The Color of Water Giveaway

The cure for anything is saltwater –

sweat, tears, or the sea.

~Isak Dinesen

I love the sea. I've always loved it, although I haven't always lived near it. I once thought I'd grow up to be an oceanographer or a marine biologist, but fate had other plans for me. And truth be told, the ocean can be a frightening thing. I'm always in awe of the men and women who are brave enough to sail it. I enjoy riding in boats, but I'm always glad to get back to dry land. I'm truly happiest on a beach.

My latest southern gothic novella, The Color of Water, was inspired by a trip to the North Carolina coast a few years back and a visit to the historic town of Beaufort. Beaufort is just about as old as a town gets in North America, founded in 1709. It's seen the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and everything since. With all that history, you can imagine what a great graveyard it had. And ghosts. Lots of places in North Carolina have ghosts, but Beaufort has the best in my opinion. Pirates, merchants, soldiers, and little girls - there's just about any type of ghost you might want there.

So Beaufort combines two things I adore - the ocean and history. When I visited, I knew immediately it would be the setting for my next book. The Color of Water is a novella, so it's the perfect length for a rainy, fall afternoon, cozying up on the couch with a ghost story. Fans of love triangles and super sweet teen romance may be disappointed. The story is very much about the ebbs and flows of life and death, about holding on and letting go. It's also about the connection of a parent to a child, so while there are some elements of a first love, it's also about much more. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

~About the Book~

Life is unpredictable. Why would death be any different?

Sixteen year old Samantha’s Dad died in a sailing accident and her Mom’s moving them to the sleepy, backwater town of Beaufort, North Carolina, so they can make a new start. Afraid to sail again, Samantha takes her mind off the past by trying to solve the mystery of who's killing young women on the island, only the killer is way more than your ordinary psychopath.

Turns out, the blood-thirsty ghost of Blackbeard returns to Beaufort on the high tide to collect the souls of beautiful young women and now he wants her mom. With only the help of a two-bit psychic and the ghost of a young, drowned sailor she might be falling in love with, Samantha struggles to save her mother. But Sam has some demons of her own to conquer first.

  ~ From Chapter One ~

   It’s funny what you notice when you’re dying. It’s not your breath or your heartbeat, or the ripple of your mind slowly coming undone. It’s what you love. For me, it’s the color of the water. First, it’s green like bottle glass. Then it’s deep, dark blue-black, like a midnight sky.

   The water seeps into my ears blocking everything else out. It creeps into my clothes, through the strands of my hair. It invades my nose, my mouth, and slides into my lungs, into my stomach. It envelopes me, claims me as its own. I’m going with it.

   And then something jerks me back. In the murky water, I can barely see what it is through my salt-blinded eyes. It’s Dad. He’s got me. He’s tugging on my vest, trying to unhitch the tether and I wonder why. Something breaks free and he pulls me up with him. The vest I’m wearing pops me up to the surface like a cork.

   On the surface, my lungs vomit out searing salt water, even as more angry waves bash us against the hull of the sloop. She’s completely upside down. Dad’s pushing my limp arms up on The Tempest, trying to make me grab a hold of something, anything to keep my head above water.

~***~

To celebrate the release, two lucky winners will win a free copy of the print book or e-book - your choice! Be sure to enter :)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can always find The Color of Water on Amazon :) and Goodreads! and if you'd like to learn more about me, Lisa Cresswell, please visit my web site. Enjoy!

The Color of Water Cover Reveal~

The cure for anything is saltwater –

sweat, tears, or the sea.

~Isak Dinesen

I'm so excited to release my newest novella "The Color of Water" today! The cover is finally ready to share with you, so without further adieu, here it is~

Isn't it beautiful?! Of course, I think all my book babies are beautiful. :)

I love the color of the water in it, just as Samantha, my new heroine, loves the sea.

In the next few weeks, I'll be blogging more about the upcoming release, as well as hosting a giveaway for a copy of the book. If any of my fellow bloggers/friends/readers would like an advanced reading copy in exchange for a review, please contact me! I'm happy to guest post too, if you'd like.

Here's a bit about the story:

Life is unpredictable. Why would death be any different?

Sixteen year old Samantha’s Dad died in a sailing accident and her Mom’s moving them to the sleepy, backwater town of Beaufort, North Carolina, so they can make a new start. Afraid to sail again, Samantha takes her mind off the past by trying to solve the mystery of who's killing young women on the island, only the killer is way more than your ordinary psychopath.

