Review Wrap Up: Golden Stair by @jblackstream

Blood Prince Series

Sensual Fantasy Romance

Date Published: February 2014

"What demon doesn't dream of climbing the Golden Stair?" 

Ivy has lived in a tower, locked away from the rest of the world, for her entire life. Her mother, a witch who leads the resistance against the bloodthirsty kings of the five kingdoms, is her only company. Ivy knows that her battle-weary mother relies on the golden power flowing through her veins for the energy to continue the good fight, but she can’t completely smother the selfish yearning to see the world beyond the safety of their hidden valley. When the demon prince of her mother’s horror stories literally crashes into Ivy's life, she finds herself facing her wildest dream…and her mother’s worst nightmare.

Adonis is a demon determined to bury his desire for love in the pleasures of the flesh. Bound by a vow to maintain his physical form, Adonis requires a great deal of energy just to live, energy he can only absorb through the carnal arts…more energy than any one woman could ever provide. Adonis knows he could never offer a woman the fidelity she would deserve as his wife, and so carries on with his wild ways, his cryptic smile hidden behind a puff of smoke. No woman can reach beyond the heat of his embrace to touch his heart. Not even the golden haired maid whose lonely eyes keep wooing him back to her side.

An incubus can only deny his nature for so long. Long golden hair. A tower with no stairs. A witch with serious possession issues. Debilitating blindness. None of these are enough to keep a demon from climbing…the Golden Stair.

 This novel has a current Amazon Rating of 4.8*'s.
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REVIEWS FROM THIS TOUR

October 20 - A Life Through Books

October 21 - Trips Down Imagination Road

October 22 - Steamy Side

October 23 - Wicked Readings By Tawainia

October 24 - Renee Entress's Blog

October 25 - In Between the Lines

October 26 - Inside BJ's Head

October 27 - Twin Opinions

October 29 - eBooks Galore

Jennifer Blackstream is a psychology enthusiast with both a B.A. and M.A. in Psychology. Her fascination with the human mind is most appeased through the study of mythology and folklore as well as all of Terry Pratchett’s novels.

Jennifer enjoys listening to Alice Cooper, trying new recipes (to which she will add garlic whether it calls for it or not), watching television with her family, and playing with her woefully intelligent three year old son.  

Jennifer spends most of her time drinking coffee from her X-Men mug and desperately trying to get all her ideas written down before her beloved five year old can find that all magical button on her laptop to make her work vanish. 

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Review Wrap Up: Written in Blood by Elaina Lee #giveaway

Romantic Suspense

Date Published: Jan 1, 2011 (Re-published June 2014)   

 Written in Blood: A dark and sensual, award winning, romantic suspense.

Lyndi Crisdean is assigned one of the hardest cases in her career as a defense attorney. A serial murder case. Investigating is Alek Trevian, the lead investigator for the district attorney, and a handsome and supremely dangerous man. Lyndi finds herself in over her head when she chooses desire for Alek over common sense. If they're caught, Lyndi will lose everything she's worked for. Circumstances beyond her control pull her toward Alek, for he turns out to be the only one who can help when threats start to mount against her.

Lyndi may be the key Alek needs to bring down a murderous cult running loose in his city. When her beach house is broken into and a man begins to tail Lyndi, Alek can't help but reason Lyndi may be next on the cult's hitlist. The question is, will he discover the identity of the cult, keep her safe, and still win the case against the serial killer she's defending, all while losing a battle against the strong, untamable desire she alone ignites within him?

 This novel has a current Amazon Rating of 4.5*'s.
Get your copy for just $0.99!

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REVIEWS FROM THIS TOUR

October 7 - A Life Through Books - Review

October 10 - Zili in the Sky Reviews - Review

October 13 -  Texas Book Nook - Review

October 14 - Amazeballs Book Addicts - Review

October 20 - Readsalot - Review

October 22 - Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock - Review

October 23 - The Wormhole - Review

October 29 - Books are Love - Review

I'm Elaina Lee, romance writer. Since given an assignment in the 6th grade to write a fantasy story, I knew writing was a passion I'd never be able to do without.  From that moment on my imagination took flight.  Over the years I've written everything from the Dark Ages to Science Fiction, all with romantic elements, of course ;-).

As a mother of two boys, a kindergartner and high schooler, life is never boring in my house!  When I'm not keeping a little one out of trouble, or trying to keep my sanity as a boy migrates into a man, I write.  I'm very fortunate to have met my remarkable husband who has supported and encouraged my dreams of being an author since the day we met. 

