Book Blitz & Giveaway for Finding Monsters (Guardians of Esurack #1) with Author Liss Thomas

Title: Finding Monsters 

Series: (Guardians of Esurack #1)

Author: Liss Thomas

Release Date: 10/16/13

BLURB 

Monsters are real but they're not what we'd expect. Their realm lays hidden only to be found in darkness. They watch their humans and keep them from the dark portals leading to their world. To touch is forbidden... but not all follow the rules.

Missy has been fighting to live her entire life, but when she finds herself in a realm of unique and sometimes deadly monsters, she discovers just how much of a survivor she really is. Accidentally transferred to this mysterious realm by her monster and only friend, Charlie, he finds himself weak and unable to protect her. The only way she can defend herself and him, is to become a monster herself. But an unknown dark stalker watches her progress and if he steals her power, he will unleash a scourge on both his world and the world she left behind.

Goodreads Link

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20799830-finding-monsters

Buy Links

http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Monsters-Guardians-Esurack-Thomas-ebook/dp/B008RA3QII/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_d_1

Landing Page for the book

http://lissthomas.com/my-books/finding-monsters-guardians-of-esurack-book-1/

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I love writing fantasy fiction and especially for young adults. Many of my stories contain real life issues that teens face and although there’s a fantasy element to the solution, my job is to provide hope that things will get better. I’ve seen too many articles about teens who end their lives over bullying. I’m working on a spin off series from The Guardians of Esurack and hope to use this subject throughout each book. Life is too short to give in to bullies. I hope I can make that clear through my writings.

AUTHOR LINKS

http://www.lissthomas.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6558861.Liss_Thomas

http://www.twitter.com/lissthomas3152

http://www.facebook.com/lissthomasauthor

EXCERPT

Chapter 6 Excerpt – The Monster

After washing and dressing, I make my way to the cooking fires to prepare breakfast for Missy and myself. I carry the tray of breads and fruits to her room. I knock. I knock again. Opening the door, I glance inside, ready to retreat if she is still sleeping. I panic. Missy is not in her room. Flinging open the door, I put the tray down. Her bed is made. I check the washing room which is also empty. I check my room just in case. Not there. I run to my parents’ room with my heart thrashing in my chest.

“Where is she?” I cry without preamble. “Where is she?”

Mother comes to me and tries to calm my fears. “She left this morning before dawn. She has started her quest.”

“I don’t understand. What quest? Why didn’t she tell me? Who is protecting her?” I look in turn to each as I question them. I can’t think straight. The hurt inside is growing, increasing with my panic.

“Charlie, Missy has gone on a quest to become a monster. I explained to her what happened to you when you touched her. She wants you to be as you were. As she completes the tasks of her quest, she will gain traits of a monster, strengths and abilities you probably take for granted. She will grow stronger, and so will you.”

I am reeling from the news. Did I want her to become a monster like me? Somehow, I always envisioned myself as a human for her. Staggering toward the window, I look out into the distance. I scan the horizon for any sign of her. She’s gone. My human is gone. “Who’s protecting her?” I ask not looking at them.

“This is a quest she must complete on her own, Charlie,” Mother says.

I whirl in a rage. “You sent her into our world alone?” I let out a stream of curses as the hurt inside turns to nausea. I run from the room before either can stop me. I run through the halls, knocking over a servant before I reach the outer doors. I wrench them open and scream her name. Other bulls stop to stare at me as I continue yelling for my human to return to me. Father appears behind me.

“Enough, Charlie!” Father jerks me back inside and I slump to the polished stone floor in silence.

Mother approaches me and kneels, her long cream dress bunching around her. “She left you a note.” She puts the letter in my hand and leaves with Father. I stare at the folded parchment, a tremor runs through me. I rise and storm to my room, slamming the door. I sit on my bed, unfold the letter, and begin to read:

“My dearest Charlie, please forgive me for leaving you like this, but I fear it’s the only way we will truly be together and happy. I don’t want you crippled by my presence and that is what has happened. It’s almost as though we’ve traded places; you are sickly now and I am well. Only this time, I have the power to make you whole again. I have received my first task in a series of three that will transform me into a monster. Your mother assures me that I will be able to change back to my normal appearance at will so I am not really changing that much at all, right? Don’t fear for me, my love, your mother has told me all I need to know about your world. I am currently on my way to challenge ‘The Devil’. It sounds worse than it is. I should return to you in three days. I wish you could be with me. Even a tiny bit of you to comfort me. The hurt I feel inside is worse than the pain I felt as a human. I know you are feeling it too. Dawn will be here soon, and I must leave before then. I love you with all my heart.

