Thursday, January 31, 2013

Blog tour: To Dance in Liradon (Guest post & Amazing Giveaways)

Dear friends,

Have you ever wondered how a typical day in an author’s life looks like? This is your chance.

Author Adrienne Clarke has agreed to pull back the curtains of her life, allowing us to take a peek. Not only that, she would also like to introduce us to her novel, To Dance in Liradon.

Get to know the author and her book, and leave a comment for a chance to win one of the amazing prizes Adrienne brought along. She will be awarding winner's choice of a Kindle touch, Nook Simple Touch, or a $100 Apple gift card, and one crystal Faerie necklace similar to what Brigid wore to the Faerie ball to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Follow the tour to increase your chances of winning. The more you comment, the higher your chances. Good luck to you. You can find the tour dates HERE.

 Adrienne, welcome to Novel Moments. It’s so great to have you here today. How does your day look like?


A Typical Day in the Life of Adrienne Clarke, Author

6:00 am
Answer emails and try to decide what writing project I’m going to tackle: Revisions on work-in-progress? Or start outlining the new novel I spent all night thinking about? Wait! Is it garbage day? Whatever happens – do not forget to TAKE OUT THE GARBAGE. MUST GET RID OF DIAPERS!

7:15 am
Panic because I forgot to go grocery shopping and my daughter will be having a jam sandwich for lunch – again.
8:00 am
Cajole my nine-year old of bed and try to convince my two-year old that she really does need to take off her Tinkerbell pajamas.

8:20 am
Frantically pick raisins out of the raisin bread because daughter number one has decided raisins are “totally gross.” Explain yet again why I will not buy chocolate chip Pop Tarts.

8:30 am
Chase my youngest daughter around the house so I can get her ready for daycare before her sister is late for school – again.

9:00 am
Both girls are gone! I heave a huge sigh of relief and make an enormous cup of coffee.

9:30 am
Write like a madwoman for as long as I can. On a good day I can go for about 2.5 – 3 hours. On a bad day I’m distracted by EVERYTHING. If I’m convinced the muse is gone for the day I fret about all the other things I should be doing: Social networking, blogging, laundry, grocery shopping......

12:30 pm
Inhale a bagel and more coffee and worry about the muse. Where has she gone? And more importantly – when will she be back?

1:00 pm
Revise. Revise. Revise.

2:00 pm
I forgot to take out the garbage. Another week of smelly diapers in the garage.

3:00 pm
Send out query letters to agents, editors, and everyone else I’m trying to get to read my work.

4:00 pm
Make a stab at catching up on a flood of tweets, emails, status updates etc. while feeling faintly resentful that I could and should be writing.

4:30 pm
Writing day over! Time to silence the imaginary people inside my head and rejoin the real world.
To Dance in Liradon
by Adrienne Clarke
 
BLURB
 
Seventeen-year-old Brigid O'Flynn is an outcast. A chance encounter with the Faerie Queen left her tainted in the eyes of the villagers, who blame the Faerie for the village’s missing women and children. Desperate to win the village’s acceptance, Brigid agrees to marry her childhood friend: Serious, hardworking, Connell Mackenna. But when Connell disappears before their wedding, Brigid's hopes are shattered. Blamed for her fiancé’s death, Brigid fears she will suffer the same fate as the other village outcasts, the mysterious Willow Women. Lured into Faerie by their inhuman lovers, and cast out weak and broken, the Willow Women spend their lives searching for the way back into Faerie. When Connell suddenly reappears, Brigid is overjoyed, but everything is not as it seems. Consumed by his desire for beauty and celebration, Connell abandons his responsibilities, and Brigid soon finds herself drawn into a passionate, dangerous world of two.
When Brigid discovers the truth behind Connell's transformation she’s forced to choose between two men and two worlds. Brigid’s struggle leads her into glittering, ruthless Faerie, where she must rescue her true love from a terrible sacrifice or lose him forever.

EXCERPT

Brigid allowed herself to be dragged to the edge of the circle before she raised her right foot and kicked backwards as hard as she could. Midir released his hold long enough for her to remove the horseshoe from her bodice. When he tried to seize her again, she shoved him away, the object gripped firmly in her hand.

Midir stumbled backwards, and the smell of burning flesh filled the air. A desperate, keening sound rose up from the circle before it broke apart and every Faerie man and woman rushed towards her. Long slender arms grabbed hold of each of her limbs, and Brigid felt certain they intended to tear her to pieces. A violet-eyed woman sat on top of Brigid’s chest, crushing the air from her lungs. Brigid watched the beauty leak from her face until it was a hollow masque of rage.

“Release her!” the Faerie Queen screamed.

Whining like disappointed children, the Faerie reluctantly retreated, and Brigid rose shakily to her feet.

The Faerie Queen’s eyes flashed cruelly. “If you want him, come and claim him!”
 
