*Blog Tour* Dies Irae Novella (Requiem Series, .5) by Christine Fonseca with Giveaway

For my stop on the tour I have an excellent Guest post from Christine! and away you go...

Top 5 Movies I LOVE ( And That Have Also Inspired My Writing)

I love movies—the music, the cinematography, the story. Everything. And movies have played a huge role in my writing, from inspiring a story, to providing a soundtrack for my writing, to giving me a visual on a sword battle. So, when I was asked by Heather to list my top five movies, it was much harder than I thought.
But I managed it. Sort of. Here are my top five movies (at least the top five to inspire the writing of this series)


1. BATMAN BEGINS and DARK KNIGHT– What epic films! Great characters, deep emotions, a great lesson in “crazy”. FABULOUS.


2. INCEPTION – I loved the concept of this movie, and the way the storyline was crafted, leaving you slightly unsure in the end. GREAT!


3. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN – Another great, sweeping, storyline. I loved the dynamic of the three main characters, and the development of Jack Sparrow overall.
(**I’m sure you’re seeing a theme in the kind of stories I like, aren’t you?!?)


4. STAR TREK (the new one) – Yes, many of my die-harder trekkie friends want to KILL me now; But dude, seriously. This was BRILLIANT. The opening scene captured my heart from the beginning, and kept me throughout the rest of the film. THAT is what I want to do when I write. Not to mention Nero’s tats totally inspired some things in the series.


5. HARRY POTTER 7 – Yes, I will admit it, I am a die-hard HP fan. And while I enjoyed most of the movies, HP7 was absolutely my favorite. Recently, I watched parts one and two back to back – EPIC. This was another great lesson in story crafting.
There are a ton more movies I love, but these are ones that have helped shape my approach to crafting stories, the Requiem series in particular.

Some sacrifices should never be made—even for love.


Mikayel lives by one rule—obey the orders of the angelic Council at all costs. That is, until he and his friends, Azza and Demi, are sent to Earth. Assigned as Watchers while they await their decision of which angelic order to serve, the three assume the bodies of teenagers and experience life as human.


The sensations are overwhelming as the angels experience a host of human emotions—rage, terror, love—and come ever closer to breaking one of the unbreakable rules—never fall in love.


But being human isn’t the only problem facing the three angels. Unbeknownst to the Council, demonic activity is on the rise, threatening to break a tenuous peace that has existed for a millennia; a peace Azza seems bent on destroying.


Caught in a struggle for power with unseen demonic forces and Azza, and fighting against his rising emotional attachment to Demi, Mikayel must now decide how much he is willing to sacrifice for his new found love—a decision that could reignite an ancient war and will threaten the only thing that matters to the angels, the survival of humanity.

Review:

I liked this book. I was however not totally in love with it like I normally am what I read, I will tell you why...

First let me start off with what I liked: That cover is beautiful! It conveys so much of what this is about. I also liked the premise of it. The writing is great and I liked that it is guy(s) POV.

Now...It's not that I didn't like the characters but I just did not connect with them like I wanted to. This could totally be my fault, but I just kept waiting for something to jump out at me and make me care either way what was going to happen with them. This makes me really sad. I enjoy the connection. I don't want to delve into the characters because you should definitely give this a read! I will be checking out Requiem Series #1 when it's released though.

Giveaway!! How about an e-copy for you and one for a TEEN you know!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review of Vala Agendas by J.F. Jenkins

Vala Agendas

By J.F Jenkins

Blurb:


Cheyenne Loveless was just a boring sixteen-year-old girl. Then Denver Collins bit her and everything changed. Her plants start talking to her, she finds out she’s a Nymph, and a witch and the angel of death show up at her doorstep to take her away to the prestigious Vala School and Seminary. Oh, and she has no choice in the matter.


All she wants to do is blend in and return to being invisible, but the more time that passes, the harder that becomes. Plus she’s a daughter of the Divine, an exclusive secret society which rules the world of myth, and discovers she is a key ingredient to an ancient covenant created before she was born. A covenant that will reshape the order of the world.


Adjusting to a new school is difficult enough, but adding on everyone else’s hidden agendas is the icing on the cake. Cheyenne must learn to see through the lies in order to find her place — and possibly even love — in this new world.


Links:
Amazon Barnes and Noble Astraea Press

Review: 

I really loved this book! Great world to get yourself lost in. There are still questions I want/need answers to!

Cheyenne doesn't stick out..she is just a normal 16 yr. old girl. Well NOT so...she get's bitten by hottie Denver and learns she is a Nymph. This is why I love her because while learning all of this, she doesn't just take it and roll. She asks questions, gets mad, throws a fit just like a 16 yr old! She does grow into her new self as time goes on and things happen. 