Missy.

I read the note again and again. I won’t let her be alone. Moving toward the corner, I view my reflection in the full-length mirror. I grip the sides and stare for a moment before I speak.

“Reflection! Come forth.” I stand back and watch as my reflection in the mirror steps though the pane in front of me. “I need you to find our human and stay with her. I only have the strength to transform you into a butterfly but she will know who we are in that form.” I pull up the shimmering blue light and transform my reflection into the swallowtail butterfly. I feel the drain on my strength but don’t care. I open the window and my reflection flies away in search of our human. I check my mirror and I can see all that it sees. Satisfied that we will be together soon, I turn the mirror so I can see it from the bed and lie down to conserve my strength.

“I’m coming, Missy  …  I’m coming.”

*** GIVEAWAY ***

(2) $25 Amazon or Paypal gift card (INT)

Book Blitz organized by

Book Blitz for The Skinwalker's Apprentice by Claribel Ortega

The Skinwalker's Apprentice

by Claribel Ortega

Release Date: 02/24/14

Summary from Goodreads:

“Welcome to The Empire State, where banshees, witches, and skinwalkers wait…”

Margo Pennyfeather is being hunted. The 16-year-old witch has always been an outcast, in her home back in England, and now in the village of East Hampton New York where her family has settled. No one but her family has ever cared for Margo, but now the most important witch in the magic world wants her as an apprentice, giving her a chance to bring her family out of poverty.
Before long, Margo realizes things aren't what they seem, least of all, what kind of witch she really is. Now, the young witch must face a terrifying monster on her own, and the reverberations will reach farther than she could have ever imagined.

More than three hundred years later, in 1984 Emerald Kipp is a high school senior in New York City. A troubled teen with a rebellious streak, Emerald can't seem to figure out what to do with her life, and unfortunately for her, “witch” isn’t one of the available career choices in her guidance counselor’s office. As she struggles to figure herself out, Emerald is faced with the threat of being stuck in school and missing her final summer with her three best friends. Her last year of high school is turning out to be the worst yet, and Emerald thinks it can’t possibly get any worse. Unfortunately for her, she’s dead wrong.
And there’s something else, something far more sinister stirring in Emerald’s world, and she’ll have to believe in herself if she wants to get through it alive.

Two witches, three hundred years apart, one inescapable fate.

The Skinwalker's Apprentice is a prequel to the upcoming novel, Emerald Kipp and The Riddle of The Timekeeper, a terrifying magical scavenger hunt through the gritty streets of 1980’s New York City,set to a killer soundtrack, and perfect for fans of Harry Potter and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Part of The Empire Witches series.

*Available February 24th, 2014 on Smashwords, iBook, Amazon, Barnes & Nobles and more!
(Pre orders available Jan. 20th)

 Excerpt!

Emerald slid one sneaker off with her right foot and kicked it in the air, then did the same with the other, not bothering to check where it landed. They’d put themselves away, she thought. Since her room was the only place she could use magic, she used it freely, enchanting every last thing from her socks to her wallpaper. Her walls were covered with posters of her favorite bands, and they all came to life as she entered the room. One drummer in a black and white poster twirled his drumsticks in an infinite loop, while the guitarist shredded his guitar midair, legs splayed out to his sides. The little wallpaper that was showing from underneath her posters, swayed as if the flowers were in a breezy meadow instead of an apartment in downtown Manhattan. Her mint colored robe laid lazily on her bed, its fluffy sleeves turning the pages of her precious Vive Le Rock magazine as if it could actually read, or see for that matter. Emerald shook her head and smiled, just as her slippers plodded out from underneath her bed, stopping at her feet.

