Debra Jayne East

Ok, I will be the first to admit that I have some pretty darn cool friends.  I have no idea how it happens, but I have met some of the coolest people.  One such person is Debra.  I am so excited about the release of her first book!  Thank you, Debra for agreeing to be a guest on my blog.  You are an amazing inspiration.  I am so glad you never let go of your dream :).  How awesome is that rock?!?!?!

I almost forgot, leave a comment and you could win an ecopy of her book :)!



Hello Delphina, how nice to be with you today! Let me say, I adore your name! In one of my favorite Barbara Cartland books, the heroine was named Delphina and I thought it sounded so pretty and different!

Growing up, Barbara Cartland and Grace Livingston Hill were authors I devoured as soon as I could get hold of their books! I remember one day at a yard sale, I bought a box of over 35 Barbara Cartland books. I think I read nonstop for a month! They created magic for me. When you are a young impressionable girl, I think it’s important to form positive ideals of love.
When you read my novel Radiance:Love after Death, published by XOXO Publishing, you will see how these authors influenced my writing. In all their books, there was never any graphic sexual content, yet you were thrilled beyond imagination with the innocent displays of love. There needs to be some mystery in the romance department! When everything is spelled out in minute detail it gets old after awhile. I don’t know about you, but imagination is sexy to me! What goes on behind closed doors is whatever you want it to be. Take Gone With the Wind for instance. When Rhett Butler carried Scarlett up the stairs in his arms we all swooned in the day! Even men who have read my book tell me my romantic scenes are exciting and fresh. What a compliment. I guess as a author writing romance primarily for women, we sometimes forget men read it also. I think that is simply wonderful!

In writing romance, I’ve always thought of it as painting pictures with words. Even as I read all those books way back then, I wanted to be a writer. I was forming stories in my mind and writing them down from time to time. I saved every notebook I had, and over the course of several years, I had over sixteen of them.

After three babies and a career, I forgot about them of course. Then something happened that changed the path of my life. My perfect love story ended. My husband of 18 years asked for a divorce. I became depressed after the breakup of my marriage and I was at the end of my rope. One day I was walking and for some odd reason I reached down into the grass and pulled out a crooked heart-shaped stone. It seemed to remind me that even though my heart was broken, it was still a heart and someday I could love again. That stone saved my life. It also compelled me to weave it into a paranormal romance story.

Now, I just want someone to pinch me! Never, ever, give up on your dreams! I mailed my manuscript off and three months later after a few rejections, the wonderful people at XOXO Publishing believed in my work and said yes!

Radiance:Love after Death, is about second chances and never giving up on love. It’s edgy and different in a way that readers of romance will appreciate. I never liked predictable stories! So, Marena Jacobs is not your typical kind of heroine. She’s overweight, divorced and a workaholic. After a near fatal accident, she realizes something happened to her during those seconds of time that she passed from life to death. She was never alone like she thought she was. Someone was watching over her all along. I hope my story of finding the heart-stone will inspire women everywhere. You will believe that true love never dies.

Maybe, we all need to find a heart-stone sometime during our lives! May you all find yours.



I hope that everyone will go on the XOXO or Amazon website and check out my book. Also, I’d like to say for all the authors out there, I have a Facebook group called Dreamscapes Book Trailers that you can post your book trailers on. My links are listed below. Thanks for having me Delphina! I have enjoyed being your guest.
                                                       
                                                        Blessings,
                                                     
                                                     Debra Jayne East

Where to find my book:

http://www.amazon.com/Radiance-Love-after-Death-ebook/dp/B005KQ5E32/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330301777&sr=8-1

http://yearoftheangel.blogspot.com

http://debrajayneeast.blogspot.com

XOXO Publishing Buy Link:    http://www.xoxopublishing.com/Products/index.php?route=product/product&filter_name=radiance&product_id=160 

https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Debra-Jayne-East/177696055623372

Unbound

Unbound by Cat Miller

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I initially downloaded this book when it was on a free weekend. It was about vampires, so I figured, "Why not?". I was not expecting to like it so much! The story grabbed me from the beginning and took me on the adventures of Dani as she discovered her heritage as a half vampire. While this book is no longer on a free weekend, I can honestly say it was worth full price. I am looking forward to reading book two, which recently was put up on Amazon (and I am sure everywhere else).



