The Prodigal blog tour Review & Giveaway**

 

 

Pride, betrayal, forgiveness . . . and the eternal sea. The Prodigal tells the mystical tale of four people on Ocracoke Island whose destiny is tied to an abandoned schooner, thought to have been lost at sea more than a century ago, that one day drifts ashore. Marcus O’Reilly, a renegade Catholic priest, must confront his inner demons. Ibrahim Joseph, a Bahamian fugitive, must face his past. Aidan Sharpe, a fallen lawyer, struggles with self-doubt and his growing affection for Molly McGregor, a fearless towboat captain who cannot find the courage to love. They will all be drawn into a 2,000-year-old mystery that unfolds with the reappearance of the ship.

The Prodigal is available at these retailers.

 

Aidan Sharpe goes from a happily married and extremely successful attorney to divorced and jobless in just a few short years. With everything he worked his life to build now gone, Aidan flees to Ocracoke Island in North Carolina. The once big time lawyer is now working as a boat hand struggling to survive, just like the friends he makes throughout his journey on the island. Father Marcus, sent to the island for his differing views from the church as well as some personal issues. Ibrahim is running from his past. Bobbi is an alcoholic that escaped a bad marriage. And Molly, the captain that makes Aidan feel things he swore he’d never feel again after his painful divorce.

The story starts out painfully slow and slightly confusing. Hurley managed to keep me reading with beautiful descriptions of the island and some pretty in depth characters, with realistic problems and insecurities. I’m not familiar with boats, but if you are a fan of boats and sailing I think this book would be heaven for you, as that is a crucial aspect of the storyline.

Prodigal is a story of redemption and the strength of a man to carry on even when he thinks all is lost. I give this one a strong 3 stars.



 

 

 

 

 

One Winner will get their choice of:

 

*A 2 night stay at  Bluff Shoals Motel, Ocracoke, North Carolina + $25.00 towards your dinner
OR
a $100 Amazon Gift Card

*please review the Terms and Conditions in the rafflecopter form at the bottom of this post

before entering*

 

Michael Hurley and his wife Susan live in Raleigh, North Carolina. Born in Baltimore in 1958, he studied English at the University of Maryland and law at St. Louis University. Michael’s first book, Letters from the Woods, was a collection of essays, self-published in 2005, based on wilderness canoeing expeditions with his children. It was selected as a finalist in the Nature category for ForeWord magazine’s Book of the Year award. In 2013 Hachette Book Group published his memoir, Once Upon A Gypsy Moon, under their Center Street imprint. The Prodigal is his first novel.

   WEBSITE

Terms and Conditions for Motel Getaway Prize
1.            Motel prize is based on two person double occupancy at Bluff Shoals Motel, Ocracoke, North Carolina, at maximum rate of $75 per room per night for a two-night stay between November 1,           2013       and March 15, 2014.
2.            Motel prize applies to the standard room rate and tax for two nights, including tax.  All other charges are the sole responsibility of winner.
3.            Winner is responsible for contacting the motel to reserve accommodations.  Prize subject to room availability.
4.            Cash prize of $25 in spending money for the trip.
5.            Motel prize not redeemable for cash.
6.            Airfare and travel expenses are not provided.

Elei's Chronicles blog tour

Book 1, Rex Rising.
Tams review of Rex Rising

In a world where parasites create new human races, Elei leads a peaceful life — until a mysterious attack on his boss sends him fleeing with a bullet in his side. Pursued for a secret he does not possess and with the fleet at his heels, he has but one thought: to stay alive.

His pursuers aren’t inclined to sit down and talk, although that’s not the end of Elei’s troubles. The two powerful parasites inhabiting his body, at a balance until now, choose this moment to bring him down, leaving Elei with no choice but to trust in people he hardly knows. It won’t be long before he realizes he must find out this deadly secret — a secret that might change the fate of his world and everything he has ever known — or die trying.



Book 2, Rex Cresting.

 Still recovering at a hospital on the north coast of Dakru, Elei is convinced that his part in bringing down the Gultur is over. Rex has infected the other race and their dictatorial system is starting to collapse. Not every Gultur, though, has been affected, and on top of that, inside Elei's body, Rex has matured and goes through another transformation. Elei isn't sure he can survive Rex's new strength -- but that may prove the last of his worries as the Gultur descend on him again.




Book 3, Rex Equilibrium.

