Twelve Books for Christmas: Day Five ~ Descendant by Nichole Giles

Seventeen-year-old Abigail Johnson is Gifted.

Blessed—or cursed—with Sight and Healing, Abby lives an unsettled life, moving from place to place and staying one step ahead of the darkness that hunts her. When she arrives in Jackson, Wyoming, she is desperate to maintain the illusion of normalcy, but she is plagued with visions of past lives mixed with frightening glimpses of her future. Then she meets Kye, a mysterious boy who seems so achingly familiar that Abby is drawn to him like he’s a missing piece of her own soul.

Before Abby can discover the reason for her feelings toward Kye, the darkness catches up to her and she is forced to flee again. But this time she’s not just running. She is fighting back with Kye at her side, and it’s not just Abby’s life at stake.

 ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ B&N ~

Nichole Giles had early career plans of becoming an actress or a rock star, but she decided instead to have a family and then become a writer. Writing is her passion, but she also loves to spend time with her husband and children, travel to tropical and exotic destinations, drive in the rain with the convertible top down, and play music at full volume so she can sing along.

~ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ 

 ~ Interview ~ 

Konstanz: What is your favorite thing about Christmas?

Nichole: The way my house feels when it's all lit up and decorated with holiday music playing and my family all tucked inside.

Konstanz: If you were to give your Main Character a Christmas present, what would it be?

Nichole: Time in my house with all the people she loves most in the world. (Because the thing she wants most in life is family.)

Konstanz: Do you prefer to be surrounded by Snow or Sun on Christmas?

Nichole: That's tough. I'm not a fan of snow. Almost ever. But the week of Christmas I'm okay with it. The rest of the year, I'm all about sun, but on Christmas day, I dream of white.

Konstanz: What is the craziest, funnest, best, or worst present you've ever received for Christmas?

Nichole: One year my husband speakers in the ceiling of my bedroom and hooked them up to a stereo that would play off my iPod. It was pretty awesome. But the best gift I remember is one we gave our kids. After two years of planning, we bought our kids suitcases, swimsuits, and flip flops and gave them a trip to Hawaii (which we took in January). That was my favorite.

Konstanz: What is your favorite Christmas food?

Nichole: My family, we are crazy. At Christmas time, we always have a designated treat table with lots of snackish treats on it. Every year it has, without fail, cinnamon roasted almonds, chocolates of every variety, gingerbread cookies, and a variety of crackers and cheeseball (which gets stored in the fridge until someone wants it) and, if we have guests coming over, also veggie trays and some kind of meats.

Konstanz: What do you want most of all for Christmas this year?

Nichole: World peace. And if I can't have that, then how about a whole lot of people signing up for my newsletter and following my FB author page?

~ Giveaway ~ 

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Twelve Books for Christmas: Day Four ~ Christmas on the corner by Andrew Leon

It's been a hard adjustment for the Howard children, moving to Louisiana. Finding out that one of them is the Guardian, one of them is a wizard, and that one of them... is angry, because he doesn't posses the same talents and gifts as his siblings. In revenge, he tells his sister that there is no Santa Claus, but in a house where anything you can imagine can become real, it turns out to have unexpected results.

~ Goodreads ~ Amazon ~

The author has often been told that he does things the wrong way. For instance, he could walk before he could crawl. His parents were also informed that he went about reading the wrong way. Already reading before kindergarten, he went on to delve into texts about dinosaurs and astronomy by 1st grade as opposed to the regular story books everyone else was reading. At least one school counselor labeled him as "delayed" because of this. Of course, this happened at the same time he was winning the school reading contest.

After years of wanting to, he's finally writing books of his own.

~ Blog ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon ~

~ Interview ~

Konstanz: What is your favorite thing about Christmas?

Andrew: Watching my kids open their presents.

Konstanz: If you were to give your Main Character a Christmas present, what would it be?

Andrew: They get Christmas presents in the novella, so you'll just have to read it to find out what they are.

Konstanz: Do you prefer to be surrounded by Snow or Sun on Christmas?

Andrew: Having only ever had one white Christmas, I would choose snow.

Konstanz: What is the craziest, funnest, best, or worst present you've ever received for Christmas?

Andrew: When I was five, I got a big dinosaur play set with dozens of plastic dinosaurs. I still have it. Or, well, my kids do.