I'll tell you what I liked about this book:



* This book grabbed me from the beginning and I did not want to put it down.



* The story of Dani's parents was interwoven throughout the whole book. It was not an "add on" to make a premise. I am optimistic that we will see more from them in the next book.



* Watching the story of Dani as she grew into who she could be was, while painful at times because she did some really dumb things, so interesting and authentic. You really felt like you knew why she was doing what she was doing.



* I loved seeing how the social structure of her father's society impacted all aspects of this story. I am really looking forward to seeing re of it in the next book.



* The mystery was well developed. I am looking forward to seeing how it is resolved as the series continues.



* As a first book in a series, it did what it needed to do. It introduced us to many characters who we want to learn more about. it introduced us to a new world, while leaving parts of it to be explored. It answered many questions, while presenting new ones. I am excited to see where this story goes.



All in all, I really enjoyed this read. It was a bit different from the typical vampire tales. It had romance, adventure, mystery, and family drama. I am excited that book two is already out!



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Do You Have a Psychic Belly Button????

Poke by Dalya Moon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I love YA reads and was excited by this premise. I mean, come on, a fortune telling belly button. Too cool! This is a novella, but it is substantial and I am sure most teens would feel that it was a full novel. I enjoyed this read and will be looking for more of Dayla's works.



I'll tell you some things I liked about this book:



* This story was written from the perspective of the main character, Zan. Yes, it was written from the perspective of a guy. I love this. I find that the YA genre, as a whole, has really grown around a female audience and forgets that guys read, too. That being said, having it from his perspective, in no way alienated me as a female reader.



* This story premise was so unique. I love that the key to his powers was his belly button. Can you just see a geeky dude asking teenage girls to stick their finger in his belly button? What a hoot!



* I just really liked Zan. I felt like he was someone you would want to know. He was compassionate, thoughtful, and yet a total teen at the same time.



* Dalya dealt with some pretty heavy topics in this book head on, but never fell into the "shock value" in your face trap. Because of these topics, I would probably not give this to a very young teen.



* This was a complete story. You could read it from beginning to end and feel the satisfaction of being done. I love reading books in a series, but sometimes you just want the whole story.



* This book had the "I can not put it down" factor.



* I loved the humor in this book. I found myself chuckling as we saw how some things played out, especially things Zan was thinking.





Overall, I found this book to be delightful. If you are looking at it for your teen, you may want to consider that it does have some references to teen sex (although you do not read a lot off details, some violence, a character who is facing a serious illness. I felt these were all dealt with age appropriately. I can not wait to read more by this author.



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The Lost Witch of Salem

 This review was a bit difficult for me to write.  I could not really figure out how to say what I wanted without being spoilery or just plain confusing.  If you have questions about the book, feel free to email me or post a comment.




Annabel Horton: Lost Witch of Salem by Vera Jane Cook

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The story weaving in this book astonished me. I was really expecting the book to be very different than it was. I guess I had preconceived notions because I read so many para type books. This book, however, is unlike anything I have ever read. It was a cross between a family saga, historical fiction, horror and paranormal. That does not even do it justice, but it had elements from them all.



I loved how the author had "time travel" but did not allow themselves to get sucked into the normal time travel traps. The way the characters moved through time allowed the story to really develop and to be reveled in a very intriguing way. I never really knew what was going to come next, but as a new scene developed you knew it made perfect sense.



None of the characters were completely "good", which made the plot twists very interesting. They were flawed people, just like we are all flawed. There were times when I simply did not like some of the characters. I love it when read a book and actually care about the characters, even if it is in an "I can not believe you are doing this" kind of way.



There is some true darkness in this book. There was the "evil" of the book, which you expect to be evil, but there was also some human darkness. You know children were being treated horribly during different parts of the book, but you never get in depth descriptions of it. This added to the horror of it. That being said, if this is an issue that is too difficult for you, this may not be the book for you.



