Promo: Miss Mabel's School for Girls by Katie Cross

Let's welcome Katie Cross to the blog to celebrate the release of her YA fantasy, Miss Mabel's School for Girls, which releases March 27th, 2014!
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For me, writing a book involved a lot of staring at a computer screen, slapping the delete button, pulling my
hair out, and Pinterest.

Oh, yes. You heard right. Pinterest.

The power of Pinterest comes from the images. I always find photos that I want to remember and have access to, so I pin them to a board for later reference. So, I thought to myself, Hey, I'm releasing my first book, Miss Mabel's School for Girls. Why don't I give the readers something to look at in anticipation of the book?

So instead of a boring interview where I talk about how great I am, I'm here today to take you on a visual tour to give you a few ideas of what you can expect to find in this exciting new young adult fantasy novel, Miss Mabel's School for Girls.

Wrought iron fence:
There's a wrought iron fence around the outside of the ancient manor that is Miss Mabel's School for Girls much like this one. It's known for creaking in the wind.

Potions bottles:
Potion bottles hold oh-so-many possibilities. Witches love potions, and the witches in Miss Mabel's School

for Girls are no exception. These particular bottles contain a variety of spices and herbs, all of which you can win during the launch giveaway March 27th-30th!

Peacock feather:
Miss Mabel loves peacock feathers. They represent beauty and vanity: her two favorite virtues.

Green mossy tree:
Miss Mabel's School is located in Letum Wood, a lush, expansive forest that hides many secrets. Some of these secrets catch up with Bianca Monroe, our sixteen-year-old heroine, in the dark of the night.

Trees/forest:
This is another view of Letum Wood as you'll expect to find it in the summer. It's lush, gorgeous, and a little on the dangerous side.

Old book photo:
A grimoire is a book filled with magical spells, a kind of magical diary passed through generations. This grimoire is available to win during the launch day giveaway! Head over to www.missmabels.com to find out how you can participate.

Hopefully these photos gave you an idea of the exciting adventure you'll find in Miss Mabel's School for Girls! Now, get your Pinterest on and start spreading the word! Visit www.missmabels.com to find out how to enter the giveaway and win lots of free stuff!

About the Book:

Never underestimate the power of a determined witch.

Letum Wood is a forest of fog and deadfall, home to the quietly famous Miss Mabel’s School for Girls, a place where young witches learn the art of magic.

Sixteen-year-old Bianca Monroe has inherited a deadly curse. Determined to break free before it kills her, she enrolls in the respected school to confront the cunning witch who cast the curse: Miss Mabel.

Bianca finds herself faced with dark magic she didn’t expect, with lessons more dangerous than she could have ever imagined. Will Bianca have the courage to save herself from the curse, or will Miss Mabel’s sinister plan be too powerful?

Miss Mabel’s School for Girls is the first novel in The Network Series, an exciting new fantasy collection. A gripping tale about the struggle to survive, it will take you to a new place and time, one you’ll never want to leave.

Website |  Facebook  |  Pinterest  |  Goodreads  | Amazon

About the Author:

My world revolves around my husband (who is a major hottie), my Vizsla's, and the mountains.

I wear hiking boots instead of heels when I need to feel powerful, and on a bad day, I love a weightlifting workout. Actually, I love it on a good day.

I don't eat bread because my thyroid doesn't like it, although there are days I miss it. Especially ciabatta. Sweet potatoes are kind of my thing. Cookies too.

I write because I never stopped.

Visit me at www.kcrosswriting.com

Giveaway:

Go to www.missmabels.com and click on the 'giveaway' tab for more information. Enter to win a potions chest, an apothecary bag of herbs and spices, an old spell book that opens to hide apothecary herbs, amazon gift cards, and more! The giveaway lasts from March 27th at 7am to March 30th at 10 pm

Promo: Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy (+My Bucket List)

Hey guys! So in honor of the upcoming release of Side Effects My Vary by Julie Murphy (more info below), I've been asked to help by sharing my bucket list, either of completed items or of things that are still on my list. Now, I don't actually have a running bucket list or anything, but there are some things I've always wanted to do. Some I've achieved, and some I haven't, so this is my way of sharing one or two of those things.

Completed

1. Play at Carnegie Hall--It is the dream of many musicians to play at Carnegie Hall. I've been fortunate enough to have played there not once, but at least 2 or 3 times. No, I'm not that good at the violin, but the youth orchestra I was a member of played there, so hey! (I promise I'm in the picture, somewhere in that mess. Hehe.)

2. Go to a book expo--Sadly, it was not BEA (Dang it! I WILL GO ONE DAY), but it was actually in Brazil, which was really cool. This was before I was a blogger, and it wasn't as fun as it could have been because almost all the books were in Portuguese, and I'm not that good at reading and understanding Portuguese.

