Saturday, June 8, 2013

Cover Reveal and Giveaway of Broken Dreams by Dawn Pendleton






Release August 1st, 2013


Dawn Pendleton is excited to announce the cover reveal of her second new adult novel: Broken Dreams!!

Broken Dreams, Book 2 of the Broken Series

Rainey Daniels has been keeping a secret since she left her hometown, three years ago. The death of a friend’s father, though, has her questioning whether or not running away from her past is what’s best for her future. Add sexy Chris Baker in the mix and she’s even more unsure. After all, life is short.

Baker is an all-around good guy with a great sense of humor struggling to keep his new bar afloat. And he always thought Rainey was hot, even when she carried a few extra pounds in high school. Hell, he thinks she’s too skinny now. He knows she’s hiding something, too, but when he pushes the issue, she pushes him away. He tries not to care; she only wants a summer fling, right? But when her life is threatened, he realizes he may just be in love with her… and then he learns her secret.

Can they find love together before it’s too late?




First in the series

For a limited time only, BROKEN PROMISES will be $.99





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Girl with Guitar by Caisey Quinn - Excerpt and Giveaway



Title:Girl with Guitar
Author:Caisey Quinn
Release date:May 22, 2013
Genre:Romance
Age Group:New Adult (Mature 17+ content)
Event organized by:AToMR Tours


Book Description:
After Kylie’s dad dies in a freak accident, he leaves her with nothing other than her crazy stepmother, Darla, and the ability to play guitar. When Darla kicks Kylie out and she loses her job all in the same day, she hops a bus to Nashville determined to make her late father’s dreams come true. Waitressing and saving her pennies to record a demo, her big break comes when she’s asked to join a tour going down the tubes with once platinum album-selling country music superstar Trace Corbin. But touring with Trace is hardly a dream come true since he’s pretty much drinking his career down the drain. If Kylie can’t pull Trace out of his rut, he’ll pull her and her dreams down with him.

About the Author
CaiseyQuinn is a wearer of cowgirl boots, writer, and avid reader. She is a lover of wine and is addicted to chai tea lattes. She is also the brand spanking new author of several New Adult romances including Girl with Guitarand soon to be released Keep Me Still(which may or may not include spanking).
Caisey is a Gemini, wife, mom, and former high school English teacher living in Birmingham, Alabama, who spends her days chasing a three-year-old and hiding away with her MacBook. She spends her nights writing and is a firm believer that sleep is overrated.Currently she is hard at work on Girl on Tour, the second book in the Kylie Ryans series.

Author social media links:

GIVEAWAY

Do you want to win eBook copy of Girl with Guitar?

Just like Caisey's Facebook Page
and you're automatically entered!
Just make sure to leave your email on the comments so I could forward your info
to the tour host.
Ends June 18


Excerpt 1
She cut the song off before the last chorus and opened her eyes. “Well?” she asked, looking up at Tonya. Who had tears in her eyes. “Whoa, hey, what’s wrong?”
“That was beautiful, really. It was like you knew my whole life story, which you don’t, thank God.”
“Thanks.” Kylie beamed.
“But you can’t play that tonight,” Tonya said evenly, dabbing her tears away with a bar napkin.
Her heart sank into her stomach. “I can’t?”
“No.” Kylie watched Tonya’s eyes harden as she gripped her shoulder. “Listen to me, kid. I know a few things. Like for one, your life’s goal is probably not to be a waitress in a honky tonk. And for two, I know that all you really want is to make it big in country music like every other kid in this town, and that’s all fine and good and I’ll say I knew you when. Matter of fact, hold up, sign this napkin.”
Kylie’s mouth gaped open at her friend’s blunt observations. And she was seriously holding out a napkin and a pen. Slowly, Kylie took it and scribbled her name across it.
“But here’s what else I know. If you go play that sappy song that no one knows the words to, everyone will smile and nod and keep right on drinking. The managers and talent scouts that show will keep texting on their phones and someone somewhere might say, ‘That was a nice song,’ or ‘She was cute,’ and that will be it.”
“Okay, so…” Kylie was still too stunned to say much of anything. Tears threatened behind her eyes. This was the song she’d worked so hard on, put so much of herself into. Wasn’t it a good thing to be original?
“So you get your cute little butt out there, you sing some Taylor Swift or Kelly whoever cover, and you shake it up and make it your own so the audience can sing along while not comparing you to whoever really sings the damn thing.”
“Oh, is that all? Well, that should be a piece of cake. Thanks for the advice.” Kylie rolled her eyes and left them focused on the ceiling so her tears wouldn’t fall.
“Look, you can sing, you play good enough. You’re kinda sexy and all that stuff they want. I wouldn’t waste my breath or my time, Kylie, if you didn’t just blow me the hell away, but I know this town. If this was your first day of meeting with a label exec, I’d say bust that song out. But this is a bar, and you need to get their attention fist. The guys who come in here are looking for one thing. Acts that bring in money. People want to hear that song that makes them stand up and sing along and stay up drinking and partying all night. Think you can do that?”
Kylie swallowed hard, pushed her tears back behind her eyes, and forced a smile. She’d grown up without a mother. Buried the only man she’d ever loved less than a year ago. Lost everything in the blink of an eye. Surely she could do this. “Yeah. Yeah I can.”
“Good, ‘cause no matter what they call it, this shit ain’t for amateurs.” Tonya stood, offering her a weak smile before leaving Kylie all alone to figure out what the hell she was going to do.

