Daemon invasion brought to you by the Obsidivaian Streat Team

Over the last couple of weeks, you’ve heard us talking about the upcoming #daemoninvasion and we’re so excited to finally share with you what is going on.

Really excited.

The beautiful and uber cool models, Pepe Toth and Sztella Tziotziosz, who grace the Lux covers, will be joining us in the United States! You heard right. They are flying here, from Hungary to spend a few days as Daemon and Katy! While they are here, they will be working with Vania, from VLC Productions (the team behind Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments, Melissa de La Cruz, Kimberly Derting, Moira Young, Kami Garcia and Margret Stohl, Hillary Duff, Lauren Destefano, and many, many more authors’ book trailers), to film book trailers for the Lux Series.

During the filming in Atlanta, they will be accompanying us on tour! What does that mean? You get to meet them. In the flesh. They will be participating in the signings and events. At those signings, we’ll be giving away signed posters, photos, and other swag. There will also be meet and greet events you can join in on.

At each signing, there will be advanced copies of Onyx given away!

And to top things off (as if this isn’t enough, but we don’t do anything small), there’s something very, very exciting in the works! It involves advanced copies of Opal, water, and a little destination known as the Bahamas.

I am not kidding.

This will be epic.

Aare you excited? I am!

 This tour is going to be so, so much fun, and I’m so thrilled that Pepe and Sztella are a part of it. We owe them a huge thank you and a giant welcome making the 16 hour flight to meet the readers of the Lux Series. You!

Daemon Invasion Signing and Event Schedule:

June 8th

FoxTale Book Shoppe

Woodstock, GA

3:00pm

June 10th

Barnes and Noble

St Johns Town Center

Jacksonville, FL

3:00pm

June 13th

Barnes and Noble

Waterford Lakes Town Center

Orlando, FL

3:00pm

June 14th

Barnes and Noble

The Palladium at City Place

West Palm Beach, FL

4:00pm

There are several #daemoninvasion street teamers out there and if you want to join a team to win exclusive prizes, search down the #daemoninvasion hashtag to join one of the teams!

Don’t forget to visit Jennifer L. Armentrout’s blog to win a signed set of Half-Blood and Pure  http://jenniferarmentrout.blogspot.com/2012/04/tempting-best-man-and-contest.html in celebration of her adult romance release, Tempting the Best Man, under pen name J. Lynn. It can be purchased here http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tempting-the-best-man-j-lynn/1110370701?ean=2940014566698 )

This is too amazing!  I just wish I lived anywhere near Florida. lol.  Spread the word guys, this is going to be huge!  Brought to you by Team

Christie

Freebie for a Day and Review-Lichgates by S.M. Boyce

Here is the blurb:

The Grimoire turns its own pages and can answer any question asked of it, and Kara Magari is its next target. She has no idea what she's getting herself into when she stumbles across the old book while hiking a hidden trail. Once she opens it, she's thrown into Ourea: a beautiful world full of terrifying things that all want the Grimoire's secrets. Everyone in this new world is trying to find her, and most want to control her.

Braeden Drakonin grew up in Ourea, and all he’s ever known of life is lying. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. He has one question to ask the book – one question that can fix everything in his broken life – and he’s not letting Kara out of his sight until he gets an answer.

There’s no escaping Ourea. There’s no going back now.


What a fun adventure Kara's journey turned out to be.  She's smart and sassy and this is how she looks to me:



Next is Braeden in one of his many forms:


Having just lost her mother, Kara is looking for an escape. When she goes hiking one fine afternoon and stumbles on a lichgate her life turns upside down. She is immediately drawn into an adventure of a lifetime and doesn't look back, well, mostly. She is trapped by a book that makes her its guardian. Along with the book comes a lot of responsibility, and I don't blame Kara for not wanting it. Kara faces many obstacles along her journey. I admire her spunk and resilience especially considering all she had to put up with from species she couldn't have previously immagined.

This story has more of an epic fantasy feel with rich description between vivid action. Boyce paints the world of Ourea with delicate strokes. Kara and Braeden are fun to follow and each brings an important roll to this story. I have to admit I wanted more romance, but that's just me. We do get a little toward the end, but I wanted more, dang it. As to the story as a whole, my only complaint is that a few things came too easily to Kara. I don't do spoilers, so you will just have to see if you come to the same conclusion. This wasn't much though, and it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. Overall rating 4.5 shining stars. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Keep your eyes open at Amazon.  Lichgates will be offered for free tomorrow 4/21/2012.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Grimoire-Lichgates-adventure-ebook/dp/B005W5L38G

If you still need convincing, watch the trailer:

Book Review--Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Jennifer L. Armentrout has swiftly become one of my very favorite authors.  I've read every book she has out at this moment in time and my favorite so far is Obsidian, book one of the Lux Series.  Here is the blurb:

Starting over sucks.When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.And then he opened his mouth.Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens. The hot alien living next door marks me.You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades. If I don't kill him first, that is.

