Sin and Sorrow by Marion Croslydon

Sin and Sorrow

by Marion Croslydon

Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Paranormal, Romance

O-negative is Marie Aberdein’s favorite treat and she hates herself for it.

But she hates the MacLeod Vampire Hunters even more. They stole everything from her. Twice. The first time, on the night of the Battle of Culloden, the Hunter killed her husband and their child. Marie has survived the last two centuries hidden away with the man she calls Father, keeping their vow never to feed from humans. But the latest Hunter—the direct descendant of her husband’s murderer—doesn’t care about their good intentions. All he wants is for their ashes to blow away in the wind, so he tracks them down and burns the only family she has left. 

Payback is long overdue. Marie has escaped the MacLeods’ clutches and she intends to make this lease of life count. Merely digging her fangs into the Hunter won’t do. She’ll take everything he holds dear, starting with his heir, History undergrad and rugby-playing Gabriel. Once she has Gabriel in the palm of her hand, she’ll rip out the boy’s heart. And make his father watch. 

 Only Gabe is more angel than demon. His heart is warm, his soul loyal. He makes Marie feel like the girl she has never had the chance to be. A girl who wants to laugh, flirt, and be kissed. But allowing their love to kindle will clash against the beliefs that make them who they are. When Gabriel becomes the next Hunter at twenty-one, Marie will be one of the creatures he is destined to slaughter. And loving him means giving up her vendetta against his father—something she won’t do. 

 Sin and Sorrow is a New Adult paranormal romance set at St. Andrews University in modern-day Scotland.

Purchase: 

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Teasers:

ABOUT MARION CROSLYDON

Marion loves to share happy vibes, talk book crush, fictional boyfriends and sexual chemistry with like-minded people. And because she spends most of her days on her own deep inside her London writing cave, you are welcome to come and say “hello” from time to time. Just to make sure she doesn’t sink into insanity. Her friends, family and arch-enemies (there are quite a few) will be forever grateful for your help. Her debut novel, Oxford Whispers, a New Adult paranormal romance, won the IndieReader Discovery Award, 2013. Her contemporary romances, No Reverse and Fast Forward, were Amazon bestsellers, both in the New Adult and Kindle Top 50 charts. Please get in touch with HER: marion AT marioncroslydon DOT com By the way Marion wrote that bio, but she likes using the third-person. It makes her feel as cool as shit ;-)

Website • Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads

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Cover Reveal: Merry Blissmas by Jamie Begley

We Wish You A

Merry Blissmas...

MERRY BLISSMAS

Biker Bitches Series, Book #3

Jamie Begley

Releasing Dec 11th, 2015

Young Ink Press

Naughty

What can I say? I’m not a nice person. When I walk by, people call me a slut, and I’m okay with that. I believe in calling a spade a spade. I am a slut.

With the holidays approaching, I miss belonging to The Last Riders. Drake’s keeping me warm, but he wants more than I can give. He wants me to trust him, to believe he can protect me. Doesn’t he know Santa put me on the Naughty List long ago?

Nice

What can I say? I’m a nice guy and have always done the responsible thing.

Bliss is everything I shouldn’t want, but it’s hard to resist a woman who stopped believing in miracles. She wants to be back with The Last Riders, whom she considers her true family. Doesn’t she know it’s Christmas, and miracles do happen?

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"I was born in a small town in Kentucky. My family began poor, but worked their way to owning a restaurant. My mother was one of the best cooks I have ever known, and she instilled in all her children the value of hard work, and education.

Taking after my mother, I've always love to cook, and became pretty good if I do say so myself. I love to experiment and my unfortunate family has suffered through many. They now have learned to steer clear of those dishes. I absolutely love the holidays and my family puts up with my zany decorations.

For now, my days are spent writing, writing, and writing. I have two children who both graduated this year from college. My daughter does my book covers, and my son just tries not to blush when someone asks him about my books.

Currently I am writing five series of books- The Last Riders, The VIP Room, Predators MC, Biker Bitches, and The Dark Souls.

All my books are written for one purpose- the enjoyment others find in them, and the expectations of my fans that inspire me to give it my best.”

 Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Super Middle Grade Mondays: Author Spotlight – Vanessa Barger with Giveaway #SuperMGMondays

 

Welcome to this week’s Super Middle Grade Mondays presented by Tantrum Books/Month9books!

