Title: The Guardians Crown

Author: Wendy Owens

Series: The Guardians, Book 5

Genre: YA Paranormal

Book Description:

Gabe is finally forced to answer the ultimate question, will he give his life to save the world? What about just to save the one he loves the most? The Guardians struggle to find another way--ideas that don't involve Gabe's death--to defeat Baal. Time is running out. What will Gabe choose? What price will he pay for that choice?

 

About Wendy Owens

Wendy Owens is a 34 year old author, born in the small college town, Oxford Ohio. After attending Miami University, Wendy went onto a career in the visual arts. For several years she created and sold her own artwork. In 2011 she gave her true love, writing, a try. Her first novel flowed from her in only two weeks time, as though it had been fighting to get out. That moment was when she knew she had found her calling. Wendy now happily spends her days writing the stories her characters guide her to tell, admitting even she doesn’t always know where that might lead. Her first series, The Guardians, will be concluded with the fifth and final book in 2013.

When she’s not writing, this dog lover can be found spending time with her tech geek husband, their three amazing kids, and two pups, lovingly nicknamed stinks and chubbs. She also loves to cook and is a film fanatic.

For more info on Wendy's young adult fiction visit http://wendy-owens.com/

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Release Day Blitz: Through Glass by Rebecca Ethington

Title: Through Glass

Author: Rebecca Ethington

Genre: NA Dystopian

Everyone remembered the day the sky went black. The day the sun was wiped from the sky. They remember the wind as it brought in the darkness; the way the earth shook and everything changed.

Everyone remembered the screams as the darkness ate those who were out in the open, those who had surrounded themselves by light, and those who made noise. Everyone remembered the voice from the sky and the way food disappeared.

 At least, that’s what I hoped. I hoped that there was an ‘everyone’ that would remember because I am not sure how many are left, how many survived. Or if anyone did.

 I hoped that I wasn’t alone.

 I remembered that day.

 I remembered because it was the day I became alone.

 It was the day that everything was perfect until the monsters took it away. Then the house went silent and the birds stopped singing. It was the day when everyone disappeared, everyone except the boy, the only person I have seen in two years.

The boy I talk to through the glass.

Teaser

I looked up as the screech of the Ulama ended, as the monster fell to the ground of my room, the dark blood of the two dead creatures spilling over my once white carpet.

 I stared at the monsters as I panted and my heart beat a frantic pulse against my skin. I stared as my pulse slowed until I could pull my eyes away from the thing that tainted my room to look into the eyes I had dreamed about every night for as long as I could remember.

I couldn’t move, I couldn’t make my tongue work. I just looked at him, knowing that tears were sliding down my cheeks; knowing and not caring. 

I wasn’t sure why I was crying, I wasn’t sure if it was because of the panic that still surged through my body or the joy that I felt at seeing him there. 

“Alexis,” he said, his voice as deep and rumbling as I remembered it. It shot through me and for the first time in years I felt alive. 

It was him. 

I didn’t say anything. I didn’t trust my mouth enough to form coherent words. I just moved. I moved as he moved, our hands meeting for the first time in two years as we hovered over the body of the monsters that had attempted to kill me. 

I grasped his skin, my heart beating so fast I was sure I couldn’t take it. A shaking breath moved out of me, his own breath moving across my skin. He moved closer as his frantic breaths rolled over me—the heat of his breath, of his touch—igniting a fire across the surface of my skin. His fingers trailed their way up my arms, over my face, across my neck… 

I had forgotten how good this felt. I had forgotten what touch was like; what it did to my body. 

Everything felt like it was on fire. I smiled through the tears as he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me toward him. I let him, letting my own arms wrap around him in my desperate attempt to get closer to him, to feel more of him. 

I felt his lips graze against my skin, the touch dry and foreign, but incredibly welcomed. I turned into it, my fingers digging into his tattered shirt and into his shaggy unkempt hair as the scruff on his chin moved against my face. I gasped at the prickly sensation that cut into me, the gasp deepening into a groan as his lips made contact with mine. The feeling of ecstasy I was now feeling grew into something I couldn’t ignore. I clung to him, I pressed into him. I felt every part of him as he did the same to me. No words had passed between us since he had said my name, but we didn’t need them. I could feel his happiness in the way he clung to me, sensed his relief in the way he breathed and his joy in the taste of his lips. I felt it all and I knew he felt it all from me. He pulled away from me slowly; his hands unwilling to leave my body as he moved back to look at me. His cheeks were stained with tears as he moved my hair out of my face and stared into my eyes. 

