Monday 30 April 2012

WINNERS!!

Winners for Elemental Enmity Giveaway by Christie Rich

 I would just like to say a HUGE thank you to Christie for being so generous to giveaway 2 e-book copies of Five and 2 e-book copies of Dark Matter and a BIG thank you to all the peeps that have entered. Now on to the winners…



Sarah M. Montee
Ritesh Kala


CONGRATULATIONS!!


Please note: An email will be sent to each of you, you have 24 hours to reply in order to receive the book. The winners were announced in no particular order.

Wednesday 25 April 2012

Author Post & Giveaway

When Readers Speak: Writing a Follow-up Book Series
by Raine Thomas

When I first developed the concept behind my Daughters of Saraqael trilogy, I never considered making it into a series. In truth, knowing what I do now about the young adult market, I might have even considered writing a standalone novel instead of an entire trilogy if I had to do it over again. I’ve read more blogs by readers and reviewers begging for standalones than I ever imagined!

That said, by the time I finished Foretold, the third book in the Daughters of Saraqael trilogy, I found myself writing an unexpected epilogue. In it, one of the secondary characters is about to embark on an adventure…which left me little choice but to write at least one more book. I wasn’t sure what that next book would look like or whether there would be any interest in it, but I released the Daughters of Saraqael trilogy without changing that epilogue.

That was on July 24th, 2011. I think my internal debate about whether to follow my initial impulse and write more books about the Estilorians lasted a total of two days. After that, I already had feedback from my first readers that told me I absolutely had to write more books about the Estilorians.

Enter the Firstborn trilogy.

Writing a follow-up trilogy is astonishingly challenging. After all, the Daughters of Saraqael trilogy came to a rather concrete end. But my readers fell in love with the main characters of Becoming, Central and Foretold, and they’ve asked me time and again whether they’ll get to continue following their stories.

The thing is, the stories of those characters have all been told. Now it’s time for their children to take the stage. This required me to carefully balance incorporating the main characters from the first trilogy with the new characters in the new one. I’ve got to satisfy my existing Estilorian fans while catching the attention of those who haven’t yet read the first trilogy. Since Defy (Book One of the Firstborn Trilogy) releases soon, I suppose I’ll find out soon enough if I succeeded!

Will this be the end of the series of books about the Estilorians? Well, I haven’t yet finished Elder, the third book in the trilogy…so who knows? But like I did with the first trilogy, I’ll let my readers guide me. If they stop asking for more books in the series, I’ll know it’s time to move on.

I’ll leave you with an excerpt from Defy, which releases on April 30th. I hope you’ll check it out and let me know if you’re now an Estilorian fan!

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Prologue (Defy: Book One of the Firstborn Trilogy)

The pain was unimaginable. She dragged herself along the ground with her one working arm, at turns scrabbling at tree roots or shrubs and at others digging her hand as deep into the earth as she could manage before hauling her broken body as far as possible. In the past hour, she had moved approximately fifteen feet.

She knew she was going to die. The horrors that had been visited upon her were so atrocious that she couldn’t even think of them now. It was as though a black haze coated her memory.

But her attackers had left her in sight of a platform that could get her to Central. They had no way of knowing it because, being Mercesti, they were unable to see the heavily enchanted travel system. The platform glimmered to her like a taunting beacon, however, bouncing lightly on the waves. If she’d had the required energy left, she would have extended her wings and flown to it.

Animal-like sounds left her throat as she struggled for the strength to move. If she could somehow get to the platform, perhaps someone at Central could help her. And if she was very fortunate, kyria Amber or archigos Gabriel might even be in attendance. They could heal her.

Once more, she stretched her right arm in front of her. The ground onto which she was emerging from the forest was sandy and open. If any of her attackers remained nearby, they would see her. While that thought terrified her, she couldn’t fight the instinct to survive. She knew she had to try. So she pressed her hand into the blazing hot sand until she had enough of a grip to pull herself. Then she strained her already aching bicep and heaved herself forward as much as she could.

She didn’t even move a foot.

Although she thought her attackers had wrought all of the tears from her, she realized now that wasn’t the case. They tracked down her bruised and broken face, joining with her sweat and plopping into the sand beneath her head. Heat radiated from the unforgiving surface beneath her, burning her already punished skin.

