Firebird Vengance teaser and giveaway!

I'm excited to present the teaser tour for Firebird Vengeance by Orren Merton. This is the third book in the Sedumem Chronicles, a young adult urban fantasy series. Today we have a teaser for you to give you a taste of the authors style. This is not included in the book, but gives you a taste of it. And while you are here, don't forget to enter the giveaway. Without further ado, here is the teaser:

BRIEFING GIVEN BY COMMANDER LLAMAR WALTERS, 4TH PRECINCT COMMANDING OFFICER, SOUTHWESTERN DISTRICT, DETROIT, MICHIGAN

Walters: Thank you for assembling on such short notice. I realize how extraordinary it is to be called from your beats, but this is pretty extraordinary. I’d like to start by taking a moment to lower our heads for Officers Herrera and Nguyen, killed in the line of duty.

Officer Julie Conklin: Sir, what are those things?

Walters: If you’ve seen Lady Firebird’s video, you know as much as I do. She’s calling them “Possessed.” That’s important, people—remember, it’s not grandma any more, or your buddy from down the street. I know how much it hurts to think of them as walking lasers in a meat wrapper, but that’s basically what they are at this point.

Officer Frank Lee: Why here? I mean, why Detroit, not that I want them to be blowing up the 7th District or anything.

Walters: We’re not sure. She said something about those things trying to destroy the purest among us. Maybe there’s some really pure nuns or rabbis or imams in our district. I don’t know. But I do know that they’re here, and we have to do what we can to protect our citizens.

Officer Jennifer Maiz: But they can shoot through anything—cars, body armor, buildings, you name it. What are we supposed to do?

Walters: I’m getting to that Maiz. I just got off the phone with Sergeant Hector Godinez in California. He’s the detective who’s got Lady Firebird on speed dial. He says that any minute now, we can expect a couple of her…I dunno what the hell they are. I think he called them “Marzipan”—

Officer John Dunn: I think it’s “Mazzikim,” sir.

Walters: Thanks, Dunn. We’re getting a couple of those in a minute or two. They’re bringing specially treated shields, swords, and bows and arrows they say can protect against the blasts and hurt the possessing spirits inside. I don’t suppose we have any sword and bow experts in our precinct, do we?

Officer Brent Jeffers: I go bow hunting with my cousins up north sometimes, does that count?

Walters: Right now it does, thanks Jeffers. You and any others who have training, you’ll try to take out those Possessed things. The rest of us will try and clear out as many citizens as we can, and if you’ve got a clear shot, go for their eyes—that won’t kill them, but it will keep ‘em from firing at us. Then we can take ‘em out with swords.

Officer Gill Fernandez: How, sir?

Walters: Well, I’m not an expert, but I think we need to stick them with the pointy end.

Fernandez: Yes, sir.

Intercom: Sir…I…we…there’s two large beings at the counter right now. One looks like a gorilla with an alligator head, and the other some kind of bear with a tiger head. They’ve got huge bags over their shoulders, that firebird lady’s symbol on their shirts, and they’re…they’re talking, sir. They’re asking to see you…What do we do?

Walters: Okay officers, we’re up. Everyone grab a shield, and lets get these Possessed. Keep safe, and let’s hope that Lady Firebird knows what she’s talking about.

About the book:

When eighteen-year old half-demon Alexandra Gold uses her firebird spirit to save the soul of a murdered girl, it brings her to the attention of the most powerful beings in her parallel universe.

At first, she believes this is a blessing. When she discovers that she has been the unwitting pawn of an ancient vengeance that intends to destroy every living human and demon in both universes, she realizes that she's been cursed.

This ancient vengeance has the power to re-animate the dead and use them to murder the living—and for each of the thirty-six most righteous human beings it murders, the more powerful it becomes.

Alex is determined to protect the thirty-six and save both worlds, but she cannot defeat Vengeance alone. All she has is her demon blade, her spirit fire, and her wits—to prevail, she must convince those humans and demons who are terrified and blame her for this catastrophe to help her.