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” he said again, the same words from all those years ago sounding even more beautiful. 

“Two years, one month, thirteen days and a few hours?” He smiled as I spoke, his fingers running over the skin of my face like he would never let me go. 

“And a few minutes,” he gasped, the sounds of ecstasy heavy in his deep voice. He smiled and I couldn’t help it, I laughed. I laughed loud and deep and let the sound carry around us. 

Cohen smiled as his laugh filtered through mine like a silver ribbon. The happy sounds surrounded us and, for that moment, I was happy. I was free. 

I couldn’t feel the pulse of fear that still beat through me. I didn’t see the monsters that lay lifeless in my room. It was Cohen and me, and everything was perfect. 

Until the sound that would ring in our death rent through the air. 

The screech of the Ulama broke through the sound of our laughter and destroyed the perfect peace we had created. The sound left as quickly as it had come, the warning received. We didn’t have much time. 

They were coming.   

About Rebecca Ethington

Rebecca Ethington has been telling stories since she was small. First, with writing crude scripts, and then in stage with years of theatrical performances. The Imdalind Series is her first stint into the world of literary writing. Rebecca is a mother to two, and wife to her best friend of 14 years. She was born and raised in the mountains of Salt Lake City, and hasn't found the desire to leave yet. Her days are spent writing, running, and enjoying life with her amazing family.

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New Cover Reveals: Selling Scarlett and Taming Cross by Ella James

Today author Ella James is revealing the new covers for Selling Scarlett and Taming Cross!

Title: Selling Scarlett (Love Inc. #1)

Author: Ella James

Genre: NA Romantic Suspense

ROMANTIC SUSPENSE FROM BESTSELLING AUTHOR ELLA JAMES...

Elizabeth DeVille doesn't belong at a party like this--one where the gowns cost more than her Camry and cigars run higher than her grad school utility bills. Dragged out of seclusion by her best friend Suri, Elizabeth is merely playing dress-up, rubbing elbows with a crowd that banished her troubled family years ago.

 Hunter West is tired. Tired of parties, tired of pretending, and tired of trying to right a wrong that haunts him every day. Bourbon heir and professional poker player by day, by night Hunter is gambling with his life in a high-stakes game of crime and blackmail.

When Elizabeth stumbles into Hunter's den of vices, she's a light in the darkness, a flame in the void. And, just like everything he touches, Hunter mars her in a record time. To rectify the damage done, Elizabeth needs money she doesn't have, and she's come up with a foolproof way to get it.

Follow Elizabeth--code-named Scarlett--to the lush Nevada brothel where she'll auction her virginity and risk the only thing that's not for sale: her heart. The highest bidder is a familiar face, with wicked hands and the devil's mouth. And a secret so dark that it could cost her life.

 **Mature Content Warning** Not recommended for readers under the age of 17 due to mature language, sexual content, and violence.

Selling Scarlett is a full-length novel of 107,000 words. It has a complete happily-ever-after ending with no cliffhanger. It's the first book in the Love Inc. series, featuring a different couple in each novel.

Title: Taming Cross (Love Inc. #2)

Author: Ella James

Genre: NA Romantic Suspense

ROMANTIC SUSPENSE FROM BESTSELLING AUTHOR ELLA JAMES...

For twenty-three years, Cross Carlson was a playboy. You know the type. Tall, dark, and wealthy. Blue-eyed. Charming. He seemed to have it all so easy. But Cross was harboring a terrible secret - one that helped ruin the life of an innocent girl and almost ended his own.

Finally out of the hospital, Cross is flailing, scarred in both body and mind and stifled by the weight of the secret he still keeps. The only way to absolution lies in a Mexican convent, and going there could cost him everything.

 If there's anyone who knows what it's like to screw up big time, it's Meredith Kinsey. Just a few years ago, Merri was an ordinary girl with a job at her college newspaper and white picket fence kind of dreams. Now she's holed up in a Mexican convent, hiding from a drug lord who thinks he owns her. 

What happens when the only way out of hell is with the son of the man who put you there? They say love conquers all, but does it really?

 NOTE: Cross and Merri's story is a Love Inc. Book. It features some characters from Selling Scarlett, but it follows a completely different story line can be read as a stand-alone.

 *Taming Cross is a new adult romance novel and is not intended for young readers due to violence, sexual situations, and mature language.

About Ella James

Ella James is an Colorado author who writes teen and adult romance. She is happily married to a man who knows how to wield a red pen, and together they are raising a feisty two-year-old who will probably grow up believing everyone's parents go to war over the placement of a comma.