Thanks for taking the time to learn about me!   

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Review Wrap Up: Eternal Neverland by Natasha Rogue #giveaway

Paranormal / Mature YA

Date Published: October 28, 2014

"I've abandoned all my principles for you... Broken laws I held to so firm for centuries, did things I never thought myself capable of..." He kissed her as he whispered. "Was it worth it?" His tears wet her lips. "I don't remember."~David

Helena K. Sharpe was raised by a man who had sympathy for supernatural creatures, for the vampires his bloodline hunted for centuries. She was too young to understand how he tried to help them, but she knew it was important. Her father made her promise never to hunt them and she would do anything to keep that promise.

Until he is murdered by the very things he dedicated so much of his life to.

Orphaned and alone, Helena takes to the street, afraid for whatever's left of her life. Without her family, she doesn't know how--or even if--she can go on. Until a vagrant takes her under his wing and gives her a purpose. Revenge.

For six years she learns about the monsters, studies their habits, until, at 15 years old, she feels she's ready to find the ones responsible for her parent's death. All she has to do is become one of them. She's cute, young, innocent...

They'll never see her coming.

 This book has a current Amazon Rating of 4.6*'s.
Get your copy for just $0.99!

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REVIEWS FROM THIS TOUR

October 27 - The Book Faery Reviews

October 28 - Books, Authors, Blogs

October 28 - Arya The Fan Girl 

October 29 - Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock

October 30 -Penny For My Thoughts

October 31 - In Between the Lines

Natasha Rogue

Natasha Rogue is a Canadian author who’s been writing for most of her life. After penning novels behind math textbooks all through high school, she attended Dawson College in Creative Arts with dreams of becoming a screenwriter. The best teacher she ever had took her aside and told her to go back where she belonged. To her roots with the books she loved to write.

Eternal Neverland (Steps Before the Fall) was one of her first complete novels. There are seven books in draft form completed in the series, but they gathered dust until experience and contacts with the right editors and crit partners gave them what they needed to be shared. However, A Breed Apart: The Token, was released through a small press in 2012. The book will be rereleased shortly.

You may find Natasha at several signings throughout the year as she writes multiple genres. Don’t worry, she doesn’t bite. But she will happily chat with you about the hotties who do. And shamelessly admit to liking Charlie way more than she should.

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New Release: Eternal Neverland by Natasha Rogue

Eternal Neverland by Natasha Rogue
Paranormal / Mature YA

Date Published: October 28, 2014

  

"I've abandoned all my principles for you... Broken laws I held to so firm for centuries, did things I never thought myself capable of..." He kissed her as he whispered. "Was it worth it?" His tears wet her lips. "I don't remember."~David

Helena K. Sharpe was raised by a man who had sympathy for supernatural creatures, for the vampires his bloodline hunted for centuries. She was too young to understand how he tried to help them, but she knew it was important. Her father made her promise never to hunt them and she would do anything to keep that promise.

Until he is murdered by the very things he dedicated so much of his life to.

Orphaned and alone, Helena takes to the street, afraid for whatever's left of her life. Without her family, she doesn't know how--or even if--she can go on. Until a vagrant takes her under his wing and gives her a purpose. Revenge.

For six years she learns about the monsters, studies their habits, until, at 15 years old, she feels she's ready to find the ones responsible for her parent's death. All she has to do is become one of them. She's cute, young, innocent...

They'll never see her coming.

Excerpt

          Arm around her waist, hand curved behind her neck, Charlie pulled her against him. “I’ll make it quick. This will help with the pain.”

          Her head fell back and he lowered his mouth to her throat. A light press and the sharp edge of his fangs cut her skin. Saliva seeped into the wound, burning around and inside like an injection of acid. She whimpered and stiffened. Charlie shifted and bit down deeper.

          Body growing numb, pain receded and the slight pull became pleasant. Her fingers found their way into his hair and the texture seemed to flow from her calloused fingertips to fill her hands, drape around her arms and finally cover every inch of her flesh. In some part of her mind she knew his hair hadn’t changed, but every nerve carried the sensation of it, as though keyed to focus on the luscious feeling from without than the life being drained from within.

          In the distance, a faint scuffing sound pulled her lazily from the soothing pleasure. She spotted a little head, peeking out of an alley. Cold washed over her, waking her fully. She mouthed the word ‘Run’. Charlie’s mouth left her neck as he followed her gaze.

