Blog Tour de Force

Stop #1 - HeartsBlood

That's right, people!

The Blog Tour de Force has officially begun and this little ole blog is where the fun begins!

For any of you who have been living in a cave, I am one of the founders of the @IndieBookIBC plus I write a bunch of stuff. And I would love a bunch of people to read my bunch of stuff. So with @amberscootbooks, @rachelintheoc and @LMStull we threw together the mother of all blog tours!

"Get Loaded...Your eBook reader that is"

That's right, 12 authors banded together to put together a Grand Prize package that includes... wait for it... a Kindle!

That's right, you can win a Kindle and not only that but have it loaded with all 12 authors books plus a gift basket filled with gifts from each author.

Even the 1st Prize is off the hook with all 12 authors giving your their eBook for free! And those are just the overall prizes.

Each stop on the way will have its own set of prizes from the author. Free eBooks. Free signed paperback copies. Individual gift baskets. You name it, it'll probably be given away!

But, let's get back to me #myfavoritetopic

Today we are celebrating my paranormal romance/urban fantasy "HeartsBlood"

How would I describe it? Um... how about I let a few reviewers do it for me?

“Oh. Dear. God. I loved HeartsBlood!

When I was reading it, I couldn't put it down. When I wasn't reading it it was all I could think about. I loved that I couldn't figure out what was coming next. The plot was truly spellbinding.

Seriously, I laughed, I cried, I worried. And when I finished the book I wanted to pick it back up and start from the beginning again.”

Lori W. (@funkycakes)

“HeartsBlood is a paranormal romance? I hate to argue with Carolyn, but this is a kick-but-and-take-names urban fantasy. No, it is a thriller. Wait. I think it might be an action packed story of love and magic that defies classification!

I fear only women will read HeartsBlood when it was one of the most exciting thrillers I have read in a long while!

Guys, take note HeartsBlood is for you too!”

Ben Hopkin (@actingnodrama)

Also please check out my review sponsors...

ParaYourNormal

BrighterScribe

Fade into Fantasy

ThrillersRockTwitter

Mark of the Stars

YourNeedToRead

I Eat Words

Bonnie Gene Adams

I really appreciate all their kind words! Please check each and every one of them out for their opinion of "HeartsBlood" (because Lord knows you shouldn't trust me!) plus find even more ways to enter the Grand Prize Drawing for that "Loaded Kindle!"

So Amber told me I needed to write something really pithy and fun for this blog. You know, something I hadn't told any other reviewer. That I really needed to hit it out of the park.

Obviously she has never read anything previous on this blog otherwise she would have known it was a lost cause (and thank gawd I am going first so you can't judge me against the others!).

But what I can say is... If Tyr (the uber-hot, stubbled, tall, dark and dangerous hero from HeartsBlood) came walking down the street...

a) I would swoon

b) He would step over my unconscious body

c) I would be okay with that!

The other really cool thing about the Blog Tour de Force is that I got meet a lot of really great other indie authors. The first I'd like to mention is Kris Tualla. Her "A Matter of Principle" is historical fiction at its best.

The third in her series, you are going to love the chemistry and romance of Nicholas and Sydney. Set in St. Louis during the 1800s, the plot unfolds like a delicious meal. Tempting tidbits of mystery to start, building to an incredibly satisfying conclusion, with, of course, a silky smooth dessert to finish it all off with.

You are going to want to immediately go out and buy books 1 & 2!  I know I did! 

"A Matter of Principle's" Blog Tour day is tomorrow 1/18 so hit her up here! #seriously #Iwillbewatching

Then there is Susan Schreyer's "Death by a Dark Horse." Being a veterinarian you can imagine how hooked I was by a book with one of the main characters being a horse suspected of murder! I mean, come on! I get to use my veterinary and my love of police procedure to solve a crime! How often does that happen #notnearlyenough

Even if you aren't a horsey-girl like myself, I think you will find the complicated relationships and exquisite mystery more than satisfying in and of itself.

Susan's blog day is January 29th. Mark your calendars so you can hit her up here (or better yet sign up for our newsletter so you don't have to 'remember' anything! Get a daily reminder along with author news and super secret BONUS ways to enter the Kindle give away!).

Also don't forget that the tour will conclude at the Indie Book Collective on January 31st with an incredible scavenger hunt for loads of different ways to enter the Grand Prize drawing for that free Kindle!

Plus you can go to www.blogtourdeforce.com and sign up for our newsletter - just that alone gets you 5 entries into the drawing for brand spanking new Kindle, plus you get fun content from the authors and EXCLUSIVE ways to rack up lots of entries! Sign up NOW!

But what about HeartsBlood you ask? What spectacular prizes are you giving away TODAY?

Why, I am so glad you asked!!!

First off, anyone who follows this blog and leaves a comment (even 'yo, Carolyn') gets a free eBook! #howawesomeisthat

Second my gift basket is in my opinion, kicks some serious booty!

