Snap this book up: THE COLLECTOR - Victoria Scott

I first met Victoria Scott through an email she sent me, asking me to join a new author promo venture called Teen Shiver. And, like most of the emails I receive, I decided to think about it and answer later and then forgot to do so. And that could have been the end of this story. But luckily Tori has tenacity. She emailed me back. She referenced David Bowie and Labyrinth this time.

I emailed back right away. Cause, duh, we were obviously soul mates. 

Later that year, Tori sold her first book. She told me about it while crashing a Dallas RWA conference dinner. (Awesome, in and of itself.) She said, "Yeah, it's a YA and it's male point of view, first person." 

Um, what? 

Most of you are familiar enough of the YA genre to know this is definitely different. You've got male narrators, sure. But usually that means the book is third person and there's a girl POV as well. Or the book is written FOR boys. But this was a romance. YA. Written in male first person point of view. 

I was intrigued. 

Fast forward a few months. I started seeing mad hype for this book The Collector on Twitter. And realized it was Tori's book. I was even more intrigued. For a first time author to be receiving so much advanced praise--again, not the norm. 

I had to check it out. And I'm not patient about waiting for release days. So I offered Tori a trade. I'd let her read an ARC of Scorched if she let me read an arc of The Collector. She agreed. We made our trade. I put down A Dance with Dragons, the fifth Game of Thrones book and introduced myself to Dante, The Collector. 

I will say I was a little wary. I mean, what if I didn't like it? What would I say? Would I have to pretend I didn't have time to read it? That would be pretty awkward at parties. 

Thankfully that proved not to be the case. In fact, it turned out to be the exact opposite of the case. The Collector was AWESOME. A breath of fresh air for the YA genre. It was funny, it was smart, it was surprisingly heartwarming and sweet--something I was definitely NOT expecting from the cover. Let me tell you, even though the promo all points to Dante being a bad boy--he has a TON of heart. And he quickly won me over. And his lady love was entirely worthy of his awesomeness. 

I don't think it's a big secret that the YA genre has been pretty depressing lately. (Subject matter-wise, not the quality of the books.) So it was extra nice to read a book that had me LOL'ing. But the real thing I loved about it was not the snarky one-liners, but the heart behind the story. 

Dante would probably hate me going around saying he's secretly a softie. But that's what I loved most about him. Not that he was a bad boy, but that he couldn't help but be good. 

Blood Coven fans -- you will love this one! Go pick it up! It's out April 2nd officially but shipping now from Amazon and B&N.

Or if you'd like a chance to win, I'll give away one copy! Enter below! 

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Need a midweek zombie fix? Tomorrow Land on sale this week - 99 cents!

Hey all,

I don't know about you, but last night's shocking episode of The Walking Dead left me totally hanging! I cannot WAIT until next Sunday to see how they wrap things up! Watch out Governor, you're in Daryl's crosshairs now! (That's all I'll say in case you haven't watched the episode yet. Someone spoilered me on Facebook while I was waiting for Jacob to get home so we could watch. Serves me right for reading social media feeds while my favorite shows are on!)

In any case, in case you need a mid-week zombie fix in preparation for the final season's battle, I've put my own zombie novel, Tomorrow Land, on sale for 99 cents. Hope you'll check it out!

Here's the blurb.

 "A high-stakes, high-octane tour through a devastating and deftly imagined future. This is Mancusi at the top of her game." 

--Diana Peterfreund, author of For Darkness Shows the Stars

Can true love survive the end of the world? 

Imagine finding your first love, only to be ripped apart by the apocalypse. Peyton Anderson will never forget the day she was forced to make a choice--between her family--and Chris Parker, the boy she'd given her heart. And now, four years later, as she steps from the fallout shelter and into a dead and broken world, he's the only thing on her mind.

All Chris "Chase" Parker wanted was to take Peyton away and keep her safe from harm. But he waited for hours in the rain on judgment day and she never showed--breaking his heart without ever telling him why. 

Now the two of them have been thrown together once again, reluctant chaperones of a group of orphan children in a post-apocalyptic world where the dead still walk...and feed. As they begin their pilgrimage to the last human outpost on Earth, can they find a way to let go of old hurts and find the love they lost--all the while attempting to save what's left of the human race?

f you want to read a short excerpt, I actually posted on during a guest blog recently. You can find that here.

And here's where you can get the 99 cent deal!! Ends on Easter.