A sound to her right had her stiffening in fear. She made a whimpering sound as distinct footfalls grew nearer.

Her enemies must have returned to finish what they started. The tears continued unchecked as she carefully removed her hand from the sand in hopes she could do at least a little damage to the next male who hurt her. She would fight until she couldn’t.

But the being approaching her stopped on her left side. She tried to move her head toward her left and couldn’t. Another pained sound escaped her.

The presence knelt. He said, “Ah, Luvania. What have you gotten yourself into?”

She couldn’t turn her head and her vision was blurred by tears and exhaustion, but recognition was immediate. Although she hadn’t heard that voice in over fifty years, she could identify it. He still managed to sound both impatient with the world and infinitely bored by it. And at the moment, there was a gentleness beneath his tone she would never have expected.

“I am afraid your injuries are beyond my ability to repair,” he said. “I have seen others emerge from the water where you appear to be trying to reach. I can get you to the platform with your assistance.”

She couldn’t find the energy to speak, so made another sound in her throat and moved her head in a form of a nod.

“This will hurt.”

He lifted her. Pain screamed through her body. She squeezed her eyes shut against it. When she again opened her eyes, she realized they were in the water. She must have passed out.

“Thought I might have lost you there,” he said. “Are you ready for placement on the platform?”

Why would he not get on it with her? The thought floated through her head and then faded as insignificant. They had only a couple feet more to go. Extending her right arm toward the platform, she indicated she was ready. He obligingly moved forward. When her hand came into contact with the platform, more tears welled in her eyes. He settled her on it and stepped away.

“Good fortune to you, Luvania,” he said.

She once again thought to ask why he wasn’t accompanying her, but by then she was lifting into the sky.

The trip took an eternity. She lost consciousness more than once. Each time, she saw her rescuer’s face in her mind, though she hadn’t actually glimpsed him during their encounter. Thoughts of him from the past as well as what he had just done for her kept her focused, overriding the brutality she had endured.

She wanted to thank him. Wanted to praise him for giving her hope merely moments after she had given up and decided she was going to die. She wanted to help him as he had helped her. Surely he needed her help if he was living on the mainland and had removed himself from existence for over five decades.

Her delirium grew. Thinking became difficult. But at long last, through vision that was slowly fading to gray, she saw the outline of Central approaching.

She had made it.

The platform eased its way into Central’s loading bay. The darkness of the underground cavern had her blinking to try and focus. It did her no good.

Her brain registered the sounds around her, but couldn’t interpret them. The pain had leeched from her body. She understood then that it had all been for nothing. Her efforts. His efforts. For nothing.

“Holy light!” she heard.

There were other sounds. Other exclamations. People touching her. But she no longer felt anything. She registered only one lingering image.

“Luvania, can you hear me?”

Something flickered in her mind at the echoing voice. Caoilinn.

“Luvania, can you tell us who did this to you?” the Lekwuesti commander asked, her words filled with urgency.

She wanted to tell them. They needed to know. Others would be at risk as she had been. There were dangers beyond any Estilorian’s knowledge lurking on the mainland.

So she struggled to work her strained vocal chords as darkness clouded her mind. There was something important she had to tell them. Wasn’t there?

Then she remembered. The image she had carried with her on the ride to Central. Someone she needed to help.

And with her last breath, she told them.

“Zachariah.”

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Raine Thomas Bio:
Raine Thomas is the author of a bestselling series of YA fantasy romance novels about the Estilorian plane, including the Daughters of Saraqael trilogy and the upcoming Firstborn trilogy. She is a proud member of Romance Writers of America and is a contributing blogger to The Writer's Voice.

When she isn’t planning weddings, writing or glued to social networking sites, she can usually be found on one of Florida’s beautiful beaches with her husband and daughter or crossing the border to visit with her Canadian friends and relatives.

Connect with Raine Thomas:
-      Twitter
-      Facebook
-      Pinterest
-      Website
-      Blog

Giveaway:

The fabulous Raine Thomas has been kind enough to giveaway one e-book of Becoming! :) Super cool, right? All you need to do to enter is fill out the Rafflecopter below and leave a comment – easy peasy!!

