Scion of the Sun Blog Stop Today~

 

ABOUT SCION OF THE SUN:

Title: SCION OF THE SUN
Series: THE SOLAR SNATCHERS SERIES
Publication date: November 5, 2013
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
ISBN-13: 978-0-9850294-3-2
ISBN eBook: 978-0-9850294-2-5
Author: Nicola Marsh
 

When she least expects it, sixteen-year old Holly Burton’s unremarkable life is shaken to the core. A vision of the mother Holly never knew leaves her questioning everything she believes.

 

Eager for answers, Holly enrolls at a boarding school for highly gifted students in Wolfebane, New Hampshire. But things will get worse before they get better, as Holly accidentally transports to a parallel existence where she's confronted by a dark and ancient evil.

 

With the help of Joss, a sexy alpha warrior sworn to protect her, and her new BFF, the equally swoon-worthy Quinn, Holly faces her fears and an unlikely adversary in a showdown that is worse than anything she could’ve possibly imagined …

 

Praise for Scion of the Sun:

 

“Charmed and drawn in by Holly’s spunk and snark, Scion of the Sun will leave you spinning and falling for Joss right along with Holly. Marsh’s unique story is packed with action, mystery, romance and suspense. This is not to be missed!” – Jennifer L. Armentrout, USA TODAY Bestselling Author 

Link to the Tour Schedule

Link to Goodreads

Purchase Links:

Amazon 

B&N

KOBO

a Rafflecopter giveaway

INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR:

Tell me a bit about yourself…where you’re from and how you came to be a writer…
I’m in Melbourne, Australia, and worked as a physiotherapist for 13 years before finally putting pen to paper rather than just saying ‘I’m going to write a book one day.’ Once I started writing I couldn’t stop!

 Tell me what genres you write and why?

 I write fun, flirty, contemporary romances for adults and spooky, riveting, supernatural fiction for young adults. Plus I’m about to release my first New Adult novel, BEFORE, in early December!

I love flexing my creative muscle and the change in pace between paranormal YA and contemporary romance is refreshing.

What's your latest book about?

 SCION OF THE SUN is a mix of paranormal, mystery, suspense, romance and action.

Here’s the blurb:

When she least expects it, sixteen-year-old Holly Burton’s unremarkable life is shaken to the core. A vision of the mother Holly never knew leaves her questioning everything she believes.

 Eager for answers, Holly enrolls at a boarding school for highly gifted students in Wolfebane, New Hampshire. But Holly's complicated life worsens when she accidentally transports to a parallel existence where she's confronted by a dark and ancient evil.

 With the help of Joss, a sexy alpha warrior sworn to protect her, and her new BFF, the equally swoon-worthy Quinn, Holly faces her fears and an unlikely adversary in a showdown that is worse than anything she could’ve possibly imagined …

 What themes do you particularly like to use in your writing and why?

In my YA and NA stories, I like to write about strong heroines who aren’t afraid to confront the scary stuff!

In my contemporary romances, I love pitting a strong-willed woman against an equally tough guy, and watching the sparks fly.

In YA, NA and adult, I’m a sucker for snappy dialogue and enjoy pitting my characters against each other verbally.

When creating characters for your books, how do you go about it?

Often, a picture/expression of a person will spark an idea of a character for me. From there, I ask a lot of ‘what if’ questions to flesh out that character and make them real.

 And they must have the perfect name before I can start writing.

What advice do you have for a beginning writer?

 The only way to hone your craft is to write. And write. Then write some more. There are so many resources out there but it’s the actual physical act of writing that will develop your craft.

 And read widely in the genre you’re targeting.

Is there anything else you’d like to mention? (i.e. where you get your inspiration?)

By Googling pics of hot guys for my heroes!

 ABOUT NICOLA MARSH:

 

USA TODAY bestselling author Nicola Marsh writes flirty fiction with flair for adults and riveting, spooky stories for teens.

She has published 43 contemporary romances with Harlequin, Entangled Publishing and indie, and sold over 5 million copies worldwide. Her first mainstream romance BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD was nominated for Romantic Book of the Year 2012. Her first indie romance, CRAZY LOVE, was a 2012 ARRA finalist.

Her debut young adult novel, a supernatural thriller BANISH, released with Harlequin Teen August 2013, and her YA urban fantasy series kicks off with SCION OF THE SUN, November 2013, with Month9Books.

She’s also a Waldenbooks, Bookscan and Barnes & Noble bestseller, a 2013 RBY (Romantic Book of the Year) and National Readers’ Choice Award winner, and a multi-finalist for a number of awards including the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, HOLT Medallion, Booksellers’ Best, Golden Quill, Laurel Wreath, More than Magic and has also won several CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Awards.