Konstanz: What is your favorite Christmas food?

Andrew: Peppermint, although I don't think of it, really, as a Christmas food.

Konstanz: What do you want most of all for Christmas this year?

Andrew: That's a secret.

~ Giveaway ~ 

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Twelve Books for Christmas: Day Three ~ Semester Aboard by Elizabeth Kirke

Jen is looking forward to spending an entire summer studying abroad on a cruise ship and she knows the experience will change her life. Then she sees something she wasn't supposed to see, something she can't explain. Jen finds herself thrust into a world she never knew existed and her life will change more than she imagined. That is, if she can survive the dangers lurking on the ship.

~ Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ B&N ~ Smashwords ~ Kobo ~ iTunes ~

Elizabeth Kirke wanted to be an author before she even knew what an author was. She used to say that she wanted to be an artist, but that was only because she was too young to write and had to tell stories with pictures instead. She hasn't stopped writing since she learned how. It wasn't long before she dreamed of becoming an author and couldn't be happier now that that dream is a reality.

~ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Pinterest ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon ~

~ Interview ~

Konstanz: What is your favorite thing about Christmas?

Elizabeth: Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, snowflakes that, oh wait - just Christmas?

I love the atmosphere. Everyone seems a little nicer, there's a nip in the air. I love seeing Christmas lights on houses and watching the snow fall. Now that I'm not a kid, I can truly say I enjoy giving gifts more. I'm already planning out what to get people. I love decorating the tree and all of the traditions I have. This will be my second Christmas married/living in my own house, so I'm excited to implement our traditions for a second year.

Konstanz: If you were to give your Main Character a Christmas present, what would it be?

Elizabeth: I'd probably get my main character, Jen, some books. She's a reader/fantasy dork just like me. She'd love to get a big stack of books. Although I'd make sure to get some that her familiar would like as well, since he enjoys reading over her shoulder!

Konstanz: Do you prefer to be surrounded by Snow or Sun on Christmas?

Elizabeth: Snow! Give me a white Christmas any day! I'm already crossing my fingers for a snowy, snowy winter!

Konstanz: What is the craziest, funnest, best, or worst present you've ever received for Christmas?

Elizabeth: One year I ate a really good spiced sausage at my aunt's house. I thought it tasted great, and later was disappointed to find out they don't sell it down where I live.

Every year for 7 years - Let me repeat that - Every. Year. For SEVEN years, she would buy me one stick of that sausage and have my mother put it in my stocking for me.

That was the only present she'd get me.

Konstanz: What is your favorite Christmas food?

Elizabeth: I'm all about fresh out of the oven, gooey chocolate chip cookies!

Konstanz: What do you want most of all for Christmas this year?

Elizabeth: This year I'm hoping for a fire pit, a rain barrel, and a bunch of fingerless gloves. And, as I mentioned, snow! Yeah...that's probably a bit weird.

~ Giveaway ~ 

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Twelve Books for Christmas: Day Two ~ Adrenaline Rush by Cindy Hogan

A madman with a mission is kidnapping groups of thrill-seeking high school seniors across the country, and it’s up to Christy to stop him. 

To do so, she must take on a fearless alter ego and infiltrate a group of adrenaline junkies bent on pushing life to the limit. Death-defying stunts are only the beginning: two groups fit the profile, and Christy must discover the real target before it’s too late.

If she chooses the wrong group, more people will disappear. But choosing right puts her as the prime target—with no guarantee that she’ll get out alive.

~ Goodreads ~ Amazon  ~ 

A madman with a mission is kidnapping groups of thrill-seeking high school seniors across the country, and it’s up to Christy to stop him.

To do so, she must take on a fearless alter ego and infiltrate a group of adrenaline junkies bent on pushing life to the limit. Death-defying stunts are only the beginning: two groups fit the profile, and Christy must discover the real target before it’s too late.

If she chooses the wrong group, more people will disappear. But choosing right puts her as the prime target—with no guarantee that she’ll get out alive.

~ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Pinterest ~

~ Interview ~

Konstanz: What is your favorite thing about Christmas?

Cindy: My favorite thing has to be all the time I get to spend with family. Sounds cheesy, but it's true. I love getting together with family and playing games, hanging out, watching movies, sledding, and eating all the fabulous food.

Konstanz: If you were to give your Main Character a Christmas present, what would it be?