I am hoping that there will be a sequel to this book. I really would like to find out what happens next.







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Half Black Soul - A sequel that surpasses the original

Half Black Soul by H.D. Gordon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars






As people who read my reviews might remember, I thought the first book in this series was good, but far from great. I loved the potential the story line had and felt like this series could grow into something amazing. I was right! This second book was soooooo much better than the first. I really felt like a lot of things that were bugging me in book one were addressed in book two. I still am not overly comfortable with her "trainings" in book one, but the rest of it was completely resolved in my mind.



This book was basically divided into two story lines that occurred simultaneously. The first one revolved around Nelly and Two Rivers. Nelly took a much more central role in this novel and we really got to see her character in a much deeper way. This maybe slightly spoilery, but I can see her as being the true hero of this series. Not only did we get to see her true potential skills wise, but we also got to see why she was raised the way she was and how strong she really is. I am really looking forward to seeing her grow in the next book. The potential is endless.



The second focused on Alexa and Kayden as they tried to free her mother. It was interesting to watch the dynamics of these two characters as they worked towards this common goal and struggled with what their relationship would be. The whole Warrior/Libra component was and interesting part of their dynamic. While I kept hoping for more Kayden led chapters, I think having us only see their relationship from her perspective was the best choice for the book.



Without a doubt, I will be reading the next book in the series. I think that you could probably start with book two, but I think you should start with Blood Warrior. If you are reading them back to back as one book, i think you will be very happy with your reading experience.



While this book does have some violence, I would have no problem recommending it to a teen. The main character does smoke, but I think the way the author explores her reasons for it is powerful and does not make it seem like a good idea or cool in anyway.





OK, this has no place in a review, but.....Jackson, now it makes sense!!!









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Christin Lovell stopped by with a sneaky, sneaky :)!

Diary of a Vampeen by Christin Lovell




Diary of a Vampeen: Vamp Yourself for War by Christin Lovell




Hit the Road Jack by Christin Lovell



As many of you may already know, I love Christin Lovell's Vampeen series. It is fun, fun, fun! I am not sure what took me so long to read the first one. I had it downloaded in my kindle for a long time before I cracked it open and once I did, I could not put it down. I immediately bought the second book in the series and bought the third the day it came out. I think I had in my head Vampeen was a cross between vamps and teens even though it did not say that anywhere and Vampeens are actually a form of vampire. The point of my babble was that I was just plain silly and almost missed out on a super fun series. I love to escape into Christin's world of vamps and adventure. I can not even tell you how excited I was when
Christin said she would do a sneak peak of book four right here on my blog!!!! It is set to be release one month from now and while I know that is so close, it seems soooo far away! I just wanted to thank Christin for being made of awesome and releasing this sneak peak here! I also wanted to publicly thank her for always having at least one real size sexy female in everything she writes! They are not always the main characters, but they are always there. Love that!


Here is a sneak:


