YA Paranormal Hop Giveaway!

February 21st to 27th
Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & YA Between the Lines

Thank you for stopping by and checking out my giveaway! I'm so excited for the opportunity to participate in this blog hop and offer a lucky winner one of the fantastic YA paranormal books listed below.

On to the books...

Evie's always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours.

But Evie's about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.
~Go to the entire Goodreads description of Paranormalcy by Kiersten White




When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy...
~Go to the entire Goodreads description of City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Romance was not part of Nora Grey's plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment...
~Go to the entire Goodreads description of Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever...

~Go to the entire Goodreads description of Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl







Here are the official rules/guidelines for the giveaway:

1. You must be a follower of this blog. Just click the Join this Site box below "Followers" on the sidebar.
2. You can gain extra entries by following me on Goodreads, Twitter,"liking" my Facebook fan page, tweeting about this giveaway, or leaving a comment below.
3. This is open to international followers. (Only if The Book Depository ships to your country; please check this link to see if your country's included.)
4. This contest runs from February 21 - 27.
5. The winner will be selected on February 28th via Rafflecopter random selection and announced in this post. You will have 48 hours to respond or I will draw another winner. 

***As the winner, if you are just dying to get another YA book, then you may substitute one of the books listed above for another of similar value from The Book Depository***

Thanks Again & Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Also, make sure to check out the other blogs participating in this Giveaway Hop, too!

The "Overcoming Adversity" Bloghop

This bloghop was organized by Nick Wilford @ Scattergun Scribblings. The entries will be compiled into an anthology to help raise money for his son to attend a specialist college. Please visit Nick's blog and check out the other entries in the bloghop.Thank you for reading.

Flight

Two men in uniform lifted me from my wheelchair and gently placed me onto one of four bucket seats in the passenger area, buckling me in securely. The other passengers were already in their chairs, with palpable excitement reverberating off the walls of the cabin. We were all winners, chosen for a very special flight. I looked out the window at the launch pad, hardly able to believe I should be among them.

The captain’s voice came over the loudspeaker, welcoming us to Utopia. The engines kicked on and the whole ship pivoted upward, pushing me back in my seat. The launch pad was nearly gone, enveloped by thick smoke and sparks from the rockets. A teenage girl strapped into the seat across from me looked over, grinning widely with a mouth full of white braces. I couldn’t help but to smile back.

3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .

My hands shook as the rocket left the ground behind—and with it, all I’d been through since the accident, all the things the doctors said I’d never do again, and all the walls that had been thrown up around me. When the smoke cleared, the launch pad, the station, and the city were all within a circle no larger than a dime dropped in the grass. And then it was gone, swallowed up by the whole Earth as we left her behind, too.

Clouds swirled over the continents. City lights illuminated the side hiding from the sun. And we could see it all in one panoramic view. The sun smoldered in the nexus of the solar system, and the moon peeked shyly from behind its mother’s protective stance. A vast blanket of planets, stars, and galaxies stretched out forever, reaching for Heaven itself.

The captain announced we had reached our cruising altitude and we were free to move about the cabin. Everyone but me clapped and cheered. I had no idea where my wheelchair had been stored during the flight. I’d have to wait to be helped out of my—

The girl across from me hastily unbuckled herself and squealed as her chubby body floated out of her chair. The other two passengers also rose from their chairs and found themselves swimming through the air, flipping and twirling, dancing and laughing with gaiety I never believed I’d feel again.

I fumbled with my buckles, impatient to be released from the confines of my chair. The girl with braces glided by and extended her hand to me. I took it without question, and her momentum pulled me effortlessly from my chair. As soon as I was up, she let go of my hand; and I found myself soaring throughout the cabin with the other passengers—the other special winners. I reached the window with surprising ease and gazed out at the celestial perfection. The doctors said I’d probably never walk again, but they never said anything about flying. So I flew. 

End of the World Giveaway Hop!

December 14th to 21st
Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & My Life With Books

The Mayan calendar ends! Does it mean the world's going to end, too? Probably not, but just in case, which books would you like to save in the end? If the world is still here on December 22nd, then I'll be excited to offer a lucky winner one of the books listed below that I can't live without!