Find the book:  Goodreads   Amazon 

About author Orren Merton:
Orren Merton started writing fantasy and science fiction at an embarrassingly young age, mostly for

his own amusement. In high school, he listened to a lot of dark and moody rock, which inspired him to pick up guitar and start playing up and down California in a few bands, culminating in his Industrial rock group Ember After releasing their debut album, Grasping At Straws, and subsequently The Misery EP. During that time, magazines, developers, and corporations began to pay him to write and edit music software related articles, manuals, and books.

Since then he has written the urban fantasy novel The Deviant and the science fiction novel Skye Entity before working on his current series of YA novels. He lives in Southern California with his family, pets, collection of sci-fi/fantasy memorabilia, and curiously large stuffed animal collection.

Find Orren:  Website   Facebook   Twitter   Goodreads

Giveaway:
Enter to win one of five ebook copies of Firebird Vengeance by Orren Merton. Open worldwide. Ends Feb. 24th

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This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

Burdin of Choice author interview & giveaway!

Welcome to the teaser tour for Burdin of Choice, book two in the Beasts of Burdin series by Alexander Nader. Burdin of Choice is now out and the first book, Beasts of Burdin, is only .99 cents for a limited time! To celebrate we have Alexander Nader on the blog to talk about the books and himself. Stick with us, there's a giveaway at the end!

 

About Burdin of Choice (Beasts of Burdin #2):
Ty Burdin is back. Back to drinking and back to avoiding demons. He is, of course, the leading expert in his field. In both subjects.

That’s probably why, when a customer offers him way too much money just to locate a missing car and some mysterious cargo, he readily agrees. The dude is human after all—Ty’s prime target client base.

Along with the money comes a slew of disappearances which Ty tries to ignore while tracking down that car, because, of course, those missing people might be demon related, and as he’s said before, that’s agency business. Not his. Period.

Until today.

Ty Burdin is to back drinking as well as everything he vowed never to get involved with again.

Question is, which one will kill him first? The booze, the demons, or the Agency?

Burdin of Choice at J. Taylor Publishing   Goodreads   Amazon

Don't miss out on book one, Beasts of Burdin. Now only .99 cents at Amazon for a limited time!

About Beasts of Burdin:

Demon hunter Ty Burdin hung up his guns, knife, trench coat and fedora a year ago. Bags packed, hands washed of all demon politics, he’s done. Forever.

In fact, to get far far away, he dragged Nora, his rockabilly secretary, from Miami to the Tennessee mountains where he’s lived a life of peace—if peace can be defined as drowning in scotch and taking private eye jobs to keep the lights on. Jobs for real people. Not demons.

No demons.

He’s retired from that. Remember?

Demon hunters aren’t a dime a dozen, though, and when Ty’s brother asks him for a favor—just one—what’s a brother to do? Agreeing to take down one hillbilly demon shouldn’t take that long. In. Decapitate. Out. Favor complete. Back to the office where Nora and his bottle of whiskey are waiting.

Unfortunately for Ty, staying retired doesn’t seem to be in the cards, and an avalanche of bad luck draws him right back to an agency he despises and the career that nearly cost him his sanity.

This time, Ty has no way out and will have to face his own demons just to survive.

 

Also find it at   J. Taylor Publishing   Goodreads

About author Alexander Nader:

Alex lives in the tourist infested hills of east Tennessee with his amazing wife/muse and three superb children. He would tell you more about how awesome they are, but you probably wouldn’t believe him. When he’s not hanging out with them he’s making pizzas. When he’s not doing that he’s working at a bookstore and occasionally he jots a few words down. He’s a big fan of good music, good storytelling, and mixed martial arts.

He once wrote a short story about pirates to his wife via text message that blossomed into a full length novel and never stopped after that.

Find Alex:   Facebook    Twitter    Goodreads   Website


Interview with author Alexander Nader:

Can you tell us about your book in 10 words?

Smart mouthed, alcoholic private eye decapitates dastardly demons with style.

Tell us 10 interesting facts about yourself.