Excerpt 2
There was only one way out of this. Okay, maybe two. Duck and hide and risk losing her job, or face the man whose song she’d just butchered in front of several hundred people. And risk losing her job.
Well, she’d never been one to back down, and she’d never ducked and hid from anyone in her life. Certainly not some cocky-ass country music singer who everyone knew was pretty much drinking his career down the drain. 
“Can I get you a drink, Mr. Corbin?” Kylie asked in the sweetest tone she could muster, stepping towards the stage.
“No, ma’am. Got one,” he told her, winking at the audience and lifting a beer bottle in her direction. Thick dark hair peeked out from under a trucker’s hat, and muscular suntanned forearms flexed at the end of his rolled up shirtsleeves. His bright white smile was framed by boyish dimples, and damn those jeans were doing things to her.
“Then what can I do for you?” she asked, rolling her eyes at the crowd as if she was annoyed with the megastar for interrupting her work. Good Lord. If they only knew that her heart was beating triple time against her ribs.
“Well, since you stole my song, the least you could do would be come up here and sing with me,” he slurred. For heaven’s sakes, the man was half drunk. And geez, could his jeans get any tighter? Focus, Kylie.
“Excuse me, sir. You mean to tell me you sing a song about bein’ a single girl that can’t be tied down?” The audience cracked up all around her.
“She’s cute, Clive. Where’d you find this one?” Trace bellowed across the bar. Kylie didn’t look to see what Clive did, but she could see a few cell phone screens lighting up the room. This was definitely going to be on YouTube. Trace Corbin was going to make sure she never got recognized in the industry, unless it was by people laughing at her.
“Well, pick a song already. I got tables to wait on,” Kylie said, hopping back onto the stage.
He eyed her carefully as he lifted his guitar. “You gonna change the words all up? Make me look like a fool?”
“Oh no, darlin.’ Pretty sure you can handle that all on your own,” Kylie answered with a flirty grin.
She prayed she looked like she was keeping her cool, but the last time she’d seen this man he was on CMT and she was watching from her bedroom in Okla-fricking-homa. And holy hell if he wasn’t even hotter in person. He smelled like aftershave and bourbon. Kylie decided then and there that she’d never be able to get a whiff of either without recalling this moment.