The summer holidays are dragging on and Harry Potter can't wait for the start of the school year. It is his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and there are spells to be learnt, potions to be brewed and Divination lessons (sigh) to be attended. Harry is expecting these: however, other quite unexpected events are already on the march ...
~Go to the entire Goodreads description of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling

Here is the highly anticipated second installment of Philip Pullman's epic fantasy trilogy, begun with the critically acclaimed The Golden Compass. Lyra and Will, her newfound friend, tumble separately into the strange tropical otherworld of Cittàgazze, "the city of magpies," where adults are curiously absent and children run wild. Here their lives become inextricably entwined when Lyra's alethiometer gives her a simple command: find Will's father...
~Go to the entire Goodreads description of The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman




A modern classic, "Carrie" introduced a distinctive new voice in American fiction -- Stephen King. The story of misunderstood high school girl Carrie White, her extraordinary telekinetic powers, and her violent rampage of revenge, remains one of the most barrier-breaking and shocking novels of all time. Make a date with terror and live the nightmare that is..."Carrie"
 ~Go to the entire Goodreads description of Carrie by Stephen King

 



Forgive me, but I had to save my own book, too! :)

Fifteen-year-old Oliver Grain begins his school year fighting off bullies, learning about the boy who committed suicide in his room, and trying to understand why his history teacher, Mr. Gordon, has taken such a personal interest in him.

Do you believe in ghosts? Do you believe you can make bullies simply disappear? Do you believe you can walk through walls?...
~Go to the entire Goodreads description of Provex City by Michael Pierce



Here are the official rules/guidelines for the giveaway:

1. You must be a follower of this blog. Just click the Join this Site box below "Followers" on the sidebar.
2. You can gain extra entries by following me on Goodreads, Twitter,"liking" my Facebook fan page, tweeting about this giveaway, or leaving a comment below.
3. This is open to international followers. (Only if The Book Depository ships to your country; please check this link to see if your country's included.)
4. This contest runs from December 14 - 21.
5. The winner will be selected on December 22nd via Rafflecopter random selection and announced in this post. You will have 48 hours to respond or I will draw another winner. 

***As the winner, if you are just dying to get another YA book, then you may substitute one of the books listed above for another of similar value from The Book Depository***

Thanks Again & Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Also, make sure to check out the other blogs participating in this Giveaway Hop, too!

Fall into Fantasy Bloghop Giveaway!

October 16th to 21th
Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & The Write Path

Thank you for stopping by and checking out my giveaway! I'm so excited for the opportunity to participate in this blog hop and offer a lucky winner one of the fantasy books listed below.

On to the books...

High in the Transylvanian woods, at the castle Piscul Draculi, live five daughters and their doting father. It's an idyllic life for Jena, the second eldest, who spends her time exploring the mysterious forest with her constant companion, a most unusual frog. But best by far is the castle's hidden portal, known only to the sisters. Every Full Moon, they alone can pass through it into the enchanted world of the Other Kingdom. There they dance through the night with the fey creatures of this magical realm...
~Go to the entire Goodreads description of Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

Times are hard in the mountain city of Fellsmarch. Reformed thief Han Alister will do almost anything to eke out a living for for his family. The only thing of value he has is something he can't sell - the thick silver cuffs he's worn since birth. They're clearly magicked - as he grows, they grow, and he's never been able to get them off.

One day Han and his clan friend, Dancer, confront three young wizards setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. Han takes an amulet from Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, to keep him from using it against them...
~Go to the entire Goodreads description of The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

 In a world where people born with an extreme skill - called a Grace - are feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of the skill even she despises: the Grace of killing. She lives under the command of her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and is expected to execute his dirty work, punishing and torturing anyone who displeases him.