I’m not very interesting. Does that count as number one? No? Eh, I’m counting it anyway. #2 I have a hard time answering questions seriously. #3 I find idiocy to be among the highest forms of comedic gold. #4 I’ve dubbed myself ‘The class clown of word smithery.’ #5 Someone else named my blog ‘Eloquent Until the All Caps Cussing’ after I sent them a particularly profane (yet enlightening) email. #6 My hair is the source of my hidden super powers. What’s that? What super powers? Shoot, I wasn’t supposed to tell, now they’re not hidden. *Waves hand, erasing memory of last three seconds* #7 I consider my wife and kids the greatest accomplishment in my life. No. Really, that one’s serious. They rule. #8 I can only come up with 8 quasi-interesting facts about myself.

What was your biggest obstacle you had to overcome when writing?

My stomach. You see, I write on my laptop which I keep on my lap;portable computers are aptly named like that. So anyway, depending on how many cakes I’ve had that day, my belly sticks up. The thing blocks my view of the bottom part of my screen and I can only suck it in for so long before I blackout. After I blackout, I usually wake up in another state wearing someone else’s fez and that really interferes with my writing. I should probably go on a diet. Maybe low cal. Or low carb. Or…ooohhhhcake.

Where do you get your ideas?

I keep a house elf named Darby. Every time I need a new story I just ask Mr. Darby what he thinks I should write about. You should hear some of the stuff he comes up with. It’s literary gold. Hopefully no one ever finds out that I have him or they might….*Stares suspicious* *Waves hand, erasing 5.3 seconds of memory*

Where do you like to write?

Atop a pile of $100 bills on a beach that never sees anything but slightly overcast days with a temperature of a consistent 73 degrees Fahrenheit while Alton Brown cooks me scientifically correct hush puppies and a Vintage Trouble plays ‘Jezebella’ on repeat. But I usually just settle with my couch.

What kind of research did you have to do for your books?

So much demon research. All of the demons from the Burdin series are real. It took a lot of time to pick out which ones were good to use. You wouldn’t believe how many demons gave me bad directions and misinformation while I was scouring the underworld for perfect candidates. It took a long time, but finally I traded a crossroads demon my soul if he would just write the book for me. I like to think things worked best that way.

What is your writing schedule like? Do you force yourself to write daily?

My writing schedule stays busy. I’m constantly working on writing when I’m not working. As motivation to keep my writing up, I’ve allowed Mr. Darby to kick me in the shin if I go more than 24 hours without writing. It’s the only form of payment I offer the little guy, but he seems to get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

What can we expect to see from you in the future?

Welp, I’d like to say a whole lot. I’d like to say I’ve got a story in an anthology called ‘Memoirs of Dr. Renfield’ coming out December 1st. I’d like to say Burdin 3 comes out in June 2015 and I’d like to tell you about the secret super hero novel I’ve been working on, BUT I made a deal with a crossroads demon and I think my soul is due any minute now. OH MY GOD HERE HE COMES SOMEONE SAVE….

 

Giveaway:

Enter to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card.

 

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Burning Bright (Ivy Granger #3) Excerpt and Giveaway!

Burning down the house...

Things are not going well at the offices of Private Eye. Jinx is having demon problems, the city is overrun with pyromaniacal imps, and Ivy's wisp powers are burning out of control, attracting the attention of both the Seelie and Unseelie courts.

Along came a faerie queen... It's the worst possible time for the Green Lady to call in a favor, but Ivy's bound by her deal with the glaistig. Too bad there's no wiggle room in faerie bargains.

Ivy must rid the city of imps, keep Jinx from murdering her one solid link to Hell, and fulfill her bargain with the Green Lady--with sidhe assassins hot on her tail.

Just another day's work for Ivy Granger, psychic detective.

Excerpt:
Book Excerpt  (Ivy gets wet)

My first impression of Emain Ablach was that it was wet. Very, very wet. But I didn’t have
much time to think about that fact. I was too busy drowning.

I struggled to swim to the surface—wherever the hell that was—the weight of my clothes, leather jacket, and weapons weighing me down. My lungs burned and my brain screamed at me to find a way out of this wet torment. I needed air, badly.

