Author Ayden K. Morgen: November 2014

Friday, November 28, 2014

Escape from Witchwood Hollow: Bonus Scene by @JayliaDarkness #giveaway

HOW FAR INTO THE HOLLOW WILL YOU GO?

I love everything that comes with being published – the book signings, the blog interviews, the swag… I’ve never been so excited about buying a bookmark before. I also love hearing from the readers of ESCAPE FROM WITCHWOOD HOLLOW, and a few people asked me how Leon got the handgun. I would hate to disappoint the fans, so I wrote a bonus scene where Leon meets the weapon. You can access it here: http://www.jordanelizabethmierek.com/novels.html

There’s more than just a bonus scene on the website. Check out contests, book signings, future books, and feel free to drop me a line. Your suggestion might be the next bonus scene! Signed copies of my books are available by request. They make great holiday gifts. Yes, I’m winking at you.

Everyone in Arnn – a small farming town with more legends than residents – knows the story of Witchwood Hollow: if you venture into the whispering forest, the witch will trap your soul among the shadowed trees.

After losing her parents in a horrific terrorist attack on the Twin Towers, fifteen-year-old Honoria and her older brother escape New York City to Arnn. In the lure of that perpetual darkness, Honoria finds hope, when she should be afraid.

Perhaps the witch can reunite her with her lost parents. Awakening the witch, however, brings more than salvation from mourning, for Honoria discovers a past of missing children and broken promises.

To save the citizens of Arnn from becoming the witch’s next victims, she must find the truth behind the woman’s madness.

How deep into Witchwood Hollow does Honoria dare venture?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jordan Elizabeth, formally Jordan Elizabeth Mierek, is the author of young adult fantasy ESCAPE FROM WITCHWOOD HOLLOW and contributing author for GEARS OF BRASS, both available from Curiosity Quills Press. Her next books, TREASURE DARKLY and BORN OF TREASURE, arrive in 2015. She is represented by Belcastro Agency.

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No new bonus scene would be complete with a contest. Win this chilling keychain and ask yourself how deep into the hollow you will go.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

xoxo,

ALL FALLS DOWN is now available on Amazon. FALL– The Ragnarök Prophesies: Book Two is now available at Amazon | Barnes and Noble | KOBO. FADE - The Ragnarök Prophesies: Book Two is available at: Amazon US | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Books-a-Million.

Monday, November 24, 2014

Fall Into Fantasy Tour: The Bound Trilogy by @Kate_Sparkes

Welcome to the Fall Into Fantasy Tour, where we are keeping your mind off any end-of-summer blues and welcoming the cooler weather by introducing you to some incredible fantasy reads to curl up with and giving you plenty of chances to win awesome prizes!

Week 14: The Bound Trilogy
Book One: Bound
By Kate Sparkes

Welcome to Darmid, where magic is a sin, fairy tales are contraband, and the people live in fear of the Sorcerers on the other side of the mountains.

Rowan Greenwood has everything she's supposed to want from life—a good family, a bright future, and a proposal from a handsome and wealthy magic hunter. She knows she should be content with what she has. If only she could banish the idea that there's more to life than marriage and children, or let go of the fascination with magic she's been forced to suppress since childhood.

When Rowan unknowingly saves the life of one of her people’s most feared enemies, that simple act of compassion rips her from her sheltered life and throws her into a world of magic that’s more beautiful, more seductive, and more dangerous than she ever could have imagined.

Rowan might get everything she ever dreamed of—that is, if the one thing she's always wanted doesn't kill her first.

Buy it from: Amazon Kobo Barnes & Noble iBooks
Or add it to Goodreads

Read the first chapter

Follow Kathleen Sparkes's board Bound Trilogy on Pinterest.

ABOUT KATE SPARKES

Kate Sparkes was born in Hamilton, Ontario, but now resides in Newfoundland, where she tries not to talk too much about the dragons she sees in the fog. She lives with a Mountie, two kids who take turns playing Jeckyll and Hyde, three cats with more personality than most people she meets, and the saddest-looking dog on the planet. Depression has almost consumed her more times than she likes to admit, but writing Fantasy (be it epic or urban, fairy tales or superhero cat stories) keeps her afloat… most of the time. She released her debut novel Bound (Ya Fantasy) in June 2014. The second book in the trilogy is due out in the winter.

