January Kindle Fire HDX Giveaway!

  

Win a Kindle Fire HDX, Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash ($229 value)   This is a joint AUTHOR & BLOGGER GIVEAWAY EVENT! Bloggers & Authors have joined together and each chipped in a little money towards a Kindle Fire HDX 7".

All New Kindle Fire HDX 7" Giveaway

The winner will have the option of receiving a 7" Kindle Fire HDX (US Only - $229 Value)

  Or $229 Amazon.com Gift Card (International)

  

  Or $229 in Paypal Cash (International)

      

  January Sponsors

1. I Am A Reader, Not A Writer
2. Feed Your Reader
3. The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl
4. Author Kimber Leigh Wheaton
5. Author Inger Iversen
6. NESSAROX
7. Author Carol Davis Luce
8. The Reporter and the Girl
9. Author David Pandolfe
10. Bella Street Writes
11. Author Bonnie Blythe
12. Author Elizabeth Seckman
13. MyLadyWeb: Women's History and Women Authors
14. Just One More Chapter
15. Author Donna Fasano
16. Author Lia Fairchild
17. Author Linda S. Prather
18. Author Heather McCoubrey
19. Author M.A. Comley
20. Jessica Loves Books
21. Fae Books
22. Author Cidney Swanson
23. Lori's Reading Corner
24. Author Jennifer Laurens
25. Allergic to Life
26. ~Owl Always Be Reading
27. Author J.L. Weil
28. Buku-Buku Didi
29. Barb's Wire - eBooks & More
30. Author Jennifer Gilby Roberts
31. Another Head Full of Fantasy
32. Fairiechick's Fantasy Book Reader
33. Author Kim Cresswell
34. Mother Daughter Book Reviews
35. Buried Under Romance
36. Jenna Does Books
37. Laurie Here
38. The Bunny's Review
39. Bea's Book Nook
40. Fabulously Girly Book Blog
41. The Loopy Librarian
42. Bound4Escape
43. Michael SciFan
44. Chapter by Chapter
45. Author Helen Smith
46. Button-the-Push Books and Giveaways
47. Author S.M. Blooding
48. Back Off My Books
49. Author Brinda Berry
50. Author Christie Anderson
51. Author Leslie A. Susskind
52. More Than A Review
53. Author Heather Gray
54. Paige Ryan
55. Fire and Ice
56. Author Bryna Butler

Sign up to sponsor the next Kindle Fire Giveaway: http://www.iamareader.com/category/kindle-giveaway-sign-ups   

Giveaway Details 1 winner will receive their choice of an all new Kindle Fire 7" HDX (US Only - $229 value), $229 Amazon Gift Card or $229 in Paypal Cash (International). There is a second separate giveaway for bloggers who post this giveaway on their blog. See details in the rafflecopter on how to enter to win the 2nd Kindle Fire HDX 7". Ends 2/9/14 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. 

Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the participating authors & bloggers. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. 

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Book Blitz: PODS by Michelle Pickett + Giveaway

PODs

by Michelle K. Pickett

Release Date: 06/24/13

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

Paperback/ebook

312 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Eva is a chosen one. Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of symptoms emerging. In the POD system, a series of underground habitats built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, it's in the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all, it's a balm for the broken soul.

After a year, scientists believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the virus. That's the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened, survivors find the surface holds a vicious secret. The virus mutated, infecting those left top-side and creating... monsters.

Eva and David hide from the infected in the abandoned PODs. Together they try to build a life--a new beginning. But the infected follow and are relentless in their attacks. Leaving Eva and David to fight for survival, and pray for a cure.

Praise for the Amazon Bestselling PODs:

"5 Stars! I loved this book. I have been kind of bogged down with dystopias lately, but this was amazing. It was so cool to see life before the 'event', to see Eva wrestle with her choices and then, to watch her change as she lived inside the PODs...Yes, there are zombies. Yes, there's a little romance. But I think, at its heart, PODs is a coming of age story about Eva and how she grows from a girl into a strong, decisive woman during this period of absolute destruction. And Pickett writes it beautifully." ~ Sherry Ficklin, author of "Extracted"

"I was blown away by this debut novel from Michelle Pickett! Rather than feeling like I was reading a book, I actually sometimes felt like I was actually watching the characters' lives progress; it was kind of weird! The emotions that Eva felt were so raw and real, and I think Michelle really captured the emotions that one would be feeling in a post-apocalyptic world...PODs may very well be one of the next big things in YA, so I am very happy to have been one of the ones that was part of the beginning of it all! Congrats Michelle on your YA debut and I am looking forward to more by you!  I gave PODs a well-deserved 5/5 stars!  " ~ Phil book reviewer at Stack of Hardbacks

“5 glowing, sparkling stars for this one!...I absolutely adored every character Michelle introduces us to. This book isn't just about a romance, or two people fighting some battle. This book allows us to get to know several, amazing, diverse characters who all grab your heart (even a few who have attitude issues). They all held such an important place in the story… Now for the plot. Holy crap!... Michelle did a flippin' fantastic job giving us each piece of this puzzle… I won't go into details about what happens after they are removed from the POD but O-M-G! The action never stops…This book seriously needs to be a movie. I could picture every detail and already see it playing out on screen. PLEASE SOMEONE MAKE THIS HAPPEN!”  ~ Jessica of Total Bookaholic

Buy Links:

  

Also Available from:
Books-A-Million

Wal-Mart

Book Excerpt:

He flinched at the sound of my voice, snapping his laptop shut. Looking over his shoulder, he smiled. “You look beautiful in the morning, Eva. Your blonde hair messy and falling around your face, your eyes— not quite blue, but not quite green— sparkling in the morning sun… or the simulation of the sun,” he said with a crooked grin.