          His attention shifting to her little brother brought memories to play; mother bent over daddy’s ravaged body, a hushed sound in the backyard, soft footsteps on the thick grass that framed the in-ground pool. She could still see the water, clean and clear, glowing from the aqua lamps that shifted colors from tranquil blues to serene greens. The approaching figures showed in the reflection of the water, but nowhere else. Still, they could feel the predators closing in. Mother had screamed, ‘Get Toby!  Keep him safe!’ and stifling sobs with her hands, Helena had run to the nursery and taken Toby from his crib. He was too heavy to carry and too small to keep up and She almost abandoned him twice on the way to the neighbor’s house. The names she’d called the frightened two year old in an attempt to get him to move faster still disgusted her, but she’d gotten him to safety. The neighbors had met them on their lawn and rushed them into the house, the wife calling the cops, the husband manning the barricaded door with his gun.

          The cops came and took her and Toby to the hospital, and after hours of questions, left her to the doctors. Who left her alone to rest.

          She’d considered sneaking out of her room to find her brother, but the feeling of being watched overcame the urge and lured her to the window. She’d snapped the curtain aside and seen the creature, retreating into the well-lit courtyard, weaving through the night staff smokers who didn’t seem to see him. She couldn’t say for sure it had been Charlie that night, but she blamed him for putting her there, blamed him for the doctors trying to drug her when she told the story of the invisible people, and blamed him for leaving her no choice but to escape the hospital without Toby.

          With Charlie distracted, she could escape again. But she wouldn’t. This time, she would do as her mother had asked. She would keep Toby safe.

          Energy surged through her. Axel reached out and she twisted away. Charlie grabbed her arm before she could fall. She clenched her fist and swung it up toward his face with all the strength she had left. Her knuckles hit his mouth and a fang slit through his bottom lip.

          For a while, he just stared at her. Droplets of blood plopped from his chin onto her lips. Spilled into her mouth, coppery and thick, sweet and tempting her to lick it all to save herself. She swallowed, sure she needed more, but she was afraid if she moved he’d snap her in two.

          He laughed, making her jump as he used the back of his hand to swipe the rest of the blood from the already healing gash. “Like I said. Cute.”

          Axel reached for her again and she let her weight drop. Charlie wouldn’t let her go. She didn’t have the strength to pull away so she screamed. All wrong. Toby’s presence had thrown her off. Her plans had failed. She was going to die.

          The cold tip of Charlie’s nose skimmed the edge of her ear as he whispered. “Don’t give up so easy, kid. The cavalry has arrived.”

About the Author

Natasha Rogue is a Canadian author who’s been writing for most of her life. After penning novels behind math textbooks all through high school, she attended Dawson College in Creative Arts with dreams of becoming a screenwriter. The best teacher she ever had took her aside and told her to go back where she belonged. To her roots with the books she loved to write.

Eternal Neverland (Steps Before the Fall) was one of her first complete novels. There are seven books in draft form completed in the series, but they gathered dust until experience and contacts with the right editors and crit partners gave them what they needed to be shared. However, A Breed Apart: The Token, was released through a small press in 2012. The book will be rereleased shortly.

You may find Natasha at several signings throughout the year as she writes multiple genres. Don’t worry, she doesn’t bite. But she will happily chat with you about the hotties who do. And shamelessly admit to liking Charlie way more than she should.

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Cover Reveal: Distorted

Fantasy Anthology

Date Published: November 7, 2014

  

Tantalizingly bloody tales featuring human pitted against beast and gods, with the true majesty and horrors of the afterlife, with love and death and desire...

Eight writers modernize ancient mythologies in DISTORTED, proving that not every story has been told.

EXCERPTS

From “To Sing Which Tune” by Heidi C Vlach

Thinking that way made the truth weigh heavier: Helen might have picked up soda bottles on the beach last week, and worked on biochemical equations last night until her head screamed for mercy. She had stroked her own ego for attending her university's Sound The Sirens fundraiser gala, one where she wore an actual dress and some mascara. But she wasn't doing enough.

She couldn't think of Odyssia's face without a grey burden of guilt. The face that had beamed all throughout her childhood, crinkled with merriment around her eyes and poured joyous, warbling songs from her lips. Taught Helen songs she hummed offhandedly, even now. But these past few months, Odyssia barely smiled. She stared longer at Helen; like two stars with a void between them.