Turns out, the blood-thirsty ghost of Blackbeard returns to Beaufort on the high tide to collect the souls of beautiful young women and now he wants her mom. With only the help of a two-bit psychic and the ghost of a young, drowned sailor she might be falling in love with, Samantha struggles to save her mother. But Sam has some demons of her own to conquer first.

  ~ From Chapter One ~

   It’s funny what you notice when you’re dying. It’s not your breath or your heartbeat, or the ripple of your mind slowly coming undone. It’s what you love. For me, it’s the color of the water. First, it’s green like bottle glass. Then it’s deep, dark blue-black, like a midnight sky.

   The water seeps into my ears blocking everything else out. It creeps into my clothes, through the strands of my hair. It invades my nose, my mouth, and slides into my lungs, into my stomach. It envelopes me, claims me as its own. I’m going with it.

   And then something jerks me back. In the murky water, I can barely see what it is through my salt-blinded eyes. It’s Dad. He’s got me. He’s tugging on my vest, trying to unhitch the tether and I wonder why. Something breaks free and he pulls me up with him. The vest I’m wearing pops me up to the surface like a cork.

   On the surface, my lungs vomit out searing salt water, even as more angry waves bash us against the hull of the sloop. She’s completely upside down. Dad’s pushing my limp arms up on The Tempest, trying to make me grab a hold of something, anything to keep my head above water.

You can find it on Amazon :) and Goodreads! Enjoy! And for other great giveaways, click the Linky below :)

My stop on the Spellbringers Book Tour!

Welcome to The "Spellbringers Series" Book Tour!

This Tour features author Tricia Drammeh and is brought to you by Diverse Book Tours!

Pinterest Addiction for Writers or How Pinterest can Inspire You

I admit it. I am a Pinterest addict, but I have very good reasons for it. So much of writing is about creating mental pictures for the reader to envision. As a writer, real pictures help me see what I'm trying to create mental pictures about. Have you ever written something only to come back months later, reread it, and realize you've forgotten what you wrote? The same is true of experiences and sights. Seeing a picture of your last vacation can remind you of the little details you forgot - how much you loved that Hawaiian coffee or shaved ice, how delicious the flowers in the lei smelled, how your kid's temporary tattoo looked. These are the  kinds of vivid details you need as a writer. A picture truly is worth a thousand words.


The beauty of Pinterest is there are millions of pictures there, way more experiences than any one of us could amass in a lifetime, all there for your perusal.  A lot of writers make Pinterest boards of their dream movie cast for their books, but I prefer to make my boards more inspirational. I include anything that evokes the feeling or setting of the book, probably because I make a big deal about settings.  Here are my boards for VESSEL and HUSH PUPPY.  I also make boards as I'm working on new projects to inspire me. Here's the board for CRAWDAD, a new YA contemporary story I'm querying now.

A couple of other boards I have just for fun. I made one full of writing advice and one just of libraries, cause I love them. :)  I dare you not to get sucked in!

Other writing resources I put in my Places board, which includes potential story settings from around the world.  I also have a board just for pictures of People. I keep a Fantasy board because I sometimes write fantasy too. Even if I haven't been everywhere or met everyone, Pinterest makes me feel like I could at least write about it. Yes, it could be a distraction and probably is some days, but overall I love how it allows me to capture the feel of my work in pictures.

My review of "Coal" on the Diverse Book Tour

Welcome to "Coal" Blog Tour, featuring

author Constance Burris and brought to you by Diverse Book Tours!
Read on down the page to learn more about this
diverse fantasy and read my review~

 

Paranormal Romance for Halloween? Yes!

My paranormal romance novella The Color of Water is finally coming to print and e-book this fall! Nothing like a good ghost pirate story to enjoy the Halloween season, right?? What's it about, you say?

Here's the book blurb~

Life is unpredictable. Why would death be any different?

Sixteen year old Samantha’s Dad died in a sailing accident and her Mom’s moving them to the sleepy, backwater town of Beaufort, North Carolina, so they can make a new start. Afraid to sail again, Samantha takes her mind off the past by trying to solve the mystery of who's killing young women on the island, only the killer is way more than your ordinary psychopath.

Turns out, the blood-thirsty ghost of Blackbeard returns to Beaufort on the high tide to collect the souls of beautiful young women and now he wants her mom. With only the help of a two-bit psychic and the ghost of a young, drowned sailor she might be falling in love with, Samantha struggles to save her mother. But Sam has some demons of her own to conquer first.