 A lot has happened since Elei fled his home island with a
bullet in his side and the Fleet on his heels. With the help of his friends, he's managed to disorganize the regime, run by the all-women race of the Gultur, and he's on a mission to bring peace to the Seven Islands.
Old secrets come to the surface, friendships are forged and betrayals discovered, and a girl, Alendra, has managed to take hold of Elei's feelings.
With a map that leads underground and the hope of toppling the Gultur regime, Elei and his companions seek a weapon to tip the balance of power. But unrest within the resistance means that this time they are on their own and, as if crossing a world torn by war while keeping Rex under control wasn't enough, Elei fears that before the end Alendra might break his heart.




Book 4 Rex Aftermath.

There is war on the Seven Islands. Elei and his friends have unlocked the weapons held underground, but the Gultur regime is not so easily put down. Mantis and his ragtag army of kids need all the help they can get. Elei, Kalaes and Alendra return to Artemisia to create a diversion, while Hera, Sacmis and Mantis attack Dakru City, in a final attempt to bring peace. But with a net of betrayal closing around them and Rex set against Regina in a final confrontation, the price might prove too heavy.

Chrystalla is Greek Cypriot (hence the strange name) and likes writing about bratty, angsty boys and spunky girls in fantasy and science-fiction worlds. She writes mainly for a young adult public but not only (heed the warnings!)

She's currently preparing a non-fiction book about dragons, because the truth must out, and is juggling two series ("Elei's Chronicles" and "Boreal and John Grey").

Follow Chrystalla on her Fan page on Facebook
Like the Boreal and John Grey Page on Facebook
Sign up for the Newsletter to receive notices about new releases and events!
Check out the Rex Rising group on Facebook to follow updates on the series.

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Pendomus Book Blast**

 

Humanity has colonized on the tidally locked planet Pendomus.

Residing between extreme heat and frigid cold is the complex known as the Helix. Within lies a highly sophisticated society functioning solely on humans fulfilling their life’s purpose as determined by their natural aptitudes and daily brain scans.

Seventeen-year-old Runa Cophem has found her calling studying the ancient trees nearby and anxiously awaits a professional placement which will allow her to continue her work.

Runa’s life takes an unforeseen turn when she’s brutally attacked and left for dead in those woods. Rescued by a stranger with blue hair, she’s immersed into a surprising way humanity has survived without the Helix. Fueled by a yearning to understand and an attraction she didn’t even know was possible, Runa tries to make a new life for herself. Yet, there’s much she doesn’t know about herself, about the planet, and the forces controlling her from afar.

What she needs are some answers.

 

Born and raised in central MN, Carissa Andrews has always loved books. She started her career at 15 in a bookstore, just to be able to afford her book fetish. By 19, she worked for a magazine publisher. At 22, she was working for printers to learn their trade. At 27, she went back to school for graphic design, and became an award winning designer. Little did she know all of her experiences would lead her to becoming a self-publishing power house.

Website

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Then, Now, Forever blog tour spotlight & playlist**

 

 

 

Then

 Gia had let Beppe into her life so easily, as if it was the most natural thing in the

world. She’d held him when he’d hurt so badly he’d thought he might die; she’d talked him

down when he’d been so angry he’d considered doing something he’d regret for the rest of

At least once he needed to be strong for her.

This right now, this moment, was theirs. It belonged to them, not to abusive or dead

fathers, not to guilt, regret or sorrow, not to the past or the future.

But will their love survive when tragedy separates them?

“I have to go, Gia. I’m tired and I feel empty. I know you need me, but I have nothing

“I miss you so much it’s hard to breathe.”

Now

Beppe was still Gia’s closest friend. But they’d never be anything more than that

again. Remembering what it felt like to have the person you love most in the world torn away

from you still hurt. Gia was determined never to be put into that position again.

There was never lack of love, but can Beppe win Gia’s trust again?

Forever

“When I was broken you gave me pieces of yourself and made me whole again.”

 

Then, Now, Forever buy links Amazon + Amazon UK + Smashwords

Hi, my name is Teodora and I live in London with my husband Ted and my son Jason. I've

been writing ever since I can remember, but it became my full time job in 2010 when I

decided that everything else I've tried bores me to death and I have to do what I've always

wanted to do, but never had to guts to fully embrace. I've been a journalist, an editor, a

personal assistant and an interior designer among another things, but as soon as the novelty of

the new, exciting job wears off, I always go back to writing. Being twitchy, impatient, loud

and hasty are not qualities that help a writer, because I have to sit alone, preferably still, and

write for most of the day, but I absolutely love it. It's the only time that I'm truly at peace and

the only thing I can do for more than ten minutes at a time - my son has a bigger attention

span than me.