Denver...Mysterious, Dangerous, and well hottie. I really didn't want to like him but yeah I do. I really need to know exactly what he is up to though ahhhh!

Anj & Zes are just WOW yeah twins squeee. Anj is the outgoing, confident one. Blind as he is well, he can see what others can't. I think he is someone I would love to have around.

Zes....swoon. Yeah he is almost the opposite of his twin but alone away from a group he can show how he feels. Totally fell for this shy guy who is very  loyal and caring.

I know I'm leaving out people I wanted to talk about but you just need to get the book and read all about the amazing people and the great world J.F. Jenkins has created here! It's an enjoyable journey :)

Promo Stop on Walking with Shadows By Julieanne Lynch

Walking with Shadows

By Julieanne Lynch 

“Walking with Shadows” is the second of The Shadows trilogy, an urban fantasy of vampires and the supernatural, and much, much more.


Giselle regains consciousness and is horrified to discover she has been asleep for nine weeks. She was already aware that she was carrying a very special baby who was to be the first of a new race of vampires, but she is shocked to find how her pregnancy is progressing. Around her, the underworld is in turmoil.
Vampires battle with creatures of darkness and with other vampires, and few are entirely what they seem. More confusing still, those who appeared to be totally evil may have a streak of goodness in them, and those who appeared to be Giselle’s friends may have a darker purpose of their own. Almost anyone, it seems, can be changed and turned, except possibly Ysoriel the Archangel and the goddess Lilith, and Giselle cannot be sure that even they are interested only in her welfare.


The only certainty is that it will all become very much worse before it begins to get better – if anything ever gets better for Giselle.

** Publisher’s note: Not recommended for readers under 15 years of age.

Excerpt : 

