about whatever I wanted, even a genre-bending thriller that combined paranormal romance and dystopian sci-fi in one (yes, one!) book. I pulled in ghost lore, super-geeky spacetime physics, post-apocalyptic scenarios, a biological pandemic, and of course, a kick-ass female protagonist and sexy-but-sensitive male lead. And yes, the fact that my book does not fit squarely into one genre makes it kind of difficult to market (which is why the traditional publishing industry would be wary of it), but it is full of the things I love. And since – as an independent author – I have the exclusive right to decide what gets published under my name, the fact that I was excited about my book and believed in it was all that mattered.


3. Quick delivery to readers.

The other big factor that drove me to go indie was the ability to get my book to market QUICKLY. It can take months – even years – for a first time author (going the traditional route) to find an agent and a publisher and go through the editing and revision and publication process. Even though part of me wanted the validation of having credible industry professionals sign-off on my work before it went to the public, a bigger part of me just REALLY wanted to share my book with readers NOW (and the thought of waiting that long to get my book out was like a knife to the gut!). By publishing the book myself, I was able to get it to readers only weeks after it was done, instead of months/years (and now that readers are clamoring for part two of the trilogy, I’m really glad that I’ll be able to get it to them as soon as I can!).

4. Bloggers, bloggers, bloggers.

WOW. I have never met a more supportive and encouraging community of people than the world of book bloggers. Since I am doing all my marketing myself (notice a theme here? :-), I’ve been in personal contact with literally hundreds of bloggers since my book and blog tour launched a few months ago, and each and every one of them has absolutely blown me away. There’s just been an incredible outpouring of assistance and enthusiasm from the blogging community, and I feel SO grateful to have made contact with all of these amazing people. Thank you SO MUCH to all of the bloggers who have helped me promote Stitch! You guys are amazing!!


5. Reader commentary!

Last but CERTAINLY not least are the readers themselves! It has been just INCREDIBLE to share Stitch with so many people and to hear their feedback and see them getting excited about the story the same way I am. Stitch is definitely a different sort of book, and I have to say, even though I knew I loved the story, I didn’t know if most readers would feel the same. So when 4- and 5-star reviews started popping up all over the internet, you can only imagine how gratifying that felt! I’ve read every review that’s been posted online and it always makes my day to hear that someone enjoyed the book. I’m SO indebted to every reader who’s taken the time to read and talk about Stitch! Nothing is more motivating than passionate fans who are itching for the next installment – I can’t WAIT to get started on the next one for you guys!

About the Author:

Samantha Durante lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband, Sudeep, and her cat, Gio. Formerly an engineer at Microsoft, Samantha left the world of software in 2010 to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams and a lifelong love of writing. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, Samantha is currently working full time for her company Medley Media Associates as a freelance business writer and communications consultant. Stitch is her first novel.

Know more about Samantha on her website.

Twitter |  Author Facebook Page | Goodreads | LibraryThing | Shelfari

Stitch (Facebook Page) | Stitch (Goodreads) | Stitch (Library Thing) | Stitch (Shelfari)

It's giveaway time!

Stitch Swag Pack (US ONLY)

- a signed print copy of Stitch

- Stitch long-sleeve t-shirt

- one-of-a-kind signed Stitch bookmark

- $5 Amazon gift card

E-Swag Pack (INTERNATIONAL)

- eBook copy of Stitch

- Autograph digital signature

- one-of-a-kind print-your-own Stitch bookmark

- $5 Amazon gift card

Enter the giveaway HERE!

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