“Not yet,” she dismissed the slippers, and they shuffled back into the darkness underneath her iron wrought bed. Records lined the shelf to the right of her bed, and a record player sat on the sill of the bay window that looked out into her backyard.

She looked at her record collection and twisted her mouth in thought. Before she could make up her mind what to play, a record flew off the shelf, slipping out of its sleeve and floating over to her stereo set. The needle settled on the vinyl disk, and “Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops,” began to play.  

About the Author: 

 Ortega is a graduate of the SUNY Purchase journalism program, and got her start writing for the school’s Independent Newspaper. There, she quickly rose the ranks from editing the student’s often times hilarious ads and ramblings on the back page of the paper to staff and feature writer.

After graduation, Claribel worked as a reporter for The Rivertowns Enterprise, a local paper in lower Westchester County, New York. As a reporter, she enjoyed going to board of education meetings and texting the town mayors about the line at Starbucks.

Today, Claribel works for The Combined Book Exhibit, a book marketing company in Westchester NY.

She lives in New York with her really awesome boyfriend, her suspiciously intelligent yorkie Pancho Villa and is surrounded by an impenetrable fort of books she gets from her job.

“The Skinwalker’s Apprentice” is her first book, and cheese is her favorite food.

Author Links:

   

***GIVEAWAY***

Prize pack: (US only)

Forever 21 Mint green Handbag 

Forever 21 Emerald glitter nail polish 

Forever 21 Cat charm bracelet 

Forever 21 Pink heart gold necklace 

iTunes Playlist of all the songs in "The Riddle of The Timekeeper" (Playlist attached) 

Bookmarks and ebook of The Skinwalker’s Apprentice

Book Blitz Organized by:

Cover Reveal for Music Box by Anya Allyn

Music Box (Dollhouse #4)

by Anya Allyn

Release Date: Fall 2013

Summary from Goodreads:

Final book of the series.

Cassie endures her darkest days under the rule of Balthazar. She finds a passage into the high tower, and comes face to face with the shadowy being whose presence has haunted her since her first days at the castle of La Falaise – and she makes an immense and horrifying discovery.

At the museum, the last survivors of a bleak existence are barely holding on. And the strange Order of Sister Celia make a chilling decision.

Someone very close to Ethan once told him, “When we can fight, we will fight, and when we can no longer fight, we will endure.”

With time running out, it is time to fight.

About the Author

Anya Allyn was born unexpectedly and without proper instructions.

A dreamy girl betwixt the clouds and space, she was given the thing she desired most for her tenth birthday–a microscope–and subsequently developed a penchant for small things: frogs and ants and microbes, and the earth (when viewed from other planets).

She considers a mind and body that do not roam free are the living dead.

Anya lives in a cottage by the sea–and slips in and out of forests and through a day, where the wild things are ….

She has four adventure-seeking boys and a bookcase filled with adventures. One day soon, she plans to head off on adventures of her own…

Author Links:

   

Cover Reveal Hosted by:

Branded Book Blitz giveaway Branded (Sinners #1) by Abi Ketner and Missy Kalicicki

Branded (Sinners #1) by Abi Ketner and Missy Kalicicki

Genre: Young/New Adult (Paranormal/Fantasy Romance)

Date Published: June 28, 2013)

Publisher: Self

The Blurb:

Fifty years ago the Commander came into power and murdered all who opposed him. In his warped mind, the seven deadly sins were the downfall of society. He created the Hole where sinners are branded according to their sins and might survive a few years. At best.

Now LUST wraps around my neck like blue fingers strangling me. I’ve been accused of a crime I didn’t commit and now the Hole is my new home.

Darkness. Death. Violence. Pain.

Now every day is a fight for survival. But I won’t die. I won’t let them win.

The Hole can’t keep me. The Hole can’t break me.

I am more than my brand. I’m a fighter.

My name is Lexi Hamilton, and this is my story.

Excerpt

I’m buried six feet under, and no one hears my screams. The rope chafes as I loop it around my neck. I pull down, making sure the knot is secure. It seems sturdy enough. My legs shake. My heart beats heavy in my throat. Sweat pours down my back. Death and I glare at each other through my tears. I take one last look at the crystal chandelier, the foyer outlined with mirrors, and the flawless decorations. No photographs adorn the walls. 