Cindy: I would give Christy a ticket to go back home to see her family and maybe even a chance to show up her nemeses there. She could rock their worlds as a super spy.

Konstanz: Do you prefer to be surrounded by Snow or Sun on Christmas?

Cindy: I love to be surrounded by snow! I can't imagine a Christmas without it. My kids and husband would rather be on a beach somewhere-I veto that trip each year. :) And all snow makes the lights on everyone's houses and in everyone's yards stand out more.

Konstanz: What is your favorite Christmas food?

Cindy: Cinnamon and orange rolls. Did I mention that I am the baking master. I make your mouth water, baby.

Konstanz: What do you want most of all for Christmas this year?

Cindy: Lots and lots of snow. I love it when it snows often because it looks so freaking amazing. Especially in the morning when the sun glints off it so that it looks like the snow is made up of diamonds.

~ Giveaway ~ 

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Twelve Books for Christmas: Day One ~Landlocked by C.S. Moore

Maribel dreams of the ocean, but has never been.

Her overprotective aunt and uncle have kept her away from the place that calls to her at night. And trying to push them into taking her isn’t an option. She knows how much it hurts them to talk about the very thing that took her parents’ lives so many years ago in a boating accident. In fact Maribel never pushes anything with her loving adopted family, until she meets Jaron.

He is unbelievably hot and the only boy that she has ever been attracted to. For the first time in her life she feels exhilarated and truly alive. She can tell that he feels it too, so why does he keep disappearing on her? And why is it that as soon as her secretive brooding knight shows up, her world is turned upside down? People are following her, she’s having terrifying nightmares, and she suddenly gets the feeling that her beloved aunt and uncle are keeping something from her. Can she unravel the secrets of her past without her life falling apart along the way? Will the truth forever change the way she sees the people that she loves?

 ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ B&N ~  Kobo ~  

C.S. Moore grew up in a small town and always had her nose in a book. She was raised by a detective, which didn’t leave much room for normal teenage shenanigans! So she had to read about them instead. She found her love of writing while performing stand-up comedy, and humor is something readers will find in everything she writes. Ever the hopeless romantic, she met her husband — and 30 days later, they were engaged! They now have two beautiful children and live on five lovely acres.

~ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Twitter ~

~ Interview ~

Konstanz: What is your favorite thing about Christmas?

C.S: Curling up under a blanket with a book in one hand and a mug of warm hot chocolate in the other.

Konstanz: If you were to give your Main Character a Christmas present, what would it be?

C.S: A clue. I hate having to keep my characters in the dark, and I'd love to tell them what terrible thing lurks around the corner.

Konstanz: Do you prefer to be surrounded by Snow or Sun on Christmas?

C.S: SNOW! Come on it's Christmas. I hate driving in the snow, but I'm still enough of a kid to beg for snow at Christmas.

Konstanz: What is the craziest, funnest, best, or worst present you've ever received for Christmas?

C.S: The best present that I ever received was from my husband, when he was deployed to Iraq. It was just a card and a box of chocolate. But it was the most that I ever appreciated a gift. He couldn't be there, so the box of sweets was like a reminder of him. Needless to say I didn't eat them as quickly as I normally would have.

Konstanz: What is your favorite Christmas food?

C.S: Chocolate covered cherries! I love those sticky, messy, delicious things!

Konstanz: What do you want most of all for Christmas this year?

C.S: A new kindle! Mine died and I miss it so much.

~ Giveaway ~ 

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A very MERRY Christmas Giveaway! (INT)

Picture Source ~ www.freepik.com

Every year I host the Twelve Books for Christmas event. This year I decided to add on another fun giveaway! So, what is this giveaway for? Fun! To spread the Christmas Cheer! And to thank YOU, all my wonderful friends, fans, and followers for being awesome!

So, what is the prize? Well, you tell me! No really, just comment on this post telling me ONE book you want for Christmas!

That's right! No pages to like, no Twitter accounts you have to follow, just comment  and tell me what book you want! *Don't forget to leave your e-mail so I can contact you if you win!*

*Giveaway is open Internationally as long as  

The Book Depository ships to your country. 

*Giveaway ends on 12-22-13 and 

winner will be announced on 12-23-13.

*You can earn bonus points by sharing this giveaway with all of your friends. 

Simply leave the links to where you shared in the comments. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Missing Royal COVER REVEAL!!!