Today, we get up close and personal with

Vanessa Barger

author of Super Freak from Tantrum Books.

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

     

Vanessa Barger was born in West Virginia, and through several moves ended up spending the majority of her life in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She is a graduate of George Mason University and Old Dominion University, and has degrees in Graphic Design, a minor in Medieval and Renaissance Literature, and a Masters in Technology Education. She has had articles published in Altered Arts Magazine, has had some artwork displayed in galleries in Ohio and online, and currently teaches engineering, practical physics, drafting and other technological things to high school students in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. She is a member of the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), the Virginia Writer’s Club, and the Hampton Roads Writers. When not writing or teaching, she’s a bookaholic, movie fanatic, and loves to travel. She is married to a fabulous man, and has one cat, who believes Vanessa lives only to open cat food cans, and can often be found baking when she should be editing.

Connect with the Author: 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest |YouTube

   

Describe yourself in three words.

Weird Writing Nerd

 

Describe your book in three words.

Geeky Puzzle Solver

 

Tell us about your day job.

In my day job, I’m a high school Technology Education teacher. Which means I do nothing with writing, except run a writer’s club once a month or so. I teach 9-12 graders practical physics (which sounds like an oxymoron, but itsn’t really), engineering, robotics, work skills, 3D modeling, architecture, drafting, and computer stuff. Depending on the year and what classes I have, anyway. I also run a gardening club and we play in the dirt sometimes. J

 

Which writers inspire you?

There are so many! Shakespeare and Austen are always at the top of my list. Tolkien is up there too. In the YA/MG world, I love the way that Lisa Ann Sandell’s words just flow, and I love Rick Riordan’s imagination. And…well, let’s just stop there. I love so many!

 

What is your writing process like?

My writing process is in flux. I am making “office” hours for myself after work, but in a general sense, I keep a writing journal with me all the time. I write notes to myself about things I’m working on or thinking about. When I have enough of an idea that I feel like I can start writing, I try to make sure and sit down and write out the main points. It’s a really basic outline that I go back and add to until its fully fleshed out. But I’m not married to it. If I write and end up somewhere else, I just adapt the outline to work. When I finish a draft, I go through and the first things I do for edits is a search through the document for words I know I use too many (that, just, etc) and then I sit down and try to read it through, looking for mistakes. Once I’ve got it as good as I think it can be, I send it to critters and see what they say. Then I start again!

 

What are you reading right now?

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff

 

Do you have an author crush?

Neil Gaiman.

 

Quick questions:

Physical books or eBooks?

Physical Books, though I love my ereader too.

Coke or Pepsi?

Coke! Really, root beer, cause I don’t drink caffeine anymore.

Twitter or Facebook?

Both for different things? I like the immediate gratification of Twitter, but I like FB too!

Song you can’t get out of your head right now?

Well, I was doing fine until you asked that. Now Steampunk Revolution by Abney Park is back in my brain. Grrrr.

Sweet or salty?

Sweet.

Coffee or tea?

TEA.

Write on computer or notebook paper?

Blank. Even though I can’t write in a straight line.

   

Thirteen-year-old Caroline is a freak. Her parents have uprooted her to a town full of Supernaturals. You’d think she’d be thrilled. But, with someone without a magical bone in her body, this daughter of tree sprites feels like even more of an outcast than she has ever before.

To make matters worse, her new home is cursed. But when Caroline takes to investigating the mysterious and strange happenings of Harridan House, her BFF goes missing. Seems someone doesn’t want Caroline sticking her non-magical nose where it most certainly does not belong. Determined to prove herself, Caroline uncovers a plot to destroy her new hometown.

Undeterred, Caroline can’t give up. But what’s a human without magical powers to do? Caroline better figure it out fast, before she loses everything she has ever loved and the whispers she’s heard all her life prove true: Caroline is a useless superfreak.

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The Moreva of Astoreth by Roxanne Bland

We're happy to be hosting Roxanne Bland's THE MOREVA OF ASTORETH Book Blast today!

