A Taste Test Blog Tour ~ WINNERS

The WINNERS have been drawn! Congratulations to the following, you will be contacted by the Author of your prize pack within 48 hours. Comment on my blog if you haven't heard within that time:

• Claire Frith
• Tejasvini Rao
• Demitra Giote
• Emma (You are the winner of my prize pack. I'll be emailing you shortly)
• Merisha Henderson-Abbott
• Alexandra Louk
• Barbara Kerr

Thanks for supporting us everyone. Hope you enjoy the books and look out for Forbidden Territory's release in a month! YAY.

Back to normal blog posts next week. See you then.
Brenda (aka Zealous Girl)

A Taste Test Blog Tour - Meet Melissa

Welcome to day six of A Taste Test Blog Tour. The author I’d like to introduce today is Melissa Pearl. Co-author of Forbidden Territory with ME!

Not only is Melissa my BFF but she is one of the most amazing people I know. She's super talented at almost anything she tries, but particularly writing, she's an amazing mum, a beautiful wife and the bestest friend a girl could have. I could go on but you probably want to know what questions I have for her :-)

The ten quick fire questions I have for Melissa today are:

Dogs or Cats? Dogs


MMs or Skittles? MMs


Favourite TV Show? Rookie Blue


What books are currently on your nightstand? Bible, devotional book & my Kindle


Favourite kind of date? Dinner and a movie


Guilty Pleasure? Eating cheesecake. YUM! I love a good cheesecake :)


First book you remembering devouring? Bluebirds by Margaret Mayhew


Boots, Sneakers or Stilettos? Boots all the way.


The last song you sang along to? Bullfrogs and Butterflies - one of my son's CDs. Those kids’ songs are really catchy!


Where do you like to sit in a movie theatre? Third row from the back, middle of the screen


Thanks Melissa

Check out Melissa’s Time Spirit Trilogy in ebook or paperback: here or here.
Goodreads: here
Blog: here
Facebook: here and here
Twitter: here

To find out more about Melissa and enter to win one of seven prize packs, please check out the links below.

Happy touring everyone :)

CJs Duggan's blog

Michelle A Hansen's blog 

Nolia McCarty's Blog 

LM Preston's blog 

Melissa Pearl's blog 

Taste Test Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Taste Test Blog Tour - Meet LM Preston

Welcome to day five of A Taste Test Blog Tour. The author I’d like to introduce today is LM Preston. Author of The Pack.

The question I have for LM Preston today is, what are you doing when you aren't writing?

I find the most inventive places to write. I write on my porch, in my car while on long trips, at my kids sports practices, on little pieces of paper - almost anywhere I can sneak it in.

But when I'm not writing, I'm just as busy. I do in person tours from April-October. I go to Balticon, Comic Con, Faerie Con, Writer's Conferences, Book Festivals, Middle and High Schools, Libraries, books signings and other events. I also belong to a Critique group, am Vice President of Mid Atlantic Book Publishing Association and Recruiter for Editors & Lit Agents for the Maryland Writer's Association. And if that doesn't make you think I'm completely insane, I'm a wife and mom four who's team mom, who takes my daughter to open mic, who goes to my son's lacrosse games, who's a movie addict that goes to the movies every Friday. A sufferer of Wanderlust who escapes on a mini-vacation every couple of months.

Thanks LM Preston


Website: http://www.lmpreston.com/
Amazon: Buy online
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lm.preston.7
Blog: http://lmpreston.blogspot.com 

To find out more about LM Preston and enter to win one of seven prize packs, please check out the links below.

Happy touring everyone :)

CJs Duggan's blog

Michelle A Hansen's blog 

Nolia McCarty's Blog 

LM Preston's blog 

Melissa Pearl's blog 

Check back tomorrow when we ask Melissa 10 top questions!

Taste Test Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Taste Test Blog Tour - ME!!

Welcome to day four of A Taste Test Blog Tour. The author I’d like to introduce today is Me: Brenda Howson. Co-author of Forbidden Territory.

I'm going to tell you about myself:

I’m a full time mum with two little munchkins (just today my 1 year old started walking - very exciting) and we live in New Zealand with my husband, who is also my high school sweetheart. Before kids I worked in IT and Graphic Design, which I also loved.