Excerpt 3
“Trace?” Pauly called from the front of the bus.
Kylie was already dressed so she stepped out of her room.
“Kylie, you seen Trace?”
“No, not recently, why?” No he was not doing this again. No fucking way.Pauly muttered something equally as harsh under his breath and stomped off the bus. Her mind raced. What was his freaking deal? Was he trying to get dropped from Capital Letter Records, the biggest damn label in Nashville? Whatever, not her problem. Him pulling another no-show where the audience would blame her and then the tour getting canceled before she could blink, that was her problem.
Kylie racked her brain as she made her way to the bar. Surely Pauly had checked the green room. Some bars, nice ones like this, had private party rooms for VIPs only, according to Tonya. If she could get into the one here at The Texas Player’s Club, she’d drag Trace Corbin out by his ass, stick her arm up it, and do his entire set ventriloquist style if she had do.
Pushing through the crowd, she found a back hallway backstage similar to the one at The Rum Room. After several failed attempts, she found a locked door with voices, mostly high-pitched female ones, coming from within.
Freaking hell, she did not want to think about what was happening on the other side of that door. But she had to get in somehow. Yanking a bobby pin from her hair, she took a deep breath to brace herself for whatever lewd acts she might be about to witness. Just as she was about to pick the lock like her dad had taught her to do in case she ever forgot her house key when he worked late, a male voice from behind her stopped her.
“No need to pick the lock, sweetheart. Pretty girl like you can come in as my personal guest.”

Excerpt 4
Running lights on the floor illuminated the interior of the bus just enough to keep her from falling and breaking her neck on her way to the kitchenette. She reached out and felt around for the switch under the cabinets that lit up the area above the sink. She had just flicked it on when Trace’s bedroom door opened.
Her heart stuttered and Kylie froze. If the blonde from the bar was in there with him, Kylie was taking her ass to that Winnebago dressed just as she was.
Taking a few deep breaths to brace herself, she turned. Trace stood in the doorway, his dark shirtless figure making her heart race.
“Couldn’t sleep,” she said softly. He just stared at her, reminding her with his scorching gaze that she was dressed in a thin nightshirt that barely reached her thighs. “No company tonight?” she asked, doing her best to keep her voice light, unaffected.
Trace said nothing as he stalked towards her slowly, the force of his stare backing her against the counter.
“Trace,” she said softly as he came close enough to touch.
Still nothing. Just his eyes burning into hers as his bare chest expanded with each breath. His hair was a mess, like he’d spent all night raking his hands through it, and he was barefoot in jeans. Kylie was pretty sure this was the hottest she’d ever seen him. Heat flooded her body, liquefying the lust between her thighs.
The sensation became so intense it was almost painful. Before she had time to ask him what he was doing, Trace’s strong hands gripped her and lifted her onto the counter. His labored breathing was the only sound she heard as he used those same hands to spread her knees apart. Kylie whimpered when he moved forward to press himself between them.
This was not the Trace Corbin she was used to. This man had pleading eyes and was trembling to the point of vibrating with…want. Or maybe it was need. Kylie wasn’t sure. The muscles holding her rigid relaxed under his warm hands. He trailed them up her thighs, to her hips, finally reaching up and touching her face with gentleness she hadn’t expected him to be capable of. His thumb grazed her bottom lip and it sent a shock straight through her, causing her to arch into him.
“You played those boys tonight.” His quiet ragged voice raked over her.
She couldn’t speak, so she nodded. Yes.
“You been playing me?” He pinned her with an intense stare she struggled to return.
This time she shook her head no.
When he let his hands fall back to her hips, she reached up and placed her fingers in his hair, using the lush brown locks to pull him closer. His head dropped below hers with a soft moan, and she could feel him breathing her in. She took advantage of the opportunity to do the same. Bourbon, aftershave, and that woodsy scent that was all Trace. No cheap perfume from his friend from earlier. Trace’s soft warm lips brushed against her neck, sending another shiver through her with so much force it would’ve jolted her off the counter had he not been holding her in place. “I’m sorry about what happened in Jackson,” he whispered. “God, I’m so sorry.” His voice was thick and raw and broke something inside of her.
She still couldn’t manage to get any words to reach her mouth, so she just gripped him tighter. She’d already forgiven him.
Her mind raced with questions. The most pressing one being, what the hell are we doing? But somehow it didn’t seem important to figure it out right that second. She wanted this, ached for it. She hadn’t even realized how badly until that very moment. Holding him close to her felt right. Safe. As if this was what she had needed all along. This is what would take the pain away.
Trace pulled away, just a few inches, but Kylie moaned her displeasure. She tried to pull him back in, biting her lip when he shook his head. God, those eyes. Take cover, they said, because the storm was here, now. And Kylie wanted nothing more than to hurl herself right into its path.
She didn’t know what he was looking for, but his eyes sought answers in hers that she didn’t have. She didn’t even know what the question was. She just wanted him. Like she had never wanted anything or anyone in her entire life.
Cupping her chin firmly, Trace leaned in and oh, oh she was more than ready for his mouth. But he didn’t kiss her. He pressed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. “So damn beautiful,” he rasped.
Gripping his hips and pulling him as close as possible, until the only thing keeping them apart was the thin lace of her panties and the denim of his jeans, Kylie let her hand stroke his stubbled cheek. She pulled her legs up to wrap them around his waist and Trace let loose a deep growl that had her throbbing against him. The intimacy of it was like nothing she’d ever experienced, taking her higher than even performing on stage had. Trace Corbin should come with a warning label: highly addictive.