Title: THE MOREVA OF ASTORETH
Author: Roxanne Bland
Publisher: Blackrose Press
Pages: 607
Genre: Science Fiction

Moreva Tehi, scientist, healer, priestess of the Goddess of Love and three-quarters god, is a bigot. She hates the hakoi who are the Temple’s slaves. When she misses an important ritual because the enslaved hakoi are participants, her grandmother, the Goddess Astoreth, punishes her by exiling her for a year from her beloved southern desert home to the far north village of Mjor in the Syren Perritory, (where the hakoi are free) to steward Astoreth’s landing beacon. But Astoreth forbids her from taking with her scientific research on red fever, a devastating scourge that afflicts the hakoi. She does so, anyway.

The first Mjoran she meets is Laerd Teger, the hakoi chief of the village, who appears to hate her. She also meets Hyme, the hakoi village healer, and much to Moreva Tehi’s surprise, they form a fast friendship. This friendship forces her to set upon a spiritual journey to confront her bigotry. While doing so, she falls in love with Laerd Teger, who returns her love. She eventually has a revelation about the meaning of love, and rids herself of her bigotry. And she develops a cure for red fever, and is the first healer to do so.

But there is a price for her love for Laerd Teger, and that is her certain execution by the Goddess Astoreth upon her return home because she has broken her sacred vows. But then, through Laerd Teger, she learns a terrible secret about her gods, that they are not gods at all, but aliens, and rather than being part god, she is part alien. Her world destroyed, she turns on Laerd Teger for showing her the truth. They eventually reconcile. But there is still the problem about her love for Laerd Teger. Astoreth will know what she has done and will execute her. She formulates a plan, involving the erasure of her memory, in which she will bargain for her life by giving Astoreth the formula for red fever. Astoreth agrees. For breaking her vows and disobeying a direct order not to take her red fever research to Mjor, Astoreth strips her of her morevic status and exiles her again to Mjor. Back in Mjor, she recovers her memory and sends the red fever formula to Astoreth. Now freed from the constraints of being a Moreva, Tehi and Teger embark on a new life together.

For More Information

The Moreva of Astoreth is available at Amazon.

Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.

Book Excerpt:

The airship landed on its pad. After the pilot, a Devi lesser god, gave the “all clear” I stepped out the machine onto the stone slab and walked away.

The trip to the Syren Perritory had been awful. I’d never flown in a Devi airship, and I was sick the entire time. Seeing my distress, the pilot took pity on me and handed me a bag. I promptly threw up into it. Then he turned in his seat and peered at my face. Reaching behind him, he handed me a stack of bags. I took one and vomited into that, too. Two bags later, I thought I’d finally be all right. Then we flew into something the pilot called turbulence. Despite its leviathan size, the airship was buffeted about, and I was sure we would die. I picked up another bag. I don’t know how many bags I used.

At long last, we reached our destination. Even during our descent, I could see the landing beacon. A colossus, the beacon sat on its tower of white kyrolite, its stationary dish resembling a silver flame in the twin sunslight. On the ground, I could see alongside the tower two late-model tanks. Dwarfed by the tower’s size, they looked insignificant.

After getting off the airship, I walked toward a large group of people standing in the distance. I took in the place where I would stay for the next year. All I saw was a wall of grayish-black stone, with two huge and closed stone doors set in its middle. At least eighty šīzu high, the wall was crenelated at the top with deep, narrow slits. A steep-pitched roof partially covered it. Two towers, much smaller and shorter than the beacon, anchored the wall at each end. A short, covered kyrolite bridge beneath its roof connected the top of the smaller tower on the right to the beacon. On the ground, the tower was connected to the beacon itself. I straightened my neck and looked directly ahead. Next to the fortress, the enormous beacon tower looked out of place.

I reached the first of three people standing out from all the rest. Morevi Eresh, the morev who’d been on duty for the past year, stood before the garrison. Eresh and I couldn’t have looked more different. His skin was three shades lighter than my medium-hued, blue-violet Devi coloring. He had long, tight curls like mine but whereas mine were white—like the Devi—his were black. He was tall and slender like all morevs, except me. I had the jutting breasts, small waist and flaring hips of the Devi, but instead of being statuesque like them, I was short.

I liked Eresh. He was funny and irreverent, unlike the rest of the morevs serving the Temple. He was my best friend. He was my only friend. I’d missed him terribly.