Sirens attack yacht, 2 dead.

Putting down the newspaper, Helen rose from the kitchen table to go get dressed and do something recklessly expensive. This was a bigger issue than one homicide case. Bigger than the one siren Helen owed a debt of love to. Bigger than her personal credit rating could make a dent in, but she had to try.

From “Bullman” by Anthony S. Buoni

"I'm still not sure it’s a good idea," Cassandra said, adjusting the top of her black corset.  Dressed like a cyber goth club kid, multicolored glow sticks dangled from the zippers and belt on her baggy black pants matched her glowing bracelets, necklaces, and earrings.  She scratched her short, spiky black hair with hot pink tips from her eyes before crossing her arms.

Theo wasn’t sure why Icky wanted Europe so bad—Cassandra's green gaze and hourglass figure made her the prettier of the two.  Other than a hint of social awkwardness and her taste for illegal intoxicants, Cassandra was a catch.

"Chicken," Icky said, clucking.

"Well, what is it?" Ariadne asked.  "Going to sit around with your fingers in a bowl of peeled grapes and tell each other stories about vanishing hitchhikers and perverts with hooks for hands attacking Lovers' Lane?"

"No," Icky said.  "Something way better.  We're driving to Hamilton Heights and looking for the Bullman."

Ariadne puffed.

"The Bullman?" Theo asked conscious of his date's aggravation.  The tale stemmed from a dark page in her family's history, so he tried downplaying it.  "There's no such thing."

Everyone knew the town's most famous urban legend.

Before Ariadne was born, her parents' first child came into the world stillborn.  Refusing any public response or funeral, the prominent family ignored the tragedy, and, as will often happen when scandal rubs elbows with the rich, their terse reaction prompted immediate gossip.

Stories claiming that the child survived began circulating the community.  The myth grew, taking on an insidious nature.

The most common account had Ariadne's mom falling in love and fornicating with their prize winning snow-white bull, resulting in the birth of a ferocious monster.  Fearing disgrace, Judge Hamilton ordered the creature destroyed.  Their doctor, taken by the genetic anomaly and unable to terminate the atrocity, gave the creature to hobos living in scattered shacks dotting the dense woods outside of town so he could study it in secret.

According to rumors, the creature matured and now lurked the forest near Cretan Road and Hamilton Heights, a sprawling park on the lake bordering the state's thick wilderness.  Campers and hikers would return from the forest with stories of a hairy, malformed creature stealing food and gear from their campsites before scurrying off into the brush.  Once in a while, someone would vanish in the woods, and parents told their kids that the Bullman roamed the neighborhood streets after sunset, stealing and devouring misbehaving children.

No one ever managed to photograph the thing.

No footprints emerged in the rich, dark soil or red clay hills surrounding Hamilton Heights.

Despite a lack of hard evidence, the stories lingered on the public tongue, whispers spoken around crackling campfires and in tight alleyways.

The Hamilton family did not appreciate the yarn and ignored the accounts, debunking them whenever the newspaper reported sightings or ran spotlights for their Halloween editions.

Of all the embarrassing things that could go wrong on a first date with Ariadne Hamilton, Theo couldn’t think of anything worse than Icky seeking out her fabled brother.

About the Authors

Alisha Costanzo is from a Syracuse suburb. She earned her MFA in creative writing from the University of Central Oklahoma, where she currently teaches English. She’s the author of BLOOD PHOENIX: REBIRTH and BLOOD PHOENIX: CLAIMED, and co-editor of DISTORTED. LOVING RED, a Broken World novel, is undergoing serious edits for its 2015 release. In the meantime, she will continue to corrupt young minds, rant about the government, and daydream about her all around nasty creatures.

Having relocated from Northwest Florida's lonesome roads and haunted swamps, Anthony S. Buoni now prowls the gas lamp lit streets of New Orleans, playing moonlight hide and seek in the Crescent City's above ground cemeteries. Anthony is the author of Conversation Party, Bad Apple Bolero, as well as the editor to the Between There anthologies.  His stories and articles have been featured in North Florida Noir and Waterfront Living. When not prowling, Anthony keeps it scary, writing dark fiction, editing, and watching horror movies.  In his spare time, he DJs, plays music, and conjures other worldly creatures with tarot cards and dreams.