Good luck…






Friday 20 April 2012

Author Post & Giveaway

More ‘F’ words than you can handle… 
FREE, FUN, FANTASTIC & FABULOUS

Today, I’m welcoming Christie Rich to Alexia’s Chronicles, a fabulous friend of mine and awesome author of Elemental Enmity Series. Take it away Christie J

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I’d like to thank Alexia for inviting me to chat with you all today. I met her on Goodreads and she has become a dear friend. So a little bit about me: I live in a small town in Utah, USA, with my husband, two wonderful children, our spastic dog, and two lazy cats.

I’ve always loved stories. I had the pleasure growing up of being surrounded by cousins and friends with vivid imaginations. Every summer during my childhood, my family would travel to Arizona where my cousins lived for a few weeks holiday, and I used to entertain myself on the long drive by making up stories. Then I grew up, got married, got a real job, had kids and all the fun stuff adults do. I actually didn’t read anything for fun in the first ten years of my marriage.

UGH. I honestly don’t know how I did it. You see, there is part of me that craves a good story like the rest of me craves good chocolate. I have to have it. I guess I probably made due with TV and movies during those years, but one day I picked up a book and haven’t stopped since. I can’t stand to be without something great to read.

It wasn’t until a few years later, after I read Twilight and a million other books after that, that I discovered I had a story of my own to tell. The first glimpse of the Elemental Enmity Series came to me in the form of a little pixie named Fexlie. She flitted into my mind after a long day at work. At that time, I commuted forty five minutes each way to work, so I had plenty of time to daydream. Fexlie was so real and vibrant, I couldn’t get her out of my head. She introduced me to Rayla and other characters followed. Pretty soon I had the foundations of a real story—something I never thought was possible for me.

One of my good friends had told me she wanted to be a writer, and since I had this story, I tried to give it to her. She refused, like the good friend she is, and told me that if I had a story, I needed to write it. I couldn’t let the story go, so I did just that.

I’ve had the best fun of my life writing, and I can’t imagine a time where I would stop.

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Cover reveal:

So Christie has redone the cover for her first book, Five! I personally LOVE the newer version J

                 Old                               New

 Which cover do you like best?

Introducing the Elemental Enmity Series:

Five [Book #1]
Rayla Tate was just a child when her mother disappeared from her life forever. Raised by her aunt Grace in a small town, she has lived an extremely sheltered life. Unknown to her, she was hidden from the fae who live secretly among us. Descended from an ancient blood-line of Elementals, only she has the power to crown the first fae high-king.

Sick of provincial living and the dictates of her aunt, Rayla flees the safety of her home and runs away to college with her best friend. Unfortunately, excitement over her newfound freedom is short-lived when she finds herself being chased by a mysterious stranger on her way to school. She is drawn to him immediately; however, she somehow manages to resist the compulsion she feels. As he disappears into the night, she is certain he hasn't gone far.

Rayla struggles to deal with the encounter while adapting to her new environment. To make matters worse, Aunt Grace reveals that Rayla will be hunted by a pack of fae lords, each hoping to claim her power for his own. She soon finds herself surrounded by stunning men. Could they be fae, or is this just normal college life? More importantly, why does she feel drawn to each one of them? What dark power do they hold over her? She must quickly learn to fend off these beautiful and seductive pursuers using whatever means necessary or find herself lost to the fae world forever. – see my review
here

Dark Matter [Book #2]
Rayla Tate’s dreams for the future shattered when she discovered she was an Elemental capable of manipulating matter. Thrust, once again, into the magical fae realm of Faeresia, she has an important choice to make. But now that she has Heath to contend with, deciding between Zach and Luke is the least of her concerns. Tall, dark and lethal to her will, her attraction to Heath eclipses all she has experienced with any other lord, but he is using compulsion to wear her down. If only she could trust her feelings?

In a desperate attempt to escape Heath, she accepts the help of a little troll and finally gets what she wants; however, her relief is short lived. Things go terribly wrong when a dark force closes in on her, threatening to steal her burgeoning power before she even has a chance to test her abilities. Now, with Rayla as their captive, the Order will stop at nothing to create a male Elemental, and willing or not, Rayla is the key.