I think of myself as a very creative person, whether I’m knitting, sewing, making cards, or writing. I love it all. I wish there were more hours in the day so I could do them all.


Since I was a child I’ve written stories. When I was a teen it was all about romance and I would craft out scenes where girl meets boy, or boy kisses girl. But as an adult my best friend challenged me to write an entire book and I was hooked. This was something I wanted to do more of and get better at.


Even as a mum, I still crave stories about first love and teen adventures (some of us just never grow up) so that’s what I mainly write and read about.

And what I love about writing: 

I love that I can make up a world that is not mine. I can be someone else (through my characters), experience other things and fall in love again. I love to disappear into a story. Love, love, love it. 

To find out more about me or enter to win one of seven prize packs, please check out the links below.

Happy touring everyone :)

CJs Duggan's blog

Michelle A Hansen's blog 

Nolia McCarty's Blog 

LM Preston's blog 

Melissa Pearl's blog 

Check back on Monday when we ask LM Preston what she does when she's not writing!

Taste Test Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Taste Test Blog Tour - Meet Heather

Welcome to day three of A Taste Test Blog Tour. The author I’d like to introduce today is Heather/Nolia. Author of Wiccan Wars.

The questions I have for Heather today are: Tell us the blurb of the first story you ever started writing?

Wow, that was so long ago that I don’t even remember!  The first book I can remember writing was about a teen girl who ran away from home with a strange guy.  They ended up across the country and got sucked into some kind of kidnapping plot and the girl ends up shooting and killing the bad guy.  It was terrible and will never, ever be read by anyone other than me.  I'm quite sure it's the most awful thing in the world.  Of course, there's another one I wrote around the same time that takes place on a cruise ship...

And what are your Future Plans?


I have so many books in the works that I can’t even keep up!  I’m currently focused on a paranormal romance/horror entitled “The House”, as well as the sequel to my highly rated debut novel (“The Temple”), called “The Trickster”.  Also, another sequel (to “Abigail”), “Angel”.  The first in a witchcraft mystery series called “Mother of All”, as well as a thriller titled "Disembodied".  Those are just the ones I'm actually focusing on--the list of ideas goes on even longer!

Thanks Heather!

Wiccan Wars release date: August 2012

Blog: http://heather.bishoffs.com

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13576248-wiccan-wars 

To find out more about Heather/Nolia and enter to win one of seven prize packs, please check out the links below.

Happy touring everyone :)

CJs Duggan's blog

Michelle A Hansen's blog 

Nolia McCarty's Blog 

LM Preston's blog 

Melissa Pearl's blog 

Check back tomorrow because it's MY TURN!!! 

Taste Test Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Taste Test Blog Tour - Meet Michelle

Welcome to day two of A Taste Test Blog Tour. The author I’d like to introduce today is Michelle A Hansen. Author of Painted Blind.

The questions I have for Michelle today are: 

1. If you could have a psychic power, what would it be?
Without a doubt, I would be a mind-reader. I hate awkward social interactions, and I hate feeling manipulated. I want to know what people are thinking, blatant and honestly, even if it’s not pretty.


2. What is your favorite mythical creature?
This one is a little too obvious. The winged horse. (See Chapter 6)


3. Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?
I don’t believe in “ghosts” as a scary, haunting presence. I believe people live beyond death. I believe in a spiritual soul that doesn’t end. I don’t believe dying changes a person’s spirit into something creepy. However, I also believe that there are powerful forces of evil at work in the world, but each of us has the capacity to overcome evil and do good of our own free will.


4. If you could move anywhere in the world, where would you move and why?
I would be happiest on about 1000 acres with no neighbors somewhere with long growing season. I don’t mind driving awhile to get to civilization.

Thanks Michelle.

Painted Blind is available in kindle and paperback format.
Michelle’s blog: http://www.michelleahansen.com
Painted Blind on Facebook
Painted Blind on Goodreads

To find out more about Michelle and enter to win one of seven prize packs, please check out the links below.