“Stop joking around. What were you just looking at?” I’d seen the picture on his laptop before he’d shut it. People running around their POD, a look of terror in their eyes. I reached out and opened the lid of his computer. My arm brushed against his, sending goosebumps racing across my skin. I had to concentrate to remember what I was asking about. The screen was nothing but static. “They cut off another one? Who?” I let go of his computer and started to pull my hand away. He grabbed it, folding it into his own, threading our fingers together. He grazed his lips over my knuckles.

Oh. Wow. Do that again.

My insides swirled out of place and did things I’d only read about in my mother’s racy romance novels.

“Yes. Someone I know from class. You don’t know him. And who says I’m joking?”

“What?” He was difficult to understand on a good day, but that early in the morning, seeing him in nothing more than blue pajama bottoms, his lips moving against my fingers as he talked, it was nearly impossible.

“You told me to stop joking around. I wasn’t joking.”

My heart was beating so hard and fast in my chest, I was sure he could hear it. I pinched the bridge of my nose between my fingers. My fingernails bit into my flesh.

Say something, Eva! Do Something— anything. Just… something. “So…” I started, only to be interrupted by my yawn. Except yawn, idiot! Kiss him… wait… what?

“What’s your theory on the PODs being cut off? Do you think there’s that many people testing positive for the—”

He stood, turned toward me, cupped his hand around the back of my neck and pulled my lips to his. That shut me up. Shock slammed into me, quickly giving way to pleasure, and pleasure to urgency.

 I wrapped my arms around his neck, threading my fingers through his silky hair. David’s hand moved from the back of my neck to cup my cheek, his thumb caressing my skin. The other one moved to the small of my back, pulling me tighter against him. He kissed me long, deep. It was sinfully erotic feeling his bare skin under my fingers.

When he tore his lips away, he looked in my eyes. My first instinct was to turn away, but both his hands cupped my cheeks. He bent his head and grazed his lips over mine before looking at me again.

“I’ve wanted to do that since the first day I saw you. And each day I’ve known you it’s been harder and harder not to.”

“Well, what took you so long?”

About the Author:

I'm a wife, mother, author, reader, although not always in that order.  I write young adult urban fantasies, science/fiction and paranormal romances and have recently started dabbling in young adult contemporary romance. Reading was one of my earliest passions, writing soon followed. I began writing seriously during college where I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in accounting. Why I chose a career that frowns on creativity remains a mystery.

I’m addicted to Reese’s peanut butter cups and eat way too many while I write, have an abnormal obsession with hoodies and can’t write without one, and I hate to cook, but love to watch cooking shows on television. An unabashed romantic, I love a swoon-worthy ending that will give me butterflies for days.

I wrote my debut young adult novel, PODs, in 2011. PODs, a science/fiction, post-apocalyptic romance, will be released June 4, 2013 through the amazing Spencer Hill Press.  My second young adult title, Milayna, a paranormal romance, will release through Spencer Hill Press beginning in March 2014. Milayna is a standalone, with series potential. It’s meant to be a trilogy. The Infected, a PODs novel, will release November 2014. It is the second, and last, book in the PODs series.

I was born and raised in Flint, Michigan.  I now reside in a small community outside Houston, Texas with my incredibly supportive, not to mention gorgeous, husband, three amazing school-aged children, a 125-pound lap dog, and a snooty cat.

Keep up-to-date with my current, future projects, appearances, and fun giveaways at www.michelle-pickett.com.

I always love to hear from readers, bloggers and other authors!

Find me here:

Website│Email│Blog│Facebook│Twitter│Goodreads

Giveaway

First place: Signed copy of PODs, tote bag, and swag (US only see note for international)

Second place: Signed copy of PODs and swag (US only see note for international)

*International winners will receive a print copy of PODs only if www.Bookdepository.com delivers to their country. Otherwise they will receive an e-book. Swag will not be included.

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Book Blitz Organized by:

The Dauntless Authors and Giveaway!

Join The Dauntless Authors for a giveaway for 2 $25 Amazon Giftcards during the week of January 13. 

Throughout the week they'll also be giving away TONS of ebooks at their Facebook Party!