Kindle
Nook
AllRomance
iTunes 

Weds Chat & Giveaway: Red Ridge Pack Authors

Hey all!

It's Weds and you know what that means! Guest author! Actually today I've got a two-for-one for you--Sara Dailey and Staci Weber, the two authors behind the awesome Red Ridge Pack werewolf series from Boroughs Publishing. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to read the first book in the series, Pack of Lies, last year to give a cover quote and let me tell you, I was hooked! I mean--kick ass werewolf heroine, hot werewolf boys--need I say more?

Here's the blurb for the first book: Pack of Lies

Seventeen-year-old Allison Wright is convinced she’s losing her mind. Uncontrollable mood swings, hot flashes, and the urge to punch anyone who gets in her way are suddenly becoming everyday occurrences. Before her erratic behavior gets out of hand, Allison’s mother finally comes clean about her dark secret. Her mom is a werewolf, and soon Allison and her brother Aiden will suffer the same fate. When Allison reaches her breaking point, the family leaves their life in Texas to move to Red Ridge, New Mexico where they rejoin the pack that Allison’s mother left behind almost 20 years ago.

Unfortunately, not everyone in Red Ridge is thrilled about Allison’s arrival, especially when she attracts the attention of the very handsome, very taken, soon-to-be alpha, Cade Walker. Little does Allison know, her mere presence is causing a rift in a once unified pack. Not only has Cade been forbidden from being with Allison by his father, the pack’s alpha, Cade’s girlfriend, Kendall Stuart, will stop at nothing to get Allison out of the picture. Well on her way to becoming the next alpha’s mate, Kendall expects to rule the pack by Cade’s side even if it means teaming up with a rogue werewolf with an agenda of his own. Determined to get rid of Allison permanently, when Kendall and the rogue join forces, all hell breaks loose and no one in the pack is safe, especially not Cade and his true mate.

Of course with hot werewolf boys you need a hot soundtrack (amiright Stephanie Meyer?) so I asked Sara and Staci to send me their playlists for Pack of Lies and its sequel Circle of Lies. Check it out below and be sure to enter the contest at the bottom--for a chance to win e-copies of the books! 

Sara and Staci: We grew up in the 80s and early 90s when movie soundtracks were all the rage.  Looking back, we can both remember listening to the Reality Bites and Footloose (the original) soundtracks over and over again on our Walkmans.  Yes, a little cassette player with headphones attached.   This was before CDs were readily available and iPods didn’t exist.  Today, there are some soundtracks that have gained a great deal of popularity, like the Twilight and The Hunger Games soundtracks, but oddly enough, those were both books before they were movies.  We think it would be cool if more books, like movies, had soundtracks.  Music connects to so many teens.  They’re always listening to music; it’s no secret that their ear buds rarely leave their ears.  So why not connect music to novels?  It’s fun finding songs that resonate with our storylines and that will hopefully connect with our readers.  With that said, here’s our very own soundtrack for our novels, Pack of Lies and Circle of Lies: 

Pack of Lies Playlist

1. Animal – Neon Trees

2. Raise your Glass – Pink

3. Promiscuous Boy – Nelly Furtado

4. Say – John Mayer

5. Hemorrhage - Fuel

6. Without You – Dixie Chicks

7. Better that Me – Hinder

8. Airplane – B o B

9. Jar of Hearts – Christina Perri

10. Total Eclipse of the Heart – Bonnie Tyler

11. Amazing – Aerosmith

Circle of Lies Playlist

1. Accidentally in Love - Counting Crows

2. Be Without You - Mary J. Blige

3. Drive By - Train

4. Baby Got Back - Sir Mix-a-Lot

5. All That You Are - Goo Goo Dolls

6. Easier to Run - Linkin Park

7. Try - Pink

8. Arms - Christina Perri

9. Fix You - Coldplay

10. Kiss Me Slowly - Parachute

11. Madness - Muse

Feeling the groove now? If I weren't writing this from Panera, I'd be dancing! Now how about you show the bad werewolf boys some love and go check out their books? Here are the links. And be sure to enter below for a chance to win!

Hang with Sara and Staci: 

      

       saraandstaci.com

            Author Facebook Page
 The Red Ridge Pack on Facebook

 Twitter

              Blog

 Goodreads

Buy Links:

Buy on Amazon

Buy at BN

Buy from Boroughs

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