First off, I wanted to say a big thank you to Delphina for having me today! And congrats on your blog. It’s gained a solid readership in a short amount of time, which is an amazing feat that you should be proud of. I’m proud of you! And, I personally love the blog. I’ve read several books based off your review alone.
As a writer, you’re constantly evolving, constantly growing. The more you write, the better you get. Unfortunately, the more you write, the more noticeable your mistakes become.
One of the down sides to publishing is that once your book is out there, there is no turning back. You can’t change anything. The longer I write, the more experience I gain, I find myself wishing I could go back and change minute details of previous books. I notice myself picking apart books that I read, wondering if the author had done certain things differently, how it would have impacted the story and his/her readers’ experience.
With practice comes confidence, but it also comes with understanding. I understand that my stories aren’t perfect. I understand that no perfect book truly exists. But I can’t help wondering if I’m alone in wishing I could go back and change certain things. Even in school, I would submit reports and then wish I could alter them later. Perhaps I’m just a bit too much like my character, Lexi, and overanalyze things.
How often do you replay a conversation in your head and wish you had answered a particular question with a dissimilar answer or explained a topic differently? How often do you rethink the furniture you loved four years ago? How about that shirt you just had to have two years ago that hangs in the back of your closet now?
I’ve come to realize that, as humans, we are a constantly evolving, forever changing race. There are good sides and bad to that. No decade is like the last, though there are shadowed glimpses here and there in fashion. Likewise, no two people are the same, despite how similar they may appear to be, and no two books are exactly alike, despite how close their story elements are. I understand that I can’t change what’s concrete, can’t undo what’s been done, but I have unlimited control of the future.
That’s what they mean by ‘a learning experience.’ We’re supposed to take what we weren’t happy with in retrospect and use it when making decisions in the present. The things I would change about my first book have played a big role in what I write in the current one. What I was unhappy with years ago impacts what I splurge on today. So even if I am alone in my analytical psychosis, at least I’m able to turn each one of them into ‘a learning experience’ of some sort.
Make the most of today, based on your experience of yesterday. And for those of you who have followed my Vamp Chronicles series, or those of you interested in the books, enjoy this excerpt from book 4, Vamp Versus Vamp.
~~~
“Oh God, Lex, I can’t believe I’m going to be a vampeen in three days. I’m finally going to be in on everything. I’ll no longer be the outcast human hanging with a bunch of vamps,” she stated, her eyes a porthole to the excitement and vulnerability she felt.
“I know.” I smiled. “It’s been a long time coming. Who would have thought all those years ago when we met that we would be here today?”
“I’m excited, but nervous. I can already tell you’re going to have to talk me off the ledge Thursday.” She shuffled her feet beside the classroom door, clutching the strap of her book bag tightly.
“I’ll be there. I promise not to leave your side for a second.”
We stared at each other, the years passing between us. She understood in that moment that this would be merely a pin prick of a memory in the timeline of her life, but it was one that we would look back on together.
~~~
I hope you enjoyed the excerpt, and that, if you haven’t already picked up the first e-book in the series, Diary of a Vampeen, currently free in all outlets, that you will.
Thanks again for having me, Delphina!
Have a great day everyone!
~Christin Lovell
www.christinlovell.com


















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Hildie McQueen

Whoot!!!!! Hildie stopped by to talk with us about her series! I read the first one and will be reading the next one (which is already at the publishers - HAPPY DANCE). Being made of awesome, she will be also checking out the comments and will be able to respond to your questions and comments about her series! How cool is that!!!!



Are you a loyal reader? 

Romance readers seem to stick to a specific style of writing. Whether contemporary, historical, paranormal or even mystery romance, most readers are usually loyal to one genre.

The emergence of blends is a good way for authors to tempt a reader into their genre.  A historical paranormal for instance, blending the familiarity of historical with a new world of lets say weres or vamps.  What a neat idea!

Speaking to a historical romance reader who was reading her first contemporary, I was surprised at how reluctant she was to try it.  “I like the total escape historical gives me,” she said. “The problems and challenges of those days are so different from today’s.”  
 
A friend of mine, who is an avid mystery romance reader, told me that she loved the rush of trying to solve the problem and to figure out the mystery before the characters do.  She finds romance novels without the challenge of a mystifying element boring.
 
In Desperate Betrayal, I blend contemporary romance with the paranormal. The hero is a single dad, who happens to be an immortal demon slayer.  The heroine is just a city girl, yeah so she’s half-demon, but like most girls she falls in love with a cute guy.
 
So what would it take to break you out of your genre?  A blend? Or the recommendation from a friend or a movie perhaps?  As an avid reader of all things romance, I can honestly say what tempts me to try something different is the book’s blurb, followed by an attractive cover.  I’m still not a big YA fan, although I dove into Twilight and didn’t come up for air until the last page!



Desperate Betrayal by Hildie McQueen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Sometimes, the right book finds you at the right time. This was the case with Desparate Betrayal. I am not sure exactly what it was that originally drew me to this book, but the thing that made it special to me was the sense of family. This book is a "romance" novel, but the relationships between Emma and her sister and Cyn and his son were just as important as the developing relationship between Emma and Cyn. There were a few times in the book where I felt like I missed a first book in a series and started on book two, but I think that was because I wanted more info than the author wanted us to have at the time. I tend to be impatient like that.



