[Guest Post] Dualed Blog Tour, Interview with Elsie Chapman + GIVEAWAY!

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2013, author, book, books, dystopian, fighting, giveaway, interview, sci-fi, writing, young adult, young adult fiction

Dualed (2013)
by Elsie Chapman
Publication Date: February 26, 2013
Goodreads.
Amazon.
Barnes and Noble.
IndieBound.

I’m very excited to be featuring Elsie Chapman today as part of the Dualed Blog Tour!

Two of you exist.
Only one will survive.

The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.

Q: Share with us some of the inspiration behind DUALED! How long did it take you to write and sell DUALED? And now that you are a 2013 debut author, how does that effect your writing schedule??

The first draft of DUALED took me five weeks, but revisions and took me much longer. In the end, almost everything evens out, it seems. And I think it took me about three months to sell DUALED.

I couldn’t be happier with how it all worked out! But I’m definitely feeling more of a time crunch now that there’s one book already in the works. Because with follow-up books that you might be drafting or editing, you’re still having to edit or promote your first book at the same time. I’m still struggling with better time management, and I’ve learned it is wholly possible to survive on four hours of sleep a night.

Q: You or your Alt? If you lived in Kersh, who do you think would win the dual? What would you use to fight your Alt (weapons, strategy, fighting skills)?

I hate to say it but I think my Alt would probably kick my butt. Not only do I know my own tendencies and weaknesses, I also couldn’t imagine she’d be any worse. But of course it would still have to come down to a battle, so I think if I stood any chance at all, I’d probably have to rely on doing something sneaky.

Don’t forget to check out the other blog tour stops and enter the tour-wide giveaway for a finished copy of Dualed (open internationally, as long as The Book Depository ships to your country.)

Click here to go to Rafflecopter giveaway!

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[Guest Post] Harken Blog Tour, Interview with Kaleb Nation + TWO GIVEAWAYS!

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2013, author, book, books, conspiracy theory, giveaway, interview, writing, young adult, young adult fiction

 Harken (2013)
by Kaleb Nation (twitter.)
Publication Date: January 13th, 2013
Read a 3 Chapter Preview.
Goodreads.
Amazon.

I’m very excited to be featuring Kaleb Nation today as part of the Harken Blog Tour!

After surviving an assassination attempt, teenager Michael Asher discovers that he is at the center of a worldwide conspiracy reaching higher than any earthly power. A supernatural organization desperately wants him dead. He doesn’t know why. Everyone who might have the answers has already been killed.

Q: Will Harken be translated into other languages? What language would you most like to see Harken translated into?

HARKEN is in English right now, but hopefully we’ll see some other translations soon. I’d love to see it translated into Japanese! I haven’t had any of my books in that language yet.

Q: What was the cover choosing process like?

The first cover designs looked nice but didn’t really capture the feel of HARKEN. You can see some of the rejected covers here.
I wanted a cover that captures something iconic from the book. What sets HARKEN apart from everything else out there?
Meanwhile, my readers were anxiously waiting to read HARKEN, which at that time was known as the #SecretKalebBook on Twitter. Some of them started to write #SecretKalebBook on their hands to show their support as I wrote. That got me thinking. How could we design a cover that shows something special from the book but also gives a nod to the people who’ve been waiting for years to read it? That’s where the idea of using Michael’s scale-covered hand came from… and as an added bonus, the word HARKEN is over his hand, just like my readers had been doing! 

Q: Do you think you will have the urge to “fix” or tweak some things in Harken the more you read it?

YES! I am a perfectionist. I was altering tiny details all the way to my deadline. Books are such massive projects that it’s impossible to get everything entirely perfect, and yet I still find it hard to let it go. Because of this, I’ve never fully read any of my books after they were published – I know if I open it, I’ll want to change things!

Don’t forget to check out the other Harken blog tour stops and enter the tour-wide giveaway for a Harken themed Kindle Paperwhite and a Harken prize pack! I know I want it!


Click here to go to Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win your very own HARKEN KINDLE PAPERWHITE!

And to thank you for reading (or scrolling) this far here’s a SECOND giveaway for a Harken prize pack right here on the blog!