A physiotherapist for thirteen years, she now adores writing full time, raising her two little heroes, sharing fine food with family and friends, and her favorite, curling up with a good book!

Links:
 

Website: http://www.nicolamarsh.com/

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/NicolaMarshAuthor?_ft_

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NicolaMarsh

 

#Fantasy #SampleSunday for you~

From my middle grade fantasy novel, The Last Page, the final book in the Storyteller series. Enjoy~

 

CHAPTER 1: THE RUINS OF KNELL

 

Even the finest castle

is not a home without

those you love.

 

~ fairy proverb

   Lily could count the spells she knew by heart on one hand – not many. How can I save the True World like this? she wondered. From the back of the dragon, Ironclaw, she could see the towns far below them, teeming with Fomorians.  Their flickering fires lit up the twilight, twinkling like fireflies, but now Lily knew how much more sinister those lights were. Each one represented a hand against them. Lily felt hopelessly outnumbered.  How many trolls can Edan gather? A troll might best four, maybe five Formorians?

   Lily took a deep breath of cold air. The night was growing frosty and she shivered. She was thankful for Gran leaning against her back to keep her warm. Jude and Heather rode silently behind Gran, each one lost in their own thoughts.

   Ironclaw carried them swiftly to Lord Gabriel, who waited for them at Knell Castle. The last time Lily saw the castle, it had been on fire, under attack by the Morrow. Now that the vile lizard-creature was defeated and Lily’s grandmother rescued, her thoughts turned back to saving her mother Eleanor, and her friend Peter, both captured by Lord Kane. Lily shuddered. How could Kane be so heartless, murdering his own brother? Could he really be her uncle?

   Lily couldn’t even imagine the evil that possessed him or how they could ever defeat him. She hoped Gabriel would have a plan. She checked the crescent moon amulet at her throat, a gift from her grandmother. They had retrieved the Full Moon Amulet from DuraDor. Had Gabriel found Eleanor’s amulet, the one lost in the Ferraden Forest? Lily was certain he had. He wouldn’t return to Knell Castle without it, would he? Jude’s sudden shout interrupted her thoughts.

   “Dragon! Look there!” shouted Jude, pointing to a thick cloud bank ahead.

   “I see it,” said Ironclaw. “It’s one of Kane’s storms, no doubt. Hang on tight.”

   “Can’t you go around?” asked Lily.

   “Knell Castle is directly below us. The only way is through.”

   Ironclaw’s head dipped lower and she flattened her wings against her sides, launching into a steep dive. Once in the clouds, a cold stinging ice hit Lily in the face. Lightning flashed, illuminating the gray clouds for a split second. They were not alone.

   “Harpies!” cried Heather, as the dragon dodged one of the two hideous bird women suddenly swirling around them.

 

***

If you'd like to read the series from the beginning, the books can be found on Smashwords, Kobo, iBooks, and Barnes & Noble.

October 31 ~ The Best is Yet to Come

Ha! I made it to the end of the 31 Day Blog Challenge again! And I actually blogged 32 times because I had one day early this month that I ended up blogging twice in one day, due to some commitments I’d made. Whew!

 

 

I bet my Facebook friends and family are saying “Thank goodness! Maybe she’ll shut up for a while!” Maybe they already muted me. :(   As of today, however, my fan page on Facebook has 98 likes, many of which were from this last month. I’m sure the 31 Day Blogging didn’t hurt that effort. It is nice to be liked, I’m not gonna lie. Thanks to all you “Like Button clickers” out there.

 

 

Yes, the good news is, I AM going to go quiet for a while. 1) Because daily blogging is very hard to sustain, and B) tomorrow is the start of NaNoReWriMo time for me.  But don’t think you’ve heard the last of me! There are a few things on the horizon in the coming months.

 

I will continue to feature visiting authors from UncommonYA and Month9Books on my blog, so you’ll see some of those.  I have some book signings coming up in November, so you’ll be hearing about those.

 

 

The third book in the Storyteller series is about to be published. The cover and the book trailer in development as I type, so there will be some fun with that soon.  Maybe I’ll do a little giveaway to kick off the book on publication day, so stay tuned for that. I don’t have a release date set yet, but I’ll let you know when it gets close. 