Evertaster Book Blast and $50 Amazon or Paypal Cash Giveaway


The Buttersmiths' Gold

BATTLES. BLUEBERRIES. BOVINES.

TORBJORN AND STORFJELL’S HISTORY UNFOLDS IN AN EPIC EVERTASTER NOVELLA.

Everyone knows the most coveted treasure of the Viking Age was blueberry muffins. Blueberry muffins so succulent that if you sniffed just a whiff, you'd want a whole bite. If you bit a bite, you'd want a batch; if you snatched a batch, you'd stop at nothing short of going to war just to claim them all.

Young Torbjorn Trofastsonn comes from the clan that makes them. He's a Viking through and


through – he's thirteen winters old, larger than most respectable rocks, and most of all, a Buttersmith. That's what he thinks anyway, until a charismatic merchant makes Torbjorn question his place among the muffin-makers. When Torbjorn lets the secret of his clan's muffin recipe slip, he calls doom and destruction down upon his peaceful village and forces his brother Storfjell and his clansmen to do the one thing they are ill-prepared to do: battle for their lives.

Purchase on

About The Buttersmiths' Gold


The Buttersmiths' Gold is a spin off novella in the Evertaster series that tells the story of two Viking brothers and their adventurous past. The Evertaster series (Book #1 released June 14, 2012) is about Guster Johnsonville, who goes searching for a legendary taste rumored to be the most delicious in all of history. Along the way he meets a slew of mysterious characters, including two Viking brothers Torbjorn and Storfjell. The Buttersmiths' Gold is their story. 124 pages. By Adam Glendon Sidwell. Published by Future House Publishing.

Evertaster, Book #1:




A legendary taste. Sought after for centuries. Shrouded in secrecy.

When eleven-year-old Guster Johnsonville rejects his mother’s casserole for the umpteenth time, she takes him into the city of New Orleans to find him something to eat. There, in a dark, abandoned corner of the city they meet a dying pastry maker. In his last breath he entrusts them with a secret: an ancient recipe that makes the most delicious taste the world will ever know — a taste that will change the fate of humanity forever.
Forced to flee by a cult of murderous chefs, the Johnsonvilles embark on a perilous journey to ancient ruins, faraway jungles and forgotten caves. Along the way they discover the truth: Guster is an Evertaster — a kid so picky that nothing but the legendary taste itself will save him from starvation. With the sinister chefs hot on Guster’s heels and the chefs’ reign of terror spreading, Guster and his family must find the legendary taste before it’s too late.


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Book Trailer





Author Adam Sidwell 




In between books, Adam Glendon Sidwell uses the power of computers to make monsters, robots and zombies come to life for blockbuster movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean, King Kong, Transformers and Tron. After spending countless hours in front of a keyboard meticulously adjusting tentacles, calibrating hydraulics, and brushing monkey fur, he is delighted at the prospect of modifying his creations with the flick of a few deftly placed adjectives. He’s been eating food since age 7, so feels very qualified to write this book. He once showed a famous movie star where the bathroom was. Adam currently lives in Los Angeles, where he can’t wait to fall into the sea.




BookBlast Giveaway $50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 6/30/13 

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http:// iamareader.com and sponsored by the participating author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Prize value $50 US. 

