Read It Write: Book Tour

Showing posts with label Book Tour. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Book Tour: SOUNDS OF WAR by Cindy Chen

YA, Historical Fiction

Date Published: September 19, 2014

People were dying. Bodies were lying along the streets. Air raid sirens were about to go off at any moment. Nobody was shown any mercy. For Anna, life had always been about music. An aspiring pianist and composer, she studied at the renowned Leningrad Conservatoire under some of the greatest musicians to ever walk the face of the Earth. Her studies came to a halt, however, when Nazi troops surrounded Leningrad in September, 1941, intending to shell and starve the city into submission. She watched as her oncebeautiful city transformed in front of her eyes: people became living skeletons, their only food being a mere 125 grams of ration bread a day; buildings were reduced to rubble, pieces of bricks and broken glass strewn along the streets; cats, dogs, rats, and horses disappeared as people chose to eat them instead. One by one, the citizens of Leningrad were losing hope, and Anna was desperately trying to find a reason to hold on and a way to continue… Sounds of War is a poignant tale about the strength of human determination and the power of great music.

Amazon

Excerpt:

Isaak spoke like there was no danger in Leningrad, like his life would simply continue on as it always had, with classes and schoolwork and music and discussions. Like the only difference would be that I wouldn’t be there to play duets with him before class, or to greet him at the tram in the mornings, or to walk with him to the station when classes were over.
We walked the rest of the way in silence, and as we passed the Hermitage, I saw the artworks in the museum getting packed up and taken away. I couldn’t help but remember the times my father took me to the museum to “broaden my horizons” beyond music. I learned a few days ago that the museum, once emptied, would serve as a bomb shelter.
I didn’t know what terrified me more: the possibility that the city would be bombed or that I wouldn’t be with my mother and Isaak if it happened. The authorities assured us that the city was well prepared for anything the Germans might attempt, but I wasn’t ready to take their word for it.

About The Author

A Taiwan native, Cindy Chen immigrated to the United States when she was 9 and lived there ever since. She started writing at age fourteen and started writing longer works of fiction in 2013 when she first participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). At age sixteen, she was awarded second place at the Georgia PTA Reflections contest in the literature category with her short story “To Believe,” and at age seventeen, she published her first book titled Sounds of War as part of her high school senior project. Though currently a student at Cornell University with the hopes of pursuing a career in the medical field, she enjoys playing the viola, blogging, and making youtube videos in her spare time and considers writing one of her greatest passions.

Website: www.books-and-tea.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thecrescendos

Twitter: www.twitter.com/cindykchen

Blog: www.books-and-tea.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8601369.Cindy_Chen

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Book Tour: Poor Boy Road by James L. Weaver

Poor Boy Road, Jake Caldwell Book One by James L. Weaver Genre: Thriller Publisher: Lakewater Press Date of Publication: March 21, 2016 ISBN 978-0-9944511-2-5 ISBN: 978-0-9944511-3-2 ASIN: B019X3WELC Number of pages: 251 Word Count: approx. 78,000

Cover Artist: E.L Wicker

Blurb

As a mob enforcer, Jake Caldwell is in the dark business of breaking kneecaps and snapping bones. But each job sends him one step closer to turning into the man he swore he’d never become—his violent and abusive father. Leaving the mob is easier said than done. When his boss offers a bloody way out, Jake has no choice but to take it, even if it means confronting ghosts of old. Arriving in his Lake of the Ozarks hometown, Jake has two things on his mind: kill ruthless drug lord Shane Langston and bury his dying father. What he doesn’t expect is to fall in love all over again and team up with his best friend Bear, the Sheriff of Benton County, to take Langston down. Racing through the countryside searching for Langston, the web of murder, meth and kidnapping widens, all pointing toward a past Jake can’t escape and a place he never wanted to return—Poor Boy Road.