Caught up in the age-old battle for dominance between human and fae, only one question matters to her now—will she be able to save those she loves most without losing herself in the process? Or will she be forever haunted by the choices she alone can make? – see my review
here

Connect with Christie Rich:
-         Website
-         Facebook
-         Goodreads
-         Twitter

Giveaway:

Giveaway time!! Booyah! Christie is so friggin’ awesome that she will be giving away 4 books but only 2 lucky winners, are you catching my drift? Yup, you guessed it – 2 lucky peeps will win Five AND Dark Matter – dudes this is epic right? Book 1 and book 2 are up for grabs J Can I get a ‘whoop whoop’? All you need to do to enter is fill out the Rafflecopter below and leave a comment letting me know which cover (old or new cover of Five) you like the best! Easy, right?

Good luck… may the best book worm win! J

Monday 16 April 2012

Guest Post: Erotica vs Porn

Erotica vs Porn by Natalie Hancock
     Since I became an author of erotic paranormal romance, everyone has said the same thing whenever the topic ‘erotic romance books’ comes up. Erotica is porn.
     Is it? There is such a big difference between the two I wonder why someone could think erotica was porn in the first place.
     Erotic romance tells the entire story, including the sex. It’s there to stimulate the mind and the body with the romance and arouse emotions and the imagination with the erotic side of romance.
     Porn is exploitive and degrading. There are no other words to describe porn. Of course that is my opinion. Many people don’t find porn degrading and I would never tell them they are disgusting for watching it. If they want to watch it, then that’s fine by me. I know a lot of people who do, most for research, others just because they want to.
     The way I see it, and most authors too, if you take the sex out of porn, you are left with literally nothing. You take the sex out of erotic romance and you still have the romance.
     When you watch a film, and there are breasts out on display, any other body part or there are couples having sex, is that porn? I’m pretty sure it isn’t, even though a lot of people get aroused watching it, yet the majority of people, men mostly, say erotica romance is. How does that work?
     I write erotica romance because when I speak about the love my characters have with one another, the emotions they feel whenever they are together, I want to describe that in all forms, including sex.
     Is that so wrong?
     I have had someone tell me that if two people love each other and create a porn video, that’s romance.
     I laughed hysterically at that.
     In my opinion, you could be in love with someone, you could be the most romantic couple there ever could be, but when you have sex and put a video of that up on the internet for millions... No billions of people to masturbate over, you’ve lost your romance right there. Instantly. What you share with your partner or partners is meant to be private, for you only, not for everyone else to see.
     Yes, erotic romance books have detailed sex in it, but you can’t watch them have sex, you can only see it in your mind. And what do you really see when you read an erotic book? Do you see the couples described, or do you see yourself with your partner, or a partner you would like? Do you see all your wildest fantasies coming true?
            Just remember that when you say an author is writing porn, you are insulting them, and the people who read their books. Erotica is not porn and porn is not erotica. I know I can’t change most people’s minds about the difference between the two, but I do hope to change a few.
Natalie Hancock: Bio
Natalie is a hyperactive writer of Paranormal Romance books. She writes about vampires mainly, but would like to write stories of other paranormal creatures. She studied and graduated at the University of Lincoln, Riseholme College where she studied an animal course for two years, which is where she met her partner, Reece. He's as crazy as her, if not more, so they're the perfect match.

They live with their zoo in the middle of nowhere. Their zoo consists of a hamster called Crunch. A chinchilla called Hektor and three guinea pigs called Fluff, Smudge and Squig. They hope in the near future to add to the family and get an army of hamsters, chinchilla's and guinea pigs. Oh, and a goat.

