BOOKS AND BLOGGING PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy is defined as a theory underlying or regarding a sphere of activity or thought. Well, my theory is if I can add at least 10 new books to my Wishlist and move at least 5 older Wishlist selections to my TBR list every month, then life is a ice cream sundae. And if I can find those 10 books from at least 5 new blogs each month then that's the cherry on top.

NEW VISITORS AND OLD- WELCOME!

NEW VISITORS AND OLD- WELCOME!
Well, I've made it almost 5 years now, so for better or worse, I continue on. I tend to blog in spurts as the urge to be creative erupts. As I don't have an artistic bone in my body, you will see very few changes in the layouts. Hey, I'm a reader not an artist like so many of the awesome bloggers I follow. I know you don't always have the time but if you stopped and looked, take a half a minute and say your piece. Recommend a book that you have enjoyed or hated for that matter. Thank you to all who visit.
Oh, and I moved my Google Friend Connect info and share this buttons to the top, as without our friends, who are we?


Friday, June 26, 2015

Author Jessica Lee Interview and Amazon Gift Card Contest

“All she can remember is hunger…for him.
A year ago, Alexandria Stevens strode through the doors of Wicked Ways and into the arms of a man-a monster, really-who stole everything from her. Her memory. Her life. Now she’s a creature of darkness with only hazy images in her mind of that night and a confusing jumble of emotions. A fierce hate…and an even fiercer desire for Markus Santini.
Markus has walked through this world for more than a hundred years, knowing exactly who and what he was, until Alexandria undid it all. Undid him. When a former vampire colleague threatens one of the Enclave’s own, Markus is needed-but only as the dark, powerful creature he once was. And in order to become that, he must find redemption…in the arms of a woman who despises him with every breath she can no longer take.”
Buy a Kindle copy of Undying Hunger from Amazon by clicking here. – ONLY $3.99!
Books in the Enclave series in the order they should be read:
Undying Hunger - ONLY $3.99!

CONTEST INFO: Open to readers worldwide.
Prize: $25.00 Amazon Gift Card

Author Selena Illyria Release Party and $50.00 Amazon Gift Card Contest

“Take one stubborn and sexy cowboy, add in a voluptuous beauty, mix in emotions, and stir.
Vanessa and Tyler have been friends with benefits for a year. While he’s fallen in love with her, she’s tried to keep her distance. Convinced by her parents that she’s a failure in everything from relationships to jobs, she’s come to believe that she isn’t worthy of love.
Tyler fell for Vanessa from day one when she came to him for a job. He’s accepted her distances and a friends with benefits relationship, while keeping his feelings to himself. Well, not to himself, he had to tell his family right? When his aunt blurts out the dirty details, he has to deal with the fallout.
Can Nessa move beyond her past and what she thought she deserved? Will he take her back despite the hurt she’s caused him?”
Buy a Kindle copy of Once with a Cowboy from Amazon by clicking here. – ONLY .99 cents!
CONTEST INFO: Open to readers worldwide.
Prize: $50.00 Amazon Gift Card

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Author Tara Fuller Interview and Amazon Gift Card Contest

“He’ll destroy everything and everyone to save her…including himself.
Easton doesn’t believe in love. He believes in death. Darkness. Sin. As a reaper for Hell, it’s all he’s known for more than four hundred years. So when he gets slapped with the job of training the boss’s daughter, an angel that knows nothing but joy, he knows he’s in for a world of trouble.
Though he’s made it clear he wants nothing to do with her outside of work, Gwen will do whatever it takes to get close to the dark and wounded reaper – even taint her angelic image and become a reaper herself. But in all her planning, she forgot to factor in one thing – how far the demons Easton doomed to Hell will go for revenge.
When the dangers of Hell threaten Gwen, Easton will destroy everything and everyone to save her. But as the darkness closes in, will he be able to save himself?”
Buy a Kindle copy of Descent from Amazon by clicking here. – ONLY $3.99!
CONTEST INFO: Open to readers worldwide.

Prize: $25.00 Amazon Gift Card

Friday, June 19, 2015

Blog Tour: Sarai's Fortune by Abigail Owen #SaraiTour


She will be forced to choose…save her lover or save herself.