No happy memories here. I’m ready to go. On the count of three. I inhale, preparing myself for the finality of it all. Dropping my hands, a glimmer catches my eye. It’s my ring, the last precious gift my father gave me. I twist it around to read the inscription. Picturing his face forces me to reconsider my choice. He’d be heartbroken if he could see me now. A door slams in the hallway, almost causing me to lose my balance. My thoughts already muddled, I stand waiting with the rope hanging around my neck. Voices I don’t recognize creep through the walls. Curiosity overshadows my current thoughts. It’s late at night, and this is a secure building in High Society. No one disturbs the peace here—ever. I tug on the noose and pull it back over my head. Peering through the eyehole in our doorway, I see a large group of armed guards banging on my neighbors’ door. A heated conversation ensues, and my neighbors point toward my family’s home. It hits me. I’ve been accused and they’re here to arrest me. My father would want me to run, and in that split second, I decide to listen to his voice within me. Flinging myself forward in fear, I scramble up the  marble staircase and into my brother’s old bedroom. The door is partially covered, but it exists. Pushing his dresser aside, my fingers claw at the opening. Breathing hard, I lodge myself against it. Nothing. I step back and kick it with all my strength. The wood splinters open, and my foot gets caught. I wrench it backward, scraping my calf, but adrenaline pushes me forward. The voices at the front door shout my name. On hands and knees, I squeeze through the jagged opening. My brother left through this passage, and now it’s my escape too. Cobwebs entangle my face, hands, and hair. At the end, I feel for the knob, twisting it clockwise. It swings open, creaking from disuse. I sprint into the hallway and smash through the large fire escape doors at the end. A burst of cool air strikes me in the face as I jump down the ladder. Reaching the fifth floor, I knock on a friend’s window. The lights flicker on, and I see the curtains move, but no one  answers. I bang on the window harder. “Let me in! Please!” I say, but the lights darken. 

They know I’ve been accused and refuse to help me. Fear and adrenaline rush through my veins as I keep running, knocking on more windows along the way. No one has mercy. 

They all know what happens to sinners. Another flight of stairs passes in a blur when I hear the guards’ heavy footfalls from above. I can’t hide, but I don’t want to go without trying. Help me, Daddy. I need your strength now. My previous desolation evolves into a will to survive. I have to keep running, but I tremble and gasp for air. I steel my nerves and force my body to keep moving. In a matter of minutes, my legs cramp and my chest burns. 

I plunge to the ground, scraping my knee and elbow. A moan escapes from my chest. Gotta keep going. “Stop!” Their voices bounce off the buildings. “Lexi Hamilton, surrender yourself,” they command. They’re gaining on me. I resist the urge to glance back, running into what I assume is an alley. I’m far from our high-rise in High Society as I plunge into a poorer section of the city where the streets all look the same and the darkness prevents me  from recognizing anything. I’m lost. My first instinct is to leap into a dumpster, but I retain enough sense to stay still. I crouch and peek around it, watching them dash by. The abhorrent smell leaves me vomiting until nothing remains in my stomach. Desperation overtakes me, as I know my retching was anything but silent. My last few seconds tick away before they find me. Everyone knows about their special means of tracking sinners.

I push myself to my feet and look left, right, and left again. Their batons click against their black leather belts, and their boots stomp the cement on both sides of me. I shrink into myself. Their heavy steps mock my fear, growing closer and closer until I know I’m trapped. Never did I imagine they’d come for me. Never did I imagine all those nights I heard them dragging someone else away that I’d join them.

“You’re a sinner,” they say. “Time to leave.”

I stand defiant. I refuse to bend or break before them, even as I shiver with fear. 

“There’s no reason to make this difficult. The more you cooperate, the smoother this will be for everyone,” a guard says. I cringe into the blackness along the wall. I’m innocent, but they won’t believe me or care.