 

 

When I'm procrastinating, I like to go to the gym, cook Italian meals (and eat them), read,

listen to rock music, watch indie movies and True Blood re-runs. Or, in the worst case

scenario, get beaten at every Wii game by a six year old.

Don't be shy and get in touch - I love connecting with my readers.

Blog:www.teodorakostova.blogspot.com

Twitter: @Teodora_Kostova

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teodorakostovaauthor

E-mail: t.t.kostova@gmail.com

Then, Now, Forever music playlist..

Song quotes edits made by my very talented friend Amber at grownupfangirl.com

Music is an essential part of my writing process. I can’t write in silence – it’s just weird. My

taste in music is very eclectic – I can listen to almost anything. When I was writing Then,

Now, Forever I had a wide range of artists and genres playing all the time. And when I say all

the time, I mean all. the. time. My laptop was on for 16 hours a day, constantly playing music

even when I wasn’t in the room. Walking back inside and finding one of my favourite songs

playing always put me in the mood to write.

Even though I must have listened to hundreds of different songs while writing the book, the

ones I chose for the official playlist are the ones I had on a loop while I was writing certain

scenes. It’s amazing how someone, hundreds of miles away, a long time ago, has written a

song and when you hear it, right at this moment, it means something very personal to you.

Or, in my case, for my characters.

The theme song of Then, Now, Forever is Justin Timberlake’s Mirrors. It was like JT

wrote it for Beppe and Gia. Every single line of the song resonates with my characters and

their story.

 

 

Another song that reminds me of Gia and Beppe, especially of their relationship as teenagers,

is Adam Lambert’s Never Close Our Eyes.

 

 

Beppe’s song has to be The Kill by 30 Seconds to Mars. That was the song that I had on a

loop for hours. It was the song that inspired Beppe’s character while I was still writing In a

Heartbeat and concentrating on Max and Stella. It was the song that inspired Beppe and Gia’s

whole relationship.

It is the song that defines the whole book.

 

 

I listen to 30 Seconds to Mars all the time, writing or not. Their music has definitely

influenced my writing and the stories I tell. For Then, Now, Forever I listened to their new

album Faith, Love, Lust + Dreams constantly. While I was writing the book, I went to Italy

for 4 days and saw 30 Seconds to Mars live. It was one of the most amazing concerts I’ve

ever been to and logically it inspired me to write a whole chapter where Beppe and Gia, along

with Max and Stella, go to a 30 Seconds to Mars show. It wasn’t planned before I actually

went myself, but the experience was definitely worth writing about.

Another band which I adore is Three Days Grace. Usually, I prefer alternative to classic

rock, but Three Days Grace’s sound is very old-school and very inspiring. They are one of

the not too many bands that sound better live than in the studio.

Over and Over is a song I had playing throughout the book, as well as Gone Forever, Pain,

Home and Wake Up.

 

 

Beppe has a tattoo with a quote from Rise Against’s song Rumours Of My Demise Are

Greatly Exaggerated, so it had to make the playlist too.

 

 

 

Stupid Girl by Framing Hanley was on repeat when Gia was about to do something stupid,

which was quite often.

Hurricane by 30 Seconds to Mars is an old favourite of mine. It asks an eternal question:

“Would you kill to save a life?” It also paints a beautiful picture of a dysfunctional, yet

perfect relationship – or at least that’s how I see it.

I listen to a lot of Green Day. A lot. When September Ends is a beautiful song, I’ll never

get tired of it. It makes me all melancholy and dreamy, and puts me in the right mindset to

write an angsty scene.

 

Songs:

 The Kill – 30 Seconds to Mars

 Hurricane – 30 Seconds to Mars

Over and Over – Three Days Grace

Stupid Girl – Framing Hanley

 Closer to the edge – 30 Seconds to Mars

 Mirrors – Justin Timberlake

Do or Die – 30 Seconds to Mars

Up in the air – 30 Seconds to Mars

If I had you – Adam Lambert

 What do you want from me – Adam Lambert

 Californication – Red Hot Chilli Peppers

 Gone forever – Three Days Grace

Never close our eyes – Adam Lambert

 Pain – Three Days Grace

 Home – Three Days Grace

Wake up – Three Days Grace

What goes around comes around – Justin Timberlake

 Wait for me – Kings of Leon

 Oh Love – Green Day

 Let yourself go – Green day

 When September Ends – Green day

 Take me – Papa Roach

Getting away with murder – Papa Roach

 Was it a dream – 30 Seconds to Mars

 

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Project Cain blog tour Review & Giveaway**

Sixteen-year-old Jeff Jacobson had never heard of Jeffrey Dahmer, the infamous serial killer who brutally murdered seventeen people more than twenty years ago. But Jeff’s life changes forever when the man he’d thought was his father hands him a government file telling him he was constructed in a laboratory only seven years ago, part of a top-secret government cloning experiment called ‘Project CAIN’.