Publication Date: May 13, 2015
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Shadowcat Nation #2

Zac Montclair’s first priority is to protect his people. With the escalating war between factions of shifters over land and resources, he has agreed to an alliance between his polar bears and the Shadowcat Nation of cougar shifters. But the treaty comes with a condition…he must accept one of their Seers into his Timik and put her under his personal protection.
Sarai Bouchard doesn’t need her supernatural gift to know that Kyle Carstairs’s obsession with controlling her ability will eventually result in her misery and demise. Her power is essential to her people’s survival, so when Kyle goes rogue, she’s sent to Zac Montclair to keep her safe. However, her visions reveal that while staying will lead to their becoming lovers, it also leads to his death. Leaving Zac will result in her own.
If Sarai can’t find a way to change the future, she will be forced to choose…save her lover or save herself.



EXCERPT

“You don’t like being a Seer?”

Sarai narrowed her eyes. Very few people realized that about her. She shifted in her seat to face him more fully. At the same time, she tried her best not to touch him, but the way he was angled, her entire right thigh was now plastered up against him. She ignored the sensations the contact was causing.

“Why would you ask that?”

“Your tone of voice right then. Sounds like you resent your gift.”

She gave him a little half smile. “Not at all.”

“I don’t believe you.”

She turned back to the window, determined to stay that way this time. “I can’t help what you believe.”

“If you ever want to talk about it—”

“I don’t.”

After a beat, he said quietly, “—I can be a good listener.”

Eager to end the conversation, she said, “Wouldn’t know it by this conversation. I didn’t take you for such a talker.”

Another long pause. Sarai bit her lip, feeling a little guilty. He was only trying to be kind. She just couldn’t encourage a relationship with this man. Not with the way it was destined to end.

“Believe it or not, I used to talk a lot. My parents called me a chatterbox.”

Suddenly, Sarai was in the middle of a rare look into the past. She didn’t get them often, but it was known to happen. She saw Zac as a little boy, nattering away to his parents, who listened with half-amused, half-exasperated smiles. He was the spitting image of his dad. Suddenly, as she watched, his father tossed his head back and laughed long and loud. A great billowing sound which made Zac and his mother laugh with him.

With a blink she forced herself out of the image. She hadn’t needed that personal look into Zac’s life. She was trying to keep her distance. Zac’s parents were dead now. Killed by the same pack of wolf shifters who’d killed Andie’s mother. She knew that much about him.

“Your father had a great laugh,” she murmured. With great effort, she kept her face turned away.

Her words seemed to drop into a void.

“How would you know that?” He sounded merely curious. “You can see the past?”

Sarai gave a tiny nod. “Sometimes. Just glimpses. Memories, I think. You must’ve been thinking about them.”

“He did have a great laugh,” he said after a moment. Even more softly, he murmured, “I used to laugh more. When they were alive.”

Sarai jerked her head around, turning wide eyes his way, astonished he’d opened up to share something that personal. She felt a sudden, unwanted connection with the lost, lonely boy who’d had to become a man much too fast.

As though he were embarrassed by his statement, Zac laid his head back against his seat and closed his eyes, settling in for a nap and effectively tuning her out.

Sarai watched him for a moment, before she too pulled her gaze away. After a long time, she murmured, “Me too.”


Award-winning paranormal and contemporary romance author, Abigail Owen was born in Greeley, Colorado, and raised in Austin, Texas. She now resides in Northern California with her husband and two adorable children who are the center of her universe.



Abigail grew up consuming books and exploring the world through her writing. A fourth generation graduate of Texas A&M University, she attempted to find a practical career related to her favorite pastime by earning a degree in English Rhetoric (Technical Writing). However, she swiftly discovered that writing without imagination is not nearly as fun as writing with it.


Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads | Pinterest | YouTube



Author Jessica Verday Interview and Amazon Gift Card Contest at BittenByBooks

“Annabel Lee is summoned from Siam to live with her father in 1820′s Philadelphia shortly after her mother’s death, but an unconventional upbringing makes her repugnant to her angry, secretive father.
Annabel becomes infatuated with her father’s assistant Allan, who dabbles in writing when he’s not helping with medical advancements. But in darker hours, when she’s not to be roaming the house, she encounters the devilish assistant Edgar, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Allan, and who others insist doesn’t exist.
A rash of murders across Philadelphia, coupled with her father’s strange behavior, leads Annabel to satisfy her curiosity and uncover a terrible truth: Edgar and Allan are two halves of the same person – and they are about to make the crimes detailed in Allan’s stories come to life. Unless Annabel stops them.”
Buy a print copy of Monsters and Madness from Amazon by clicking here.
CONTEST INFO: Open to readers worldwide.
Prize: $25.00 Amazon Gift Card

Author E. Chris Garrison Interview and Amazon Gift Card Contest at BittenByBooks

“Gamer girl Skye MacLeod can see fairies, but only when she’s tipsy. More Grimm than enchanting, some of these fairies are out to ruin her life, wreaking havoc with her job, her home, and her relationships. With the help of her tiny fairy friend Minnie, Skye has to protect her vampire wannabe gamer friends from all-too-real supernatural threats only she can see. Can she keep it together and hold fast against a wicked fairy Queen’s plot? Blue Spirit is the first book of A Tipsy Fairy Tale series!”
Buy a print copy of Blue Spirit from Amazon by clicking here.
Buy a Kindle copy of Blue Spirit from Amazon by clicking here. – ONLY $3.99!
CONTEST INFO: Open to readers worldwide.
Prize: $25.00 Amazon Gift Card

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Author Naima Simone Release Party and $55.00 Amazon Gift Card Contest at BittenByBooks

“Under his protection and in his bed…
For Fallon Wayland, birthdays are just another reminder of her looming spinsterhood. This year is shaping up to be no different. Fired from her job, dumped by her boyfriend, and oh yes, witnessing the murder of a high-ranking lieutenant in the local crime family… Yeah, birthdays suck.
Ever since a disastrous, hot-as-hell kiss years ago, soldier-turned-security specialist Shane Roarke has avoided his baby sister’s reckless – and gorgeous – best friend. Yet when her life is threatened after she witnesses a gang hit, he insists on protecting her…even if she objects.
The two are forced to hole up in a safe house. Alone. Passion long denied erupts between them, burning away their inhibitions. But even as layers – and clothes – are peeled away, danger closes in. Shane and Fallon might finally have a chance at love…if they survive long enough to see it.”
Buy a print copy of Witness to Passion from Amazon by clicking here.

Buy a Kindle copy of Witness to Passion from Amazon by clicking here. – ONLY $2.99!
CONTEST INFO: Open to readers worldwide.

Prize 1: $25.00 Amazon Gift Card

Prize 2: 3 - $10.00 Amazon Gift Cards\

Friday, June 12, 2015

Author Maz Marik Interview and Amazon Gift Card Contest

“Anthony really doesn’t want to be alone for his grandad’s last night before moving into a care home. Since the old man became ill, the bungalow hasn’t felt right; full of odd sounds and strange things flashing in the corner of the eye…
Eventually, he tempts two old friends, Lee and Amber, to stay over with him. But as the evening wears on, the three realise they are far from alone – and have no way out. A night feels like a long time when you can’t even trust your own eyes.
Suspenseful, moving and terrifying, THE ABSENT is based on genuine accounts, and may well change the way you look at the elderly forever.”
Buy a Kindle copy of The Absent from Amazon by clicking here. – ONLY $2.99!
CONTEST INFO: Open to readers worldwide.
Prize: $25.00 Amazon Gift Cards