The forty-one person garrison stood at attention. Wearing a solemn expression, Eresh placed his hands together, palm to palm. I did the same. We gave each other a deep bow. “Moreva Tehi, may the Most Holy One turn Her face to you.”

“And to you, Morevi Eresh.”

Our formal greeting accomplished, Eresh smiled a little. “Welcome to the Syren Perritory and the Mjor village.” Then he turned to a blue-uniformed hakoi standing a step behind him. “This is your second in command, Kepten Yose.”

I nodded once. “Kepten.” Kepten Yose was short, too, but not as short as me.

“Moreva Tehi.” He inclined his head and clicked his heels, a proper military salute to a superior officer. “Garrison ready for inspection, Moreva.”

I looked sideways at Eresh, who gave me a nod. “Very well, Kepten. Lead the way.”

We walked along the ten orderly rows of four troops each. They looked straight ahead, their eyes never veering from whatever it was they were looking at. Craning my neck, I peered into their faces. They were blank, but there was something in the eyes I couldn’t place, a look the hakoi in Uruk didn’t have. I wondered about it for a moment, then dismissed it. It was probably my imagination. At least they didn’t smell.

Inspection completed, I turned to meet my host. My gaze, starting at his brown fur vest-covered midriff, slowly traveled up, and up some more. He was the biggest hakoi I’d ever seen. His muscular shoulders looked as broad as the mountains that surrounded us. His skin, deep bronze, wasn’t like that of the Kherah hakoi, who were pale. His long, thick golden hair, ruffled by the breeze, was the same shade as the third, summer sun. He had light-colored brows—almost white—and a short beard of the same color. But it was his eyes that intrigued me most. All the hakoi I’d ever known had brown eyes. His eyes were blue, like the stars, and just as cold.

I didn’t like him. Judging by his scowl, he didn’t like me, either.

About the Author

Roxanne Bland grew up in Washington, D.C., where she discovered strange and wonderful new worlds through her local public library and bookstores. These and other life experiences have convinced her that reality is highly overrated. Ms. Bland lives in Rosedale, Maryland with her Great Dane, Daisy Mae.

Her latest book is the science fiction novel, The Moreva of Astoreth.

For More Information

Visit Roxanne Bland’s website.

Connect with Roxanne on Facebook and Twitter

Find out more about Roxanne at Goodreads.

Visit Roxanne’s blog.

 

No Substitute for Mistakes by Carolyn J. Rose

I’m excited to welcome you to the release event for No Substitute for Mistakes by Carolyn J. Rose. This is the fifth book in the Subbing isn’t for Sissies series and is now available for sale! This is a cozy mystery series and the first three books are only .99 cents!

About the Book:
When substitute teacher Barbara Reed agrees to fill in for an instructor at a juvenile detention facility, she fears it’s a huge mistake. The job is stressful and confining. But Barb needs a paycheck, and a looming teachers’ walkout could eliminate regular subbing opportunities in Reckless River , Washington .

On her first day “behind bars,” Barb recognizes one young offender. When he claims he’s innocent, she sets out to investigate his crime—stealing a pedigreed cat. Her drug cop boyfriend urges caution, but Barb once had a run-in with the cat’s wealthy owner and thinks the kid was set up.

Meanwhile, someone is ghostwriting a cat-bashing blog for Barb’s entitled dog Cheese Puff. Several cat lovers aren’t amused. They post comments vowing to track down the little mutt and make sure Cheese Puff never blogs, barks, or breathes again. While members of the Cheese Puff Care and Comfort Committee scramble to uncover the blogger, a duck with attitude makes fur and feathers fly.

Then things get worse. Disgruntled teachers hire Barb’s bombastic sister to lead their protest. Barb’s friend Paulette discovers her interior decorating assignment pays in drug money. And Barb learns the hard way that snooping can be hazardous to her health.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Kobo

***

Don’t miss out on the first three books, only .99 cents!

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And the fourth book, No Substitute for Myth.