Excerpt

“Open the door, Carlos,” Jake said, pounding the door twice. No answer, but the shadow wavered as if its owner was uncertain if it should stay or run. Jake sighed and stepped back. With his good leg, he exploded forward, driving his heel above the knob. The lock assembly collapsed against the splintered wood and the door burst open. Carlos cried out as the door cracked his face, his wiry frame collapsing to the floor. He landed on his ass, holding his nose. Blood poured through his fingers and onto his stained, white T-shirt. Jake entered the apartment to the stench of cigarettes and fried onions, and shut the remains of the door behind him. Carlos pushed back toward a kitchen stacked with crusted plates and glasses, his wide eyes fearful. Jake tucked the Glock in his waistband and picked up a dented baseball bat leaning against a bookcase covered with dead plants. He held it with both hands, testing the weight. Thirty-two ounce aluminum fat barrel. He walked to Carlos and tapped him hard on the leg with it. “Where’s your daughter?” Jake asked. The last thing he wanted was a little girl to run in screaming. It happened before. “Hospital.” “Still?” Carlos nodded. “They can’t figure out what’s wrong.” “Sorry to hear it,” Jake said. He didn’t wish that kind of heartache on anyone, but Keats wasn’t paying him as a shoulder to cry on. “The two grand. Where is it?” “Ain’t got it. No insurance and the damn hospital’s sucking me dry.” The bat burned in Jake’s hands. He didn’t want to, but his orders were to liberally apply a blunt object to Carlos’ legs if he didn’t have the money. There would be hell to pay otherwise. He raised the bat, white knuckling the handle. “Please, Jake,” Carlos pleaded, tears rolling down his weathered cheeks. “It’s my little girl, man.” The brief howl of air and hollow thunk of metal meeting bone echoed in his head, a ghostly sound from long ago. The excruciating pain would rip through the man’s body, so intense he would shred his vocal cords from the screams. He knew because he dealt this punishment too many times in the past. He could feel it because he was once on the receiving end. As the bat barrel wavered and Carlos sobbed, Jake’s cell phone vibrated for the fifth time in twenty minutes. Like the previous four times, he silenced it. He glimpsed a picture on the kitchen counter of Carlos and his daughter. Eight years old, cute as hell in a white dress with a daisy in her thick, black hair. What would happen to her if Jake broke her daddy’s legs? What would Keats do to him if he didn’t? His cell vibrated again. Jake tossed the bat on the floor. It clanked toward the busted front door and he yanked the cell from his pocket, checking the number. 660 area code. Home, if there was such a place. He needed to think and the call provided as good a distraction as any. Jake answered with his left hand and pulled the gun out with his right, training it on Carlos. “Dad’s dying,” Janey said. His sister’s first words to him in a year. Like he was supposed to give a shit.

About the Author:

James L Weaver is the author of the forthcoming Jake Caldwell thrillers Poor Boy Road and Ares Road from Lakewater Press. He makes his home in Olathe, Kansas with his wife of 18 years and two children. His previous publishing credits include a six part story called "The Nuts" and his 5-star rated debut novel Jack & Diane which is available on Amazon.com. Author note: a handful of the raters are actually not related to him. His limited free time is spent writing into the wee hours of the morning, playing parental taxi cab to his kids' sporting endeavors, and binge watching Netflix. You can read his blog at weaverwrites.wordpress.com and follow him on Twitter @WildcatJim2112. Blog: https://weaverwrites.wordpress.com Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28121043-poor-boy-road Twitter: https://twitter.com/WildcatJim2112 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/James-L-Weaver-1561520517509056 Tour giveaway, enter HERE! 1 copy of Poor Boy Road and swag pack 3 ebook copies of Poor Boy Road

Friday, May 30, 2014

THE ASTRAL ORDINANCE by Meltem Y.K: Book Tour

Title: The Astral Ordinance, Book 1

Author: Meltem Y.K

Genre: YA, Fantasy

Publication Date: December 22, 2012

Tour Host: Dreams Come True Promotions

Jayna is about to graduate from high school and embark on an exciting journey in higher education – or so she thinks. In the wee hours of one fateful night she finds herself in the middle of a battle with demons. She assumes it’s a nightmare; a young warrior, Ethan Wells, convinces her otherwise. Jayna discovers that she is an evolved human who can travel between dimensions and is also capable of extinguishing demons. She is a prime candidate for the Astral army. An innocent first-love blossoms between Jayna and Ethan. They become partners in the Astral army against demons and other forms of evil. Ethan is in charge of her training; they spend the next few years as carefree college students by day, demon fighters by night. However, there is a small glitch in their happiness: They are forbidden by the Astral Masters to see each other on Earth. As much as they love one another, they cannot be together in their physical forms. However, the Astral Plane is about to have a first.

Excerpt One

“You think this is a dream?” He laughed, a soft chuckle escaping his parched lips.

“Yep.” Her copper head bobbed up and down. “It sure is. Look I am even wearing my pajamas.”

The girl smiled and every sane thought fled Ethan’s head once again. He was falling under the spell of the most beautiful girl he had seen in his life. He better find something intelligent to say to her; put his poker face on; stop gawking at her.

“No, guess again,” he said, “and stop pinching yourself. You won’t wake up, because this is not a dream.”

“Then, what is this place? Where am I?”

Excerpt Two

Why don’t I meet a guy like this in real life?

Duhhh, because he isn’t real, she reminded herself. He is a figment of my imagination, so I made him as hot as I could imagine. Uhh, I sure wish he was real.

She had lagged just a bit behind Ethan where she had a close-up view of his sexy back, his wide shoulders and ripped muscles. Her heart gave a little lurch. She wondered what it would be like to be wrapped in those arms.

Ethan turned around and winked at her. Jayna went beet red.

I am sure I didn’t say those things out loud, she thought. There is no way he heard my thoughts… but why did he wink at me?

Excerpt Three

I am here to welcome you, Jayna. Be patient. Your questions will be answered in due time. You will be given protection and all the help you need.

The Astral visitor shimmered and disappeared.