My Mind’s Eye by Gillian Jones Author

Ryker 
She is the epitome of the girl next door, but with a feistiness that makes my dick throb. 
I’m drawn to her like no other. She stirs things in me I have no desire to feel, makes me long for things I shouldn’t. 
This is my game. I choose the players, and I never play for keeps. 
I don’t believe in fate. I make my own destiny. I work hard and play harder. Luck is for pussies, karma for idiots. Me, I make shit happen. 
Meeting her fucked up my plan. Threw me off my game. 
I’m now face to face with my karma. Her name is Kat Rollins. 
Kat 
Ryker Eddison is the epitome of a player. You know the type: Mr. Get In and Get Out. 
He’s all about the chase, wanting just one night. Everyone knows this—I know this. Still, I find myself craving him, my greedy body betraying what my heart and mind already know: he will only bring me pain. 
He’s the guy who girls like me should avoid. I’m smart; I know better. But when I’m with him, I feel things I’ve never felt before. Things I never knew I wanted. 
I can’t deny it … I like the chase. The high is explosive, but I’m afraid if I give in, I may end up losing more than I can handle: my heart. 


“Ryker,” she whispers breathlessly, her chest heaving from the kiss. “I want you too, Ryker, so much it hurts."


★Amazon US:http://l.facebook.com/l/2AQHcxWWmAQHir9klGDZ8yxTLIXZyLQwVhCVKlVYWO74sGQ/amzn.to/1K33PMp
★Amazon CA:http://l.facebook.com/l/8AQHSSMA1AQEmhder3JoqmvAHcw3W2H_0I8nDR7zrlsOMRA/amzn.to/1HEWQEH
★Amazon UK:http://l.facebook.com/l/eAQG9X4p5AQE1E1xvnIbusbvhTp20mpfdc0GxXfrS6aOBOQ/amzn.to/1KANbSB
★Kobo:http://l.facebook.com/l/6AQHfyY6tAQG_OtEgMt8Gan9qBeUc3bQql7H2wMJhCvlBFw/bit.ly/1QjRL9c
★B&N: http://l.facebook.com/l/_AQHvGs2KAQGG0Ecbj8DbOZxed-uXXK7IRwWJf62Qg9zkAQ/bit.ly/1RG5pWM
★iBooks: http://l.facebook.com/l/CAQFMiCL2AQEir_qUFLpZ9ijHI6a-_djNJ3LeU69y7rPNFg/apple.co/1I64Gg4

Thursday, June 11, 2015

M9B Two for Thursday Book Blitz – Secret of the Corpse Eater by Ty Drago and Shadows Fall Away by Kit Forbes with Giveaway #T4T


T4T-Banner
Hello and welcome to this week’s Two for Thursday Book Blitz #T4T
presented by Month9books/Tantrum Books!
Today, we will be showcasing two titles that may tickle your fancy,
and we’ll share what readers have to say about these titles!
You just might find your next read!
This week, #T4T presents to you:
Secret of the Corpse Eater (Undertakers 3)by Ty Drago and
Shadows Fall Away by Kit Forbes
Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Undertakers 3
The Corpses are up to something.
U.S. Senator Lindsay Micha has been kidnapped and replaced with a “dead” ringer, the sister to Lilith Cavanaugh, the Queen of the Dead. Now Will Ritter must go undercover in our nation’s capitol to ferret out the truth and try to stop this ambitious deader. But his mission becomes even more dangerous when he learns of a mysterious ten-legged monster that prowls the halls of the Capitol Building — a lethal monster with a taste for Corpse flesh.
The Undertakers: Secret of the Corpse Eater is book three in the wildly popular The Undertakers series from Ty Drago.
add to goodreads
WHAT READER’S ARE SAYING:

Ty Drago has done it again. This series gets better and better!” – Jackie Morse Kessler, Author

“I would highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys reading "exotic" zombie stories!”Erika, WS Momma Reader's Nook

“Percy Jackson-caliber middle grade with a new twist on zombie/aliens. Excellent world-building!” – Katrina, Goodreads Reviewer


about-the-author
Ty Drago

Ty Drago does his writing just across the river from Philadelphia, where the Undertakers novels take place.  In addition to The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses,The Undertakers: Queen of the Dead, and The Undertakers: Secret of the Corpse Eater, he is the author of The Franklin Affair and Phobos, as well as short stories and articles that have appeared in numerous publications, including Writer’s Digest.  He currently lives in southern New Jersey with his wife and best friend, the real Helene Drago née Boettcher.