I forced my eyes open, salt and whatever else was in the water burning like acid, but being able to see my surroundings didn’t help matters. It did, however, make me glad for quick reflexes. At the first sign of my assassin stalkers, back in a Harborsmouth alley, I’d grabbed one of my throwing knives. I may not be able to throw it now, not in this water, but the pressure of the blade in my gloved hand made it easier to face the grinning corpses smiling back at me. There were hundreds of them.

Bloated bodies in every state of decomposition drifted at the ends of seaweed infested chains that rose up from the ocean floor. I would have assumed that the people on the ends of those chains were dead, a warning to anyone foolish enough to trespass here, except for the hands reaching outward and the curve of their rotting lips.

Grins like frightened, blue worms curled up toward vacant eyes. The eyes, or what was left of them, were coated in a white film and looked as though they’d been nibbled on by grazing fish. The chained corpses may not be able to see, but I had no doubt that they could sense my presence. Their hands clawed at the water and their faces were all turned in my direction. Perhaps they could scent me, like sharks on a blood trail.

Now that was a cheery thought.

I kicked away, trying to put more distance between myself and the grasping dead. I recoiled as my boot hit something squishy. Mab’s bones, I didn’t realize there was a chained corpse that close to where I swam. I did not want to touch these things or the chains that bound them. Those were visions I’d never survive.

The delay alone would kill me.

Heart pounding, I propelled myself upward, but I had a nagging suspicion that I wasn’t going to make it. I’d sunk too deep into this watery hell. Already my lungs burned and dizziness sent my head spinning like a ride on an otherworldly merry go round. My limbs were cold and heavy and I could barely feel the knife in my hand.

How ironic would it be to die here, within spitting distance of a tree that grew magical apples capable of reviving the dead?

Air bubbles sprung from my nose and I fought not to breathe. Inhaling water would mean my death. I made one more sluggish stroke through the water and felt strong hands grip my waist and haul me upward. I was sailing through the water, away from greedy hands and the hundreds of faces that grinned hungrily after me.

My rescuer was a strong swimmer and I doubted Torn would have gone to so much trouble to save me. I felt a tingle of energy zing through my system, helping me to hold onto the slippery tendrils of consciousness. Ceff, it had to be Ceff.

I gasped as my head broke the surface of the water, gulping air and choking on a mouthful of water. I coughed up phlegm and who knows what else—with those corpses steeping down below, I didn’t want to think about it—and pushed wet, bedraggled hair from my face. I was alive, but it wasn’t pretty.

I grimaced and pushed the floating evidence of my humiliating coughing fit away. Ceff had a grip on my jacket, still helping to keep my head above the water’s surface.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

With his wet hair slicked back from large, dark green eyes and his chiseled jaw, he looked gorgeous. He was completely in his element here, unlike his half-drowned girlfriend.

“I just swallowed a gallon of salty corpse tea and sea monkeys,” I said, a rueful grin on my face. “I’ve been better.”

About author E.J. Stevens:
About the Author: E.J. Stevens is the author of the Spirit Guide young adult series and the bestselling Ivy Granger urban fantasy series. When E.J. isn't at her writing desk she enjoys dancing along seaside cliffs, singing in graveyards, and sleeping in faerie circles. E.J. currently resides in a magical forest on the coast of Maine where she finds daily inspiration for her writing.

Connect with E.J. on Twitter, Goodreads, Amazon, Pinterest, and on her Blog.

Giveaway Info

Enter to win one of 6 Ebook copies of Burning Bright by E.J. Stevens.

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Giveaway begins June 17th and ends July 2nd.  This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.  Giveaway winners will be chosen by Rafflecopter.

Demon Derby Cover Reveal

Title: DEMON DERBY

Author: Carrie Harris

Publisher: Random House

Genre: Paranormal

Age Group: Young Adult

Expected release: March 2014

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Book description

Casey kicked cancer’s ass. Now a demon wants to kick hers. . . .

Casey hates being known as the girl who survived cancer. She wants people to treat her like her old self, fearless and strong. And after a creepy encounter with a crazy guy in an alley, Casey is all about reclaiming her power.

