True Blood

So is anyone else wtfing at the plot in True Blood? Is it just me or has it gone completely off the rails?

Whisper Cape by Regan Walsh Summer Blast Off Tour and Giveaway

I would like to welcome the awesome Regan Walsh to the blog again with her Summer Blast Off Blog Tour with Whisper Cape. For today’s post Regan has given us in excerpt from one of my favorite scenes in Whisper Cape.

Review A Justified Kill by MaryLynn Bast

Title: A Justified Kill ( Amber's Tale)
Author: MaryLynn Bast
Series: Heart Of A Wolf (Novella )
Publisher: Werewolf Tails Publishing
Release Date: June 7
Source: Ebook Copy from Author in return for honest review for blog tour.

Goodreads Synopsis

Heart of A Wolf Series - Amber's Tale - 

Amber will go to any lengths to avoid the werewolf council who hunts her – even leaving behind the one person she cares for the most. Traveling across the US, she avoids other packs and remains on the run by working in backwoods bars. 

Always alone, she never gets involved. One day she overhears a conversation by one of the bars patrons. With her senses on high alert, Amber cannot ignore the warning signs. Following the man to his campsite, she finds out why. 

Amber must decide if she can allow herself to be drawn in to rescue the person being held hostage. Or should she stick by her rules of not getting involved? With the impending first shift to werewolf, her bloodlust will take over. Can she go against her personal rule of not killing a human, and if so, would it be A Justified Kill?

All The Broken Pieces by Cindi Madsen Cover Reveal

Title: All The Broken Pieces

Author: Cindi Madsen

Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC

Release Date: December 11th 2012

 Blurb

What if your life wasn’t your own?

Liv comes out of a coma with no memory of her past and two distinct, warring voices inside her head. Nothing, not even her reflection, seems familiar. As she stumbles through her junior year, the voices get louder, insisting she please the popular group while simultaneously despising them. But when Liv starts hanging around with Spencer, whose own mysterious past also has him on the fringe, life feels complete for the first time in, well, as long as she can remember.
Liv knows the details of the car accident that put her in the coma, but as the voices invade her dreams, and her dreams start feeling like memories, she and Spencer seek out answers. Yet the deeper they dig, the less things make sense. Can Liv rebuild the pieces of her broken past, when it means questioning not just who she is, but what she is?

When Silver Moons Rise by KaSonndra Leigh Cover Reveal

Title: When Silver Moons Rise
Author:  KaSonndra Leigh
Series: The Lost Immortals Book ( #2)
Genre: Young Adult Dystopian Fantasy

Synopsis

Facing an unstable future, Chela Prizeon leaves Castle Hayne and crosses over to enemy territory in pursuit of Faris--the boy of royal blood who is cursed by a bitter rival. But soon Chela learns that he has been taken deep into the treacherous frozen prisons--a majestic, but deadly place where people enter and are never seen again. To find the boy she loves and his lost sister, Chela must join forces with one of her greatest enemies. And even though she pulls strength from the good in her powers, she finds herself drawn to the dark side's temptation as well.
Narrated from both Chela's and Faris's point of view, this enchanting sequel to When Copper Suns Fall will take them on a voyage into unknown lands, where the dark, twisted, and revengeful wait to make this their most dangerous journey ever.

Dark Seraphine By KaSonndra Leigh Cover Reveal

Title: Dark Seraphine 
Author: KaSonndra Leigh
Series: A Lost Immortals  (Prequel)
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance

"Mom always says the angels walk among us. She forgot to tell me that sometimes they're not all fluffy and nice."

Synopsis

   Seventeen-year-old Caleb Wood has seen people he calls the walkers since he was a baby. It didn't take long for him to realize something…no one can see these strangers but him. They never stuck around or tried to touch him. And they never said a word. That was until one day on the first day of class in his senior year when an incredibly gorgeous girl strolls into his life…and things are never the same again. Soon Caleb realizes he has stepped into the middle of a growing conflict between two ancient groups. And his ability to see the
invisible ones, the half-breeds that want to modify the human race, just might be the only hope both he and the mysterious, but infuriating Gia have of making it out alive.
   