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New Commenting System


I just installed this new commenting system on the blog! I Disqus helpful because I can now reply to my comments back. Not that Blogger's commenting system won't let me reply, I just find this easier to manage :)

I'm importing the old comments already, if you can't see your comment it's already been taken care of. You'll see it in a few minutes or so.

So what do you think of the new Disqus commenting system? Do you use this? What made you decide to use it?

I'm also giving away a Book of Choice in The Best Book Ever Giveaway Hop. ENTER HERE

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Cover Reveal of High Risk Love by Shannon Mayer

Ohhkay I finally manage to schedule this post, my connection has been really sloppy to say the least but here I am still struggling to post as much as I can. So hello to you guys, here's the cover reveal of High Risk Love by Shannon Mayer! Don't I just love this cover... never really seen anything liked this before. I love the concept and the font, it just jive with the whole cover. I was also reading the synopsis and wow, this sounds really good!

So what do you think of the cover? Do you like it? I sure did!




Title: High Risk Love
Author: Shannon Mayer
Expected release date: July 1, 2013
Genre: Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Cover designed by: Okay Creations
Pre-order on Amazon: Paperback | eBook

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Photographs. 

Images. Snapshots in time.

This is how I experience my life. I’ve hidden behind my camera and viewed the world through the lens. I watch other people live their lives. I’ve given up on my dreams, and sheltered my heart from love; because both have given me nothing but pain. Even thinking about opening myself up, sends my fears into overdrive. It’s better to be safe, than to take a risk and have your life shattered into pieces alongside your heart. This is what I believed.

Dangerous. 

Risks. Fear Nothing.

I live for the rush of adrenaline I get when I work my stunts. Nothing else matters but the feel of my heart pounding when I challenge the line between life and death. Women are nothing more than a distraction; they use me for my connections, as I use them to escape the pain of my past before moving on to my next adrenaline fix. My life is consumed with excitement, danger and risks—it’s all I needed.

Denials.

Fear. The complete wrong time.

Jasmin and Jet will face off over photos, stunts and the truth hidden in their hearts. The last person Jasmin wants to be with is a man who takes life for granted. Jet wants to give his heart to no one; especially one who might not understand the secrets that haunt him. Despite their protests, Jasmin’s and Jet’s lives tangle; the threads of love and fear bind them. Between their passions and their pasts, they fight to hang onto each other . . . but will the stakes be too high when faced with the ultimate sacrifice?

 ** 18+ for adult situations, sexual situations and language.       

 About the Author

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Shannon Mayer lives in the southwestern tip of Canada with her husband, dog, cats, horse, and cows. When not writing she spends her time staring at immense amounts of rain, herding old people (similar to herding cats) and attempting to stay out of trouble. Especially that last is difficult for her.   She is the author of the The Nevermore Trilogy; a romantic Zombie-ish Apocalypse, The Rylee Adamson Sexy Urban Fantasy Mystery series and the Celtic Legacy Romantic Urban Fantasy series. Her first New Adult Romance, High Risk Love, is scheduled for release July 1, 2013.  

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AToMRToursC66a-A00aT03a-Z_mdm_zpsa3cc6896.jpg

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

PODs Book Blitz + Swag Bundle Giveaway





PODs
Release Date: 06/24/13
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Paperback/ebook
312 pages

Summary from Goodreads:
Seventeen-year-old Eva is a chosen one. Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of symptoms emerging. In the POD system, a series of underground habitats built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, it's in the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all, it's a balm for the broken soul.

After a year, scientists believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the virus. That's the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened, survivors find the surface holds a vicious secret. The virus mutated, infecting those left top-side and creating... monsters.

Eva and David hide from the infected in the abandoned PODs. Together they try to build a life--a new beginning. But the infected follow and are relentless in their attacks. Leaving Eva and David to fight for survival, and pray for a cure.


***Excerpt***


The bus ride to the quarantine facility took more than ten hours. I was shoved against the window by my seatmate who slept almost the entire trip. He was a big guy, taking up most of the seat, and when he slept his body lolled to the side, wedging me against the metal side of the bus.