Author Links:  Website Twitter Facebook Goodreads


Shadows Fall Away 1600x2400

Mark Stewart is one incident away from becoming a juvenile delinquent, and his parents have had enough. They ship Mark off to London, England, to stay with his eccentric aunt Agatha who is obsessed with all things Jack the Ripper. After a strange twist of luck, Mark is struck by lightning, and he wakes to find himself in 1888 Victorian London. His interest in a string of murders Scotland Yard has yet to solve make him a likely suspect. After all, why would a young boy like Mark know so much about the murders? Could he be the ripper they've been searching for? Convinced the only way to get back home is to solve the murders, Mark dives headfirst into uncovering the truth. Mark's only distraction comes in the form of the beautiful Genie Trembly, a girl who is totally out of his league and who may have already caught the attention of the infamous ripper. To save her, he'll endanger both their lives, and risk being trapped in the past forever.
add to goodreads
WHAT READER’S ARE SAYING:

“If you enjoy YA time-travel mysteries, I think you'll like this fast-paced novel.”Kimber Leigh Wheaton, Author



“I found Shadows Fall Away to be extremely engrossing. It's the type of book you want to start and finish in one day because you can't put it down.”Jennifer Bardsley, Author

“'Shadows Fall Away' is a gripping and imaginative young adult novel that mixes time travel, historical fiction, and mystery to keep readers on the edge of their seats.” – Stephanie, A Dream Within A Dream
about-the-author
Kit Forbes
Kit Forbes has  been a lover of books, history, and all things paranormal for as long as she can remember. She lives in Western Pennsylvania with her youngest daughter and an assortment of cats who give new meaning to the world bizarre.

Author Links:  Website | Twitter Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest

Giveaway

Celebrate the release of The Gilded Cage by Lauren Smith!


Title: The Gilded Cage
Author: Lauren Smith
Series: Surrender
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: June 9, 2015
Publisher: Hachette Book Group USA


Passion that takes no prisoners, and love that tests the limits of ecstasy . . .
Fenn Lockwood comes alive in the shadows. Though he might have physically survived the kidnapping that stole his childhood, the trauma and pain he lived through have marked him forever. Now the only place where Fenn can be himself is within the walls of his private BDSM world—a place of erotic obsession, where desire isn’t just captured . . . it’s bound.
Hayden Thorne knows that behind Fenn’s hardened exterior is a man worth fighting for. Yet to save him from the past that still haunts him, Hayden will have to abandon every inhibition she’s ever had and venture into Fenn’s intoxicatingly sensual world. Each tantalizing second she spends in Fenn’s searing embrace is more delicious than the last and soon Hayden begins to think that she may never want to leave such torturous bliss…