Team Dauntless:

Kate Avery Ellison 

Nancy S Thompson

Wendy Knight

Amber Argyle

RaShelle Workman

Elle Strauss

Megg Jensen

Angela Corbett

Cindy Hogan

Christy Dorrity

Rachel Morgan

Shantal Hiatt

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Tour Stop: Bond of Love + Excerpt

As a picturesque mother and wife, forty-one year old Avery Richards seems to have it all. Married to a successful veterinarian named Noah and mother to a spunky daughter named Kara, her life is far from awful but she is stuck. With the recent move of their daughter, who has just flown the coop for college, this story examines the deep and often-tumultuous bond between mother and child and the lengths we are willing to go to, as mothers, to sacrifice our own happiness for the ones we love. As we watch Avery walk through her ‘new’ way of daily life, without her ambitious and stubborn child around to mother any longer, we are given a very unique opportunity to tip toe in the front row of their lives, from three very separate views. We will see life as it plays out through her mature and motherly eyes, through Kara’s young and sheltered heart, and then through ‘someone else’s eyes’ that has a vested interest in them both. 

 As Avery’s well-hidden web of lies come crashing down in an unexpected way, her secrets that she’s safeguarded for years will threaten to rip her peaceful world apart, as well as the world of the ones she loves most. As readers, we will watch how ONE single choice can alter everything. Each character will then be forced to examine what the true meaning of love and forgiveness means to them. Every gamut of emotion will be explored: humor, sadness, love, joy, betrayal, hate, and forgiveness. Bond of Love will leave you pondering the age-old question: How well do YOU actually know the ones you love most?

Buy on Paperback | Kindle | B&N | Kobo | Apple | Sony

Book Excerpt

Tapping my finger on the song, the music begins to roll as I start my wimpy run down the street. What Goes Around Comes Aroundmelodically thumps in my ears; my feet swishing their way back and forth over the pavement to the rhythm of the beat. Tragic as it may be to watch me, this particular song of his always makes my body want to move. I decide to refrain from scaring the living b-Jesus out of my neighbors though, and focus instead. Keeping my hips and upper body in check, I decide it’s best to save my special hip-hop moves for Bubba’s viewing pleasure only. I have tragically white dancing skills. Kara has told me so on more than one occasion.

            Letting Justin’s voice wisp me away into a land of toned bodies and drooling good looks, I round the corner going full speed ahead, paying attention to nothing but the alluring tone of his sexy voice and the fresh fall air. The sun is shining, the air is somewhat clear (which is rare for Bakersfield since we live in the valley of smog), and I am actually running and breathing. Feeling proud and elated in this amazing accomplishment alone, I don’t see him coming at me until it’s too late. Everything happens in slow motion.

            I see the leather, raven-colored gloves reaching forwards to grab me.

            I feel strong arms grip my skin.

            A dark jacket hits me smack in the face.

            And then I scream.

Meet the Author:

This is Amy’s second published work, the first being a memoir written exclusively for her children. As a former second grade teacher, and long time professional photographer, she has been writing and filling journals since she was young enough to hold a pencil and form words. Although writing brings her to a place of solace and joy, her most ambitious and fulfilling job in life thus far has been being a mother. Married for nearly two decades now, she and her husband share four daughters, who fill their lives with amusement, love, and drama daily. It is her lifelong goal to preserve her family’s history through the written word, pictures, and the human touch of love.

Follow Amy on Facebook | Literary Addicts | Goodreads

Follow the Book Tour! 

  The Author is giving one lucky reader a $25 Amazon GC. Fill out the form below to enter and remember to pick up her book. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Promo: Arcadia's Gift by Jesi Lea Ryan

By Jesi Lea Ryan

Most people who experience death don't live to tell about it. When sixteen year old Arcadia "Cady" Day wakes in a hospital after experiencing what can only be called a psychic episode, she finds her family in tatters. With her twin sister gone, her dad moved out, her mom's spiraling depression and her sister's boyfriend, Cane, barely able to look at her, the only bright spot in her life is Bryan Sullivan, the new guy in school. When Bryan's around, Cady can almost pretend she's a regular girl, living a regular life; when he's not, she's wracked with wild, inexplicable mood swings. As her home life crumbles and her emotional control slips away, Cady begins to suspect that her first psychic episode was just the beginning...   

    

 Think high school sucks? Try being an empath who has to experience everyone else’s suckage on top of your own. (Literally.) In the months since her family life imploded and her psychic gifts began to arise, Cady has struggled to figure out how she can fit into her normal life without going crazy from the constant presence of emotional energy. Her grades have tanked. Her best friend is afraid of her. And she begins to have doubts about why her boyfriend, Bryan, is really keeping her around. But a chance meeting with another gifted girl online opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Unfortunately, this new world comes at an awful price.   

Find The Arcadia Novels here: Amazon (Arcadia's Gift)/Amazon (Arcadia's Curse) AUDIBLE Audio Book of Arcadia's Gift

Author Bio:

Jesi Lea Ryan grew up in the Mississippi River town of Dubuque, IA. She holds bachelor degrees in creative writing and literature and a masters degree in business. She considers herself a well-rounded nerd who can spend hours on the internet researching things like British history, anthropology of ancient people, geography of random parts of the world, bad tattoos and the paranormal. She currently lives in Madison, WI with her husband and two exceptionally naughty kitties. 

Stalk Jesi Lea here: Facebook/Twitter/Website/Blog