Here are some of the things I really liked about this book:



* Seeing the relationship between Cyn and his Son just warmed my heart. I am not sure if it was the situation that led to him becoming his father or the way they communicated that touched me, but to me it was one of the highlights of the book.



* Emma's relationship to her sister, while not the kind of relationship we strive for was one that seemed real. We really understood Emma's motivations throughout the book because of this relationship. It could have easily fallen into a chiched (yes, I tried to change the part of speech of cliche) mess, but Hildie did a great job making the relationship relatable and authentic.



* The lore of the protectors combined things I was familiar with, but added new elements, making it a fun new world to explore.



* It was a fun read! Yes, it is a simple as that. I liked it because it was fun and made me happy when I needed to read happy :).



* Emma and Cyn really did seem to belong together even with the original set up of betrayal. It did not seemed forced to get the story where it needed to go.



I really did enjoy this book and will definitely be reading more books from this series as they are published. The lore is fun and the way Hildie explores relationships really connected with me. This is not a book for the under 18 crowd. There is some violence and some descriptive scenes of adult fun. I am really looking forward to where the story goes from here!







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Frank and the Werewolf Tamer

Frank and The Werewolf Tamer by Tracey H. Kitts

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I loved this book! Was it this deep thought provoking story that will change the world? No and that is exactly why I loved it. To be honest, at first I was wondering if the premise was too silly. A theme park for weres/vamps etc seemed kind of silly, but it was surprisingly not at all what thought it would be like. The characters we so stinkin' fun and I could not put this book down.



I'll tell you what I liked about it:



* Frank! I loved that he was something new and different. It feels like everything lately is about vamps and weres, which I love, but having a Frankensteinesque character was so much fun! Plus, his character was very interesting and had so many levels that he was just so fun to read about.



* I simply adored how her characters related to one another. They truly were a family.



* I liked how her world had humans aware of vamps etc. this added some different elements I do not often see.



* This book had the "I can not put it down" factor. I just wanted to read more!



* This book was a complete story and not part of a series. I like reading books in a series, but sometimes you want the satisfaction of reading the whole story. If this somehow turned into a series, would I read them? Absolutely, but I was quite satisfied with the way the story arc ended.



* I just really liked most of the characters. I often times read characters I relate to or understand, but it is rare I find some I might actually want to meet.



* This is a book I can see myself rereading. I read it on ebook, but I may actually buy the bound version so it can be on my shelf. I love my kindle, but sometimes a book needs to sit on your shelf :).



Overall, I just really enjoyed this book. So far, this is the only book I have read by her, but I plan to make it the first of many :). Now to decide which one..... Hmmmmmmmm.



I do not recommend this book for the under 18 crowd, as there is some depictions of adult fun.



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Darkride

Darkride by Laura Bradley Rede

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


When I first saw this book on a friend's blog, I was immediately drawn to it. It looked like it would be something a bit different. Plus, let's face it, the cover is made of awesome. During the first couple of chapters, I have to be honest, I thought this was going to be one of those YA books with a "canned" story arc. I was so wrong. The story took me all sorts of places I never expect to be and I enjoyed every minute of it. I also enjoyed that it was told from three very different points of view. I believe there will be a sequel and I hope it is as well done as this one. I will be first in line to get it when it comes out.



I'll tell you what I liked about this story:



* I never really knew what was going to come next and when I thought I did, I was often wrong. Were there some cliches? Of course, but that makes it fun?



* This story had one of the most romantic background stories I have read in a long time. When the story of the umbrella is told, my heart melted a little bit. I also love that the author felt comfortable giving such a heartfelt story to such an unusual couple.



* I love how the mythology used was a bit different from the typical were and vamp mythologies.



* In a lot of ways, this story is about family. What creates a family? Is it birth? Who raised you? Who you make a family with?



* With the exception of the true bad guys, all of the main characters are decent people doing the best they can do do what is right.



* I would feel comfortable suggesting this book to a teen, which is not the case with many of the YA books I have read lately. There are some heavy topics addressed (heavy from an parental perspective), but they are all done well and there is nothing sexual, graphically violent, or drug related.