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare Giveaway

Title: City of Lost Souls

Author: Cassandra Clare

Series: The Mortal Instruments (#5)

Publisher: McElderry Books

Release Date: May 8 2012

Synopsis

 The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace has been freed from her captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive to rescue him, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing–but so is the boy she hates, Sebastian, the son of her father Valentine: a son determined to succeed where their father failed, and bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.
No magic the Clave can summon can locate either boy, but Jace cannot stay away—not from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith’s dying magic has wrought—Jace is no longer the boy she loved. He and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become what he most feared: a true servant of Valentine’s evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. Will the Shadowhunters hesitate to kill one of their own?
Only a small band of Clary and Jace’s friends and family believe that Jace can still be saved — and that the fate of the Shadowhunters’ future may hinge on that salvation. They must defy the Clave and strike out on their own. Alec, Magnus, Simon and Isabelle must work together to save Jace: bargaining with the sinister Faerie Queen, contemplating deals with demons, and turning at last to the Iron Sisters, the reclusive and merciless weapons makers for the Shadowhunters, who tell them that no weapon on this earth can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. Their only chance of cutting Jace free is to challenge Heaven and Hell — a risk that could claim any, or all, of their lives.
And they must do it without Clary. For Clary has gone into the heart of darkness, to play a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing the game is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she even still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?
Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

The Dark Garden by Eden Bradley Cover Reveal

Title: The Dark Garden
Author: Eden Bradley
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

Goodreads Synopsis
A deliciously potent tale of one woman’s quest for self-discovery.
Rowan Cassidy likes to be in charge—especially in her personal life. As a mistress at Club Privé, the most exclusive bondage/S & M club on the West Coast, Rowan can live out her dominant fantasies safely, and with complete control—until the night Christian Thorne walks in. Self-confident and sophisticated, he’s a natural dominant if Rowan’s ever seen one. Yet she can’t stop thinking about him and imagining his touch.
Christian has returned home, hoping to break free from his dissatisfaction and malaise—and discovers the cure in Rowan. He’s dying to get his skilled hands on her and watch her surrender, to unlock the mystery of her that captivates him. Determined to be her master, he makes Rowan a daring proposition: give herself over to him for thirty days. Rowan finds Christian’s offer terrifying—and impossible to resist. But abandoning herself to Christian’s power might be more than she can handle…. Or it might be the realization of her true nature and the dark garden within her. There will be only one way to find out. And once the game has begun, there’s no turning back.

 

The Realm Between Heaven and Hell by J.S. Turner Blog Tour (Excerpt)

Title: The Realm Between Heave and Hell
Author: J. S. Turner
Publisher: Pylon Publishing
Published: December 4th 2011

Book Description:

On earth, life for Dawn Chitoe had been cruel. Although she was strong in her faith, her future looked grim. She found her blessings to be painfully short and too few in between. Until one day, a beautiful baby boy, Josiah, miraculously came into her world.
Just when Dawn felt her troubles had vanished, she found herself the victim of a brutal murder. With Josiah cradled in her arms, she embarked on an adventure through the realm between Heaven and Hell. Along the way she finds friends, love, and the truth about religion and faith.

Alpha Moon By Rachel Deagan Cover Reveal

Title: Alpha Moon
Author: Rachel Deagan
Series: Caged Moon (# 1.5)
Release Date: June 17th 2012

Goodreads Synopsis
Tormented by a repressed past, Liam is faced with the responsibility of raising, and taking care of a pack of younger, obnoxious ‘pups’. He’d do anything for them; guilt from prior mistakes, driving him to protect them at any cost. Until a strange human girl, bearing the scent of a wolf, throws his world into chaos. Instinct says she’s his mate. Logic says she’s a danger to the pack. Curiosity can’t keep him away.

Revisit the YA Paranormal Romance, Caged Moon, through an all new perspective.

I really enjoyed book one in this series. Rachel has a unique twist on werewolf legend that you do not want to miss. You can find my review for Caged Moon Book 1 here.

Indie Author Blog Hop June 13 - 19

When came across this blog hop I knew I wanted to participate because lately some of the books I have read have come from Indie Authors. And the stories were fantastic. So for this giveaway there will be multiple winners on my blog. I have had so many ah~may~zing authors donate books and swag. The Print Book and Swag will be US only due to shipping fees but e~books are international. Just fill out the Rafflecopter below.

Adrienne DeWolfe Blog Tour

WANT TO WRITE POPULAR ROMANCE? Let Adrienne De Wolfe Tell Us How It Is Done.



Want to Write Popular Romance?