Jayna’s hand shot to the chain around her neck; another Astral artifact as proof that she was not imagining things, she was sure of that. Jayna walked to her full-length mirror and admired the chain, an intricate piece made of spun gold.

Jayna had never seen such beautiful jewelry as worn by her visitor.

She went to her bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. She changed into a pretty sundress, put some make up on and brushed her hair. She took the photo that she was framing for her grandmother and headed out giving Mia a pat on the head. Mia smiled and wagged her tail in response.

A wave of love from Mia hit Jayna like a soft wind.

Interesting, she thought, I never felt that before.

Her Astral experiences were already changing her.

Excerpt Four

“Are you going to read my cup, Ayshen,” Grace asked “or did the coffee spirits quit for the day?”

Ayshen looked at Grace’s face and then back into her cup. “No, no quit.”

She shook her head gravely. “I see a rat and dark clouds. Trouble and damage. Be careful. No impulse. Think first, okay? Enemy is hiding, waiting, will make trouble. Bad person.”

Ayshen gave her head a shake and tried to snap out of the cup’s bad mood.

“Sorry. Stupid cup. Forget it. Only for fun.”

Excerpt Five

“Remember the little story I told you yesterday at school?”

Pavlina nodded.

“It was not a story I made up, Pav. It’s true, every word of it,” Jayna confessed.

“You can’t be serious.” Pavlina was dumbfounded.

“I am serious. I was out fighting demons last night and doing other stuff when Ethan asked if I knew that you were pregnant. He saw it in your aura. You have a pea sized light bulb in your tummy, that’s how he knew it. He showed it to me too,” Jayna explained.

“I am not going to pretend that I understand what you are talking about.”

Excerpt Six

To say that I am overwhelmed doesn’t even come close to how I feel. Why were we thrown together this way? I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know there is a reason for it. You told me to trust my intuition. I am doing that now. There is something that we have to accomplish, though I have no idea what it is, only that it’s very important and it scares me. I am not sure how I will measure up to what’s expected of me.

Meltem Y.K is a woman of many hats. She is a hereditary mystic, an animal lover, a voracious reader, a writer, an employee, a mother, a wife, and now a new grandmother. Mysticism runs in her family, she is very familiar with the subject. To her, it is a way of life so it is no wonder that her stories are totally entrenched in mysticism and the paranormal. In her own words, the paranormal is her normal. Meltem Y.K is a graduate of the University of Waterloo and holds a B.A. in Economics. She has been working at her alma mater for the past twenty-one years and hopes to retire from there. Meltem Y.K lives and works in the Waterloo region where the story of Astral Ordinance takes place.

1. Meltem Y.K is a hereditary mystic. What the heck does that mean? It means mysticism runs in her family. Not everyone in her family is a mystic, but some are. She is one of them. Most of her life, Meltem Y.K hid this fact from the people around her, because it would freak some people out. Finally, she came out of the closet, but she does not talk about it incessantly.

2. She is a great dream interpreter. It’s one of the side benefits of being a mystic.

3. As a child, Meltem Y.K wanted to be a doctor, but it wasn’t meant to be. Instead, she became a healer.

4. She is a Reiki Master and has taught Reiki to countless people. She does not charge a fee for her teachings or for her distance healing. This is something she does to help people, spread Reiki and create good Karma.

5. Meltem Y.K is also an avid Feng Shui practitioner.

6. Normally, Meltem Y.K is a fun person, but at home she tells her family she isn’t and claims that she does not do jokes. The intent of this strategy is to keep her kids from clowning around too much.

7. Meltem Y.K is an animal lover and an animal rights advocate.

8. Meltem Y.K would never wear a fur coat.

9. She is a vegetarian, but not a vegan; she still eats honey and cheese. A true vegan would not even eat honey.

10. Growing up, Meltem Y.K was scared out of her mind when a bee came near her. Now, her dream is to own a bee hive and produce honey.

11. Meltem Y.K believes in Karma. What goes around comes around – even from a past lifetime.

12. She, obviously, believes in reincarnation.

13. Meltem Y.K is a student of Kriyayoga as taught by Swami Shri Yogi Satyam.

14. Meltem Y.K recommends The Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda (another Kriyayoga master) to anyone who is interested in Yoga.

15. Meltem Y.K is a soccer mom.

16. She also loves martial arts and wishes she had the opportunity to learn it at a young age. She has a yellow belt in Karate, but she is pretty sure she has forgotten everything she learned. She stopped due to injuries. She is content watching her son learn Kung Fu from a world champion.

17. Meltem Y.K is a girly girl - at her age woman might be a more appropriate word.

18. She loves perfumes and jewelry. Emeralds are her favorite. She loves concocting her own lotions, potions and scents, and grows her own lavender.

19. Meltem Y.K is also an artist. She dabbles in other art forms such as watercolors and Chinese style painting with bamboo brushes.

20. Meltem Y.K is a proud first time grandmother.