Want to join the blog tour? Let me know :)

and be sure to follow me on Goodreads for updates on the release!

Hush Puppy Anniversary~

Today is the 2nd anniversary of Hush Puppy's release back in 2013.

It's been a great experience for me. Hush Puppy will always be one of my favorites, no matter how many books I write. I hope my readers enjoyed it too.

~Praise for Hush Puppy~

"Set in a small town in North Carolina, Hush Puppy is a wonder of a book. Lisa T. Cresswell's writing is simple and clean and clearly evokes the emotional expectations of teenage romance and the tense nature of high school. Encompassing a wide array of thematic concepts, Hush Puppy provides ample fodder for discussion and would be perfect food for thought for parents and teenagers."

—Luisa LaFleur, The Children's Book Review

"So it's not every day I get the chance to read books that feature black female protagonists that embody an honest and true character in YA. Most likely the writer over exaggerates how black teenage girls act, often resulting to finger snapping, head bobbing and poor choice of language. Now I'm not saying a lot of black girls DON'T act this way; I for one can't end my day without bobbing my head when my boyfriend annoys me but that is often just one black experience, there are sooooo many different experiences from the life of a black teenager, but for some reason people always go with the generic. Luckily, the author of this book chose to explore the life of a bookish girl from the rural South, who was more like me than she wasn't. I'm so glad I read this book! I started it yesterday and finished it in the same night!!! I wish there were more books offering different experiences from characters of color, (not even just black) because this by far was one the best books I read this year!"

—Libertad Araceli, Twinja Book Reviews

"References to The Bard abound in Hush Puppy, from Jamie's nickname, to the scenes set in their high school English class, in which Corrine and Jamie are both asked to read lines from Romeo and Juliet. Cresswell is strategic in assigning her characters roles from the play which nicely underscore their predicament; at one point Corrine must play Juliet opposite the white star of the high school football team, with whom she's never seen eye to eye; and he is a mismatched Romeo indeed. What follows is one of the book's most tender moments, in which Jamie publicly confesses his love for her, thinly veiled as literary analysis. 'Juliet is wishing Romeo wasn't a Montague,' he says, 'and Romeo is telling her he'll be anything she wants.'
This leads, ultimately, to the book's major dramatic question: Can love flourish between two teens, one black and one white, in a place like High Rock? Or will their circumstances send Corrine and Jamie the way of Romeo and Juliet? While the answers to their predicament may strike older readers as tidy, this does not detract from the pleasures of the narrative. In Hush Puppy, Cresswell has created an endearing female protagonist whose plight softly echoes that of Juliet's in a briskly-paced drama with plenty of heart."

—Ana Reyes, Southern Literary Review

Hush Puppy can be found on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the Book Depository. 

Missing you~

I had a dream last night about a friend I hadn't seen in years. In the dream, he suddenly appeared, bedraggled, maybe even homeless, and I took him in and gave him a place to sleep. Later, I'm dismayed to learn that he's leaving with a random group of other people I know and I haven't got to spend any time with him.

When I awoke, I realized the friend I dreamt about is dead now. I learned third hand that he died of cancer a year ago and I'd never even heard he was sick.

I'm not a superstitious person, but I know I have regrets in my heart. Not being able to say goodbye is hard.

I just want those that I've lost, who are no longer with us, to know~ you live in my dreams ~

Halloween is coming~

I know, it might seem like a long ways off, but Halloween is just around the corner. Soon the nights will be getting cooler, the days will be getting shorter, and that spooky feeling will be in the air once more.

Halloween always makes me think of my book Storyteller, which begins at Halloween time. This year I have some exciting Storyteller news. The entire Storyteller series will be coming to print in a single volume, just in time for Halloween reading!

The Storyteller Series tells the story of a young fairy hidden in the human world who has to save her home world- The True World- from forces that threaten to destroy everything. It's an epic middle-grade tale to appeals to all readers that's been compared to The Chronicles of Narnia and Fablehaven.

~Praise for Storyteller~

This story blew me away. As a middle grade story, it's a success with plenty of social strife and a little innocent romance. But what really gets me is the world building, the fantasy and the adventure. Plus, there is an element of danger that soon builds into quite a gripping story, nothing at all what I expected in the early chapters. The writing is smooth and easy to read without being simplistic. The plot development is solid, and I really enjoy the unique way Lily learns about her mother.

The character development is also noteworthy. Each person, friend or foe, is unique and believable. The good guys aren't perfect and the bad guys are scary, but not invincible.