Find Kate online: Blog Sparrowcat Press Facebook Twitter

Want to get involved with the Fall Into Fantasy promotional tour?

Don't forget to join us at the Facebook party here!
If you are interested in joining up as a blogger, you can always sign up here. We are happy to welcome more bloggers into the fold as the promotion continues.
If you are an author or blogger and want to sign up to help with the party, please fill out this form.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

xoxo,

Monday, November 17, 2014

Fall Into Fantasy Tour: The Darkworld Series by @ELAdams12

Welcome to the Fall Into Fantasy Tour, where we are keeping your mind off any end-of-summer blues and welcoming the cooler weather by introducing you to some incredible fantasy reads to curl up with and giving you plenty of chances to win awesome prizes!

Week 13: The Darkworld Series
Prequel Novella: Fear's Touch
Book One: Darkness Watching
Book Two: Walking Shadow
By Emma L. Adams

This is a standalone novella, intended as a prequel to the Darkworld series. As it takes place one year before the events of Darkness Watching, it doesn’t contain any spoilers (although it does hint at things which will come into play later in the series).

Freakish powers and staring demon eyes aren’t part of Claudia’s plans for the future – and neither is ending up stuck at the gloomy, isolated University of Blackstone. But bad life decisions are the least of her problems, when a split-second decision to help out another magic-user puts her in the crossfire of both the shadow-beasts and the creepy organisation which hunt them down.

Claudia’s never had to worry about making the right choice before, but every decision matters when you have a Darkworld connection. Soon, she’s going to have to make a choice: turn her back on the crazy and try to live a normal life, or take the monsters down.

But in a world where everyone seems to have secrets, can she really trust her fellow magic-users – or even herself?

Now available at retailers!
Buy it from: Amazon Amazon UK Barnes & Noble Kobo

Add it to Goodreads

Eighteen-year-old Ashlyn is one interview away from her future when she first sees the demons. She thinks she's losing her mind, but the truth is far more frightening: she can see into the Darkworld, the home of spirits– and the darkness is staring back.

Desperate to escape the demons, Ash accepts a place at a university in the small town of Blackstone, in the middle of nowhere - little knowing that it isn't coincidence that led her there but the pull of the Venantium, the sorcerers who maintain the barrier keeping demons from crossing from the Darkworld into our own world.

All-night parties, new friendships and a life without rules or limits are all part of the package of student life - but demons never give up, and their focus on Ash has attracted the attention of every sorcerer in the area. Ash is soon caught between her new life and a group of other students with a connection to the Darkworld, who could offer the answers she's looking for. The demons want something from her, and someone is determined to kill her before she can find out what it is.

In a world where darkness lurks beneath the surface, not everyone is what they appear to be...

Reviews:
"Demons, Sorcerers, evil, and secrets. Could you ask for a better supernatural suspense set-up? The plot is original, and completely gripping. From the first page, this book had me hooked." - Rose at Desert Rose Reviews

"A suspenseful first part to an intriguing new fantasy series." - Sharon Stevenson, supernatural author

“The story is extremely well-written with effortless, flowing prose, and the original magic-user mythology and Darkworld creatures are very entertaining. The author took what might have been over-done premise and twisted it into something very fresh and exciting.” - Lexa Cain, author of Soul Cutter

"Emma is an amazing writer. She has become one of my favorites. I couldn’t put Darkness Watching down." - Diane at A Creative Mind

Buy it from: Amazon Amazon UK Barnes & Noble Kobo

Or add it to Goodreads

Read the first chapter

When you have a connection to the Darkworld, nowhere is truly safe.

Ashlyn has found a new home in Blackstone, but when a spate of grave robberies across the country spark fears that someone is practicing illegal sorcery, she comes under the radar of the Venantium, the protectors of the Barrier between her world and the Darkworld, who are suspicious of any sorcerer who doesn’t know their origins.

The trouble is, what Ash does know might just get her killed.