As we traveled, the air turned hot and dry, different than the humid, sticky climate of my coastal Texas hometown. The old school bus didn’t have air conditioning and the small windows didn’t let much air in. My seatmate’s body heat didn’t help. I was hot, thirsty, and had to pee in the worst way.


Wondering how much longer I’d be drooled on by the guy next to me, I strained my face against the window, looking for anything on the flat landscape.


That’s when I saw them.


I don’t know why I was surprised. I should’ve expected it after what had happened at the high school, but I hadn’t. It was worse than at the school—rioters everywhere. They waved anti-raffle signs and signs cursing the “Chosen.”


The land around the quarantine area was flat, dry, and dusty. The people lining the road sat under makeshift tents to keep out of the sun. Some stood on top of their RVs waving their handmade signs; one burned an American flag.


I watched women holding their small children toward the bus, begging with tear-stained faces for us to take them. I wanted to reach out and snatch them out of their mothers’ hands as we drove past. Several of the other people on the bus reached up and pushed their windows shut.


The National Guard at the quarantine site didn’t allow people to get close enough to touch the bus. They were shot with rubber bullets or Tasered if they tried to cross the police line. Every time I heard the shot of the riot guns I jumped. My muscles ached from tensing them—waiting for the inevitable sound.


“Why are you crying?” A boy sitting in front of me looked at me like I’d grown another head. “They’d probably kill you and steal your place in the PODs if given the chance.”


I shook my head, remembering what my dad had told me. “They’re just scared,” I said. After all, they were, essentially, the walking dead.


The rioters screamed and cursed us. They threw rocks and eggs as we drove by. An egg hit the window next to me, the slimy insides plopping against my head, matting my hair.


“Gross,” the boy sitting next to me said.


I just looked at him and rolled my eyes.


Yeah, the egg is gross. And the drool coming out of your mouth and dripping on my leg while you slept, leaning on me, was glorious.


The bus stopped in a fenced area like the one at the high school. The crowd screamed and banged the fence posts with their crude, homemade picket signs. Some climbed on the fence, pulling at it like chimpanzees at the zoo.


“Stay seated until your name is called,” a soldier yelled. “When you are called, grab your belongings and wait to be escorted into the building.”


Oh please, call this guy’s name. He needs to move before I shove him off the seat. I’m tired of being pinned against the side of the bus. I need some room.


Thankfully, my name was called soon after we stopped. I stood, stretched the kinks out of my muscles, and plowed through the massive body blocking me. Clambering over the other luggage that filled the aisle, I grabbed my two suitcases and stood in front of the bus.


The one-story brick building was large but had no windows, only a single green door. I couldn’t see the other sides, but I had a feeling there’d be no windows there, either—no glass for rioters to break through.


The soldier walked up from behind me, tapping my suitcase with his clipboard. “Follow me.”


I shuffled into the brick building, guided by the same guardsman who’d ripped me away from my parents hours earlier…


“I love you,” my mom said through her tears, her voice thick and trembling.


“I want to stay with you,” I pleaded.


“Come here, kiddo.” My dad, his face distorted with grief, folded me in a tight hug. He kissed the top of my head and told me he loved me and how proud he was of me. “I know, when this is over, you are going to do great things, Eva. you’re a fighter. I love you so much.”


A rough hand grabbed my arm, pulling me away from my dad. “Get on the bus,” the male voice ordered, yelling to be heard over the crying of parents and children saying their final goodbyes.


“I’m not done saying goodbye…” He didn’t let go, pulling me with him. My heels digging into the dirt, I tried to pull away. I needed one more hug, to hear them tell me they loved me and to tell them I loved them, too.


“MOM!” I screamed. “DAD!” Tears stained my face. The man thrust me toward the steps of the old, yellow school bus. I screamed one more time for my parents, telling them I loved them, reaching my arms out to them.


I could see my mom’s body rock with the force of her cries. Tears ran down my father’s face. “We love you, Evangelina,” I heard them call just before the bus door closed. </ o:p>

It was the last thing I’d hear my parents say. It was the last image I’d have of them. I pressed my hand to the window of the bus, my head bowed as I sobbed. I didn’t try to hide my tears. Everyone on the bus was crying for their families. We knew what awaited them.


