Tuesday, 3 January 2012

The Keeper Blog Tour: Guest Post and Giveaway! - Closed.


Topic: How did you come up with the idea for The Keeper?

How did I come up with the idea for The Keeper? I apologize in advance, but this is going to sound cliché. I had a dream. Yes, a dream.

It was unusual in the sense that it was vivid and kind of creepy. Yeah, I’ve had creepy vivid dreams before, but this one was over the top. In my dream I was a young girl, about elementary school age. I was sitting on the ground and a Native American man on a horse went by me slowly. I looked up and the man stared down at me with dark eyes. His eyes looked like they were moving and something shot out of them in my direction.

That was it. I woke up.

It might not sound like much, but when I woke up my heart was pounding in my chest. I was terrified and I have no idea why. This dream haunted me for several days. I couldn’t get it out of my head.
One day sitting at my computer I decided to write the dream out. I opened a blank document and typed a paragraph. I stared at the words and read them back. I had the notion to keep going and to build on the dream. It was no longer me in the story, but a girl named Billie. Two questions rolled around in my head; Why was Billie there? And who else might have seen what happened? Before I knew it I had two pages typed up. This became the epilogue for my novel.

And if you’re wondering…the dream no longer haunted me.

The rest of the story I wrote by continuously asking myself questions. Chapter one starts out on Billie’s sixteen birthday. Naturally there had to be a gift. What kind of gift? Why? And what would happen as a result of receiving the gift?

I continued to write using this method for ten chapters. At that point I knew how it would end, but I needed to draft a simple outline to help get me there. That is how my debut novel The Keeper came to be.

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The eBook version of The Keeper by Natalie Star will be available for purchase through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Decadent Publishing on January 6, 2012.

Links:

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GIVEAWAY
* One lucky winner will get some signed swag, a $10.00 Amazon giftcard, and a digital copy of The Keeper by Natalie Star
* International (as long as you can receive an Amazon giftcard you can enter)
* Ends on January 20th at 11:59 PM (MST).
* You can get additional entries for every time you share the giveaway, and for following the author, Natalie Star on Facebook and/or Twitter.
* This giveaway is sponsored by the author, so she's the one to thank. :)
* The Winner will be chosen using Random.org.

Here's a Twitter share button for your convenience:

To enter just fill out this FORM:

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.***

(If the embedded form isn't working, just click the link in FORM above and it'll open up another window with the form for you.)

The next stop in the tour is I Am a Reader, Not a Writer tomorrow (January 4th). 

Good luck to everyone who enters, and thanks for stopping by! :D

Happy Reading!!!

♪♫ Ambur

Monday, 2 January 2012

Toxic Cover Reveal!


If you've read Touch by Jus Accardo, you've probably been waiting on this book, or to hear more about this series. Well, here's the cover for the second book in the Denazen series, Toxic!

Goodreads Link: Toxic (Denazen #2)

Book Blurb:
When a Six saved Kale’s life the night of Sumrun, she warned there would be consequences. A trade-off. Something taken for the life they gained. But Dez never imagined she’d lose the one thing she’d give anything to keep… And as if it’s not enough Dez finds her immunity to Kale fading, the Six brought in to help Kale learn to control his killer touch starts drooling on him the moment they meet. Worse than that? Jade can touch Kale. But bimbo Barbie is the least of Dez's problems.

After Dez and Kale got away at Sumrun, her father lost not only his most powerful weapon but an important piece of the Supremacy project. Forced by Denazen to remedy the situation, he poisons Dez and offers her a choice—surrender to Denazen for the cure…or die. Determined to find a solution that doesn’t involve being bagged and tagged—or losing someone she loves—Dez keeps the poison a secret.  But when a rash of Denazen attacks hit a little too close to home, Dez is convinced there’s a traitor among them. Jade

Sacrifices, broken promises, and secrets. Dez will have to lay it all on the line if there’s any hope of proving Jade’s guilt before they all end up Residents of Denazen. Or worse, dead...
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Add the other books in the series to Goodreads:

Untouched (Denazen #1.5) --- Cover coming soon. ;)



Personally, I absolutely love this cover. The colours are gorgeous, the background is so striking ...and I really love the girl on the cover's shirt! :D

So, what do you think of Toxic's cover?