Overall I loved this story because it's exciting and reminds me of The Neverending Story. It's one I know I'll read again and again. I recommend this to young and old, anyone who loves fantasy and modern fairy tales. ~ Goodreads reviewer

Be sure to follow me on Goodreads for updates on the print book coming soon!

World Weaver Press cover reveal for Volume 2 of their #Scifi Anthology Series

Welcome to another great cover reveal, this time for World Weaver Press!
I love the colors in these. Nice work~
 

Praise for Far Orbit: 

“Successfully captures the kinds of stories that were the gateway drugs for many of us who have been reading science fiction for a long time. Well done!” — Tangent 

“Daring adventure, protagonists who think on their feet, and out of this world excitement! Welcome to Far Orbit, a fine collection of stories in the best SF tradition. Strap in and enjoy!” — Julie E. Czerneda, author of Species Imperative “Spectacular. 

One anthology no sci-fi library should be without!” — Night Owl Reviews (Five Stars) 

“Put aside all of your preconceived notions of what ‘sci-fi’ is—whether you think you love it or hate, it doesn’t matter—pick up this book and get to reading!” — Good Choice Reading 

“Need a quick fix of good old-fashioned science fiction? Far Orbit is it!” — Sporadic Reviews

World Weaver Press (Eileen Wiedbrauk, Editor-in-Chief) has announced Far Orbit Apogee, volume two of the Far Orbit Anthology Series, edited by Bascomb James, will be available in trade paperback and ebook Tuesday, October 13, 2015.

Looking for science fiction stories like they used to write? Far Orbit Apogee takes all of the fun-to-read adventure, ingenuity, and heroism of mid-century pulp fiction and shapes it for a new generation of readers. Follow the adventures of heroic scientists, lunar detectives, space dragons, robots, interstellar pirates, gun slingers, and other memorable characters as they wrestle with adversity beyond the borders of our small blue marble. Fun, engaging, pithy, and piquant, we’ve got it all. Featuring stories from Jennifer Campbell-Hicks, Dave Creek, Eric Del Carlo, Dominic Dulley, Nestor Delfino, Milo James Fowler, Julie Frost, Sam S. Kepfield, Keven R. Pittsinger, Wendy Sparrow, Anna Salonen, James Van Pelt, and Jay Werkheiser.

Far Orbit Apogee will be available in trade paperback and ebook via Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Kobo.com, WorldWeaverPress.com, and other online retailers, and for wholesale through Ingram. Bascomb James is a clinical virologist, author, and editor who lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His daytime persona has authored or edited four scientific textbooks and more than 60 scientific articles and chapters. His nighttime persona is an author, editor, and science fiction fan. Bascomb is the anthologist and editor of the Far Orbit anthologies published by World Weaver Press. The first Far Orbit volume, Far Orbit: Speculative Space Adventures was published in 2014 and has garnered many outstanding reviews. A science-fiction fan since childhood, Bascomb credits his interest in science, engineering, and invention to the science fiction stories he read as a child. Bascomb blogs about writing, editing, storytelling, and life in a Northern state (Up North Stories) at bascombjames.com. He also tweets occasionally @BascombJ.

World Weaver Press is an independently owned publisher of fantasy, paranormal, and science fiction. They believe in great storytelling.

The Mark of Noba cover reveal!

Guess what? Today is the cover reveal for The Mark of Noba by GL Tomas brought to you by

Lola's Blog Tours. Be sure to scroll down for an excerpt!

The Mark of Noba (The Sterling Wayfairer Series #1)
by GL Tomas
Genre: Fantasy
Age category: Young Adult
Release Date: 25 August, 2015

~About the Book~

Sterling Wayfairer has one goal for his senior year: make his mark. He’s been slipping into the background his whole high school career—distracted by his mother’s mental health, unsettled by the vivid dreams that haunt him at night, and overshadowed by the athletic accomplishments of his popular best friends. But this year is going to be different. He’s going to break a few rules, have some fun, and maybe even work up the nerve to ask his crush out on a date.

But things don’t go exactly as planned. Students are disappearing, Sterling starts losing time, and it all seems to center around Tetra, a girl no one else seems to notice but him. When he finally tracks her down for answers, they aren’t what he expects: He and Tetra hail from a world called Noba, and they’re being hunted by a Naga, a malevolent shapeshifter that’s marked them for destruction.