Happy touring everyone :)

CJs Duggan's blog

Michelle A Hansen's blog 

Nolia McCarty's Blog 

LM Preston's blog 

Melissa Pearl's blog 

Check back tomorrow when we ask Heather about the first story she ever wrote and her future plans! 

Taste Test Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Taste Test Blog Tour - Meet CJ

Welcome to day one of A Taste Test Blog Tour. The author I’d like to introduce today is C. J. Duggan. Author of the Boys of Summer due for release in December 2012.

The question I have for CJ today is: Who is the Favourite Character You’ve Written and Why?

Wow! That is like asking to choose between my future mythical unborn children. What a tough question.


For some reason I am instantly drawn to all my snarky arrogant characters. There is a character I have written based on one of my original concepts in a Paranormal Romance I penned a few years ago. He is a snarky Vamp called Alec Suleman; he dresses from the 1880’s but is addicted to music from the 1980’s. He is very dethatched but egotistical. He tends to look upon humans as lower class making his interactions with the main character Jane, a straight-laced Librarian such good fun to write. They have a love hate relationship filled with snarky banter and lots of sexual tension I mean what’s not to love?


You always know a good, strong character when they are easy to write, when they inhabit you and take over with the story. Alec for me is that kind of character and I love telling his story.


Thanks CJ.

The Boys of Summer is due for release in December 2012
Check out CJs blog here.
CJs Goodreads page here.
CJs Facebook page here.

To find out more about CJ and enter to win one of seven prize packs, please check out the links below.
Happy touring everyone :)

CJs Duggan's blog

Michelle A Hansen's blog 

Nolia McCarty's Blog 

LM Preston's blog 

Melissa Pearl's blog 


Check back tomorrow when we ask Michelle four interesting questions! 

Taste Test Giveaway:
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Taste Test Blog Tour

Here is the schedule and giveaway information for the Taste Test Blog Tour. Don't miss your chance to get to know some fantastic new authors and win some very cool stuff.

Happy touring everyone!

PARTICIPATING BLOGS:

http://can-duu.blogspot.com - CJ Duggan's Blog

http://www.michelleahansen.com - Michelle A. Hansen's Blog

http://heather.bishoffs.com - Nolia McCarty's Blog

http://yalicious.blogspot.com - Brenda Howson's Blog

http://lmpreston.blogspot.com - LM Preston's Blog

http://melissapearl.blogspot.com - Melissa Pearl's Blog

Each author will be featured on all six blogs on a particular day with different guest posts and interviews - all of them are short, sweet and a ton of fun to read.



TOUR SCHEDULE:

Monday 21st - CJ Duggan
Tuesday 22nd - Michelle A. Hansen
Wednesday 23rd - Nolia McCarty (aka Heather Marie Adkins)
Thursday 24th - Brenda Howson

Monday 28th - LM Preston
Tuesday 29th - Melissa Pearl


PRIZE PACKS:

CJ Duggan
Summer Pack - Beach bag, lip balm, bookmark, autographed The Boys of Summer print

Michelle A. Hansen
A printed copy of Painted Blind, a signed Painted Blind 8x12 cover enlargement, a Painted Blind promo pack containing bookmark, postcard, hand made soap and lip balm

Nolia McCarty
Digital copies of Heaven Below and Eternal Youth

Brenda Howson
The same type of necklace worn by Mica and Lexy in Forbidden Territory, a bookmark and a digital ARC of Forbidden Territory

LM Preston
A keychain, a magnet and an ARC paperback copy of The Pack - Retribution

Melissa Pearl
The same type of necklace worn by Mica and Lexy in Forbidden Territory, a bookmark and a digital ARC of Forbidden Territory


A Taste Test Prize Pack
Digital copies of:
The Kiss Off by Sarah Billington
My Enchanted Life by Laura Eno
Painted Blind by Michelle A. Hansen
Eternal Youth by Julia Crane and Nolia McCarty
ARC of Forbidden Territory
ARC of The Pack: Retribution
Golden Blood by Melissa Pearl
Paperback copy of:
From Fame to Shame by Veronica Blade
Bookmark and lip balm from CJ Duggan

Don't forget to download your free copy of the book here.