 The next instant, my face slams into the pavement as one guard plants a knee in my back and another handcuffs me. A warm liquid trails into my mouth. Blood. Their fingers grip my arms like steel traps as they peel me off the cement. The tops of my shoes scrape along the ground as I’m dragged behind them until they discard me into the back of a black vehicle. The doors slam in unison with one guard stationed on each side of me, my shoulders digging into their arms. Swallowing hard, I stare ahead to avoid their eyes. My dignity is all I have left. The handcuffs dig into my wrists, so I clasp them together hard behind me and press my back into the seat, unwilling to admit how much it hurts. Did they need so many guards to capture me? I’m not carrying any weapons, nor do I own any. I don’t even know self-defense. High Society frowns on activities like that. The driver jerks the vehicle around and I try to keep my bearings, but it’s dark and the scenery changes too fast. Hours pass, and the air grows warmer, more humid the farther we drive. The landscape mutates from city to rolling hills. They don’t bother blindfolding me because they escort all the sinners to the same place—the Hole. Twenty- foot cement walls encase the chaos within. There’s no way out and no way in unless they transport you. They say the 

Hole is a prison with no rules. We learned about it last year in twelfth grade. To the outside, I’m filth now. I’ll never be allowed to return to the life I knew. No one ever does. 

“All sinners go through a transformation,” one of the guards says to me. His smirk infuriates me. “I’m sure you’ve heard all kinds of stories.” I don’t respond. I don’t want to think about the things I’ve been told. “You won’t last too long, though. Young girls like you get eaten alive.” He pulls a strand of my hair up to his face. Get your hands off me, you pig. I want to lash out, but resist. The punishment for disobeying authority is severe, and I’m not positioned to defy him. They’re the Guards of the Commander. They’re chosen from a young age and trained in combat. They keep the order of society by using violent methods of intimidation. No one befriends a guard. Relationships with them are forbidden inside the Hole. Few have seen the commander. His identity stays under lock and key. His own paranoia and desire to stay pure drove him to live this way. He controls our depraved society and believes sinners make the human race unforgivable. His power is a crushing fist, rendering all beneath him helpless. So much so, even family members turn on each other when an accusation surfaces. Just an accusation. No trial, no evidence, nothing but an accusation. I lose myself in thoughts of my father. 

“Never show fear, Lexi,” my father said to me before he was taken. “They’ll use it against you.” His compassionate eyes filled with warning as he commanded me to be strong. That was many years ago, but I remember it clearly. My father. My rock. The one person in my life who provided unconditional love. “Get out,” the guard says while pulling me to my feet. The vehicle stops, and I’m jerked back to reality. The doors slide open and the two guards lift me up and out into the night. A windowless cement building looms in front of us, looking barren in the darkness. The coolness of the air sends a shiver up my spine. This is really happening. I’ve been labeled a sinner. My lip starts to quiver, but I bite it before anyone sees. They shove me in line, and I realize I’m not alone. Women and men stand with faces frozen white with fear. A guard grabs my finger, pricks it, and dabs my blood on a tiny microchip. I follow the man in front of me into the next room where we’re lined up facing the wall. Glancing right, I see one of the men crying. “Spread your legs,” one of the guards says.

 They remove my outer layers and their hands roam up and down my body. What do they think I can possibly be hiding? I press my head into the wall, trying to block out what they’re doing to me. “MOVE!” a guard commands. So I shuffle across the room, trying to cover up.

   One. 

   Two. 

   Three. 

   Four. 

Five of us sit in the holding room. One by one, they pull people into the next room, forcing the rest of us to wonder what torture we’ll endure. An agonizing amount of time passes. I lean my head back and try to imagine a place far away. The door opens. “Lexi Hamilton.” A guard escorts me out of the room, and I don’t have time to look back. As soon as the door closes, they pick me up and place me on a table. It’s cold and my skin sticks to it slightly, like wet fingers on an ice cube. Then they exit in procession, and I lie on the table with a doctor standing over me. His hands are busy as he speaks.

“Don’t move. This will only take a few minutes. It’s time for you to be branded.” A wet cloth that smells like rubbing alcohol is used to clean my skin. Then he places a metal collar around my neck. Click. Click. Click. The collar locks into place, and I struggle to breathe. The doctor loosens it some as I focus on the painted black words above me.   