I wasn't sure what to think when I found out this book was about aliens even though you could make a case that mine are too.  Some of my goodreads friends had recommended Jennifer as an author and I checked her out.  I ordered the sample from Amazon and bought the book once I was finished.  Katy is such an engaging main character.  When she sees Daemon for the first time, I laughed for hours.  He is just such a jerk, but you can't help but like him, and wonder what the heck he is about.  I have to say this series is original and so far one of my keepers.  It gets five shining stars from me , and I can't wait for Onyx to come out. 

So if you find yourself looking for a book that will suck you in and not let you go even when you are finished reading, check out Obsidian.  You might just find yourself the latest Jennifer L. Armentrout fan.

Until next time...

Hi Everyone!

I am so excited today!  Could I use any more !!!!!

The new cover of Five is finished.  Thanks to Amber McNemar for the beautiful work.  She is wonderful to work with if you ever find yourself in need of a cover designer.  I'm saving you some work and giving you her information below.

Amber McNemar
eTHINK Graphic Solutions
amcnemar@gmail.com
http://www.ethinkgraphics.com for Portfolio
$35/HR - More price details and minimums on website

And here it is:

I just love this cover.  How about you?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Story: plotted or caught?

Is inspiration for story something you can plan?  Or is it left to an elect few who just happen on the right idea at the right time?  I think it can be both, but today I'm going to share some ideas I've had about stories and how writers get them.

Growing up, I had an active imagination.  One of my favorite things to do on summer break was roaming the desert hills behind my aunt's house in Arizona.  The stark landscape and great company made for many hours of interesting narration.  We combined cowboys and Indians with fairy tales and the result:  Indian Princesses--who sometimes got rescued from the evil rival tribes by handsome cowboys.  We always fought over who was the prettiest princess, but anyone who wanted to be one could join the fun.

My Native American heritage might not be immediately apparent in my freckled skin and green eyes, but it lives in my heart.  Back then, I really had no idea that my cousins and I were telling our own stories.  In fact, when I hit my teenage years, I was quite sure I didn't have an ounce of creativity within me.  I've always loved a good story, but where does story come from?

I'm convinced anyone can catch a story.  That's what happened to me a couple of years ago--after my school years were over and any idea of writing had long since been forgotten.  I tried to write a novel once, with one of my aunts, about one of my ancestors that happened to have an amazingly romantic story.  Neither one of us could get past the first few pages.  We lacked direction, but I think more than anything, it wasn't time to tell that story, or we weren't supposed to be the ones to do it.

The first glimmer I had of my first novel, Five, came while driving home from work one day.  The image of a little pixie named Fexlie bounded full force into my mind.  She was vivid and demanding, and I had no idea what to do with her.  She proceeded to show me a girl who was getting ready to run away from home.  That's when I met Rayla.  After that, more characters emerged.  Slowly at first, but then one day, I had something I never thought I would.  A story.  One that sounded pretty amazing to me, but what was I supposed to do with it? 

I eventually tried to give this story to a good friend of mine that had shared her lifelong dream of becoming a writer.  Being the friend that she is, she told me that if I had a story, I needed to write it.

I went home that night wondering how I was going to write this book I had in my head because I couldn't simply let the story die.  I also wondered what I had done to get this story when my friend had tried her whole life to be a writer.  She had begun novels but had never been able to get very far.

I started thinking about what I had been doing, and one thing stood out above the rest.  I had been reading more than I ever had.  I had a book in my hand at every spare moment I could find.  I found myself questioning plot and wishing the author had taken the story in a different direction.  I also would tell myself the ending I wanted.

I now think this was the major catalyst to my catching Rayla's story.  You see, I think there is an invisible river of story that floats over us.  I also believe that story waits to be caught for the time it is needed.

I've been blown away lately with the recurrent themes I have seen in books, movies, and even TV that mirror the themes in my own writing.  The Elemental Enmity series has many themes, but at the base, Rayla Tate's story is about freedom.  Choice linked with consequence is another strong theme.  I didn't set out to write a story about these things, but that's what I've been doing.  The more the story progresses the underlying messages become clearer in my mind.

Coincidence?  Maybe, but I don't think so.  I believe truth exists and needs to be shared.  Writing is one way to do this.  I've been greatly blessed to have been given such a fun story to tell.   When I first started writing the Elemental Enmity Series, I worried about the future.  What was I going to do once Rayla's story was told.  Not long after that, several other characters have come knocking on my mind, but those will have to wait until I finish this series.

Now that I have opened the connection between me and the river, I can't imagine a time when I won't be dipping into that river to catch another story.  The river is stocked full with them and if you have a desire to catch one of your own, I encourage you to keep reading and thinking about the stories you have read.  One day you might find a character that won't let you go.  If that happens, shake his hand and invite him in because, I'm telling you from experience.  There is nothing more fun than telling an exciting story that feels real.

What experiences have you had with story, writing and/or reading?  I'd love to hear them.