There, he was created entirely from Jeffrey Dahmer’s DNA. There are others like Jeff—those genetically engineered directly from the most notorious murderers of all time: The Son of Sam, The Boston Strangler, Ted Bundy . . . even other Jeffrey Dahmer clones. Some raised, like Jeff, in caring family environments; others within homes that mimicked the horrific early lives of the men they were created from.

When the most dangerous boys are set free by the geneticist who created them, the summer of killing begins. Worse, these same teens now hold a secret weapon even more dangerous than the terrible evil they carry within. Only Jeff can help track the clones down before it’s too late. But will he catch the ‘monsters’ before becoming one himself?

You can purchase Project Cain at the following Retailers:

    

 

 

Ted Bundy, Richard Ramirez, Jack the Ripper and Jeffrey Dahmer. Recognize these names? They all make an appearance in Project Cain, in a round about way.

Jeff Jacobson's life is about to be turned upside down. He goes from being a somewhat normal teenager with a stable home life to fatherless and on the run from the men in the suits that want to kill him in a matter of hours. His father shares a secret with him. He is in fact only 8 years old and the clone of the noted serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. His father, who is not actually his father, works for an organization known as DSTI. They have been manipulating the DNA of noted serial killers and creating clones, this project is known as 'Project Cain'.

Jeff's father leaves him with this knowledge, a wad of cash and a folder on Jeffrey Dahmer, his creator. Throughout the book Jeff struggles with his identity. Is he truly just a clone of one of the most evil men to ever walk the planet? Or is he the master of his own destiny. Can he control the visions and urges he has rooted within him? Or will he become something dark and dangerous just like his "father", Jeffrey Dahmer.

While a lot of the clones were killed at the same time Jeff learned the truth, several of them have escaped and are now on a killing spree. Jeff ends up with Castillo, a shady character that seems to know a lot about Jeff, DSTI and Project Cain. As the story progresses and these two unlikely partners try to stop the other clones from starting a mass genocide on the general populous, Jeff learns he shares a connection with the others. This connection could help them stop the clones and the killing, but it could also turn Jeff into the one thing he doesn't want to become, the clone of Jeffrey Dahmer.

Project Cain was very dark and sadistic, but it was also extremely engrossing. The reality of the subject matter and me being able to believe that our government could (and may well have already) done what they did in this book with 'Project Cain' left me in a cold sweat. Told completely from young Jeff's POV the reader is trapped in his mind while he struggles with the person he wants to be, and the reality of the evil that is engrained in his DNA.

The formatting of the wording throughout the book threw me off a little, and the EMPHASIS on capitalizing words was a little too much. There came a point as well in the story where it was two steps forward, and three steps back one time too many. That being said, overall I really liked this book. It's a nail biting, dark and violent story that will have you wondering which side Jeff will end up on in the end.

Geoffrey Girard is an award-winning fiction author whose works have appeared in several best-selling anthologies and magazines, including Writers of the Future (a 2003 winner), Murky Depths, Apex Horror & Science Fiction Digest, and the Stoker-nominated Dark Faith anthology. His first book, Tales of the Jersey Devil, thirteen original tales based on American folklore, was published in 2005, followed by Tales of the Atlantic Pirates (2006) and Tales of the Eastern Indians (2007). Simon and Schuster will publish two Girard novels in 2013: CAIN’S BLOOD, a techno thriller, and PROJECT CAIN, a spinoff novel for teen/YA readers.

Born in Germany, shaped in New Jersey and currently living in Ohio. Geoffrey graduated from Washington College with a literature degree and worked as an advertising copywriter and marketing manager, later shifting to high school English teacher. He is currently the English Dept. Chair at a private boys school in Ohio and is an MA candidate in Creative Writing at Miami University.

He has presented seminars and workshops on creative writing at colleges, elementary schools, bookstores and writers’ organizations and can also be spotted speaking at various conventions/events.

 

Website
  

 

3 Winners will receive a Signed Copy of Project Cain by Geoffrey Girard.

 

 

1 Winner will receive a 25.00 Amazon Gift Card.
5 Winners will receive a Surprise ART Bookmark by James Vallesteros.
Must be 13+ to Enter
International Giveaway

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