Alright, so I didn't set up an official cover reveal. However I have so much exciting news I just couldn't keep it to myself any longer!!

Good news: 

I hit 4,000 likes on my Facebook page

I completed NaNoWriMo, finished at 307,833 words (Yes, you read that right)! 

I am working on THE FINAL version of Missing Royal! Once I finish with this draft, it will be off to beta readers and then my editor! 

And I can't tell you how absolutely giddy that makes me! Missing Royal is the book I have been working on for SEVEN YEARS!!!

And now? NOW IT'S FINALLY BEING PUBLISHED!!! Seriously crying the happiest tears of my life right now! <3 And I can't thank you all enough for all your support, friendship, and  for believing in me!

A HUGE Thank you to Ida, at Amygdala Art who made the beautiful cover! 

Without further ado . . . the cover! 

 ~ Missing Royal ~ YA Fantasy ~ Coming March 2014! ~

One princess destroyed the world. One princess must save it. 

When she was little she wished to be a princess. Now as a teenager she just wishes she fit in. But Shanice doesn't feel like she belongs, she never has.

When her parents tell her she is the last known princess from another world, it all makes sense. A world full of magic in place of technology. One where she is more than just royalty, she is their last chance to stop the one who is bent on destroying it. Mendina. 

But she can't do it alone, first she must find the other missing royals. In her quest, Shanice will be forced to choose between the course prophecy set for her, and the one that leads to the man her heart belongs to.

**Add Missing Royal to your Goodreads TBR list!**

Alright, be honest! What do you think?? 

*First TEN people to e-mail me with their address will get a Missing Royal bookmark!* 

E-mail: nothought2small(at)gmail(dot)com

Author Interview & Book Highlight ~ When Stars Die by Amber Skye Forbes

Amelia Gareth's brother is a witch and the only way to save her family from the taint in his blood is to become a professed nun at Cathedral Reims in the snowy city of Malva. However, in order to become professed, she must endure trials that all nuns must face.
           
Surviving these trials is not easy, especially for Amelia, who is being stalked by shadowy beings only she can see. They're searching for people they can physically touch, because only those they can touch can see them. Amelia soon learns why she is being stalked when she accidentally harms her best friend with fire during the third trial. Fire is a witch's signature. The shadows are after witches.
           
Now Amelia must decide what to do: should she continue on her path to profession knowing there is no redemption, or should she give up on her dream and turn away from Cathedral Reims in order to stop the shadows who plan to destroy everything she loves? 

~ Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ B&N ~ 

Amber Skye Forbes is a dancing writer who prefers pointe shoes over street shoes, leotards over skirts, and ballet buns over hairstyles. She loves striped tights and bows and will edit your face with a Sharpie if she doesn't like your attitude. She lives in Augusta, Georgia where she writes dark fiction that will one day put her in a psychiatric ward...again. But she doesn't care because her cat is a super hero who will break her out.  

~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Blog ~ Webpage ~ Goodreads ~ 

~ Author Interview ~ 

Konstanz: How did you get started in writing? 

Amber: I've answered this question a lot, so I'm going to mix it up and say something different instead of the usual "second grade journal class, required to write thirty minutes every day, suddenly started writing stories." I suppose writing is a thing you're born wanting to do--at least, it feels that way for me, because I fell in love with writing before I fell in love with reading. I had a hard time getting into reading because the only books we could read in our elementary school library were books that were grade appropriate, and they were neither challenging nor interesting to me. Sure, I loved the Magic Treehouse Series, but that was about it. Harry Potter fueled my reading desires, and it only took off from there. 

In any case, having the fervent need to write stories fueled my passion for writing. I knew as young as eight that I wanted to be an author, but I thought I had to go to college and get a degree to be such, and, obviously, I know better. There was even a time where I considered not going to college because I didn't need a degree to be an author, but then a small part of me, even at a young age, also knew that having a book published couldn't be easy, so, of course, I then changed my mind about going to college. Perhaps my parents told me many authors couldn't make a living off it, or I just used common sense to say that finishing a manuscript and sending it off for publication couldn't possibly mean automatic publication, but I was determined to develop my skills, because even at a young age I knew I was not ready to submit--and I wasn't ready to submit for a while, even though I started the sequel to When Stars Die at fourteen, which was a monster initially. 

So, in short, I have to write. I just have to.