Sufferers of the dangerous condition known as the vampire’s curse are being brutally killed, and the latest victim is Leo’s guardian, the ex-head of the Venantium. Ash determines to help Leo find out what’s really going on, but it isn’t long before events are spiralling out of control. The dead are rising from their graves, and the barriers around Blackstone are threatened by a demon which looks exactly like Ash herself…

Coming December 1st, 2014 from Curiosity Quills

Add it to Goodreads

ABOUT EMMA L. ADAMS

Emma spent her childhood creating imaginary worlds to compensate for a disappointingly average reality, so it was probably inevitable that she ended up writing fantasy novels for children and young adults. She was born in Birmingham, UK, which she fled at the first opportunity to study English Literature at Lancaster University. In her three years at Lancaster, she hiked up mountains, skydived in Australia, and endured a traumatic episode involving a swarm of bees in the Costa Rican jungle. She also entertained her creative writing group and baffled her tutors by submitting strange fantasy tales featuring dragons and supernatural monsters to workshops. These included her first publication, a rather bleak dystopian piece, and a disturbing story about a homicidal duck (which she hopes will never see the light of day).

Now a reluctant graduate, Emma refuses to settle down and be normal. When not embarking on wild excursions, she edits and proofreads novels for various publishing houses and reads an insane number of books. At the age of 21, she signed a publishing contract with Curiosity Quills Press for the first book in her creepy urban fantasy Darkworld series. DARKNESS WATCHING was published in October 2013, and four more novels and a novella will follow. She chats about writing and other book-related things at her blog, From the Writer’s Nest, and looks forward to sharing more tales from the bizarre depths of her imagination.
Find Emma online: Blog Website Facebook Page Twitter
Sign up to Emma's newsletter to be the first to find out about new releases

Want to get involved with the Fall Into Fantasy promotional tour?

Don't forget to join us at the Facebook party here!
If you are interested in joining up as a blogger, you can always sign up here. We are happy to welcome more bloggers into the fold as the promotion continues.
If you are an author or blogger and want to sign up to help with the party, please fill out this form.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

xoxo,

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Teaser Tuesday: FLAME (The Ragnarok Prophesies: Book Three)

Happy Tuesday, loves!

I'm slowly but surely making my way through FLAME, so I thought I'd give you another little teaser from the story. For the record, it's crazy hard to find teasers in this story that don't give away important things!

No worries though, I haven't murdered Dace or Ari yet. Though if they don't start cooperating with me soon, I may do terrible things to them out of spite. Kidding! Mostly. ;)

Dace sighed again. "I'm so sorry, Arionna."

I glanced at Fuki and blinked quickly, trying to stave off tears.

"Please tell me he's gone," I whispered.

"Yes. Geri and Kalei took care of him."

Savage satisfaction twisted through me at that. Our betrayer had paid for what he did to Buka. It wasn't nearly enough, but at least he'd paid.

"Any word on Mandy?"

"We're still looking for her."

I heard the hesitation in his voice, the half second pause before he spoke, and knew immediately what that meant. He was keeping things from me again, not telling me the whole truth. He had a bad habit of hiding what he didn't think I needed to hear. I knew he did it to protect me, but we were beyond that point now. Our friend was missing. Two others were dead. And one of ours had been responsible.

"They have her, don't they?" I asked quietly.

"Yes." Defeat wove through Dace's voice.

I squeezed my eyes closed, taking a deep breath when fear shot through me. Sköll and Hati had Mandy. And God only knew what they'd done to her, or would do to her. They were monsters – demons ripped from the pages of history and plunked down in the middle of small-town Arkansas to usher in the apocalypse. They wouldn't hesitate to kill her any more than Hati had hesitated before trying to kill me.

War had come for us... and that scared the shit out of me.

xoxo,

Monday, November 10, 2014

Fall Into Fantasy Tour: Between by @Lisa_Swallow_AU

Welcome to the Fall Into Fantasy Tour, where we are keeping your mind off any end-of-summer blues and welcoming the cooler weather by introducing you to some incredible fantasy reads to curl up with and giving you plenty of chances to win awesome prizes!