Happy Reading!!!

♪♫ Ambur

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (59)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? at One Person's Journey Through a World of Books

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?, is a bookish meme hosted by One Person's Journey Through a World of Books, where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It’s a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list. So hop on over to Journey and join in...and leave a comment here so I can check out what you are reading.


Books I Read Last Week:
Only one more book after this one in this series, and I am so excited for the last one. :) I liked Lost in Time, it was interesting because it had so many different POVs, and one of them wasn't even happening at the same time as the others...which was really neat actually! I'm kind of ready for this series to be over soon though, it honestly feels like I've been reading it for ages!


I'm participating in a blog tour for this one, and I'm glad I signed up for it. The Light of Asteria was an intriguing read. I loved the history behind everything and all of the different powers...it was so fascinating. Overall, I really liked it. My review will be up in a few weeks for it. :)

Honestly, the last two Nicholas Sparks books I've read haven't really been all that amazing to me. I loved The Notebook and A Walk to Remember, but both Safe Haven, and this one, didn't wow me like I thought they would. I think it's for the same reason, too. Both Safe Haven and The Lucky One alternate POVs, three to be exact. That of the female heroine, the male hero, and I guess you'd call the third the "villainous" character. Personally, I don't really want to get to see the villain's side, and if I do, I want it short, and to the point, but for me Clayton's (the villain, I guess :P even though he isn't a typical villain) parts were way too big, and I really didn't want to read his parts that often. I didn't care. I would have preferred if he hadn't had any chapters at all to be honest. I loved Beth and Logan, but I thought Clayton was a pig, and I really didn't need to read his parts that often. That being said, I am still psyched for this movie...it looks fantastic. Plus, I'm a sucker for Zac Efron, and he looks amazing in it...buff and tattooed. *sigh*



Reading Now:
I'm just starting this one, but so far it's funny, which is exactly why I wanted to read it. :P


Books I Want to Read This Week:
I'm not sure which book to read next, but this one might be it. ;)


And what are you reading???

Check out One Person's Journey Through a World of Books to see what other people are reading. :)

Happy Reading!!!

♪♫ Ambur

Happy New Year! :D

Happy New Year ! :D

Yes, I realize that it's already almost the second day of the new year, but I figured better late than never. :P I hope that you all had a wonderful New Years Eve, whether you went out, stayed in, or did whatever your little heart desired! :D

I hope that you all get those resolutions fulfilled, if you made any, and that you read, laugh, and smile oodles throughout the year!

Best wishes in 2012 everyone!

Happy New Year...and as always, Happy Reading!!!

♪♫ Ambur

In My Mailbox (24)

In My Mailbox at The Story Siren

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, and inspired by her friend, Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. It's a way to share the books that you've received over the past week. They could come from the bookstore, the library, a friend, your mailbox or wherever. It gives us all a chance to showcase the books that we've gotten, and maybe give others an idea for the book they want to read or buy next. :)

Christmas Gifts:

Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices #2) by Cassandra Clare
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle
The Complete Tales and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe

As I mentioned last week, the books my brother ordered for me for Christmas hadn't come in yet, but they came in this week, and they're all lovely! :D He got me a finished copy of CP, YAY! And a couple leatherbound books from Barnes and Noble...I've been wanting the Edgar Allan Poe one for some time now, and they're gorgeous books! :D

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Bought:

The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines

The Vincent Boys was on sale on Kindle this week, and I couldn't resist. I've been wanting to read it for a while now. I'm impressed with myself though. I would've thought that I would've bought more. :P

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So what did you get in your mailbox this week?
Feel free to leave a link to your IMM in the comments, and I'll check it out. :)

Happy Reading!!!

♪♫ Ambur