When she first meets Prince Po, who is Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change...
 ~Go to the entire Goodreads description of Graceling by Kristen Cashore

What if every time you made a choice that had a significant consequence, a new, alternate reality was created — the life that would've been? What if those new Realities were in danger? What if it fell to you to save all the realities?
Atticus Higginbottom, a.k.a. Tick, is a regular thirteen-year-old boy living a regular life until the day a strange letter arrives in his mailbox. Postmarked from Alaska and cryptically signed with the initials "M.G.," the letter informs Tick that dangerous — perhaps even deadly — events have been set in motion that could result in the destruction of reality itself...
~Go to the entire Goodreads description of The 13th Reality by James Dashner


Here are the official rules/guidelines for the giveaway:

1. You must be a follower of this blog. Just click the Join this Site box below "Followers" on the sidebar.
2. You can gain extra entries by following me on Goodreads, Twitter,"liking" my Facebook fan page, tweeting about this giveaway, or leaving a comment below.
3. This is open to international followers. (Only if The Book Depository ships to your country; please check this link to see if your country's included.)
4. This contest runs from Oct 16 - 21.
5. The winner will be selected on October 22th via Rafflecopter random selection and announced in this post. You will have 48 hours to respond or I will draw another winner. 

***As the winner, if you are just dying to get another YA book, then you may substitute one of the books listed above for another of similar value from The Book Depository***

Thanks Again & Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Also, make sure to check out the other blogs participating in this Giveaway Hop, too!

First Kiss!

Thank you to Jackie: Bouquet of Books and Dani: Entertaining Interests for hosting the First Fight / First Kiss Blogfest! Now it is time for the First Kiss. As promised, the scene below is also from Provex City. It is during Desiree's Halloween party and Oliver gets his first kiss from Desiree's best friend, Anna. Enjoy!

Desiree handed Anna her mixed drink, and she took a sip immediately.

“Com’on Anna, let’s go outside. Let’s pick up where we left off,” Todd continued, seemingly unfazed from the previous rejection. Anna looked like a confused little girl, clutching her drink with both hands, not really sure which way to go. Todd held his hand out to coax Anna toward him.

“I dunno,” Anna said, lingering next to Desiree.

Desiree looked back at me with a silent fury and bulging eyes, gesturing to me with her facial expression to do something.

Anna took a step toward Todd, who was using any means necessary to lure her to him.

Without thinking, I took action. I walked right up behind Anna, wrapped my arms around her waist, and pulled her into me. I whispered in her ear, “Would you like to dance?”

She instantly spun around in my arms with a gleeful “Sure,” and rammed her lips into mine in front of everyone. Her fangs hit my teeth and nearly cut my lip. I was so startled I almost pulled back, but I was so excited I pushed through the initial pain. Anna must’ve felt it too because she quickly pulled back, ripped the fangs from her mouth, and planted her lips back on mine.

Desiree gasped at the unexpected scene, and I heard Anna’s cup once again hit the floor. I internally cringed from the sound of the ice mixed splash, which sprayed the back of my pants. My eyes darted to Desiree and then around the group of onlookers. It was nerve-racking to be sober and the center of attention, so I closed my eyes and pretended we were the only ones in the room.

The moment was everything. Our arms were tight around each other, pressing our bodies together so I could feel her heart sweetly speaking to mine. Our lips danced passionately together and our tongues met, shyly at first, but grew more comfortable as they caressed one another. My head swam with the thought that this wasn’t actually happening, but my body couldn’t deny that it was.

Anna suddenly broke away, breathing heavily, looking smitten, guilty, and shocked all at the same time. We were both speechless for a moment, though probably for different reasons, so we just looked at each other. The expression on her face changed when she realized she had dropped her nearly full drink on the floor. “Oh my God, Desiree, I’m so sorry!” Anna cried and fell to her knees in an attempt to pick up the empty cup.

“It’s okay,” Desiree said, already with a wad of paper towels in her hand. I helped Anna out of the spill and back onto her unsteady feet. Guiding Anna to take a few steps back, I wiped off her knees and helped Desiree clean the floor.

Eli and his friends, having had enough of the spectacle, disappeared into the backyard. Hopefully, it was time for their second set, and they would be occupied for a while.

“Desiree, I’m so sorry! I don’t know what got into me.” Anna stumbled backwards and plopped down in a chair at the kitchen table. Other groups of people gathered around the kitchen went back to their conversations. We’ll probably be the talk of the school on Monday. “But may I have another one?”