See you back here tomorrow where we ask CJ who her favourite character is! 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday Favourites - Eye Candy

I think I speak for many authors when the idea of seeing their book turned into a movie would be a total dream come true.

For me that would be the ultimate. I see my stories as movies in my head all the time. I love watching the action sequences play out and I love finding actors that look a little like my characters do.

So today I thought I'd do a tribute to all the male leads out there and talk about eye candy. Who do you like to watch on screen? And if you're a writer, who do imagine playing the roles of your, oh so dreamy, male love interests.

I'm going to start with Eli, Mica's love interest in Forbidden Territory. To me he looks like a young version of Tom Welling - you know when he first hit the scene as Superman. Ahhhhh :)

Another actor that I love watching on screen and am hoping to write into a story eventually is Taylor Lautner. I really loved him in Abduction. He was so athletic and gorgeous.

Now - I could go on forever on this post, there is a lot of beauty out there, but I'm going to finish with Penn Badgley. I just watched Easy A the other night (LOVE that movie) and the more I work on Betwixt, the more I picture this guy as my Dale :)


So - who do you like watching on screen? Who do you like writing into your stories, just so you can see them move around your imaginary world?

Forbidden Territory Trailer

I am very excited to share the new book trailer for Forbidden Territory! I love book trailers. I think they are so much fun to make and even more fun to view.

I really hope you guys enjoy it :)

Friday Favourites - Facebook and a Competition

Has facebook taken over our lives or what? A few years ago if someone had said to me I'd have a social media page that I check constantly - all day long - with little notes from my friends on it, I would have laughed.. Yeah right!

As it is, I have several pages that I look after (as Admin) as well as my personal page. I've even got my mum to set up a FB account!!

Have you read any books that mention facebook yet? I'm sure the books will be coming before long. As an author it is definitely something that you can't not think about, as everyone seems to be on facebook these days.

Some of the pages out there are amazing. Others I find overwhelming with constant posts that clog up my feed. In saying that, I think these pages are a powerful marketing tool and I really enjoy using them.

Do you have a favourite Facebook Page? What do you like about it?

Today Melissa and I are thrilled to announce the Facebook page for our new book series about Mica and Lexy!! To celebrate the announcement of our new page we are running a little competition over the weekend: When we get to 30 likes we will randomly select a LIKER to win something from our prize box. Then another prize when we get 40 likes and so on, every 10 likes until we run out of prizes. This is an international competition so everyone is welcome to play!

Our prize box contains: ARC (advanced release copies) of our ebook Forbidden Territory, Melissa Pearl's Time Spirit Trilogy (one copy of each ebook) and bone carving necklaces like the ones Mica and Lexy wear in the book.

We will be using our FB page to let you know about book releases, new books that we are writing and other writing bits and pieces here and there. Spread the word, the more the merrier!

Here it is: http://www.facebook.com/MicaLexySeries
Good luck!!!

Book Review #2 - The Kiss off by Sarah Billington

When sixteen year old Poppy Douglas writes a song about her ex-boyfriend Cam and ex-friend Nikki, she has no idea that her heartbreak is about to go global. 


A local band picks up her song from Youtube and soon she’s along for the ride with her own fanbase as they blow up on the local club scene and hit the international charts. Though it turns out leaving Cam behind isn’t as easy as she had hoped. 


Tangled in a web of unfinished homework, ill-considered sexting and a new lead-singer boyfriend, Poppy has a choice to make between the ex that inspired it all and the rock God whose poster lines the inside of half the lockers at school. But as she struggles to keep her emotional dirty laundry private, she learns that the truth can be hard to find when your life is in the headlines.

Sarah Billington has a unique voice in her writing, which I loved. Her main protagonist, Poppy, was dynamic and interesting and fun. She told you everything she was thinking and feeling. This story is full of detail! I loved the way the teens spoke to each other, it sounded very real. My only little concern was the amount of alcohol in the story the 16 year olds drank.

The love triangle definitely kept the tension. I wasn't sure who Poppy was going to end up with (if either of the boys) but she ended up with the guy I wanted her to. YAY. I had a tiny crush on him myself :-)

A fun story, with lots of dialogue, teen angst, awesome music stuff and did I mention fun? If you like romantic teen comedies, this book is for you. 4 out of 5 stars from me.