• – a giant HARKEN poster (signed)
• – a HARKEN glow-in-the-dark wristband
• – a Kaleb Nation postcard (signed)
• – a HARKEN glow-in-the-dark silver ring

HOW TO ENTER:
Want to win a Harken Prize Pack? Leave a comment telling me if you’ve read Harken yet. (mandatory entry)
1 Winner, INTERNATIONAL, giveaway ends on February 26th, 2013 midnight EST, Good luck!

OPTIONAL Extra Entries (please list them in the same comment, don’t worry–I can do math):
+1 Like the Harken fanpage (leave Facebook name)
+1 Follow Kaleb Nation on Twitter (@KalebNation) (leave Twitter username)
+1 Follow me on Twitter (@noveltoybox) (leave Twitter username)
+1 Follow by email/Wordpress (leave the email/username you used in your subscriptionn)
+1 Share giveaway on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or Blog Post (one entry per share, leave me a link)

[review] 15 Seconds by Andrew Gross (2012) + GIVEAWAY

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book, book review, crime, family, mystery, novel, promotion, psychological, psychological thriller, suspense, thriller, TLC book tours

15 Seconds (2012)
by Andrew Gross (Twitter.)
Publication Date: July 10th, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins; William Morrow
Edition Read: Hardcover, Read for TLC Book Tours

Buy a copy via Amazon.
Goodreads.
15 Seconds Reading Group Guide.

Andrew Gross is the author of the New York Times and international bestsellers Eyes Wide Open, The Blue Zone, The Dark Tide, Don’t Look Twice, and Reckless. He is also coauthor of five number one bestsellers with James Patterson, including Judge & Jury and Lifeguard. His books have been translated into more than twenty-five languages. He lives in Westchester County, New York, with his wife, Lynn.

15 seconds can tear your life apart . . .

Henry Steadman is a successful Florida plastic surgeon on his way to deliver a keynote address at a conference when his world falls apart. Stopped by the police for a minor traffic violation, the situation escalates and he is pulled from his vehicle, handcuffed, and told he is under arrest. Several other police cars arrive and the questioning turns scary, but after it subsides, and Henry is about to move on, the officer is suddenly killed in his car and there is only one suspect: the very person he was about to arrest not ten minutes before. Henry! When a second friend turns up dead, Henry realizes he’s being elaborately framed. But in a chilling twist, the stakes grow even darker, and he is unable to go to the police to clear his name.
-synopsis from Goodreads.

My Thoughts:
Andrew Gross threw me on a roller coaster with 15 Seconds, Harlan Coben was not kidding when he said it was a “stay-up-all-night thrill ride.” Every time I glanced to the page number, I was another 100 pages in. The suspense glued me to the book (Which I finished in one sitting) until the last page was turned. Gross just knows how to keep his readers excitedly guessing. However, despite how much I was enthralled with the story, there are times when I couldn’t suspend my disbelief.

Plot:
I was disappointed that I already guessed where the story was headed before the first hundred pages and how the characters were tied to each other (though I did expect a more complex plot.) It didn’t stop me from wanting to experience the story–but was a slight let-down when the plot wasn’t as brilliantly complex as I hoped. I really wanted a mind-blowing plot twist–but everything was resolved too easily before tension can be built.

Characters:
Henry: The stereotypical nice guy, rich plastic surgeon, and handsome. I pitied him since he gets himself in a mess by seemingly being at the wrong place at the wrong time–but then it turns out he was at the very right place at the right time. He also does hilariously stupid things like attempting to chase a murderer by going crazy on a highway…which only makes him more human. I like him, but I was frustrated at his LUCK: how a nationally wanted serial killer can walk into a prison is beyond me (even if he has a poorly made fake id.) I also thought he got off way too easily; he isn’t completely innocent and owed a few apologies.