AUTHOR Bio and Links

I think I became a writer because the world inside my head was so real and vivid, sometimes more so than the outside world. In some sense I have lived parallel lives, present in my real and imaginary lives in different ways. Because much of my childhood was spent searching for faeries or reading about them, it is natural that my work encompasses fairy tale themes and other magical elements. In the words of Tennessee Williams, forget reality, give me magic!
 
Adrienne has previously published short stories in The Storyteller, Beginnings Magazine, New Plains Review, and in the e-zines A Fly in Amber, Grim Graffiti, Les Bonnes Fees, The Altruist, The Devilfish Review, and Rose Red Review. Her short story, Falling was awarded second place in the 2008 Alice Munro short fiction contest. To Dance in Liradon is her first published novel.

An avid reader of fairy tales and other magical stories, a thread of the mysterious or unexpected runs through all of her work. When she’s not writing Adrienne can be found searching for faeries along with her daughters Callista and Juliet.

Author Links:


Purchase Links:

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Book Trailer: Embrace by Jessica Shirvington

It's been a while since I uploaded a book trailer, even though I love watching them. Here's one for you to enjoy. Simple but breathtaking. I adore the smoky wings.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Super Book Blast: Eternity by Kim Carmichael


Hi everyone,

First of all I want to wish you a wonderful new year, filled with happiness, laughter, and dreams come true. 

To start off the new year, I’d like to introduce you to a new book, Eternity by Kim Carmichael.
Kim has also brought along some prizes. She will be awarding a variety of prizes to randomly drawn commenters during the tour and this contest is open internationally.

There are necklaces and e-books of Hands on Me, a Kim Carmichael Tote Bag, a set of vintage Harlequin romance books, as well as three pieces of Kim Carmichael Skin Care. Also, autographed cover flats will be awarded at every stop.

As usual, I encourage you to follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:

Good luck and have a great day. 

Eternity
by Kim Carmichael
  
 
BLURB:

Therin Athan faces a choice…eternal salvation or eternal damnation.

After centuries of pining away for a love never realized, Therin's last assignment as a Cupid depends on helping the lonely, shy Lucy Carlton.  The mission's success or failure will determine where he is transferred.  He can study the heavens or be condemned to hell.

Lucy Carlton spent her life searching the stars for answers, but finds them in the form of a gorgeous man who comes in her dreams.  Therin shows her the joys of physical pleasure and encourages her to try to find love.  She wakes with a new found confidence, but soon her timid nature takes over and she retreats back to the comfort of her home…alone.

With only a week to decide his fate, Therin breaks every rule.  What starts as a job to save himself, becomes a love that can never be…except maybe in eternity.

Excerpt:

"Why stars?" He retrieved the bottle and poured her some more, staying quiet hoping she would continue to reveal bits of herself.

"Stars are endless, they are sort of like looking at hope."

He stared at her profile.

She let out another laugh, this one heartier than the first. "Right there." She motioned up at the night sky.

"Where?" He leaned over.

"Right there." She put out her finger and leaned toward him as if to show him her perspective.

He moved the basket to the side and slid over, sighing when he finally focused on what she pointed out. "Pisces." The two fish represented Aphrodite and Eros. A few wisps of her hair tickled his face but he didn't move them away.

"Is she your mother?  Are the stories true?"

"Nothing is ever exactly as it seems." He repeated his words from earlier, but appreciated the way she was fluent not only in the stars but the mythology. "Just like Pegasus, there is more than one Cupid. He was the just the most famous."

"Are you a God?" She kept her eyes on the night sky.

"I am what they call an immortal. I work for the Gods." He lowered his voice as to not scare her.

She finished off her wine. "Why is this your last assignment?  Did I break you or something?"

He put his hand over hers. "I was broken way before you were even born."

"What broke you?"

"Every being has wants and needs." He paused. "Sometimes when they go unfulfilled it's hard to keep going."

She looked at her lap. "What happens after you deal with me?"

"It depends on how successful I am." He balled his other hand in a fist. This was not something to put on a human.

"Do you mean how successful I am?"

From one day in her apartment he knew she was not only intelligent, but also insightful. "Something like that."

"What happens if I don't end up with him?" She stared into the empty glass.

"There are things only Gods know. I need to guide you."

She shook her head. "I don't want to think of you down in Hades."

He almost smiled. "Something like that."

"Must be frightening for you," she whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"If you are immortal then you are never really know how or when it will end." She turned her hand over. "Infinite can be as terrifying as finite."

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Kim Carmichael began writing eight years ago when her need for graphic sex scenes and love of happy endings inspired her to create her own.  She has a weakness for bad boys and techno geeks, and married her own computer whiz after he proved he could keep her all her gadgets running.  When not writing, she can usually be found slathered in sunscreen trolling Los Angeles and helping top doctors build their practices.





@kimcarmichael4