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Things to Know About the Authors

Heidi Vlach:

-Heidi was born and raised in northern Ontario, Canada — but despite lifelong experience with snow, she hates cold weather.

-Heidi's parents are furniture salespeople: Heidi grew up with lots of big cardboard boxes to play in and transform with her imagination.

-She graduated chef training at age 18. There was tense discussion among the chefs before Heidi was allowed to attend the wine-tasting class, since legal drinking age in Ontario, Canada is 19.

-Heidi waited tables at a sushi restaurant for 3 years. Her favourite part of the job was encouraging nervous first-timers to try the raw fish.

-Heidi typically writes at her kitchen table, while drinking coffee, listening to electronic trance music, and snuggling one of her cats.

Catherine Edmunds:

-I'm a professional viola player. My string quartet was once kicked out of a shopping mall where we were performing by security because someone had complained our music was ‘too noisy’.

-My great-uncle worked with Albert Einstein.

-I took up ballet on my doctor’s suggestion at the age of three to cure my flat feet, and kept dancing until I was fourteen. Absolutely loved it. Still have flat feet.

-I appeared on national TV in 2013, painting in the Glasgow heats of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year. My model was actress Sophie Turner—Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones.

-I was once bitten by a tadpole.

Alisha Costanzo:

-I like to teach, even when no body asked for a lesson. Sometimes, this can make me feel like a snob, but when people make mistakes and no one corrects them, they are doomed to be repeat offenders.

-One of my favorite jobs so far was working at a funeral home. Most often, I had the building to myself, the nights were quiet, and I got to read or write. Other times, I felt emotional, but ensuring a funeral goes smoothly is rewarding.

-When I role-play write, I often prefer to be the male. I don’t tend to hear objections.

-I love teaching barefoot in my classroom, even when it’s freezing out.

-I’m an environmentalist and anti-consumerist...until I walk into a bookstore.

Patricia J. Esposito:

-Some of my hardest laughing comes when roughhousing with my constant companion, an eighty-five-pound Golden Retriever who thinks nothing of pouncing full-body on me.

-The crystal bowls I received as wedding gifts contain polished stones from the shores of Lake Superior.

-At home I prefer to drink only water, at the coffee shop, only chai tea, and at parties, only Courvoisier.

-I often have to work at home till late at night due to lost time making snow forts or playing ninjas with the neighbor kids (and my dog, of course). Fun is a distraction I encourage.

-Despite the convenience of iPhone music, at all times, my purse is weighted with the music CDs I can’t live without; after all, if I were to get stranded on a desert island, at least I could hold the CDs against me and imagine their sound.

Rebecca Lynch:

-I loathe cooked tomatoes.

-I can boast a library of 1000 books.

-I never graduated high school.

-My original major was nursing.

-I met my husband at an outdoor barracks party during a tornado.

Autumn Lishky:

-I made more as a pizza delivery driver than I have as a professional.

-I hate Twinkies because of the marshmallow filling. However, I like marshmallows. Go figure.

-I’m that snob that judges your grammar on Facebook and Twitter.

-My husband and I have watched hundreds upon hundreds of horror movies, and only one has made me stop eating—Cradle of Fear by Cradle of Filth.

-When I feel completely lost, I consult my Magic 8-Ball.

Christian Bone:

-I currently reside on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom, a small place cut off from the rest of the country. It is somewhat like the Village from The Prisoner but without the sinister brainwashing (I hope).

-I possess an unhealthy obsession for all things Sherlock Holmes. So much so that I own three copies of the same book, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. We all do silly things when we're in love.

-I have a fond memory of once meeting Neil Gaiman, a very nice man who greeted me as a 'fellow writer.' I'm still thinking of a way to put that event on a T-shirt.

-I've always had a great interest in writing, but for a brief time when I was younger, much to grown-up me's disbelief, I wanted to go into football/soccer. It is a period of my life that I cannot explain.

-The first story I remember writing was about some kid detectives who stopped a pair of ghosts from stealing buried treasure. Clearly, I've never been one for genre boundaries.

Anthony S. Buoni:

-I'm a DJ, specializing in goth, punk, trance, new wave, and house.  I also play guitar, sing, and write my own music and electronic loops.

-I believe in all the spooky things I write about.

-I bought my laptop based on how easy it was for me to type on it.

-I'm pagan. I love growing plants and studying the moon, planets, and stars.

-I've sat through entire college classes without getting credit because I was interested, not because I was grade or degree driven.

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