The Seven Deadly Sins:

Lust   Blue

Gluttony   Orange

Greed   Yellow

Sloth   Black

Wrath   Red

Envy   Green

Pride   Purple

“Memorize it. Might keep you alive longer if you know who to stay away from.” He opens my mouth, placing a bit inside. “Bite this.” Within seconds, the collar heats from hot to scorching. The smell of flesh sizzling makes my head spin. I bite down so hard a tooth cracks. “GRRRRRRRRR,” escapes from deep within my chest. Just when I’m about to pass out, the temperature drops, and the doctor loosens the collar. He removes it and sits me up. Excruciating pain rips through me, and I’m on the verge of a mental and physical breakdown. Focus. Don’t pass out. Stainless steel counters and boring white walls press in on me. A guard laughs at me from an observation room above and yells, “Blue. It’s a great color for a pretty young thing like yourself.” His eyes dance with suggestion. The others meander around like it’s business as usual. I finally find my voice and turn to the doctor.

“Are you going to give me clothes?” A burning pain spreads like fire up from my neck to my jaw, making me wince. He points to a set of folded grey scrubs on a chair. I cover myself as much as I can and scurry sideways. Grabbing my clothes and pulling the shirt over my head, I try to avoid the raw meat around my throat. I quickly knot the cord of my pants around my waist and slide my feet into the hospital-issue slippers as the doctor observes. He hands me a bag labeled with my name. “Nothing is allowed through the door but what we’ve given you,” he says. I hide my right hand behind me, hoping no one notices. 

A guard scans my body and opens his hand. “Give it to me,” he says. “Don’t make me rip off your finger.” He crouches down and I turn to stone. I don’t know what to do, so I beg. 

“My father gave this to me. Please, let me keep it.” I smash my eyes shut and think of the moment my father handed the golden ring to me. “It was my mother’s ring,” he’d said. 

“She’s the strongest woman I ever knew.” With tears in his eyes, he reached for my hand and said, “Lexi, you’re exactly like her. 

She’d want you to wear this. No matter how this world changes, you can survive.” I turned the gold band over in my palm and read the engraving.  

You  can overcome anything… short of death.

 “You’re going to take the one thing that matters the most to me?” I say, glaring into the guard’s emotionless eyes. “Isn’t it enough taking my life, dignity, and respect?” A hard blow falls upon my back. As I fall, my hands shoot out to stop me from smashing into the wall in front of me. The guard bends down and grabs my chin with his meaty fist. “Look at me,” he commands.

I look up and he smiles with arrogance. “What the hell?” He staggers a step backward. 

“What’s wrong with you? What’s wrong with your eyes?” “Nothing,” I respond, confused. 

“What color are they?” “Turquoise.” I glower at him. “Interesting,” he says, regaining his composure. “Now those’ll get you in trouble.” Reality slaps me across the face. I have my father’s eyes. They can't take them from me. I twist the ring off my finger and drop it in his hand. “Take the damn ring,” I say. I walk to the door. He swipes a card and the massive door slides open to the outside. “You have to wear your hair back at all times, so everyone knows what you are.” He hands me a tie, so I pull my frizzy hair away from my face and secure it into a ponytail. My neck burns and itches as my hand traces the scabs that have already begun to form. Squinting ahead in the darkness, I almost run into a guard standing on the sidewalk. “Watch where you’re going,” he says, shoving me backward. His stiff figure stands tall and I cringe at the sharpness of his voice.

 “Cole, this is your new assignment, Lexi Hamilton. See to it she feels welcome in her new home.” The guard departs with a salute. “Let’s move,” Cole says.

I take two steps and collapse, my knees giving out. The unforgiving pavement reopens the scrapes from earlier and I struggle to stand. A powerful arm snatches me up, and I see his face for the first time.  

About the author's

Abi and Missy met in the 

summer of 1999 at college orientation and have been best friends ever since. After college, they added jobs, husbands and kids to their lives, but they still found time for their friendship. Instead of hanging out on weekends, they went to dinner once a month and reviewed books. What started out as an enjoyable hobby has now become an incredible adventure.

Author Links:

http://www.abiandmissy.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17402117-branded

https://twitter.com/AbiandMissy

http://facebook.com/AbiandMissy

http://abiandmissy.tumblr.com/

http://www.pinterest.com/abiketner3/boards/