Thanks for reading! Now, be sure to check out these other blogs participating in First Fight / First Kiss.

Indie Author Giveaway Blog Hop!

June 13th to 19th
Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Krazy Book Lady

Thank you for stopping by and checking out my giveaway! I'm so excited for the opportunity to participate in this blog hop and offer three lucky winners paperback copies of my debut YA fantasy novel, Provex City. I know I just did the ebook giveaway, but if you were holding out for a paperback copy, then here's your chance! :)

Fifteen-year-old Oliver Grain begins his school year fighting off bullies, learning about the boy who committed suicide in his room, and trying to understand why his history teacher, Mr. Gordon, has taken such a personal interest in him.

Do you believe in ghosts? Do you believe you can make bullies simply disappear? Do you believe you can walk through walls?

Mr. Gordon tells Oliver: "When you truly believe anything is possible, you will be able to open doors where there were only walls." And one of those doors leads Oliver to Provex City, which puts him in far greater danger than he can possibly fathom.
                                                                                             ~Goodreads description of Provex City

Here are the official rules/guidelines for the giveaway:

1. You must be a follower of this blog. Just click the Join this Site box below "Followers" on the sidebar.You may follow through NetworkedBlogs.
2. You can gain extra entries by following me on Twitter, tweeting about the giveaway, friending me on Goodreads, and liking my Facebook fan page.
3. This is open to international followers.
4. Even though you don't gain an extra entry, feel free to comment below because I'd love to hear from you!
5. This contest runs from June 13th - 19th.
6. The two winners will be selected on June 20th via Rafflecopter random selection and announced in this post. You will have 48 hours to respond or I will draw another winner. 

Thanks Again & Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Also, make sure to check out the other blogs participating in this Giveaway Hop, too!

A Big Thank You and What's Coming Next!

Thank you for the well wishes  to Gwendolyn! I hope she sleeps tonight. It's been a long few days, and I'm trying my best not to get sick, too. But as Barney for How I Met Your Mother says:

Whenever I start feeling sick, I just stop feeling sick, and start feeling awesome instead. True story.

I hope it works. It's all in my head. Sorry If I'm not visiting as much over the next few days, but I will try my best. Now, onto bigger and better things.

Thank you for all the comments for my guest post on Alex's blog (and for leaving some here as well). It was awesome and a little overwhelming, I don't know how he gets to everyone...but I guess that's why he's the Ninja Captain. And thank you for helping make my Provex City giveaway a success! I was privileged to give away 1300 copies, and I hope many of those people will actually enjoy it. :) I almost made it to the Top 100 Free ebooks. My favorite number was #29 for Free Children's ebooks. I couldn't have done it without your help (my help? Yes, your help--I'm pointing at you!).

My 2012 Debut Author Blog Hop Giveaway is still going and has 2 more days, so enter to win a SIGNED copy of Michael Offutt's debut novel, Slipstream!

I received the 7x7 Link Award from C.M. Brown and the Lucky 7 Meme from Julie Flanders, last week. Thank so much for thinking of me and I will post about them next Monday. :)

This week I am also participating in the First Fight / First Kiss Blogfest hosted by Jackie: Bouquet of Books and Dani: Entertaining Interests. I will be using scenes from Provex City because it actually has both, how lucky for me! Tuesday is First Fight, and Thursday is First Kiss.

Lastly, I am doing one more Blog Hop Giveaway starting Wednesday for Indie Authors. I really didn't want to do two giveaway blog hops in a row, but this was my chance to offer the paperback of Provex City. So if you held out because you don;t like ebooks, then this is your chance.

Do I have enough going on? I don't have time to get sick. :) Happy Monday, everyone!

Lightning Flashed!

I found this Flash Fiction Blogfest yesterday and was really excited to participate. Thank you to Cherie Reich for hosting it!

Here are the rules:

1. Entries must begin with the two words: Lightning flashed.
2. Entries must be 300 words or less.
3. Entries must be posted on your blog between May 21 - 23.
4. You must sign up in the linky to have your entry counted.