So when she has a chance to try out for the Apocalypsies roller derby team, she jumps on it. Being a derby girl would prove that she doesn’t need anybody’s pity. It doesn’t hurt that Michael, the team manager, is almost unnaturally hot. Which makes sense when Casey finds out that he’s not even human.

Michael’s got a secret: he trains demon hunters. That crazy guy in the alley? Demon. And the fact that Casey went head to head with evil and lived makes her a threat to demonkind. Casey thought she’d already fought and won the battle of her lifetime. But it’s only beginning. . . .

From Carrie Harris, author of Bad Taste in Boys and Bad Hair Day, comes a knockout new read for anyone facing their own demons—inside and out.

About Author Carrie Harris

Carrie Harris is the author of BAD TASTE IN BOYS and BAD HAIR DAY. Her husband is a cancer survivor and a ninja doctor, and her three kids are already in training to fight evil someday. She collects monster-themed clothing, is physically incapable of being serious for more than five minutes at a time, and isn’t a derby girl…yet.

Carrie Harris | Twitter | Facebook

Death, Doom and Detention (Darklight #2)

By Darynda Jones

The normal part of Lorelei MacAlister’s life didn’t just slip away quietly the day Jared Kovach came to town. Nope. The normal part of her life shattered. It exploded. It burst into a gazillion shards of fleeting light.

It went out with a bang.

Goodbye normal.

Hello dark and eerie.
While her best friend, Brooklyn, is focusing all of her energy on helping Lorelei hone her abilities, Lorelei is dealing with the reality that Satan’s second in command has taken up residence inside her body. Oh, and the fact that she has a crush on the Angel of Death. But what a beautiful death it is. If those weren’t bad enough, something sinister has come to town and it wants nothing more than to hear Lorelei’s dying breath as it strangles it out of her. Thank goodness the gang has a supernatural champion. But what happens when the only being who can save them switches sides midstream? How can a group of misfits capture one of the most powerful beings ever created? And will they find out how to bring Jared back to them before it’s too late?

Review:
A lot of time the second book in a trilogy can be a let down. The first book introduces readers to the characters and the world while the third book contains the climax of the series. Second books tend to be transition books and a bit of a let down.  Luckily Darynda Jones didn't follow suit. Instead she adds momentum while continuing to build the plot for the third book. Basically, this is the delicious appetizer before the main course!

Though this is the second book in the series, readers can enjoy it without the first book. It can be a stand alone story, but why enjoy one slice of cake when you can eat the whole thing! Jones continually fills in the gaps if the characters reference something from the first book. If you want the whole back story, then definitely check out book one, Death and the Girl Next Door. Scratch that. Check out book one whether or not you want the back story. I doubt you will be disappointed, and best of all, no calories will need to be consumed!

I love that Lorelei has guts. Sure she has people around her (two hot guys in particular) that try to protect her, but she doesn't just accept that. Lorelei is a modern teenage girl and wants her independence. She doesn't want to cower, but rather she wants to stand up and defend herself (or run) from danger. She doesn't want to hide and let the bad guys come to her. She wants to go out and bait them and then let her super-powered boy toys handle the rest.  Many teen novels have girls that become useless when they like a boy, so this one really stands out. I love the girl power!

Jones does a good job bringing the sarcasm and wit that's found in her Charley Davidson series to her new Young Adult audience. I love some of the statements Lorelei made throughout the book.  Some of them even had me laughing out loud. This helps readers to better connect with her characters and makes them seem very realistic.

If you enjoy paranormal action along with mystery and a touch of romance, then you are really going to enjoy  Death, Doom and Detention. And don't forget to checkout book three Death, and the Girl He Loves when it comes out October 8, 2013.

PURCHASE DD&D: Amazon Barnes & Noble and Audible

Giveaway:
Check out the contest below to win a copy of the book!

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Want More?  Check out this excerpt from the book

FUZZY EDGES

“Is this class ever going to end?”