[Guest Post] K. Reed, Author of Dark Inheritance + GIVEAWAY

Tags

apocalypse, ebook, free, free book, giveaway, post-apocalyptic, regency romance, romance, zombie apocalypse, zombies

Today I’m lucky to feature K. Reed for a guest post on surviving a zombie apocalypse. Obviously I had to call in an expert since my zombie-surviving plan is to die my hair platinum blonde. So after you finish packing those AK-47s and building a bomb shelter, be sure to check out K. Reed‘s new post-apocalyptic regency romance, Dark Inheritance and enter the GIVEAWAY for an e-book copy.
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How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse. Or why I’d either be the first to die or that person you seek out for refuge.
by K.Reed

Let’s face it. Surviving an apocalypse (environmental, zombie, vampire, Cylon, whatever) isn’t exactly easy. No one is ever ready for The End. We go through our lives expecting tomorrow to be much the same as today. The recent power outage on the East Coast USA is a prime example. I was one of the many without power, people I work with still don’t have power.

We don’t like surviving without our comforts. Sure, we can say how prepared we are, but give people a weekend without TV, Internet, or lights, and see what happens! Let’s not even go to showers, hot water, flushing toilets, and coffee.

[Socialpunk by Monica Leonelle: Blog Tour] Interview + IPad / Kindle Fire Giveaway

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blog tour, book, dystopian, fiction, futuristic, giveaway, interview, sci-fi, technology, YA, young adult

Socialpunk (Socialpunk #1) (2012)
by Monica Leonelle
Publication Date: April 17, 2012
get yourself a copy via Amazon.
Goodreads.

I’m very happy to be featuring Monica Leonelle as part of her Socialpunk (Socialpunk #1) blog tour this month. I am ending the month with an intreview with Ms. Leonelle herself where she shares some of her marketing and writing insights. Many thanks to Monica for taking the time to answer these questions and joining us today!

Monica Leonelle is a well-known digital media strategist and the author of three novels. She blogs at Prose on Fire and shares her writing and social media knowledge with other bloggers and authors through her Free Writer Toolkit.

1. Would you ever write under another name?

Sure, I already write under Monica O’Brien and Monica Leonelle.

2. Does being a novelist change the way you read? (Are you more critical of others?)

Yes, unfortunately. I’m an editor myself (specializing in the marketability of books), and I’m really big on creating fascinating hooks. (If you are a writer you can find out if your first 1000 words are hooking here: http://proseonfire.com/post/20340477218/prose-on-fire-first-1000-free-email-consultation.) I definitely find myself editing a book as I read it, sometimes. There are a couple books in the last year that have not made me feel this way, specifically Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare. It’s so romantic and lovely and sweet, and I completely got lost in it! So I wasn’t mentally editing as I read it and couldn’t even tell you now about the story structure. The book just worked.

If anyone wants to read it, it’s actually the second book in the Infernal Devices, so start with the first one, Clockwork Angel.

[Socialpunk by Monica Leonelle: Blog Tour] Excerpt + IPad / Kindle Fire Giveaway

Tags

blog tour, book, dystopian, fiction, futuristic, giveaway, sci-fi, technology, YA, young adult

Socialpunk (Socialpunk #1) (2012)
by Monica Leonelle
Publication Date: April 17, 2012
preorder a copy via Amazon.
Goodreads.

I’m very happy to be featuring Monica Leonelle as part of her Socialpunk (Socialpunk #1) blog tour. As a lover of all things sci-fi and dystopian, I was immediately enthralled with the Socialpunk excerpt I read off Monica’s website. I’ve chosen to post it here as well and I hope you will enjoy (and be teased) as much as I did! And look out for more Socialpunk blog tour posts from me in the near future! Don’t forget to also enter Monica’s giveaway for a NEW IPAD, KINDLE FIRE, OR A BRAND SPANKING NEW HARDCOVER COPY OF SOCIALPUNK!

Monica Leonelle is a well-known digital media strategist and the author of three novels. She blogs at Prose on Fire and shares her writing and social media knowledge with other bloggers and authors through her Free Writer Toolkit.

Ima would give anything to escape The Dome and learn what’s beyond its barriers, but the Chicago government has kept all its citizens on lockdown ever since the Scorched Years left most of the world a desert wasteland. When a mysterious group of hooded figures enters the city unexpectedly, Ima uncovers a plot to destroy The Dome and is given the choice between escaping to a new, dangerous city or staying behind and fighting a battle she can never win.