Here’s How to Start

By Adrienne deWolfe

I was reading a marketing statistic recently that said that 50,000 new Kindles are purchased every month by readers around the world.
That’s mind-boggling! To give you some perspective, in the old days (as recently as 2000,) a midlist paperback novel in the Romance genre may have had a print run of only 35,000 books – total. And Romance is the most popular category of adult commercial fiction in the world!
With the growing popularity of e-readers, the potential reading audience for your Romance novels is growing astronomically. The days of having your audience (and your income) limited by the costs of printing and shipping are rapidly fading into the past. That’s great news for writers!
But the emerging electronic market has also opened the door for a lot of poorly written commercial fiction to get formatted as Romance “e-books.” This trend has made many readers leery about investing money in a novel that was written by an unknown author.
If your goal is to write profitable Romance novels, you need to attract tens of thousands of readers, who are happily spreading the word about you and your novels via their iPhones or their social media networks. You also need these readers chomping at the bit to buy your next book.
So how do you start?

You write a good book.

Here are five tips that will get aspiring Romance authors headed in the “write” direction:

#1. Read Voraciously in Your Sub-Genre (“Niche Market”)
If you want to establish yourself as a Romance author, then you need to understand who your target readers are and why they read Romance novels.  You won't do yourself any good financially or career-wise if you write a novel that nobody wants to read. That's why I highly recommend that you start your research with the website of Romance Writers of America (RWAnational.org).
At last count, Romance had nine sub-genres (Contemporary, Historical, Paranormal, Inspirational, Regency, Romantic Suspense, Gothic, Ethnic, and Romantica.) Each of these sub-genres is rife with story-plot archetypes that your target readers have come to love and expect. To be successful, you need to be an expert in your sub-genre so you can give your readers the story plot elements that they want. Don’t assume that because you’ve read one Romantic Suspense (for instance), that you’ve read them all.
For market research purposes, read at least 30 books that were published by new names in your sub-category over the last 2-3 years. Reading books that bestsellers were writing 10 years ago isn’t going to help you understand market trends in the 21^st Century.
You might also investigate my e-book series, The Secrets of Getting Your Romance Novel Published, which includes the following titles: How to Write Wildly Popular Romances (featuring the 14 bestselling archetypes in the genre); How to Write Romance Heroes with Sex Appeal; and How to Write Sensual Love Scenes.


#2. Take an in-depth course on novel structure and the foundations of fiction from a successful Romance author.
Romance is considered commercial fiction. The primary purpose of commercial fiction is to entertain the reader by evoking feelings. Endings are happy (the guy gets the girl.) A commercial writer’s style appeals to the common man; and thus, a broader range of readers.
However, most creative writing courses that are offered at American colleges teach how to write literary fiction. This is an important distinction, and must be understood. In literary fiction, the writer’s primary goal is to indulge in self-expression; consideration of the reader’s taste is secondary. Literary storylines are rife with angst, and endings are not often happy.
For all these reasons, you'll be happier learning how to write Romance from a successful Romance author, who understands the peculiarities of the genre, and therefore, will not misdirect you into writing a literary (non-commercial) novel.
That's why I developed my course, How to Write a Romance Novel That Sells, which is a spin-off of my popular course, How to Write Novels That Sell, which I taught for three years at a college in Texas.

#3. Set writing goals and stick to them.
Once you start writing, it’s easy to stop writing. At the beginning of your project, you’ll be riding the wave of your enthusiasm. Aspiring authors have lots of ideas and lots of good intentions -- until the cold stark reality sets in.
If you want to finish your story, you have to cough up fresh material, day after day. To make matters more challenging, you have to write your story in a coherent manner, filling it with characters and plot twists that your readers will find entertaining, or at least interesting.
These tasks aren’t easy, even for veteran published authors. That’s why so many people talk about writing books . . . but never actually finish one. To keep yourself on track, establish a daily writing routine and a daily word-count goal. Surround yourself with people who are supportive of the time and effort that you must expend to write your novel.

#4 Network with published Romance authors who are knowledgeable about the business of writing
Don’t wait until it’s time to select a cover artist or to hire a literary agent to start learning the business of writing! Start early. Seek out allies and mentors who have had success in the sub-category of Romance that you’re writing. Join forums. Attend conferences. Network with other writers in your hometown. Learn “publishing etiquette” before you submit your book proposal to any publishing professional.
If you’ve chosen the self-publishing route, stay on top of the market! Trends in electronic publishing change constantly. New technology explodes onto the market every few weeks. Book covers that were “adequate” to sell novels one year ago are not doing the job today. If you don’t have time to keep up with the ever-changing trends, hire someone who does, so your books – and your income – won’t lag behind.