If you'd like the check out the current blog tour that's happening, you can find the schedule here:
THE KISS OFF BLOG TOUR

You can find THE KISS OFF on Amazon, Smashwords and Goodreads.

And you can connect with SARAH BILLINGTON here:
Twitter
Facebook
Website
Blog

Book Review - The Kiss Off by Sarah Billington

When sixteen year old Poppy Douglas writes a song about her ex-boyfriend Cam and ex-friend Nikki, she has no idea that her heartbreak is about to go global. 

A local band picks up her song from Youtube and soon she’s along for the ride with her own fanbase as they blow up on the local club scene and hit the international charts. Though it turns out leaving Cam behind isn’t as easy as she had hoped. 

Tangled in a web of unfinished homework, ill-considered sexting and a new lead-singer boyfriend, Poppy has a choice to make between the ex that inspired it all and the rock God whose poster lines the inside of half the lockers at school. But as she struggles to keep her emotional dirty laundry private, she learns that the truth can be hard to find when your life is in the headlines.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the main character, Poppy, right from the start. She was engaging and I love the way she spoke and acted around her friends.

The story had me laughing quite a bit, which I think is great. It's so fun to read a light, playful novel with likeable characters. I think the novel is written for this day and age. The author captured the essence of teens beautifully - the way they talk and dress, the things they are into. I know I am generalizing here - obviously teens are different in lots of way - but you know what I mean. She really nailed it for me. I felt like I was reading a teen novel about realistic teens. It was cool.

The love triangle had me guessing right up til the last page and I've gotta say, Poppy didn't end up with the guy I thought she would. At first I was really disappointed, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized she ended up with the right guy for her.

I think Ms. Billington did a wonderful job with this book and I would recommend it to anyone who likes an easy, entertaining read that will make you laugh.

4 stars from me!

If you'd like the check out the current blog tour that's happening, you can find the schedule here:
THE KISS OFF BLOG TOUR

You can find THE KISS OFF on Amazon, Smashwords and Goodreads.

And you can connect with SARAH BILLINGTON here:
Twitter
Facebook
Website
Blog

Friday Favourites - Characters You've Created

This one is for all the writers out there, whether you're published or not. Actually - it really is for anyone with a good imagination :)

One of the coolest things about writing is getting to create these people and bring them to life on the page. I was asked at one of my school visits last week how close I got to my characters. Was I sad when the book finished because it was like saying goodbye to a friend?

The answer was a very quick, YES!

Although imaginary, these characters become real people. We get to know them so well. You think for them, move for them, react for them... in some ways you leave a small piece of yourself inside each one of them.

So - my question for you today is: who is the best character you've created? Why do you like them so much?

For me - the first one that pops to mind is Gabe Hunter from the Time Spirit Trilogy. I love him so much. He is like the ultimate father figure. He's cool, he's relaxed, yet strong and decisive when he needs to be. I can picture him so clearly in my head - the way he moves, the sound of his laughter - he just... rocks!

Another character I really love is Mica Latham from Forbidden Territory. I find her really funny. She's say things and does things that I would never dream of. I think that's why I like her so much - she is the me I was never brave enough to be at high school.

Now it's your turn - who do you love?

Love scenes in YA Novels

When I was at school there was one book that was read more than any other in the library. It was 'Forever' by Judy Blume. And there were a couple of pages in particular that were quite worn... you guessed it, the pages about sex. 

Personally I don't actually love graphic sex scenes in novels. I prefer the author to leave it up to the readers' imagination as to what's happening, but when it comes to kissing I prefer full emotional and physical details! Do I have double standards? I don't think so. I actually think that making love is a very personal and emotional experience that gets thrown into too many books, just because. I like it to be there for a reason, not just a page filler. 

I also think movies have too much sex without enough of the responsibility. Do the characters ever use contraception? I think we, as authors, have to promote safe sex at least. Unless getting pregnant or a STD is part of your story. 

Anyway what are your thoughts?