Week 12: The Dark Intent Series
Book One: Between
By Lisa Swallow

What do you do when you are attracted to two men and both have the power to kill you with a touch or a kiss? Can Rose trust either of them - or anyone in her new life?

Ghosts? Demons? Angels? Or something more? The supernatural you find living and working in this English city are a little different to those you usually find in the genre...

Rose survived the accident that killed her friend. The problem is the life she returns to scares her more than the night she almost died.

When Alek and Finn enter her world, Rose discovers the after-effects of the accident are worse than she thought. The slow recovery and fogged nightmares aren't the only changes she needs to cope with.

Rose has an immediate and intense attraction to arrogant housemate Alek. This confuses her as much as the chilling effect of her enigmatic work colleague Finn. As Rose struggles to cope with her new life, she learns that her connection to the two men threatens all their futures

Alek has lived years closed off from people. He didn't expect someone like Rose to come into his life and challenge the reality he grips onto.

If Finn doesn't fix the mistake he made, his life is in danger. His desire to help and protect Rose makes his task difficult, especially when she's the mistake he needs to fix.

When Alek's past catches up, Rose disappears. Trapped between the living and the dead, on the edge of Hell, Rose is unable to find her way back. Alek and Finn could help her - but are they prepared to risk the consequences?

Buy it from: Amazon Amazon UK Kobo Apple Barnes & Noble

ABOUT LISA SWALLOW

Lisa is an author of new adult romance and writes both paranormal and contemporary, often with a side of snark. In between running a business, looking after her family and writing, Lisa sometimes finds spare time to do other things. This often involves swapping her book worlds for gaming worlds. Lisa is originally from the UK but moved to Australia in 2001 and now lives in Perth in Western Australia with her husband, three children and dog.

Find Lisa online: Website Facebook Twitter Mailing List

Want to get involved with the Fall Into Fantasy promotional tour?

Don't forget to join us at the Facebook party here!
If you are interested in joining up as a blogger, you can always sign up here. We are happy to welcome more bloggers into the fold as the promotion continues.
If you are an author or blogger and want to sign up to help with the party, please fill out this form.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

xoxo,

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Blog Tour Stop: The Settings of Catch Me When I Fall by @vleighwrites

The Settings of CATCH ME WHEN I FALL

I don’t know about you, but settings are a big deal for me in stories. For example, in Megan Shepherd’s The Madman’s Daughter, much of the book takes place on an island, in a small village constructed by a mad scientist and filled with creatures of the scientist’s own creation. Megan does an outstanding job of showing us what the island and the buildings look like, a skill that I’m not quite sure I’ve yet mastered.

But like Megan, I see the settings in my mind, and I used Google Images, Google Earth, and Pinterest to draw detail from photos to improve my murky mental images. Today, I’d like to share a few of them with you.

CATCH ME WHEN I FALL primarily takes place in two places: Columbus, Ohio and Rome, Italy. Born and raised in Ohio, it was easy for me to visualize the capital city of my home state, but I’ve only visited Rome—and I was only there for two days. Therefore, it was imperative that I collect pictures of the beautiful city so that I could describe the scenery in detail.

Now, to avoid spoilers, my captions for these photographs will be very vague. But I’m sure once you read the book, you’ll know exactly what happens in each of these locations. So, without further ado, here are the settings of CATCH ME WHEN I FALL:

Inspiration for the home of the Protectors of the Night.

(Just, y’know, picture it in the middle of Rome, hidden from the living.)

The beautiful streets of Rome

A Roman piazza

Inspiration for Kayla's house

Arch in Columbus, Ohio

A Roman fountain

A guitarist in Rome

An abandoned factory in Columbus, Ohio

Inspiration for Kayla's hospital

The Eiffel Tower, sparkling

A Roman bookshop

Another breath-taking snapshot of Rome

About Catch Me When I Fall:

Recruited at his death to be a Protector of the Night, seventeen-year-old Daniel Graham has spent two-hundred years fighting Nightmares and guarding humans from the clawed, red-eyed creatures that feed off people’s fears. Each night, he risks his eternal life, having given up his chance at an afterlife when he chose to become a Protector. That doesn’t stop a burnt-out Daniel from risking daring maneuvers during each battle. He’s become one of the best, but he wants nothing more than to stop.