#5 Attitude is everything: get yours “write”
Talking about writing isn’t writing. Reading about writing isn’t writing. A writer learns his craft by knuckling down and going to work.
My writing teacher, Romance novelist Rita Gallagher, once told me, “Books aren’t written. They’re re-written.” Even published authors have to revise their manuscripts. Trust me. I know. Writing a book is like raising kids: no two books will ever have the same problem.
Even when you think you’ve mastered every trick, you’ll find yourself challenged by some freaky new writing dilemma that you hadn’t anticipated. To fix that problem, you may have to re-write hundreds of pages. You may have to toss out characters that you absolutely loved for the good of the “greater work.”
Most daunting of all, a writer has to gird himself to face critics. You won’t go far in the writing business if you can’t cope with contrary opinions in a gracious manner – or worse, if you crumble like a soda cracker when someone challenges your ideas.
Writing Romance novels isn’t for the faint-hearted. You need a powerful determination to succeed. Persistence, humility, and a hunger for self-improvement will keep you on the right track.
But the most important ingredient to your success will be the courage to write every day. Ignore the nay-sayers, and stay focused on your dream.
In the words of Irwin Shaw, “If you’re a real writer, you’ll write no matter what.”

About Adrienne deWolfe     

                                
Adrienne deWolfe’s five historical Romance novels have earned 9 writing awards, including "The Best Historical Romance of the Year." Through August, Adrienne is offering various raffles to celebrate the release of her new ebook series, The Secrets to Getting Your Romance Novel Published, which includes How to Write Sensual Love Scenes.
 
 
Look for the books on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. (Or purchase the pdfs from Adrienne’s website, WritingNovelsThatSell.com.)
 
You can also follow Adrienne on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook
WritingNovelsThatSell.com:  http://WritingNovelsThatSell.com
How to Write Wildly Popular Romances (ebook page w/ trailer; launched in May) http://writingnovelsthatsell.com/how-to-write-wildly-popular-romances/
How to Write Romance Heroes with Sex Appeal (ebook launching in June) http://writingnovelsthatsell.com/how-to-write-heroes-with-sex-appeal/
The Secrets to Getting Your Romance Novel Published (eSeries): http://writingnovelsthatsell.com/the-secrets-to-getting-your-romance-published/
novel writing workshops and courses online:  http://writingnovelsthatsell.com/how-to-write-novels-that-sell-fiction-writing-course/
in-depth course on novel structure and the foundations of fiction: http://writingnovelsthatsell.com/how-to-write-novels-that-sell-fiction-writing-course/
book writing coach / story critiques:  http://writingnovelsthatsell.com/story-critiques-private-coaching-for-how-to-write-a-novel/
How to Write a Romance Novel That Sells (course) http://writingnovelsthatsell.com/how-to-write-a-romance-novel-that-sells/
Twitter:  http://Twitter.com/AdriennedeWolfe
Facebook:  http://Facebook.com/Writing.Novels
Google+  https://plus.google.com/109088666107201832076/posts

Dirty Little Secret #4

Dirty Little Secret is a weekly meme hosted by us at Under the Covers. Every Thursday we get to know other bloggers and our readers more intimately by asking them a question hoping to reveal their dirty little secrets. We hope that you will all join us!

To participate in the meme all you need to do is:

1. Be a follower of Under the Covers.

2. Create a post in your blog taking the meme image (code above) and copy instructions. 

3. Answer the question we propose! This can be done in any way you like, post a video, write a post etc.

4. Then add your link below.

Non-bloggers: We want to hear from you as well!!! Let us know your answer in the comments! 

We hope you join us and let us know your Dirty Little Secrets!

This week's question: 

Share your experiences with blogging! 

List TWO "Don't" and one "Do" when it comes to blogging and reviewing.

Olive: I haven't been blogging and reviewing long. I am but a mere co-blogger, but I have been doing websites for a LONG time and I guess I can draw from that experience. M 

Don't:

 bully anyone no matter what. You may not like what someone posts, writes or does, but that is not a reason to say bad things about them on their blogs or websites. If you have something to address with someone, please send them a message. Don't paint their webspace with juvenile things.

Don't act like you are better than everyone. Just because you have 1 million followers does not make you a better person. Remember you were a little guy once too.

DO: 

pay it forward. If someone asks you for help; no matter what help them. Even if you don't want to. You may make a friend out of it. Questions are real easy to answer. So do it!