Not only do you get a free eBook, but you also get a signed paperback copy of "HeartsBlood" along with a gift basket that includes some blood red nail polish (for obvious reasons), a cut crystal necklace just like the one in "Heartsblood," and a hand-stained and burned-in leather bookmark. A truly unique keepsake! And a "Hello Kitty" pen, just to keep it real. #Iamsuchagiver

How do you enter for the "HeartsBlood" gift basket? Simple!

Simply go to smashwords.com and download your free 100 pages. Then simply leave a comment with your favorite line from pages 24-30! #toldyouitwassimple!

Oh, and did I mention that I need your help to kick the other author's butts? Because for us authors there is a free book trailer at stake! And I know how much you want me to be the proud winner! So please remember to go the the Indie Book Collective blog on Jan 31st and vote for me!!! #youknowyouwanna :-)

Alright, I am going to wrap this puppy up with a great big THANK YOU to all my readers, hope you enjoy "HeartsBlood" and I can hardly wait to see who wins my gift basket!

Claire Farrell: Interview and Giveaway

Happy New Year!  We kick things off with Claire Farrell chat for a bit about her vampire urban fantasy, Thirst.  It's the story of Ava, a half human, half vampire that's been trying to stay under the radar of the supernatural world.  Unfortunately through circumstances out of her control, she's been pulled into a war between the two main vampire clans and will have to make some unlikely alliances if she wants to survive.

At the end of the interview we'll give you the details on how you can win an ecopy of Thrist

ParaYourNormal The vampires in Thirst are pretty monstrous. They're nothing like Twilight or The Vampire Diaries and seem to go back to the old days of vampire fiction. What made you go in that direction?

Claire Farrell That’s what vampires are to me – monsters.  I can’t quite connect with the idea of vampires as sparkly, attractive beings.  When I came up with Thirst, I wanted to create a world that occurred organically so I went back and figured out a line of events that might have happened and how that would have influenced the supernatural beings.  In Thirst, vampires have lost their edge a little, purely to survive an evolutionary turn against them.  The way they live works for some of them but most are itching to get back to what instinct demands, murder and indulgence.  For now, they are contained but everything changes.  

PNR  Do you have any formal training in writing?

CF  No formal training.  In fact, I left school early – at 16.

PNR  Wow.  What made you leave so early?

  
CF  I wasn’t learning anything, basically.  I went to a good enough school, had some amazing teachers but, for various reasons, in my exam years we ended up with substitute teachers who had a habit of running out of the classrooms crying.  I wasn’t learning, felt frustrated and left.  I had a lot going on personally so I think I just wanted to control some aspect of my life.  I worked a little, took a computer course in a government funded organisation and was offered a job there.  I took it, moved on to work for a solicitor and then stopped working when I had my children.  So, no regrets.

PNR  Who influenced/encouraged you to write?

  CF  Writers like Roald Dahl made me think it was possible to be a writer and a couple of my primary school teachers actively encouraged me.  One in particular let it be known she expected to see my name on the cover of a book one day. 

PNR  What sorts of things were you writing that made your teachers encourage you to pursue writing further?

CF  They had me writing everything and anything.  Poems, short stories, novelettes and even songs.  I was very young at that stage.  I’m almost certain they set up little writing contests just so I would win.  They helped inflate my ego, I’m sure the world thanks them.  Various teachers would have me write a poem or a short story then send me around to the other teachers who would read them and reward me.  We would make little books out of everyone’s stories and mine was always the tome bulking up the one page tales. At the time, it was a given that I would be a writer because I was told it so often by them.  I have to point out that I wrote nothing good or original back then!

PNR  Were there any scenes that came up spontaneously in writing Thirst?

           

CF  Most of them.  I had a very vague idea of actual scenes and veered completely away from any written outline I had.  As I wrote the story, more and more character backstories showed themselves so they influenced the scenes.  In particular, Eddie’s scenes and his story developed by themselves.  I had a vague idea of his purpose but as I wrote his scenes, more and more ideas popped up – I did a little research and was astonished to find lore that actually fit.

 

PNR  I loved Thirst so of course I want to know if there's a follow up in the works and if so what, if any details can you give?

CF  My ROW80 project is to work on the sequel of Thirst, which is Taunt.  I wrote a rough draft for NaNoWriMo but I need to rework it based on ideas I had for further along in the series.  The series is kind of unfolding to be quite pulpy but it’s pretty much the most fun I’ve had writing. 

In Taunt, everyone is feeling the consequences from Thirst – Ava is unsure of herself and her new relationships.  Daimhín tests Ava, Max’s coven are hanging around.  The Council play a big part in the second book and Ava is introduced to a lot more “creatures.”  She also discovers more about her heritage, Peter’s past and even Max’s motivations.  We start to see some of the bigger picture.

Big round of applause for Claire!  You can find her on her blog, facebook, twitter, and goodreads.

If you'd like to get a copy of Thirst, you can find it on Amazon, Amazon UK, and Smashwords. 

And now for the giveaway!  The rules are simple.  First, follow this blog and then answer this question in the comments:  Who is your favorite vampire?  This can be from books, TV or film, go nuts!