My best friend, Brooklyn, draped her upper body across her
desk in a dramatic reenactment of Desdemona’s death in Othello.
She buried her face in a tangle of arms and long black hair for
effect. It was quite moving. And while I appreciated her freedom
to express her misgivings about the most boring class since
multi-celled organisms first crawled onto dry land, I wondered
about her timing.

“Miss Prather,” our Government teacher, Mr. Gonzales, said,
his voice like a sharp crack in the silence of study time.

Brooklyn jerked upright in surprise. She glanced around as
our classmates snickered, either politely into their hands or more
rudely outright.

“Is there something you’d like to share with the class?”

She turned toward Mr. Gonzales and asked, “Did I say that
out loud?”

The class erupted in laughter as Mr. G’s mouth formed a long
narrow line across his face. As though a miracle from heaven,
the bell rang and Brooklyn couldn’t scramble out of her seat fast
enough. She practically sprinted from the room. I followed at a
slower pace, smiling meekly as I walked past Mr. G’s desk.
Brooklyn stood waiting for me in the hall, her face still frozen
in surprise.

“That was funny,” I said, tugging her alongside me. She fell
in line as we wound through the crush of students, fighting our
way to PE. I wasn’t sure why. I didn’t particularly enjoy having
my many faults and numerous shortcomings put on display for
all to see, so why I would fight to get there was beyond me.

“No, really.” She tucked an arm through mine. “I didn’t mean
to say that out loud.”

I couldn’t help but smile despite the weight on my chest, a
weight that seemed to be endless. “Which is why that was funny.”
I did that a lot lately. Smiled. It was easier than explaining
why I wasn’t.

“You don’t get it,” she said. “This is exactly what I’ve been
talking about. Everything is weird ever since . . . you know.”

I did know. Ever since Jared Kovach came to town. Ever
since he’d saved my life after a huge green delivery truck
slammed into me. Ever since we’d found out he was the Angel
of Death and he had been sent not to save my life but to take it.
To tweak the timing. To take me sooner than nature— or a huge
green delivery truck— had intended.

And ever since I found out I’d been possessed by a demon
when I was six years old.

Still, that wasn’t the worst part of that day all those years ago.
The worst part was the fact that my parents were gone. Vanished
in a whirlwind when some guy— we still had no idea who—
opened the gates of hell. And I’d led them straight to it. The fact
that a demon—Malak-Tuke, to be exact, Lucifer’s second in command—
escaped from his fiery pit and decided to crash at my
place was just the icing on the cake. But I didn’t know any of
this until two months ago.

I’d been living with my grandparents since the disappearance,
but my semi- normal existence changed forever when I was
knocked into the street by a skateboarder and hit by that truck.
That near- death experience taught me a valuable lesson:
Never get hit by a huge green delivery truck if I can help it. But
if I hadn’t, if my life hadn’t almost ended that day, then Jared
Kovach would not have been sent. And oddly enough, Jared Kovach
was definitely worth the risk.

The events that followed were both terrifying and life changing.
I learned that there really was a heaven and a hell. That
there really were angels and demons. That I was a prophet, the
last prophet in a long line of incredible women, descended from
a powerful woman named Arabeth. And I’d learned that I had a
demon inside me, that I’d had him inside me for years.

Even Jared had never seen anything like it. Most people possessed
by evil spirits were lucky to survive. People possessed by
demons— a rarity, from what I’d been told— never survived more
than a month. Ever. And yet here I stood. As possessed as a girl
with a demon inside her could be.

And, yes, things had been weird.

About Author Darynda Jones:

NYTimes and USA Today Bestselling Author Darynda Jones has won numerous awards for her work, including a prestigious Golden Heart®, a Rebecca, two Hold Medallions, a RITA ®, and a Daphne du Maurier, and she has received stellar reviews from dozens of publications including starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, and the Library Journal. As a born storyteller, Darynda grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, annoying man and beast alike, and she is ever so grateful for the opportunity to carry on that tradition. She currently has two series with St. Martin’s Press: The Charley Davidson Series and the Darklight Trilogy. She lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as New Mexico, with her husband of almost 30 years and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys. She can be found at www.daryndajones.com.