COPYRIGHT Julieanne Lynch/2011

The smell was the first thing that triggered the memories of my time held in the cell. A damp, musty, hot scent that burned the back of my nose brought me back to reality and face to face with him. He watched me as I was led towards him. His eyes glared at me and inspected every inch of my body and swollen abdomen.
Smiling, he stood up and mocked me by bowing at my feet.
“The illustrious queen returns,” he shouted. “The shadow queen herself stands before us. We must rejoice.”
Inside, my heart thumped hard against my chest and my baby moved, brushing limbs against the inside of my womb. Silently, I prayed to Lilith, and to anyone who would save me. How I regretted leaving Ysoriel and walking into this trap.
“Giselle, I knew you would come to me. I could sense the darkness in you the very first time I saw you. You may be a picture of innocence on the outside, but inside you are dead and cold just like the rest of us. Welcome home.” He brushed his hand against the side of my face, smiling, as his eyes, yellow and feral, stared hard into mine. The same sinister eyes I had seen in my dream.
He took me by the hand and led me away from Mara and Bernael, taking me into a large oak lined room and closed the door behind us. I stood frozen, trying to control my breathing.
The urge to scream was almost uncontrollable, but something inside stopped me. Instead, I looked ahead, focusing my gaze on a bizarre portrait that hung over the wrought iron fireplace. It was unusually misplaced in a world that was anything but calm. A brown haired woman stood by a large chestnut tree, her limbs were pale and lithe, and her face was beautiful. Her dark blue eyes focused on the small child next to her, and the child looked up at her with total love.
I was so fixed on the image of the mother and child that I had not noticed the roar of the fire, until the screams caught my attention. I tried to shield my ears from the screams so piercing that I almost fell to my knees, but slowly they died, as did the flames.
Laughing, Xavier rubbed his hands together and sat down in a large, ornate chair. Running his nails along the arm, he let out a deep breath, and sighed.
“Another soul damned. I do enjoy these moments. It fills my,” he thumped his chest, “with so much joy.” Then his eyes turned cold and mean.
“Why have you brought me here?” I asked, controlling the tremble in my voice.
“Dearest Giselle, need I really point out the obvious factors to your return?”
“But I don’t belong here. I just want to return to my old life.”
“Your old life, my dear child, is a thing of the past. Look at it as being a decayed memory, something distorted, and, given time, you will soon forget the ways of the old and embrace the ways of the new.” He smiled at me.
From deep inside me, I could feel a surge of something creeping to the surface. A rush of adrenaline ran through me, and before I could think about what I was saying, it came out.
“I think you mistake me for the simpering little girl from before.” I walked over to him. “But you see, people change, and I have seen so much in the past few months that you no longer scare me.”
“Now this, this is the fighting talk of a queen,” he said exuberantly.
“What?”
“I knew it from the first moment I set my eyes on you, that you were worthy of the crown.”
I stepped back from him and shook my head. “No, I will not be a goddamned queen. I refuse to take a part of this bloody freak show any longer. I demand you return me back to Antoine, now.”
He approached me and placed his hands on either side of my abdomen.
Breathing heavily into my face, he looked down at my swollen baby bump and smiled. “You will not be going anywhere for a long time my dear.”
From behind me I could hear movement, and as I turned round, two dark silhouettes took a firm hold of my arms and held me still. Xavier stepped in closer to me, and grabbed me by my chin.
“You would be a foolish girl to try anything stupid. There will be no rescues, no saviours, nothing. You are here for good, and once you give birth to the child, you will be reborn. The sooner you accept this, the easier it will be for both you and the child when the time comes to hand him over to the Nightwalkers,”
“What? No... No one is taking my child from me,” I spat at him.
“A deal is a deal, little dark one.”
“Oh my God, there is no way in hell you are taking my baby from me,” I screamed as I struggled to break free from the grip of the shadows.
“Ah, but you see, you are in hell, and it’s the way of hell,” he laughed. “Take her below,” he instructed the two shadows holding me.
I pulled against them and managed to free my arm. I went to hit him, but before my eyes he evaporated and then appeared again in front of me, smiling. “Silly little half-breed,” he snarled at me, and took hold of my neck and pushed me forward.
Remembering the time I had been kept here, I knew there was no point in resisting. I walked on through the dimly lit corridor, hearing the familiar sounds of faint screams and pleading. Gritting my teeth, I fought against the urge to shout an array of obscenities at my guards. Instead, I focused on the tunnel and the light at the end. Stepping down to avoid my head hitting the beam above me, I was led down a narrow spiral staircase.
I was surprised to be met by Mara. She smiled gleefully at me, unaware of how much I hated her at that precise moment, and if it had not been for my ‘delicate constitution’ I would have lunged at her and ripped her head off. So, dreaming of a time that I would carry out that thought had to be enough for me and enough to take me through the awful situation.
“Giselle, you seem flushed,” she commented. “Maybe you ought to rest. A woman in your condition must take all the rest she can get. Come, we have prepared refreshments in your chamber.”
Mara was tall, with the longest blonde curls I had ever seen, but she looked like a shadow of what she might have been in another life. Her pale skin and dark circles reminded me of how dreadful you become when you cross over to the darkness. She seemed to move as though she was floating on air. Her long flowing silk dress covered her feet, but it hung low on her back, revealing thick red scars around her shoulder blades, and continued down to the centre of her spine, only stopping where the dress covered her lower back.
We followed her until we came to a set of doors. She clapped her hands and one of the guards released his grip on me and moved to the door, opening it for us to enter.
“Come,” Mara instructed me.
Inside me, the familiar feelings of nerves and queasiness overcame me, and I felt my heart pound in my chest. I was astonished at what met me when I walked into the room.
The room was like something out of a period drama. The walls were covered in red flocked wallpaper, the hardwood floor covered by an oriental styled rug, and, to my surprise, two large windows were dressed with heavy swags and thick layers of suedette and lace. A large ornate fire surround had candelabra on both ends, and a clock sat on the mantle, chiming.
I stood in the centre of the room, trying to take it all in. This was nothing like the conditions I had been kept in before. This was opulent, and that confused me, but before I could say anything someone from behind me cleared his throat, and, turning around, I was met by an unfamiliar man.

About the Author:

Fiery Librian Julieanne Lynch is an author of urban fantasy books for both adults and teens. Originally from Northern Ireland, Julieanne now lives in Ireland, where she works on her Shadows Trilogy and other series full-time. Before becoming a writer, she considered a few different career paths, a rock star being one of them. She studied English Literature and Creative Writing at The Open University, and considered journalism as a career path. However, she decided writing was the way for her and believes all of her education and reading prepared her for it.

An avid reader, Julieanne has always had an encompassing fascination with folklore. When not writing, she enjoys crime series such as Criminal Minds, CSI, NCIS and Cold Case, and loves anything with Vampires, listening to metal, meeting new people, drinking lots of green tea, and sharing her dreams with her children. She is a self-professed goth wanna-be,and is happy when left to write into the early hours of the morning.

Find Julieanne online:

http://www.julieannelynch.co.uk/

http://www.julieannelynch.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Julieanne-Lynch/147566121974789

Review of On The Bright Side S.R Johannes Tour Stop

Welcome to my stop on the Tour! 

I have a Guest Post and Review for ya..

Publisher:
Coleman & Stott

On the Bright Side is a hilarious road to guardian angeldom paved with so much drama and due-paying that it makes middle school look painless.


As if the devil’s food cake at her wake and the white fat pants she’s stuck wearing for eternity weren’t bad enough, fourteen year-old Gabby is quick to discover that Cirrus, the main rung of Heaven, is a far cry from the Pearly Gates. Here, Skyphones and InnerNets are all the rage. Until Gabby finds out she has to protect Angela, her school nemesis, in order to move up through the training levels of heaven. Problem is, Angela is now hitting on Gabby's should-have-been boyfriend. (awkward!)