 

 

If any of my blogger buddies out there would like to help promote the book on your blog, drop me a line. I’m always willing to trade guest blogs, etc. I know you’re probably all going to be wrapped up in NaNoWriMo this coming month too, but let me know if you want to help. I’ve been so blessed by the kindness of “strangers” in the last few months while promoting Hush Puppy. Of course, none of them are strangers any more. J

 

 

 

So I won’t be completely MIA from the blog. Congratulations to all my 31 Day Blog Challenge buddies. It’s fun, but it’s a ton of work. It’s nice to be able to say “I did that!” and I’m probably not doing it again anytime soon. Hahaha!! J  See you soon ~ keep in touch ~ peace~

October 30~ Welcome #UncommonYA author Eileen Schuh

Happy Birthday to Eileen Schuh's FATAL ERROR!

 

 

One year ago, FATAL ERROR hit the stands during a very sad time for me. Just months prior, our two family matriarchs, my mother and mother-in-law, passed away within weeks of each other. It had been a summer of funerals and flowers and family visits. Tears and fears as I faced the stark realization that my husband I were now the ‘older’ generation, keepers of the family traditions and lore.

Amidst the grief, to keep my mind busy, to dull my pain, to escape reality, I closeted myself when I could over that sad summer and worked fervently with editors, cover-designers, formatters and the publisher to bring the book FATAL ERROR out of the potential world and into the real one.

FATAL ERROR was my distraction, my achievement, my immortality in a way. When I lamented to Cheryl Tardif, publisher at Imajin Books, that I wasn’t able to do all I wished for my book launch she mentioned not to worry, that FATAL ERROR was now out there forever. I could market it for as many years as I wished, whenever I wished. It was mine, it was a legacy to my children and grandchildren. It was there for the world to enjoy—forever. So, I invite you to join me in giving FATAL ERROR the ‘launch’ it deserves in celebration of its very first birthday!

Find Eileen Schuh online!

Website

Blog

Follow me on Twitter

'Like' my author page

My author presentations to young people top the list of the things I’m most proud of when it comes to my writing career. All my books are on the shelves of Canada’s northern young offenders facilities and in the outreach libraries of the St. Paul Alternate Education Centre.

FATAL ERROR, I tell my young audiences, is an entertaining, dramatic story that can help us develop a positive, well-rounded sense of justice that goes beyond our formal legal system of law-makers, law enforcement and the court house, although those concepts, too, are part of the story.

What the reviewers say about FATAL ERROR:

 “Wise, haunting, deeply moving…unforgettable!”

 “Courage and insight make for a compelling read”

"I recommend the book to other parents. I think it will speak to them."

 “For any young person facing struggles...this is a must-read series”

“...excellent pacing. It's a worthy sequel to the explosive ‘THE TRAZ’

 “The very best in today's motorcycle gang stories just got a little better.”

"...brilliantly entwining the characters and their lives through dialogue"

"...douses the reader headfirst in a psychological drama..."

I explain how our sense of justice affects our personal lives. As we enter adulthood, our understanding of blame, guilt and forgiveness expands considerably from our basic black and white childhood concepts of right and wrong, good and evil.  As we mature we loose our self-centred childish outlook on life and being to notice, comprehend, and empathize with the experiences and feelings of others. This helps us develop our mature sense of what is fair and empowers us to take responsibility for our own lives.

FATAL ERROR is Book 2 in the BackTracker series. However, it reads well on its own as I wrote it before I wrote THE TRAZ (originally intending THE TRAZ to be a prequel to the series). FATAL ERROR is sold as a Young Adult crime novel. Action/Adventure. A psychological thriller that also appeals to adults.

In The Traz, Katrina made some poor decisions that landed her in a lot of trouble. The book ended with her being rescued from a biker gang during an undercover police operation. In FATAL ERROR, Katrina (along with the cops and the bikers) face the emotional, social, and legal  consequences of their actions during their time with the gang.

Aside from all the lessons and underlying themes, FATAL ERROR is an exciting read.

FATAL ERROR is available as an eBook and in paperback from all fine online book sellers. If it is not on the shelves of your local library or bookstore, you can ask to have it ordered in. And, if you want an autographed copy—just contact me through any of my social networking sites.

Purchase links:

All Amazon sites

Smashwords

iTunes library (for all your Apple products)

Barnes & Noble

October 29 ~ #Gratitude Day

As a way of saying thanks to the lovely bloggers that supported the Hush Puppy blog tour, I wanted to feature each one for a moment and let you know what they’re up to. Each one is a writer in her own right. You might want to check out their work if you enjoy young adult and new adult fiction~

 

 

Stephanie Wardrop has just released “Pride and Prep School”, a delightful play on Jane Austen with a modern, young adult touch. There’s four novellas in this quirky series now. Be sure to check them out on Amazon.