* It definitely had the "I do not want to put it down factor".



* The three points of view really added depth to the story line.



* The story ended at a good ending spot with an open window for more adventures. I really hope those adventures will be shared with us because I really want to read more!





Overall, I was super happy with this read and am looking to more!!!!







*



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Promising Light Blog Tour: If Promising Light Were A Movie

Hey, everyone! This is Emily Ann Ward here, author of Finding Fiona and a brand new fantasy series, the Protectors. I’m so happy to be here at Delphina’s blog as part of Promising Light’s blog tour. Please keep Delphina in your thoughts and prayers. She's with her daughter right now in the ICU so I'm posting this for her. Her little girl seems to be on the mend, though, yay!

Promising Light is about a young girl named Grace. When a family of shape changers tells her she can break the curse on their family, she realizes that to help them she must leave behind everything she loves. It has adventure, romance, magic, and more!

I think it’d make an awesome movie. In fact, let me tell you all about this imaginary movie in my head.

Casting
Okay, first of all, I don’t want to ruin anyone’s imagination. I don’t like to put presupposed images in readers’ heads before they ever get the chance to read the book. So, I chose three actors for each of my main characters and you can derive whatever image you want from my ideas (and from my words when you read the book ;). Yeah, I think I have too much time on my hands.

Grace Ellengreen
Grace has long blonde hair, brown eyes, fair skin. An actress who played Grace should be able to be determined, curious, and be able to show Grace’s struggle over who to align herself with.

Left to right: Emilia Clarke, Romola Garai, Amanda Seyfried

Dar Silva
Dar, like most Avialies (or shape changers), has olive-colored skin and dark hair and eyes. If we have to narrow it down to ethnicities we know, they most resemble Latin Americans. Dar can be a sneaky guy, hard to pin down, but he’s very loyal to the ones he cares about, and that’d be a balance an actor would have to achieve.

Left to right: Santiago Cabras (my number one choice), Rodrigo Santoro, John Abraham (although in this picture he looks more evil vampire than cunning shape changer)

Sierra Silva
The great thing about Sierra is ethnically she’s hard to pin down. A lot of people confuse her for an Avialie. I’ve described her with black hair, dark eyes, high brow, olive-colored skin. I think the important thing with this actress is she can portray both Sierra’s toughness and vulnerability.

Left to right: Lesley-Ann Brandt, Jessica Alba (almost too vanilla, but she could do it), Janina Gavankar

Prince William
The prince of Haltar has dark blonde hair, blue eyes. He’s very handsome and charming, but he also has a dark side. He shows interest in Grace early on, but when she shows interest in the shape changers, it reveals his possessiveness.

Left to right: Bradley James (if he could play an ambitious prince who is sometimes a jerk), Rainer Iveson (he’s actually a model, but he can really pull off that aristocratic look), Rupert Penry-Jones (a little old, but he’ll pass)

Soundtrack
I’d pretty much die if Hans Zimmer did the music for my movie. He can do epic and grand, and he can do quiet and moody. All of it is moving and amazing.

I like the energy of the Pirates soundtracks. They’re the perfect background to the adventure in the book, the quest, and also the struggles. Inception’s soundtrack has mystery and melancholiness. I love how he can mix so many emotions into his music. He’s so talented.

I could definitely see “We Are Free” from Gladiator at the end:


Setting/Location
Promising Light takes place in a few different places (keep watching to the tour to see my blog about locations in the novel). I’ll go into this more depth there with pretty pictures and everything and keep it brief here.

Who doesn’t love New Zealand’s setting for Lord of the Rings? There are such beautiful landscape views in that movie. Since part of the novel is a quest, they travel over a large area of land. Some of the darkness of Shelob’s Lair fits the tunnels where Grace and Dar run to flee the Protectors about halfway thorough the book. Our heroes also pass over a mountain pass, but it’s nothing like the blizzard of the Fellowship of the Ring (I can’t remember the name of the pass, I’m not that big of a nerd ;).