My flash fiction clocks in at exactly 300 words (including the title)! I hope you enjoy it, and the links to the other awesome bloggers participating is posted below, so be sure to check them out!

Facing the Pane

Lightning flashed, and I wished I hadn’t been looking out the window when it did. For a split second, I saw her standing on the sidewalk facing my house, her carmine dress and stringy blond hair drenched and dripping from the rising storm. Then she was gone again, swallowed by the unforgiving darkness as thunder tolled ominously overhead.

I didn’t know her well, but I was there. Everyone at school knew what had happened, but only a few of us knew the truth. She had visited all the others in the group and now she was visiting me. I couldn’t peel myself away from the window, from her still silhouette.

When lightning flashed again, she appeared halfway up my front yard, her body deathly still, her eyes fixed on me. My hand shook as I clutched the curtain with white knuckles, but I couldn’t let it fall. I couldn’t let her out of my sight—even if all I could see was her spectral shadow standing slightly more than a striking distance away.

The next thunderclap shook the house. The storm was directly overhead. She was right here in front of me, shrouded, but I could still picture her clearly. I could still hear her screaming. I could still—

My muscles tensed involuntarily and sweat trickled down my face as I awaited the next flash. And when it came, where she had been stationed was once again empty. I leaned in closer, placed my free hand against the frosted pane, and scanned the yard. That was when I saw her statuesque figure slowly ascending my two front steps.

I waited for the lightning’s better half, but it didn’t come, only the fierce rapping of my final visitor at the front door.

Lightning flashed; the door swung open.

Kick-Butt Characters Giveaway Winners!!!

Thank you everyone who participated in my blog hop! I had a whole lot of fun and I hope you did, too. Now, it is the time you've all been waiting for - the time to announce the winners!

So please help me congratulate the winners of my Kick-Butt Characters Blog Hop:

WINNERS
Sarah Sparrow
Vickie Reljin
Mamabunny Shelor

RUNNER-UP WINNERS
Samantha Deen
Kaerah Lopez
Gabrielle
Gala
Gigi Coan
Andrea Williams
Stephanie Atwood
Irika
Brandi O'Bannon
Julie Le

***and all of you should have received an email from me already, so if for some reason you didn't, then please let me know***

 I hope many of you will come back to visit me again for more giveaways, and for news and updates on my young adult novel, Provex City. It is available now on Amazon for the Kindle and soon to be on Amazon in paperback. Thanks again and I'll see you around the blogosphere!

Kick-Butt Characters Giveaway Blog Hop!

March 23th to 28th
Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Good Choice Reading

Thank you for stopping by and checking out my giveaway! I'm so excited for the opportunity to participate in this blog hop and offer three lucky winners one of the five kick-butt character driven books listed below. Also, ten runner-up winners will receive a Kindle gift of my YA fantasy novel: Provex City. As an aside, I realize nearly everyone in the world has read The Hunger Games, but I just had to put it on here because Katniss is the quintessential kick-butt character and the movie opens today!

On to the books...

Everybody gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What could be wrong with that? Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time...
~Go to the entire Goodreads description of Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug...  
~Go to the entire Goodreads description of Graceling by Kristin Cashore

 

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls...
 ~Go to the entire Goodreads description of The Maze Runner by James Dashner

At the age of nine, Finnikin is warned by the gods that he must sacrifice a pound of flesh to save his kingdom. He stands on the rock of the three wonders with his friend Prince Balthazar and Balthazar's cousin, Lucian, and together they mix their blood to safeguard Lumatere...  
~Go to the entire Goodreads description of Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

 

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV...  
~Go to the entire Goodreads description of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Here are the official rules/guidelines for the giveaway:

1. You must be a follower of this blog. Just click the Join this Site box below "Followers" on the sidebar.
2. You can gain extra entries by following me on Twitter and/or tweeting about this giveaway.
3. This is open to international followers. (Only if The Book Depository ships to your country; please check this link to see if your country's included.)
4. Even though you don't gain extra entries, feel free to friend me on Goodreads, "like" my Facebook fan page, or leave a comment below because I'd love to hear from you!
5. This contest runs from March 23 - 28.
6. The three winners will be selected on March 29th via Rafflecopter random selection and announced in this post. You will have 48 hours to respond or I will draw another winner.
7. Ten runner-up winners will receive a Kindle gift of my YA novel, Provex City, through email.  