 

Marissa Ames is about to release her newest novel “Minstrel”. It’s available for pre-order on Amazon now and looks very intriguing. I love anything with a historical feel to it. Having met the lovely Marissa in a Facebook group known as “The Dark Fairy Queen and her Brilliant Minions”, I have a feeling there will be a bit of the fantastical to it as well. Just a hunch.

 

Morgan Shamy is super-blogger. She has so many followers because everyone loves her so much. I also happen to know she has some mad writing skills and will be shopping around her latest manuscript soon, if she isn’t already. Look out world! This wildcat’s gonna knock your socks off.

 

CJ Burright is a lover of all things romance. She has a new novel coming out in January from Swoon Romance that you might want to put on your ‘To be read’ list. Plus, she’s a sweetie pie.

 

Kenya Wright writes on the spicy side. I mean like habanero hot stuff. She’s not afraid to boldly go anywhere! And she’s kick-in-the-pants sassy. Be sure to pay her blog a visit for a little walk on the wild side.

 

Rachel Schieffelbein’s latest work “Run for the Roses” is out next month! She’s an accomplished horsewoman herself, so I’m sure her novella will be awesome. If you love horses, this one’s for you.

 

Kara Leigh Miller’s newest romance out is “Love and Other Games”, but she’s written a whole range of books from sweet to smexy. Check her out!

 

Laura James is currently working very hard (with Marissa Ames) to compile a group of fifty-something, Christmas-themed, flash fiction stories from dozens of authors, collectively and affectionately known as the Merry Minions. It should be available soon for free download. I, myself, made a contribution to the anthology.  I can’t imagine the amount of work these two ladies have put in on this anthology already. They’re truly an inspiration.

 

So thank you again, ladies! I appreciate your support so very much and I wish you every success in your future endeavors. 

October 28 ~ Finding Inspiration

OK, I admit it. I’m dragging in the inspiration department here lately. Working hard on revisions means I’m not creating much new stuff, although I did just finish some flash fiction for Halloween and Christmas. The pressure of the 31 Day Blog Challenge pushing me to come up with new content every day got me thinking about my “inspiration” process. Where do I find my ideas?

So, as I thought about it, I realized most of my ideas, but not all of them, start with a theme. The flash stories were inspired first by those holidays, but secondly by the feeling or the message that I wanted to convey.  I had a general idea what genre I wanted to write in, i.e. gothic, steampunk, but after that, I think my ideas come from a conglomeration of things I’ve been thinking about, heard or read. Things that are stewing about in my subconscious. Going on trips to places I haven’t been, or places I haven’t been in a long time inspire me as well. Seeing an intriguing person can inspire me too.

Because I can’t travel all the places I’d love to go, I’ve found myself creating boards on Pinterest that inspire me.  I can’t say that any one photograph on Pinterest has led me to create a story, but the photos there have certainly helped me flesh out the worlds I’ve created in my head. The same with music. I can’t write with music playing because it distracts me, but the feeling music invokes can definitely be inspiring.  I even created playlists for my books; you can take a listen here.

So what inspires you? I’d like to know…

 

October 27 ~ NaNoReWriMo #SampleSunday

It's Sunday again peeps. End of another week and I feel like I'm struggling to find 31 day blog challenge topics, but the end is in sight! Just a few more days to go.  Since today is Sunday, I thought it was time for a little Sample Sunday again.  Here's the opening of the work in progress I intend to revise through the month of November for my own personal National Novel Rewriting Month.  The working title is "The Color of Water" and yes, I know that title is taken!  Enjoy~

   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 hull, trying to make me grab a hold of something, anything to keep my head above water.
   I never dreamt when we left the shore this is where we’d be just a few hours later. I thought our biggest worry was the fight Dad had with Karla before we left. I don’t think she meant half the things she said to him, but I could tell by the way he stood at the helm of our sloop, his blue-gray eyes as stormy as the horizon, he was still stewing on it as we left the marina behind.
   “If you go out there, Adam, don’t bother coming back,” she had said.
   “She’ll get over it. She always does,” I said. I pulled my windbreaker on. The cold spray of the ocean was freezing my arms, raising goose bumps on my skin.
   “I don’t know, Sam. Seemed pretty serious to me.”
   “But we have to train. She has to know how important this race is. If we win, the money…”
   “I think she’s reached the limit, Little Fish.”
   Dad still called me Little Fish, even though I was sixteen, and it still made me smile. He gave me the name years ago and it looked like it would be mine forever.