What Lord of the Rings doesn’t seem to have is the tropical nature of the jungle where the climax of the book takes place. I won’t say much about what happens where, but the characters travel to a jungle with dangers like quicksand, poisonous snakes and spiders, and more. Those scenes are more Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.

Director/Writer
I’d like to try my hand at screenplay adaptation, but I might need some pointers along the way since I’ve never meddled with script writing. I’d enlist the help of Randall Wallace, who adapted and directed The Man in the Iron Mask. Or maybe the writers of Ever After.

As for directors. The contenders are:

• Stephen Sommers, director and writer of the Mummy movies. He could help with writing, too!
• Wolfgang Peterson, director of Troy and The NeverEnding Story. Two great movies.
• Gore Verbinski, director of the first three Pirates movies. I love the mixture of adventure and humor, not to mention all the subplots.
• Peter Jackson. Just because.

Well, a girl can dream, right? What do you think, would you see Promising Light if it were a movie?

Keep an eye on all of the stops at the blog tour. You can see the full lineup here. There are half a dozen chances to win ebooks, and two paperback copies up for grabs, plus lots of author and character interviews, guest posts, excerpt, and more!

If you want to win a $20 gift card to Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice!) you can comment on the stops (each commented stop is an entry). You could also buy Promising Light and send me the receipt at emilyannward at yahoo dot com and gain 5 entries for the gift card prize.

Thanks to Delphina for hosting me, and thank you for reading!

Why I Love Leia Shaw's Books

The first thing I read by Leia was a short novella she wrote called For the Love of Harmony. I was hooked. Leia writes of a world with fae, vampires, werewolves, witches, dragons, sorceresses, basically all of the good stuff. At the same time, it is our world so it feel not at all real, but slightly possible. I adore that. While her novels are considered "romance", do not let that be the deciding factor in whether to read them or not. While they each have an amazing romance, they also have an equally strong urban fantasy/paranormal story and all of the novels intertwine without being dependent on one another. Her characters are flawed, but believable and easy to relate to even if they are a fae or a were ;). I find her books almost impossible to put down. I have spent more than a couple of nights saying, "I can only read one more chapter and then I really need to go to bed" over and over again. Here are some quick reviews I have done on her works. I think they really are worth checking out! I can not wait until the next one is released this summer! I will be first in line for that puppy!!!!!

Destiny Divided by Leia Shaw

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is the first book in the Shadows of Destiny series, but not the first I have read. I started with Leia's novella For the Love of Harmony and fell in love with her style and immediately had to read the rest. I would not recommend this order and ended up rereading the novella (it was not hard to convince me :)), but if you would like to check out her writing style, it is free and a complete story in and of itself.



Back to this book. I loved the world Leia has created. You have vampires, sorcerers, witches, weres. Basically, you get it all. This story focuses on a young woman who discovers she is not only a sorceress and also a witch and a powerful one at that. It was fascinating to watch the story unfold and I discovered all of the new lore in the world created by Leia. I literally devoured this book. I could not put it down. Between the love story and the adventure, it was a real page turner. This is a complete story even though it is part of a series. You are not left needing to know the end of the story, you simply need to read more about this magical world. I can see myself rereading this series before the next book comes out. Not because I need to refresh my memory, but because it was that fun of a read!



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Destiny United by Leia Shaw

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I am not sure, but I think this may be my favorite book in the series so far. I was so excited when I realized book two was about Marcelo. I really wanted to know more about him after what he did in book one. I was also happy to watch Erin go from the person I expected after reading book one to the person she was at the beginning of this story to the amazingly strong woman she became through her journey. The felt like I really knew these characters and even when they were doing things contrary to what I knew they should do, I understood why they did them and that for them it was the only choice. As with book one in this series, it is a complete story in and of itself. I found myself unable to put this book down and immediately started the next book when I was through with this one. Yep, I liked it that much :).