First Visions by Heather Topham Wood Review

Author: Heather Topham Wood

Title:  First Visions (Second Sight #1)

Rating:

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two years ago, 21-year-old Kate Edwards became deathly ill and slipped into a coma. While unconscious, she crept into the mind of a missing boy and awoke with the knowledge of his location. Friends and family were skeptical and wary of her new ability to see into the minds of others. Their fears prompted Kate to keep her psychic powers a secret. Feeling alienated, she dropped out of college and spent most of her days holed up at her mother’s home.
Now another child has been abducted. Police detective Jared Corbett seeks out Kate for her help in solving the case. Reluctantly, Kate agrees and they must work together to bring 8-year-old Cori Preston home to her family. Although attracted to one another, Jared has a girlfriend with ties to the abduction case and Kate is sarcastic and guarded since her coma. With visions she can’t control and an uncontrollable attraction to the detective, she wonders if she can leave the past behind and finally stop hiding from the world. Otherwise, Cori may be lost forever

My Review:

Regan Walsh Author of Whisper Cape Guest Post

I would like to welcome back Regan Walsh the author of Whisper Cape. Today she has a special guest post for us to enjoy.

Was it the Music of the Night?

There are many things that inspired me to write Whisper Cape. I’ve talked about some others on this blog tour and in other interviews. Even mentioned a few times that I was inspired by Phantom of the Opera. But I’ve never revealed which song/songs in particular had the most influence.
I’m one of those writers who can’t write while listening to music. That doesn’t mean to say I’m not inspired by certain songs, and this held true when I wrote Whisper Cape. In fact, everywhere I went I had The Phantom of the Opera playing; the CD in my car, on my iPod when I went jogging, to the grocery store, even while performing that dreaded chore of cleaning the house. Though the Phantom did not inspire Cael’s character, the music did spark (no pun intended and if you don’t understand what I mean, ask me or, better yet, read the book!) my imagination for Addison’s. I’ve always said that Gerard Butler was and still is my main influence for Gerry Briden’s character in both Whisper Cape and Reflections. I have to admit though, looking at this picture from back when the movie was made, Gerard could most definitely have been my vision for Cael. This is pre 300 days, but yummy.

There is a scene in Phantom of the Opera where Christine is in the cemetery singing to her deceased father. Of course, in the movie and the live production it is snowing so the setting has nothing to do with a particular scene I wrote for Whisper Cape. But the lyrics and the mood are what ignited my inspiration. Addison is distraught after almost fatally injuring Cael and runs to the edge of the cliff, wishing she could talk to her father once more. (There will be an excerpt of this scene on June 9th when I visit http://www.literaladdiction.com.) In the music video below, right before Christine starts singing, she whispers about her father promising to send her the “Angel of Music.” After she sings “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again,” the Phantom sings, “Wandering Child,” luring her to him, reinforcing his deception of being the promised “Angel of Music.” It was the idea of Christine whispering to her father, singing to him that gave me the inspiration for that scene.

Lyrics to “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again,” written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Srilgoe

You were once my one companion, you were all that mattered.

You were once a friend and father, then my world was shattered.

Wishing you were somehow here again, wishing you were somehow near.

Sometimes it seemed if I just dreamed, somehow you would be here.

Wishing I could hear your voice again, knowing that I never would.

Dreaming of you won’t help me to do all that you dreamed I could.

Passing bells and sculpted angels, cold and monumental, seem for you

the wrong companions; you were warm and gentle.

Too many years, fighting back tears. Why can’t the past just die?

Wishing you were somehow here again, knowing we must say goodbye.

Try to forgive, teach me to live, give me the strength to try!

No more memories, no more silent tears!

No more gazing across the wasted years.

Help me say goodbye…Help me say…goodbye!

***

Lyrics to “Wandering Child,” written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Srilgoe.

Phantom:

Wandering child so lost, so helpless yearning for my guidance

Christine:

Angel or father? Friend or Phantom?

Who is it there staring?

Phantom:

Have you forgotten your Angel?

Christine:

Angel, oh speak what endless longings echo in this whisper!

Phantom:

Too long you’ve wandered in winter, far from my fathering gaze

Christine:

Wildly my mind beats against you

Phantom:

You resist

Together:

Yet your/the soul obeys

Angel of Music!

I/you denied you/me

Turning from true beauty

Christine with the Phantom:

Angel of Music? Do not shun me/My protector…

Angel of Music! Come to your/me strange Angel

Phantom:

I am your Angel of Music…

Come to me; Angel of Music

Of course, it doesn’t happen anything like this in Whisper Cape but the music and the lyrics were so very inspiring.

Thank you, Anna, for having me on your wonderful blog today. Happy reading.

xxoo

Regan♥

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