Ella's books have been listed on numerous Amazon bestseller lists, including the Amazon Top 100; two were listed among Amazon's Top 100 Young Adult Ebooks of 2012.

To find out more about Ella's projects and get dates on upcoming releases, find her on Facebook at facebook.com/ellajamesauthorpage and follow her blog, ellajamesbooks.blogspot.com.

Links

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Release Day Blitz: Starting Over by Cheryl Douglas

Today is the release day of Starting Over by Cheryl Douglas!!

Title: Starting Over

Author: Cheryl Douglas

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Eve Bolton retreats to her childhood home to regain the identity she lost during her troubled marriage. When her husband asks her to come home, she decides it's time for her to start over... alone.

Alex has been so preoccupied running his family's business that he's lost sight of what's important... Eve. But can he make it up to her or is it too late to save their marriage?

Starting Over Quotes

“Do we have anything left to talk about, Alex?” – Eve Bolton, Starting Over

“I can take care of my wife.” – Alex Bolton, Starting Over

“Are you trying to tell me this marriage is over?” – Alex Bolton, Starting Over

“Do you think I would have come all this way if I believed you’d written me off?” – Alex Bolton, Starting Over

“I came here for you, because you needed me.” – Alex Bolton, Starting Over

“It’s time we stop hurting each other and admit the truth.” – Eve Bolton, Starting Over

“You can’t just throw ten years away on a whim.” – Alex Bolton, Starting Over

“I want to show you how much I love you.” – Alex Bolton, Starting Over

“You’ve never needed me.” – Eve Bolton, Starting Over

“Everything I do is for you, baby.” – Alex Bolton, Starting Over

“I didn’t want a martyr or a hero.” – Eve Bolton, Starting Over

“I need to know it’s not too late to make things right.” – Alex Bolton, Starting Over

“I almost believed you when you said you wanted out of this marriage.” – Alex Bolton, Starting Over

“Tell me what I need to do to fix this, Eve.” – Alex Bolton, Starting Over

“I want to be married to you.” – Alex Bolton, Starting Over

“It’s too late to go back.” – Eve Bolton, Starting Over

“My home isn’t with you anymore.” – Eve Bolton, Starting Over

“You’re not leaving me.” – Alex Bolton, Starting Over

“You needed me.” – Alex Bolton, Starting Over

“We want different things out of life.” – Eve Bolton, Starting Over

“”I grew up and so did you.” – Alex Bolton, Starting Over

“Eve is my life.” – Alex Bolton, Starting Over

“If I could fix things, I would.” –Alex Bolton, Starting Over

“I’m as invested in this marriage now as I was the day we took our vows.” – Alex Bolton, Starting 

Over

“Why are you making this so hard?” – Eve Bolton, Starting Over

“I tried to be happy in your world for years.” – Eve Bolton, Starting Over

“I want to give you a million reasons why you belong in New York with me, but I can’t.” – Alex 

Bolton, Starting Over

“You used to love me that way.” – Alex Bolton, Starting Over

“No one could ever take your place.” – Alex Bolton, Starting Over

“I can’t let it end this way.” – Alex Bolton, Starting Over

“Sleep’s been pretty hard to come by lately.” – Alex Bolton, Starting Over

“I should have divorced you a long time ago.” – Eve Bolton, Starting Over

“Everything was different then.” – Alex Bolton, Starting Over

Giveaway

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About Cheryl Douglas 

Cheryl began her professional career as a nutritionist, but her love of books started at an early age. She studied writing for many years before she decided to pursue her passion as a full-time career. After receiving constructive criticism from several well-known authors, Cheryl finally had the confidence to write her first romance novel.

 The first book in the Nashville Nights series, Shameless, was a book that had been dwelling in Cheryl’s subconscious for years. For her, the surprise came when the manuscript began taking on a life of it’s own. Characters came to life, secondary characters became more prominent, outlines were forgotten, and a single title evolved into an eight book series, and another eight book spin-off series entitled Nashville Nights, Next Generation.

 One word would aptly describe Cheryl: workaholic. She lives and breathes her writing, when she’s sleeping, watching TV, driving, reading… it’s always in the periphery of her mind. Her imagination rarely takes a holiday, even when she escapes to a sandy beach with her husband and son, she’s planning, plotting, outlining, and daydreaming.

 Cheryl feels blessed to be able to get up every day and do something she loves. The thousands of fans who have embraced the Nashville Nights series have made that possible. She writes for the readers who ask for more, she writes to satisfy the muse residing inside of her, but most of all, she writes because she couldn’t imagine doing anything else with her life. It took her thirty-seven years to decide what she wanted to be when she grew up, but now that she knows, she’s convinced she’s found her purpose.