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Destiny Unchained by Leia Shaw

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Ok, I may have lied in my review of book two in this series. I think this book may actually be my favorite in this series. I read For The Love Of Harmony before this book. It is a free novella and it takes place during this novel. It is not needed, but I am glad I read it. I am a sucker for shifters stories and this book had a werewolf alpha as one of the main characters. It also has Marcelo's human wife from when they were both human. This story is different from the first two in that neither of the characters is learning who they are(sorcerer/witch/vampire/fae etc.). That does not mean we do not watch the charters grow, but just in a different way. Oh and did I mention there was a dragon? I do so love a good dragon even when they only make a cameo. This book is, like the other two, a complete story in and of itself. I was sad to see it end because there are no more books currently out in this series and now I need to wait until summer.



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For the Love of Harmony by Leia Shaw

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


What a fun, quick read. Plus, right now it is free! That is so made of awesome! I am going to get more of her books from this series ASAP :)!





PS I did get the other books and devoured them! What a great world Leia created!



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The Quinn Loftis Grey Wolf Early Release Party!!!!!

You read correctly!  I am throwing a party because I just found out that Just One Drop is being released this Sunday!!!!

Yes, I shouted it out!  I am so geeked!  I love this series!  Ok, my whoots are done!


Why am I so excited? I posted some super short reviews below and I"ll tell you what I like about this series:

*The world Quinn creates is really enough for everyone to relate and believe, yet different enough that you can get lost in it.  Could any of this really happen? No. Do we believe it could be a possibility?  Maybe.  I love that.
*I am a sucker for this type of romance.  It is not about lust or hormones or ticking off your parents, like so many YA books.  It is about finding your other half.  This quote kind of sums it up (OK only half of it, but you will get the idea):
“She gets a man who will love her completely and faithfully. She gets a man who will not only save her life, but lay down his own to keep her safe. He will provide for her no matter the cost, he will shelter her against all storms that come their way, he will be the one to bring a smile to her face when no one else can. She gets a friend, a lover, a mate, the only man in this world who can complete her and give her the other half of her soul.”  (Yes, I am a total sap.  Laugh away ;))
* The dialog is hilarious is spots. The banter between the girls is laugh out loud at times. 
* Jen - Yes, Jen may be my favorite thing about this series.  I admit it.  It is mostly because I wish I could harness some of my inner Jen.
* Each book is even better than the next!
* The covers.  I know you should never judge a book by the cover, but I do so love her covers.  Yes, I enjoy the silly things in life.
* They all have the "I can not put it down" factor.  They also have the "I become a FB page stalker waiting for the release of the next one" factor. 
* While I thoroughly enjoyed this book as an almost 40 year old, I would feel comfortable recommending this book to a teen.   

Originally, my plan was to do something for the release of JOD simply because I was so geeked and wanted to share.  I told Quinn and being her awesome self, she offered to give one of my readers all three books in the series!!!  She also gave me an ARC, which made me beyond a happy camper!  I was getting so impatient and the "FB stalker" comment was not far from true hehehe.  If you would like to win these books, please fill out the easy peasy rafflecopter below!  If you already own the first two and you win, just let us know and we can let you gift them to someone you would like to introduce to the world of Grey Wolves!!!!

 

Prince of Wolves by Quinn Loftis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really enjoyed this book. The characters are fun and the story, while a bit predictable in spots, is so super fun! I love the world Quinn has created. It is far from any reality I live in and is a great place to escape to. The series gets even better with book two. I am completely hooked on the series!



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Blood Rites by Quinn Loftis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I truly loved this book! While I loved the completion of the original story arc, my favorite part was the introductions of the Jen/Decebel arc. I can not wait to see this play out! I love the Jen character!!!! I really feel the author hit her stride with this book and loved to see her writing grow! I will be buying her next book the minute it becomes available!



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Just One Drop by Quinn Loftis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



This may be my favorite of the series, which is saying a lot. I absolutely love Jen and was so excited for this book because I knew the main story arc revolved around her. Jen says the things you wish you thought of or could get away with, but never can and most importantly she owns it. I love that about her. Would I like to be on the receiving end of her snarkiness? Probably not, but it is so fun to read. I also love the many layers that is Jen. Add to that a super fun story with everything from romance to suspense and you have a super fun read. This is a book I will definitely reread.



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