3. Go horse-back riding--I'm kinda scared, but I've always thought it'd be fun, and I assumed correctly!

4. Go zip-lining--I don't have any pictures, so you'll have to take my word for it, but I'm pretty it was ziplining. I actually know the word in Portuguese but anyway. Climbing the tower thing to get to the platform at the top is still one of the scariest moments of my life thus far (don't laugh at me), but I did it, and it was so much fun (zip-lining, not climbing up that thing)!

5. Go to competition for dance/get onto the competition team for my dance school--After years of dreaming about it, I've finally gotten onto the competition team for my dance school. I'm beyond happy, and we did really well at our first competition. The picture below isn't the greatest but a) the professional pictures haven't arrived yet and b) I don't want to include someone's picture here if they don't want me to put it on here so.

6. Go to a concert--I've been to two, but I only have pictures on my computer from one of them. The first concert was for The Goo Goo Dolls because my aunt had an extra ticket. I still don't know many of their songs, but Switchfoot opened for them (I didn't know who they were at the time), and the lead singer actually climbed right over me (he put out his hand so that I could help him over), and then stood like two feet away, albeit facing away from me, and sang. That was pretty cool. But the second concert was even more amazing. My best friend and I went to The Wanted's GMA concert a while back. We were so close to being in the front, and we almost got to meet Max. It was just so amazing to be there, especially with my best friend. I didn't even mind waking up at 4:00 to go. 

7. Finish the first draft of a novel--NaNoWriMo 2013. That's all I have to say.

There are so many other things that have been checked off of my hypothetical Bucket List, but I think it's time to move on to the ones that have yet to be completed.

Still on the Bucket List

1. Travel all over the world, starting with some US states and then starting in Europe--Old and historic cities fascinate me, and they are just so amazing to me. I got to go to Quebec City this past summer, and I just fell in love. I love the atmosphere and air of being in an old, historic city, and that would probably be #2 on my list of places to live. (I'm a city girl, and I think NYC would have to be #1.)

2. Go to a midnight premiere of a movie--I was so close yet so far from going to the midnight premiere for the final Harry Potter movie, and I was devastated when I wasn't able to go. D:

3. Go to BEA--I don't think this needs to be explained.

4. Be published someday--I tell myself this will never happen, but I'm holding out on the hope that it'll happen.

5. Meet all of my online friends face-to-face, including/especially one of my best friends in the whole wide world--No explanation needed, I think.

6. Go to all the Harry Potter movie locations and meet the Harry Potter cast and meet J.K. Rowling and just all things Harry Potter--Again, no explanation needed.

7. Find a job that I love--Right now, my dream job is to work at the UN, but I've heard mixed things about working there, so I'm leaving this open right now. Besides, maybe I'll still change what I believe I'll major in. :)

8. Go to a movie or TV show set--How awesome would that be???

9. Write a screenplay/script/musical/something--My friend and I are thinking of adapting a book into a musical, but our plans have been pushed back, so we'll see!

10. Be happy and content and love myself through and through--I'm putting this on the still on the bucket list side because I think the bad days currently still outweigh the good, and I'd like that to change some day.

I didn't mean to end off on a sad note, but I hope this bucket list gave you a little bit more insight into who I am, what I wish for, what I love, and my experiences. Please feel free to share some of your bucket list items in the comments below!

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Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy

Publisher: HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray

Release Date: March 18th, 2014

What if you’d been living your life as if you were dying—only to find out that you had your whole future ahead of you?

When sixteen-year-old Alice is diagnosed with leukemia, her prognosis is grim. To maximize the time she does have, she vows to spend her final months righting wrongs—however she sees fit. She convinces her friend Harvey, whom she knows has always had feelings for her, to help her with a crazy bucket list that’s as much about revenge (humiliating her ex-boyfriend and getting back at her arch nemesis) as it is about hope (doing something unexpectedly kind for a stranger and reliving some childhood memories). But just when Alice’s scores are settled, she goes into remission.

Now Alice is forced to face the consequences of all that she’s said and done, as well as her true feelings for Harvey. But has she done irreparable damage to the people around her, and to the one person who matters most?

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound

About the Author: Julie Murphy

Julie lives in North Texas with her husband who loves her, her dog who adores her, and her cat who tolerates her. When she's not writing or trying to catch stray cats, she works at an academic library. Side Effects May Vary is Julie's debut novel. 

Website | Tumblr | Twitter

Promo: Vitro by Jessica Khoury (Corpus Giveaway)

Hey, guys! So this is a heads-up about a really cool giveaway happening right now. Of course, I would hope you'd ignore this, so that I would have a great chance of winning, but alas, I think this is really cool, and it's such a fun way to promo the book, Vitro. I have to admit I haven't read Origin yet, but Jessica Khoury is really cool, and this is a great opportunity. You are guaranteed 4 prizes regardless (well, if you complete certain requirements), and you can be entered to win some really awesome prizes.

Take Me There!

Good luck!