***As one of the three winners, if you are just dying to get another YA book, then you may substitute one of the books listed above for another of similar value from The Book Depository***

Thanks Again & Good Luck!

Last Day to Get Provex City FREE on Amazon!

Happy day after St. Patrick's Day! It's nice getting up on a day after a notorious drinking day not hung over. Who knew? It's all because of my two month old daughter. I feel too irresponsible being overly inebriated. And I'll be able to get work done today!

So today is the last day of my free Provex City weekend. This is your last chance to download it free on Amazon. Please take advantage of this awesome offer! I've been talking to a lot of people on Facebook and have already gotten over 350 downloads. For this weekend's Free Kindle book rankings, my best numbers were #29 on the list of Free Children's Fantasy/Sci-fi/Magic Kindle books and #83 on the list of Free Children's Kindle books. So I'm pretty stoked about that. Hopefully, most of the new people reading Provex City over the next week or two will enjoy it. But, that's a definite fear with having more people read what I've written. Criticism. I know it's the nature of the business. But before the thick skin really develops, it's hard.

I'm looking forward to the Kick-Butt Characters Giveaway Hop this coming weekend. I've already chosen the books I'm going to offer...but I can't announce them ahead of time. Where's the fun in that? :) I'm sure everyone associated with the YA blogoshere is looking forward to the opening of The Hunger Games on Friday. I'm so excited to see it, but will have to wait until we find a babysitter so my wife and I can get to the movies. I've never actually listened to Taylor Swift before, except for flipping through radio stations, but I do admit to liking her new song with The Civil Wars for The Hunger Games. The video's good, too.

If you get a chance today, please check out Provex City (there's a link on the left column). I want as many people as possible to take advantage of it being free. Tomorrow it goes back up to the whopping full price of $0.99. Why spend your hard earned money when you don't have to? I'm just looking out for you. It's time for me to get out from behind my laptop and enjoy some father daughter bonding time. Happy Sunday, everyone!

Slow and Steady, Steady and Slow

The blog hop was a lot of fun and now it's back to my regular routine for awhile. I've already signed up for a few more, so like a vacation, I've got things to look forward to. I've also joined the Insecure Writer's Support Group and looking into joining the A to Z April Blogging Challenge. It's fun finding these things while surfing through other blogs. It feels like that old game/show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. One link leads me to another, and then another, and I keep picking up clues--tips, groups to join, and people to meet. It is quite the virtual adventure.

Yesterday I reached 50,000 words on my second book on the Lorne Family Vault Series. I don't have a lot of time to write with my long days at work and a six-week-old baby at home, but I'm feeling good about the routine I've gotten into over the past month. I'm excited about the progress I'm making, even though it's slow--slow and steady wins the race in the end. It's a lot better than spending my time stressing about how I have no time to write, time spent stressing instead of writing. I'm excited to get a draft finished so I can have someone read it. With Provex City, I let my wife read each chapter as I finished it. I started the second book that way, but stopped it a few chapters in. I really want her to read it, so it is another way of keeping me motivated to stay focused and write faster.

Provex City is coming along. The paperback design with Createspace is going well, but just takes time. Hopefully, it should be ready in 6 weeks or so. The ebook will hopefully be ready much sooner than that. I've just been having complications with the company I'm going through to format it. I paid them to format the ebook and it seems like I'm having to reformat everything myself to get it to look the way I want it to. I wanted to have it ready this weekend, which isn't happening, but I am actively working on it. As long as I'm making progress, then I have something to be thankful for. Slow and steady, right? Right. It's time for more coffee.

YA Paranormal Activity Blog Hop Winner(s)!

Thank you everyone who participated in my first ever blog hop! I had a whole lot of fun and I hope you did, too. Now, it is the time you've all been waiting for - the time to announce the winner!