Then he’s given an assignment to watch over sixteen-year-old Kayla Bartlett, a clinically depressed patient in a psychiatric ward. Nightmares love a human with a tortured past. Yet, when they take a deep interest in her, appearing in unprecedented numbers, the job becomes more dangerous than any Daniel’s ever experienced. He fights ruthlessly to keep the Nightmares from overwhelming his team and Kayla. Soon, Daniel finds himself watching over Kayla during the day, drawn to why she’s different, and what it is about her that attracts the Nightmares. And him.

A vicious attack on Kayla forces Daniel to break the first Law and reveal his identity. Driven by his growing feelings for her, he whisks her away to Rome where others like him can keep her safe. Under their roof, the Protectors discover what Kayla is and why someone who can manipulate Nightmares has her in his sights. But before they can make a move, the Protectors are betrayed and Kayla is kidnapped. Daniel will stop at nothing to save her. Even if it means giving up his immortality.

Find Catch Me When I Fall Online:

Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble

About Vicki Leigh:

Adopted at three-days-old by a construction worker and a stay-at-home mom, Vicki Leigh grew up in a small suburb of Akron, Ohio where she learned to read by the age of four and considered being sent to her room for punishment as an opportunity to dive into another book. By the sixth grade, Vicki penned her first, full-length screenplay. If she couldn’t be a writer, Vicki would be a Hunter (think Dean and Sam Winchester) or a Jedi. Her favorite place on earth is Hogwarts (she refuses to believe it doesn’t exist), and her favorite dreams include solving cases alongside Sherlock Holmes.

Vicki is an editor for Curiosity Quills Press and is represented by Sarah Negovetich of Corvisiero Literary Agency.

Find Vicki Leigh Online:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

xoxo,

FALL– The Ragnarök Prophesies: Book Two is now available at Amazon | Barnes and Noble | KOBO. FADE - The Ragnarök Prophesies: Book Two is available at: Amazon US | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Books-a-Million.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Teaser Tuesday: FLAME (The Ragnarok Prophesies) #fantasy #nanowrimo

Happy Teaser Tuesday, lovelies!

Since I'm furiously working to finish FLAME during NaNo, I thought I'd give you guys a little teaser from the story. It's been a while since I've posted anything from Dace and Ari and Ronan. :)

This contains spoilers (and probably lots of grammar mistakes), so if you haven't finished FADE and FALL, you might want to skip this one. <3

Enjoy!

"Where's Fuki?" I rasped.

"I had to take him back to your room," Ronan said. He shot me another odd look. "You really don't remember?"

"Remember what?" I asked dully. Buka wasn't supposed to die. Dace was supposed to look out for her, keep her safe so I could bring Fuki back to her when Sköll and Hati were dead. And now, well, now Fuki didn't have a mom anymore. Just like me.

I'm sorry, Dace whispered.

I grasped the edge of Ronan's bed and pulled myself to my feet, trying to block out Dace's apology. I couldn't deal with him right now. My right temple throbbed when I moved. I swayed on my feet, and then steadied myself.

Ronan reached for my arm, but I shook him off.

"We need to get out of here," he said. "Dace thinks someone is coming for you tonight."

"So?"

"Arionna, don't."

"Don't tell me what to do, Ronan." I whipped my head around to glare at him, and almost fell when an intense pain ripped through my head again, momentarily blinding me.

When my vision cleared, Ronan had his hand clamped on my arm.

"I'm fine," I snapped, pushing him away.

Ronan held his hands up as if to say he surrendered, and then stepped back, out of my way.

Walking hurt, and I stumbled, but I made it to the door. Pushed it open, and stepped into the night. Fuki still howled from my room. The broken sound of his cries shattered another little piece of my heart. I sniffled, the world blurring around me again.

Ronan stepped out of the room behind me.

Dace sat in my head like some silent, unobtrusive visitor, watching me from the inside.