Tetra and Sterling have distinct abilities that can help them fight back, but their power depends heavily on the strength of their bond, a connection that transcends friendship, transcends romance. Years apart have left their bond weak. Jumpstarting it will require Sterling to open his heart and his mind and put his full trust in the mysterious Tetra.

If he doesn’t, neither of them will survive.

You can find The Mark of Noba on Goodreads

You can pre-order The Mark of Noba here:
- Amazon

~About the Authors~

 

Guinevere and Libertad go by many superhero aliases. Whether you know them by G.L. Tomas, the Twinjas, or the Rebellious Valkyries, their mission is always the same: spreading awareness of diversity in books. Oh, and trying to figure out the use for pocketless pants! They host other allies and champions of diversity in their secret lair in Connecticut.

You can find and contact with GL Tomas here:
- Website
- Facebook Author
- Facebook book blog
- Twitter account Libertad
- Twitter account Guinevere
- Twitter account YA book blog
- Twitter account NA, romance and adult books
- Goodreads
- Author Pinterest
- Pinterest Book Blog
- Book Blog Tumblr

~Book Excerpt~

The morning announcements were centered on the kid that went missing from our school. He was a sophomore so I didn’t know him, but I still felt horrible. My tablemate Rebel Lee scribbled down an array of unintelligible notes, probably both profound and meaningful. Rebel was someone I knew since junior high, and even though we were pals, he didn’t talk much. Which was odd because he seemed to be understood by everyone. Correction. Everyone except for Grey.

I witnessed a sea of sorrow amongst my classmates. No one was in the state of mind to be here, and the cheerless announcements added to our already despondent moods. Man, I hoped they found this kid.

The teachers opened up the floor to talk about it, prolonging any collections of homework assignments that I didn’t do. The more others talked about it, the lower our spirits got. It bothered me that we didn’t have any more information on what had happened. Was it connected to the other boy who disappeared? Did they run away? Were they abducted? Were they going to be all right? Thinking back to what my mom said earlier, I was lucky to be sitting here. I listened, but didn’t contribute. I had so much on my mind.

My attention drifted across the room until I settled on someone I hadn’t noticed at the beginning of class. She wore her hair in a high, messy bun and had on gray sneakers with three blue stripes. She felt familiar. Did I say felt familiar? I meant looked familiar. Looked…familiar. Because how does someone feel familiar?

A Type 5, she had this flawless dark brown skin that made me question how no one else seemed to notice her. If I judged her off her face alone, she was one of the prettier girls at school. She didn’t seem interested in the discussion we were having in class, and she, like me, faded into the background. I’d never given it much thought before but…I always kind of looked for her. There was just something about her that… Y’know what? Never mind.

Summer's Last Hurrah on #MondayBlogs

I know I always say go somewhere you've never been before, but this year I went somewhere I haven't been in a long time - Yellowstone.  The last time I was there was 2005, so it's been ten years. It's changed some. Now, three million people visit Yellowstone a year, so it's getting really crowded with people. So much so that the parking lots couldn't even hold everyone's vehicles and folks are parking along the highways, making trails where they aren't supposed to. As a result, we saw a lot less wildlife than usual.  We did see these lazy elk in Gardiner, Montana.

And finally after much searching, we found the bison on the east side of the park. I was starting to wonder where they all went! I almost asked the activists who were demonstrating against hazing of buffalo that leave the park.

Old Faithful was magnificent as always and the hot pools/springs were impressive, although they seemed to have less water than I remembered from years ago. I hope it's not because of the drought.

I'm afraid people are loving Yellowstone to death. It is worth seeing, but wow, there sure are a lot of us.  No trip is complete without checking out the historic lodges. Here's a pic of the inside of the Old Faithful Lodge where we enjoyed huckleberry ice cream. Pretty cool. *apologies to the random people in the pic- you were in my shot! ;)

I took the opportunity to take a break from writing and editing, which I've been doing all summer it feels like!  I have two manuscripts I'm querying and I third I need to get edited for query, not to mention the two books I'm getting ready to self publish. (If anyone is a Microsoft Word format wizard, please help!)

When I got home, I did a bit of editing on Crawdad, mostly just adding dates to the chapter headings. Reading back over it, I realized how much I loved the story. Oh man, it's good stuff. I really want to share it with you. Cross your fingers I get someone to publish it cause it's some of my best and I don't say that lightly. C'mon publishing gods! Bring me some good news!

Feels like summer is coming to an end. My kids go back to school next week, but I'm not ready to let it go. At least I have my pictures to help hold on to the memories~