But wait...

Before I do, I have a little announcement. Halfway through this giveaway, I set a goal of reaching 150 followers. And if I reached that magical number, then I would also choose a "runner up" winner who would have the opportunity to receive one of the books presented in this giveaway. And with your help, I reached 154 followers! Thank you!

So please help me congratulate the winners of my YA Paranormal Activity Blog Hop:

Winner - Elizabeth Gomez

Runner Up - Miki

 I hope many of you will come back to visit me again for more giveaways and updates on my novel, soon to be out on Amazon, Provex City. I'll see you around the blogosphere!

Young Adult Paranormal Activity Giveaway Hop!

February 24th to 28th
Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & vvb32 read

Thank you for stopping by and checking out my giveaway! It's my very first one! I'm so excited for the opportunity to participate in this blog hop and offer one lucky winner  TWO  of these four paranormally awesome books:

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi-pure-bloods-have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals-well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures. Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.
~Goodreads description of Half-Blood by Jennifer Armentrout

 

There isn’t much worth living for in Gypsum, Missouri—or Trashtown, as the rich kids call the run-down neighborhood where sixteen-year-old Hailey Tarbell lives. Hailey figures she’ll never belong—not with the popular kids at school, not with the rejects, not even with her cruel, sickly grandmother, who deals drugs out of their basement. Hailey never knew her dead mother, and she has no idea who her father was, but at least she has her four-year-old foster brother, Chub. Once she turns eighteen, Hailey plans to take Chub far from Gypsum and start a new life where no one can find them.

But when a classmate is injured in gym class, Hailey discovers a gift for healing that she never knew she possessed—and that she cannot ignore. Not only can she heal, she can bring the dying back to life. Confused by her powers, Hailey searches for answers but finds only more questions, until a mysterious visitor shows up at Gram’s house, claiming to be Hailey’s aunt Prairie.

There are people who will stop at nothing to keep Hailey in Trashtown, living out a legacy of despair and suffering. But when Prairie saves both Hailey and Chub from armed attackers who invade Gram’s house in the middle of the night, Hailey must decide where to place her trust. Will Prairie’s past, and the long-buried secret that caused her to leave Gypsum years earlier, ruin them all? Because as Hailey will soon find out, their power to heal is just the beginning.
 ~Goodreads description of Banished by Sophie Littlefield

Everything is made of steel, even the flowers. How can you love anything in a place like this?

Daphne is the half-demon, half-fallen angel daughter of Lucifer and Lilith. Life for her is an endless expanse of time, until her brother Obie is kidnapped - and Daphne realizes she may be partially responsible. Determined to find him, Daphne travels from her home in Pandemonium to the vast streets of Earth, where everything is colder and more terrifying. With the help of the human boy she believes was the last person to see her brother alive, Daphne glimpses into his dreams, discovering clues to Obie's whereabouts. As she delves deeper into her demonic powers, she must navigate the jealousies and alliances of the violent archangels who stand in her way. But she also discovers, unexpectedly, what it means to love and be human in a world where human is the hardest thing to be.
~Goodreads description of The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever. Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.” Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.

Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either. Or does she? They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason. As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas. Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past. Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart.

Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…
~Goodreads description of Born At Midnight by C.C. Hunter

Here are the official rules/guidelines for the giveaway:

1. You must be a follower of this blog. Just click the Join this Site box below "Followers" on the sidebar.
2. You can gain extra entries by following me on Twitter and/or "liking" my Facebook fan page.
3. This is open to international followers. (Only if The Book Depository ships to your country; please check this link to see if your country's included.)
4. Even though you don't gain extra entries, feel free to friend me on Goodreads or leave a comment below because I'd love to hear from you!
5. This contest runs from February 24 - 28.
6. The winner will be selected on March 1st via Rafflecopter random selection and announced in this post. You will have 48 hours to respond or I will draw another winner.   

***As the winner, if you are just dying to get another YA book, then you may substitute one of the books listed above for another of similar value from The Book Depository***

Thanks Again & Good Luck!