Instead of protecting Angela, Gabby pranks her (like tripping is a sin?) at the hopes of cooling off the new couple. At first, they seem harmless until the school dance sabotage gets completely out of control. Then, her Celestial Sky Agent, who happens to have anger management issues of his own, puts Gabby on probation, threatening her eternal future. 


Determined to right her wrongs, Gabby steals an ancient artifact that allows her to return to Earth for just one day. Without knowing, she kicks off a series of events and learns what can happen when you hate someone to death.

Paperback will be available in Feb.

To buy the Kindle ebook - The ebook is .99 for the first month and can be purchased at amazon or B&N for now.

Book Trailer:

http://faeriality.blogspot.com/2010/01/on-bright-side-trailer.html

Guest Post from S.R. Johannes:

Making Strong Girls Real


I tend to write feisty girl characters. I don’t know why it ends up that way. Maybe it says something about me. I am pretty feisty and outspoken. And just like my characters - with me – it’s pretty much what you see is what you get. I feel very strongly about “The Power Of One” so my characters are usually going up against a larger system that they think is unfair in some way – big or small.


Making strong girl’s feel real is the hard part. They can be tough, but they still have to be relatable and lovable.


In Untraceable, Grace fights town authorities and tribe officials. She openly goes against their requests (or demands) to let her investigation on her father’s disappearance go. She goes with her gut and is willing to accept the consequences. Yet Grace has a soft side. Her vulnerability is shown through with her feelings for her dad and her mom. I think you hurt for the confusion and unfairness in her life, even though she tries not to complain about it. She is also very vulnerable when it comes to nature, she would do anything to fight for the environment and animals. Including risking her life without stopping to think about it. Yet, she tries to pretend she isn’t the slightest bit “weak” or sensitive. I think that internal struggle to stand strong when really she just wants to crumble makes her endearing.


In On The Bright Side, Gabby struggles with her situation and thefact that it isn’t “fair”. She does a great job at having a ‘woe is me’ mentality mixed with “grass is greener on the other side” for part of the book. Her main struggle is that she is jealous so she lashes out by challenging authority figures and new rules. She is tough in that she does what she wants, knowing the trouble she could be in. She goes with her emotions and therefore loses her way for about ½ of the book. But in the end, she digs deep when she has to and turns it around (even though she ends up putting all of heaven and earth in great peril :).


Gabby is grumpy and mischievous (which I find funny since she is an angel) yet you feel sorry for her because she died and shouldn’t have. She wants to follow the rules but her heart leads her (which is strange b/c she has no heart – she’s dead after all). Her silly antics and the way she looks at life (and death) is too funny, which allows us to laugh at a deeper topic - death.


Gabby was much tougher to write than Grace. I struggled with the tween voice at first. I think I am much more comfortable doing teen. You see (and I know this make come as a big shocker! :) – I too am snarky (waits for gasps of shock). Snarky can be misinterpreted at bitchy sometimes. And having a snarky tween is tough because middle graders are reading your book and they are often not as grumpy or rebellious as teens may be. There is a huge difference between 10 and 14. So I struggled with how to make Gabby funny yet disgruntled, while still making sure she wasn’t too whiny or mean.

Thanks so much! I love getting inside info on how you all come up with great compelling characters!

Review: 

*I got a little long with this one*

What a great tween book! It's funny, refreshing and you will feel right there with Gabby!

I will be telling my kids school they HAVE to add this for the middle grades books. "tweens" will love it, it has everything I remember from being that age. Besties, jealousy, trying to do the right thing.

Gabby is a great girl. She is loyal, strong, and caring...and also I found her very funny. While she is in training well she gets everything all messed up and needs to fix it. This helps her grow as a person and you will love her.

Jessica is amazing! She is such a great friend and the "voice of reason" in the relationship trying to guide Gabby. 

Michael ... this poor boy. I feel his pain. At any age it's hard to loose someone. I think he does a great job at being Gabby' best friend.

Angela... Well she is one of "those" girls from school. Who has it all and wants more, esp. what everyone else has. But is there more? READ THIS BOOK

Very well written characters. Each is brought to life in their own unique way and Johannes does this wonderfully! The world she has created in this story ... well I want to visit that and play with the SKYfone and all the other cool gadgets!! 

Cover Reveal : Lucid by P.T. Michelle *a Brightest Kind of Darkness book*

Welcome to the Cover Reveal of..

Lucid * A Brightest Kind of Darkness book*

by P.T. Michelle

Is that not beautiful? I am so excited for this book! I loved The Brightest Kind of Darkness. My review for it can be found here...

Find P.T. Michelle on the Web: 

Twitter | Facebook | Website | Goodreads