My hands shook when I reached for the knob to my door. I hesitated, trying to block everything out. To focus on Fuki. He needed me right now. The rest of it – Sköll, Hati, the frigging apocalypse, even Dace and Ronan – could wait for five damn minutes.

xoxo,

ALL FALLS DOWN is now available on Amazon. FALL– The Ragnarök Prophesies: Book Two is now available at Amazon | Barnes and Noble | KOBO. FADE - The Ragnarök Prophesies: Book One is available at: Amazon US | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Books-a-Million.

Monday, November 3, 2014

My Worst Nightmare Blog Hop: Catch Me When I Fall by @vleighwrites #paranormal

Hi, loves!

Today, I’m taking part in Vicki Leigh’s “My Worst Nightmare” blog hop, to celebrate the recent release of her young-adult, paranormal-romance/ urban-fantasy, CATCH ME WHEN I FALL, which centers around seventeen-year-old Daniel Graham, a Protector of the Night, who has spent two-hundred years fighting Nightmares and guarding humans from the clawed, red-eyed creatures that feed off people’s fears.

Rules:

· On 11.03.14 post about your worst nightmare, and what form the clawed, red-eyed creatures would take if they fed off your fears.

· Visit the other participants of the blog hop, and comment on their worst nightmares

At the end of the blog tour, on 11.14.14, Vicki Leigh will pick one of the participants at random and award them with a Catch me When I Fall Swag Pack, containing a dreamcatcher hand-made by Vicki.

My Worst Nightmare:

I have a confession to make. I'm not very brave. Put me in the middle of a crisis, and I'll come through like a champion, but find me alone at night (especially outside or in public) or sitting with my back to a window, and I'm a nervous wreck. Completely terrified that someone's going to grab me or watch me through the window. Humans can be cruel, vicious, and highly unstable... there's no denying that. But even so, nothing freaks me out quiet like the thought of being swarmed by spiders. Again.

When I was younger, I saw what I thought was a bit of fuzz, and I picked it up. It came apart in my hands, and tiny spiders began spilling out like I'd just napalmed a fricking anthill. Thousands of little legs skittered across my skin as they ran every which way, completely covering me. I screamed bloody murder. Didn't help, of course. Unlike humans, spiders don't give a shit how loudly or how long you yell. It's not going to stop them.

It didn't, of course. My mom had to take a hose to me to get them off. And I've been terrified of the little bastards ever since. Being bitten a few years later didn't help. I still have the scars from that particular experience.

Thanks to my migraine medications, I have a lot of nightmares. Spiders feature in quite a few of them. I always wake up from those particular dreams with the feeling that they're swarming me again. It's brutal! So I'm almost certain if the clawed, red-eyed creatures from Catch Me When I Fall came from me, they'd come with eight legs, and zero fear of terrified human screams.

Let's just pray that doesn't happen, okay?

Check out the nightmares of other participants through the links below. And don't forget to grab a copy of Catch Me When I Fall, out now from Curiosity Quills Press! And check back on 11/5 for a visit from Vicki herself.

Participants:

Cassidie Jhones at Rebook424 - Cassidie's Reviews | Tawney Bland Twinning for Twins

Laura Rueckert | Katie Teller at Katie's Stories | Ayden Morgen at A.K. Morgen Writes

Sharon Bayliss | Emma Adams at From the Writer's Nest | The Writer Diaries

Katie at Writing, Reading, and Life | Robyn Koshel at Elder Park Book Reviews

Jenny at J. Keller Ford - Fantasy Author YA Junkie | S. K. Anthony

Merisha Abbott at Blissful Book Reviews | Sarah at Ink of Blood

Amy at Home Is Where the Wine Is Book Blog | Zoraida Cordova at Wonderlands

Ryan Hill at Ryan Hill Writes | Christie Gibrich at A Geek In Librarian's Clothing

Nichole Giles at Random-ish | Kayl Hughes at Kayl's Krazy Obsession

Rebecca at Sister Sinister Speaks | Kathy Kozak at Ordinary Girlz Book Reviews

Victoria Biram at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author | Vicki Keire at Vicki Keire Writes Chelsea at To Each Their Own Reviews | Sarit at Coffee Books & Art