Death.


I shook my head, trying to erase the horrible memory. I wanted to remember the good things about them, not saying goodbye.


Goodbyes are hard, but this one had been different. This wasn’t a goodbye, I’ll see you in a month. It was a permanent goodbye. I’d never see my parents again. The overwhelming sadness took over, like a black hole sucking me in. Fat, salty tears ran down my face, and I could feel my nose running. I wiped my arm across it. My eyes were swollen, my throat sore, and my chest tight.


I was alone. My parents were gone. No brothers or sisters. Just me—an orphan of the virus.


***Advanced Praise For PODs***

“…an energetic, tumultuous roller coaster ride that me on the edge of my seat and biting my nails…You know when Goodreads says “Meet You Next Favourite Book?” Well this is it! This is my favourite book of 2013…In my honest opinion Michelle Pickett is best-selling author material…overflowing with talent…It doesn’t feel like a debut book; her writing speaks of someone who has been writing and publishing books for years.”  ~ Keren of Gothic Angel Book Reviews

“It is very rare these days for a YA book to suck me in so thoroughly that I lose all concept of time and place, I’m just too busy for that.  But PODs did exactly that.  I was pulled right into Eva’s world and stayed there until the end… All in all, I give it my rare 5 out of 5 stars with a warning: Do not pick this book up unless you’ve cleared your schedule for several hours!”  ~ DJ of The Curvy Writer Blog

5 glowing, sparkling stars for this one!...I absolutely adored every character Michelle introduces us to. This book isn't just about a romance, or two people fighting some battle. This book allows us to get to know several, amazing, diverse characters who all grab your heart (even a few who have attitude issues). They all held such an important place in the story… Now for the plot. Holy crap!... Michelle did a flippin' fantastic job giving us each piece of this puzzle… I won't go into details about what happens after they are removed from the POD but O-M-G! The action never stops…This book seriously needs to be a movie. I could picture every detail and already see it playing out on screen. PLEASE SOMEONE MAKE THIS HAPPEN!”  ~ Jessica of Total Bookaholic
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About the Author:


I'm a wife, mother, author, reader, although not always in that order. I write young adult urban fantasies, science/fiction and paranormal romances and have recently started dabbling in young adult contemporary romance. Reading was one of my earliest passions, writing soon followed. I began writing seriously during college where I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in accounting. Why I chose a career that frowns on creativity remains a mystery.


I’m addicted to Reese’s peanut butter cups and eat way too many while I write, have an abnormal obsession with hoodies and can’t write without one, and I hate to cook, but love to watch cooking shows on television. An unabashed romantic, I love a swoon-worthy ending that will give me butterflies for days.

I wrote my debut young adult novel, PODs, in 2011. PODs, a science/fiction, post-apocalyptic romance, will be released June 4, 2013 through the amazing Spencer Hill Press. My second young adult title, Milayna, a paranormal romance, will release through Spencer Hill Press beginning in March 2014. Milayna is a standalone, with series potential. It’s meant to be a trilogy. The Infected, a PODs novel, will release November 2014. It is the second, and last, book in the PODs series.

I was born and raised in Flint, Michigan. I now reside in a small community outside Houston, Texas with my incredibly supportive, not to mention gorgeous, husband, three amazing school-aged children, a 125-pound lap dog, and a snooty cat.


Keep up-to-date with my current, future projects, appearances, and fun giveaways at www.michelle-pickett.com.

I always love to hear from readers, bloggers and other authors!
Find me here:
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***GIVEAWAY***
(1)   POD's Swag Bundle including: A signed edition of PODs, PODs bookmarks and some of my next release Milayna, a tote bag, stickers, and a gift card ($10) to Amazon.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Best Book Ever Giveaway Hop

The Best Book Ever Hop
Hosted by The Best Books Ever and I Am A Reader, Not A Writer
I'm ever late again with my post! I'm seriously thinking if I should still do this or not.
But here's a giveaway for you guys, I know you love giveaways :)
What am I giving away this time?
Your choice of book!
Get the list here
http://www.thebestbooksever.com/p/best-book-ever.html
This is Open International!
Spread the word!

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