Natalie loves to read, listen to loud rock/hardcore music, game, and look after her crazy animals. She also loves vampires! She's a true believer of all things supernatural and if she had the luck to run into one, she would either ask for his or her autograph, or jump on them just to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

Natalie’s Books:

Eternal Darkness is about the life of Layla, a half vampire, half human who is sent to live in a hundred acres of land full of vampires for her own safety. The only problem is she hungers for the vampires blood, so when she has lessons with them, not only does she struggle with the hunger raging inside of her, but she has to learn to trust those around her, something she can’t do because she has a dark past, and because of it, she has trouble trusting anyone.
She knows she’s in as much danger inside the land as she was when she was outside the land, and she can’t shake off the feeling that something, or someone is watching her, waiting to attack her, despite the guards watching her every move.
When she meets one of the tutors, she feels things towards him and wants both his blood and his body, but it’s forbidden to feel the way they do and Layla must fight her feelings otherwise the secrets she desperately wants to remain a secret will get out, and put her in more danger than she already is.
 
Dark Shadows continues the story of how half-breed Layla struggles with her hunger, and her desires for Shade now more than ever. She is also struggling to keep her hidden identity a secret as well as her secrets, but when there are attacks made on her, and it puts everyone in serious danger, the identity she has kept hidden is revealed.

In Dark Awakening, there is more security, more people watching Layla’s back now that everyone knows who she is. Layla wants to find the person responsible for the attacks made at her, as is everyone else, but when an attack happens to someone other than her, she and Nikalye are the only ones who know the truth of it and are determined to find the culprit once and for all, before someone else is seriously injured.
Layla continuously fights for survival to keep herself and those around her alive, but when more things sinister arrive in the hundred acres of land, and the culprit is revealed, the situation turns from bad to deadly.
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A huge thanks to Natalie! Visit her website here. (Don’t you think those covers are drool worthy? ;)
What are YOUR thoughts on Erotica vs Porn?

Wednesday 11 April 2012

Sunshine Blog Award

I was nominated by the awesomesauce Leia Shaw for a Sunshine Blog Award! Thanks Leia, much appreciated J
 So, here are the rules…

1.  Include the award logo in your post or on your blog
2.  Answer 10 questions about yourself – I made up my own, you can use
     mine or make up your own
3.  Nominate 10 – 12 other wonderful bloggers
4.  Let the other nominees know they are nominated and include links
     to their blog
5.  Link the person who nominated you

Let the fun begin…

 1.  What book are you currently reading?
I am busy with the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series, book #5 Bloody Bones by Laurell K. Hamilton

 2.  Vampires or werewolves?
Vampire of course… I love ‘em fang faces

3. How many books have you read so far this year?
40 – yes I’m a total nerd and have no social life J

4. Who is your favourite character in a book you’ve read?
Hands down Nix (a.k.a. Nucking Futs Nix) from Immortals After Dark Series

5. Heels, sneakers, flip flops or clogs?
Heels definitely – can’t live without them, total shoe whore

6. What’s your dream vacation?
I’ve always wanted to travel to Scotland, Ireland and Venice

7. Who is your favourite author?
Kresley Cole – love her writing style

8. Favourite book/series?
I have a few: Immortals After Dark Series by Kresley Cole, Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series by Laurell K. Hamilton and a few more…


9. Why do you enjoy reading and writing reviews?
I have a passion for books… blah blah blah – I am friggin’ addicted to reading and always want to discuss a book I’ve read and what better way to do it with writing a review? Reading is my way of escaping reality! Enough said…

10. What is your favourite quote from a book?
Hmmm… this is a tough one, I have so many – I can’t decide!

Here are my nominees:

Ritesh @ Ritesh Kala’s Book Reviews – he and I would open a can of whoop ass during a zombie apocalypse

Natasha @ Dreamland: A Teenage Fantasy – she is the little sister I never had

Martina @ Martina Bookaholic – she blows me away with her blog, writing reviews in German & English

Christie Rich @ Christie Rich – amazing author and a dear friend of mine

Terra Harmony @ Terra Harmony, Eco-Fantasy Author – extremely talented author that is game for anything

Kay @ K-Books – this chick kicks ass daily, juggling life, studies, Goodreads Groups and her fab blog

Kristy Berridge @ Kristy Berridge – author and my fav Twitter bud

Vicky @ Books, Biscuits & Tea – love reading Vicky’s reviews, she is a talented blogger with an awesome blog design website – Sweet Dreams Design

Anne M. Hargrove @ A.M. Hargrove – fab author and we share a passion for martinis


Here’s to all my peeps nominated – love ya’ll ;)

Smooches xx