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Reader Questions: A Higher Calling

Many times over the last year or so I've been questioned about A Higher Calling.   These questions vary from: "It's so dark and vicious, why is it so different from your other books?"  To: "There's so much anger and violence, where did you get your story idea from?"

Generally, I try to answer as vaguely as possible without being a total jerk and giving no answer at all.  I'm very much the sort of person who prefers to keep my personal business personal.  I have talked here and there about why I wrote the story. (And why I'm still writing the sequels)  However, I never really get into the nitty gritty of it.

Due to more of the same sorts of questions and after much soul searching, I've decided to spill the beans.  A: Because it stems from an issue that is destroying families left and right.  And B: Because I feel that I am at a point in my life where I need to be a bit more vocal about issues I care strongly about.

A Higher Calling is more than just a story about an angry Nephilim hybrid, or a mother who lost it, it's my therapeutic way of dealing with situations I have no control over.  And just like the story itself, it all began with a busted lip, a black eye, and a torn bloody t-shirt.

In the fall of 2009, one of my grown daughters rushed into my house around 11:00 pm.  She had a dark bruise under her right eye.  Her bottom lip was busted open and still seeping blood.  The old white t-shirt she was wearing was torn at the neck and hung off her left shoulder.  She had my two year-old grandson with her and he was nearly as hysterical as she was.

Being a writer, at the very least, I should be able to express the rage I immediately felt.  I should be able to, but I can't.  There are no words to adequately describe the kaleidoscope of emotions that ran through me. Murderous, rage, agony...to name a few, but even those do not do the actual feelings any justice whatsoever.  For the first time in my entire life, I wanted to kill.  And I don't mean shove a gun in someone's face and pull the trigger.  Oh no, that would have been way too easy.  I wanted to beat the brakes off the person who'd done this to my baby girl.  Slowly, methodically, and painfully, kill him one swing of a baseball bat at a time.

I held her, tried to talk her into going to the police and making a report, and we did a lot of crying.  Around 2:00 am, we finally went to bed.  She had assured me she was done and it would never happen again.  We'd made plans to go get her things, I'd arranged to have her older brothers help, everything was set.

I tossed and turned for at least another hour or so after I'd went to bed.  You see, years before I'd been in a violent relationship.  She was very young, but she'd witnessed the abuse.  I laid there ravaged with guilt.  I'd mistakenly thought I'd gotten out in time.  I genuinely believed the abusive events they'd witnessed would keep them from ending up in the same sort of situation.  At that moment, I knew I'd been wrong all along, and I couldn't help feeling like I was partially to blame for her situation.

The next morning, I got up, made coffee, and went to check on her.  The bed was empty.  I wandered outside to see if she'd went out for a smoke, no one was there.  Before I found the note she'd left me, I already knew in my heart what had happened.  And I knew there was nothing I could do about it.  Nothing.

After a good cry, an unanswered phone call to her, and a few cups of coffee, I sat down at my computer and did the only thing I could do.  I poured my feelings into a word doc.  The more I wrote, the angrier I got.  But I felt empowered.  I wasn't running over there with a machete to take the destroyer out, but I was doing something.

Now years have passed.  Thankfully, she left the relationship within a few weeks of the beating.  She's a strong, independent young woman now.  The young man who treated her so brutally has also drastically changed.  I forgave him some time ago and even though they are not together, we still talk on occasion.  I've learned to love him for the person he is now, and put his past failings behind me.

But the story A Higher Calling remains.  It is not yet finished and I will be adding to it for quite some time.  There's still more to tell, because domestic violence comes in many forms.  Most people believe that making the decision to leave should be easy.  Unfortunately, it's not that black and white.  In some cases, it's nearly impossible.  Right now, in this very moment, there are women and children living in a situation that they know will most likely end with their deaths.  But where do you go when there is no where to go?

Domestic violence is a problem that will never go away.  We can't hide from it unless we close our eyes and choose not to see it.  Or we can choose to educate our young people (boys and girls alike) about what it is, how it starts, and most importantly...how to get out of it.  So yeah, A Higher Calling is gritty, vicious, dark, and violent, but there's a message there if you're inclined to read between the lines.  We can overcome.  We can persevere.  We can make a difference if we choose to.  Not by being Sophie and beheading people (of course), but by stepping up, stepping in, and taking a stand.

Willow Cross