Excerpt
Hayden Thorne’s heart was still pounding a little hard, her breath a little shallow, and her palms still hurt from scratches she’d received when she’d climbed over the rail to avoid death. Had she really jumped into an arena to challenge an angry bull? A little half-hysterical giggle escaped her as she collapsed onto the small twin bed in her cheap motel room in Walnut Springs, tugging her red dress down her thighs. Her hands still shook from the adrenaline. 
Yeah, she had actually done it. 
She’d saved Fenn Lockwood’s life. The missing boy in the pair of twins kidnapped at age eight, twenty –five years ago. Emery, the younger of the twins, had miraculously escaped, but never spoke of what might have befallen his brother Fenn. The world had assumed his silence meant Fenn was dead. How wrong they’d all been. He’d been here in Colorado all along, living as a rancher. He was alive. A fact that still shocked her and filled her with a sense of wonder and excitement. Bringing Fenn home could do so much—for him, for his family, for his brother. Fenn’s loss had devastated so many people, including her brother, Wes, who was Fenn and Emery’s childhood friend.
She reached down and tugged off her Jimmy Choo pumps. The black leather was badly scuffed. She’d have to get another pair soon. They were probably ruined by the crowd during the panic following the accident when the stupid bull had thrown Fenn like a sack of potatoes. Why couldn’t he just play polo like his twin? Why did he have to be a bull rider?
She let the shoes drop to the floor. She still couldn’t relax. She was too keyed up for anything else. What she wanted to do was find Fenn and tell him everything. She had tried to find him after she’d gotten out of the arena with the help of a couple of riders. They had enjoyed leering at her chest before she’d gone to find her heels. They’d even trailed after her, making all sorts of comments that would have made her blush if she hadn’t had other things on her mind. 
Once she’d found her shoes, she’d asked around again for where Fenn had gone after he’d left the arena, and she’d been pointed toward the medical tent. By that point, it had been empty except for a polite middle-aged doctor who was busy packing up his supplies. A couple of giggles, a smile, and she’d earned decent directions to a place called The Broken Spur, a place where Fenn worked. 
She slid her hand into the tiny, almost hidden pocket of her dress and touched the slip of paper she’d scribbled the directions to Fenn’s ranch on. Fenn’s residence at the ranch was not something she had shared with her older brother Wes. He could try to bully her into going home all he liked, or into staying out of the way, but she didn’t care. This was her mission and she wasn’t going to give up without a fight. She wanted everyone back home to take her seriously.
  Being a daughter of one of the richest families on Long Island’s Gold Coast was not the perfect dream most people might think it would be. She was a bargaining tool, a pawn for her parents to gain political power and influence. She was marriage material, nothing more. She wanted to shake her parents up, get them to open their eyes and see that she wasn’t just a frilly dressed ninny, but a woman who could actually change the world. Bringing home the long-lost golden boy might just change their minds about her, and doing so would also make sure the people she cared about were finally safe. It wouldn’t be easy, either. Someone wanted to kill Fenn Lockwood and she would not only bring him home but save his life. Just like she’d done tonight—even though tonight she had not expected Fenn’s potential killer to be a damn bull.

Other Books in the Surrender Series
THE GILDED CUFF
Book 1 is available at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Audible

THE GILDED CHAIN
Book 3 is available for pre-order at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks



Amazon Best-Selling Author Lauren Smith is an attorney by day, author by night, who pens adventurous and edgy romance stories by the light of her smart phone flashlight app. She’s a native Oklahoman who lives with her three pets: a feisty chinchilla, sophisticated cat and dapper little schnauzer. She’s won multiple awards in several romance subgenres including being an Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award Quarter-Finalist and a Semi-Finalist for the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award.
Connect with Lauren at her website | blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon

Follow the tour from June 9th – 26th! One grand prize winner will receive a $25 gift card for Amazon or B&N and two runner-ups will receive a signed, print copy of THE GILDED CUFF, book 1 in the Surrender series!

Visit the following blogs for your chance to win!

6/9/2015       Red Hot + Blue Reads     Review
6/10/2015    The Sassy Bookster  Spotlight Post
6/10/2015    Romance Junkies       Spotlight Post
6/10/2015    The Lusty Literate    Spotlight Post
6/11/2015    Lisa's Loves (Books of Course)       Spotlight Post
6/12/2015    Books for Company  Guest Post
6/12/2015    Living In Our Own Story       Review
6/14/2015    Books and Warpaint Review
6/15/2015    Jen's Reading Obsession      Spotlight Post
6/16/2015    PBC     Spotlight Post
6/16/2015    BB's Book Reviews   Spotlight Post
6/16/2015    Kitty's Book Spot!     Guest Post
6/17/2015    Gemma Reads Too Much For It To Be Normal Book Blog             Review
6/17/2015    Happily Ever Chapter   Spotlight Post
6/18/2015    Lush Book Reviews  Spotlight Post
6/19/2015    Monlatable Book Reviews    Review
5/20/2015    Southern Yankee Book Reviews     Review
6/22/2015    Reese's Reviews        Review
6/23/2015    Just Booked   Review
6/23/2015    Mommy's a Book Whore     Review & Guest Post
6/23/2015    Rockin' & Reviewing Review
6/24/2015    Those Crazy Book Chicks     Spotlight Post
6/25/2015    Oh My Growing TBR Review
6/25/2015    The Consummate Reader    Review
6/26/2015    t'irla's talk book blog            Review & Guest Post
6/26/2015    Jeri's Book Attic         Author Interview
6/26/2015    Naughty Moms' Story Time Review
6/29/2015    Spicy, Small Town Romance Served Here  Review