Konstanz: Do any of your characters have any of your hobbies? If so, which ones?

Amber: Well, the characters in When Stars Die don't share any of my hobbies at all. In fact, Amelia doesn't have any hobbies. She's in a convent striving to be a nun, so she has no time for hobbies--unless you consider her love interest, Oliver Cromwell, a hobby, but that's a complex relationship to get into, and, anyway, spoilers could be revealed. Now in the sequel, the Stars Are Infinite, Alice Sheraton, the new protagonist, once used to paint, so I do share that hobby with her. From time-to-time, I do like to throw paint on canvas paper for the sheer joy of it. I'm more into abstract stuff, but, occasionally, I try to make something that isn't abstract. 

Also, in a book I hope to get back to in December, When Heaven Was Blue, Gene, the protagonist, loves to paint as well--and read--so he and I share those hobbies. 

Tyler, in my short story "I Am the Bell Jar," in the AEC Stellar 2013 Anthology loves to read, so I, of course, share that hobby with him, too. 

Konstanz: Is your cat (you know, the superhero cat) in one of your books? 

Amber: My cat is not in any of my books at all, although I will mention that in The Stars Are Infinite, Alice originally had a pet mouse named Tripp that turned into this super-awesome magical being at the end of the book--I told you that TSAI was a mess originally. 

Konstanz: What was the inspiration for When Stars Die? 

Amber:  I'm asked this question a lot, too, so I'll just sum it up: my need to write witches. Otherwise, I like to explain what sets my book apart from other books in the paranormal romance genre. 

I would argue that When Stars Die is among one of the darkest paranormal romance books out there. Some reviewers have said it is far more paranormal than romance, but because the romance is integral to the dark plot, it still has to be labelled as a paranormal romance; thus, it isn't your typical paranormal romance at all. Far from it. Chapter two immediately points to the darkness that you're going to run into throughout the book.

Also, my witches are not your typical witches. They are hated in Amelia's world. They don't have special magical spells or mix potions or anything or ride on broomsticks, or what have you. Their only power is fire, and that is to mark them as a witch. Also, when they die, they turn into these beings called Shadowmen who serve Deus for all eternity, unless they themselves are killed by the powers of one another, or by the fire of a witch. 

As a nod to The Stars Are Infinite, readers are eventually going to find out that there is a lot more to being a witch than simply being a hated icon. In When Stars Die, people are taught to hate witches through The Vulgate, and Deus is viewed as a vengeful god, who uses this hatred to make people unknowingly miserable. However, in TSAI, there is a huge twist to why witches really exist, and so I can't wait for readers to get through When Stars Die, and then to ultimately read TSAI. 

Also, as another nod to TSAI, I didn't think TSAI was going to be as dark as WSD, but by the time you get to the middle of the book, it becomes even darker than When Stars Die, and I didn't think that was possible. 

Konstanz: And with the holiday so near I just have to ask, what is your favorite Thanksgiving tradition? 

Amber: My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is simply eating turkey with my family. I mean, who doesn't love turkey? Also, we sometimes have other family members come over, which is cool with me, but we don't exactly do anything special on this day. I primarily look forward to the food. 

Holiday Kindle Fire GIVEAWAY!

 

 Just in time for the HOLIDAYS - Win a Kindle Fire HDX, Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash ($229 value)   This is a joint AUTHOR & BLOGGER GIVEAWAY EVENT! Bloggers & Authors have joined together and each chipped in a little money towards a Kindle Fire HDX 7".

All New Kindle Fire HDX 7" Giveaway

The winner will have the option of receiving a 7" Kindle Fire HDX (US Only - $229 Value)

  Or $229 Amazon.com Gift Card (International)

  Or $229 in Paypal Cash (International)

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  Sign up to sponsor the next Kindle Fire Giveaway: http://www.iamareader.com/category/kindle-giveaway-sign-ups   Giveaway Details 1 winner will receive their choice of an all new Kindle Fire 7" HDX (US Only - $229 value), $229 Amazon Gift Card or $229 in Paypal Cash (International). There is a second separate giveaway for bloggers who post this giveaway on their blog. See details in the rafflecopter on how to enter to win the 2nd Kindle Fire HDX 7". Ends 12/18/13 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 and sponsored by the participating authors & bloggers. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.   a Rafflecopter giveaway