***

About the Author:

Carolyn J. Rose grew up in New York’s Catskill Mountains, graduated from the University of Arizona, logged two years in Arkansas with Volunteers in Service to America, and spent 25 years as a television news researcher, writer, producer, and assignment editor in Arkansas, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. She lives in Vancouver, Washington, and her interests are reading, gardening, swimming, and NOT cooking. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.deadlyduomysteries.com

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****

GIVEAWAY:

$50 Amazon Gift Card (INT)

Ends Dec. 23

Prizing is provided by the author, hosts are not responsible. Must be 13 or older to enter and have parental permission if under 17. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary to win.

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Poppy Peters Series by A. Gardner

 

SOUTHERN PEACH PIE AND A DEAD GUY 

 (Poppy Peters Mysteries Book 1) 

 Book Summary: 

 After an injury derails Poppy Peters' ballet career, she gathers the courage to follow in her grandmother's footsteps and attend Calle Pastry Academy in a small-town in Georgia. Poppy has her work cut out for her not only fitting in with her charming (and not-so-charming ) Southern classmates but also proving her worth to her teachers after her first publicly humiliating attempt a making the school's famous peach pie. But Poppy's pastry problems go from bad to worse when she's suddenly accused of stealing expensive black truffles, and her attempt to clear her name goes awry...resulting in her finding a dead body instead! If Poppy's going to survive this culinary experience, she'll need to find the missing truffles and track down a killer, all while honing her baking skills to compete in the school's dessert competition for a coveted pastry internship in Paris. Can Poppy prove she's one tough cookie? Or is her life about to crumble?

 **Recipes Included**

 

CHOCOLATE MACAROONS AND A DEAD GROOM 

(Poppy Peters Mysteries Book 2) 

Book Summary: 

 When Poppy Peters takes an internship in Paris working for a top pastry chef, she realizes that bakery life isn't all cupcakes and frosting. The sous pastry chef dislikes foreigners, her mentor only speaks French, and to top that all off she finds the groom of the wedding she's catering dead in his own backyard. But Lord Dovington wasn't just a handsome royal waiting to sweep his bride-to-be off of her feet. He was also a well-known playboy with a long line of vengeful exes. Now, as one of the prime suspects, Poppy must prove she's innocent . . . and that her recipe for chocolate macaroons isn't to blame. But the clock is ticking, and with a missing diamond, a break-in, and a hot batch of reporters on her tail, Poppy has a lot of sifting to do. Will she find the killer before she too gets baked? 

 **Recipes Included**

 

BANANAS FOSTER AND A DEAD MOBSTER 

 (Poppy Peters Mysteries Book 3) 

 Book Summary: 

 Reluctant sleuth Poppy Peters is back in Georgia, and her last semester of pastry school is no icing on the cake when a body is discovered at the local farmer's market, and the murder weapon has Poppy's name on it. Not to mention, the victim belonged to a deadly southern crime family. Now, Poppy is being tailed by the mafia, and it doesn't help that the school's new pastry instructor has her working with her worst rival. But after a heart-stopping car chase, a frightening discovery at an old jam factory, and a spontaneous trip to New Orleans, Poppy discovers a secret that makes her past feats look like a piece of peach pie. Poppy's chances of making it to graduation day are about to go up in flames just like her Bananas Foster.

 **Recipes included!**

Praise for the Book 

 "A sweet and satisfying mystery that will leave you hungry for more! A. Gardner's Poppy Peters Mysteries have earned a place on my keeper shelf!" ~ Gemma Halliday, New York Times bestselling mystery author 

 "Charming cozy mystery featuring likable characters." ~Debbie Wiley, Fresh Fiction 

 "A. Gardner cooks up one fabulous mystery with this Southern suspense." ~Pauline Michael, Night Owl Reviews

Excerpt

My first encounter with a southern guy isn't going so well. So far I've admitted I have never tried sweet tea, and my big toe is a little too long for the shoes I am wearing. Nice one, Poppy. Now he is going to think I am a weird westerner with a foot fetish. I try hard not to look down at my black, high-heeled boots. Why am I the only one on campus wearing any black?

"My name is Cole," the man says with a grin on his face. I reach out to shake his hand. My palms are sweating just like every other place on my body. I haven't even turned thirty yet, and I'm already having hot flashes. It is going to take me some time to get used to this heat.

"Poppy Peters," I reply. I wipe my forehead and underneath my eyes. I bite my lip when I see a bit of smeared mascara on the side of my finger. It is so humid my makeup is melting off. "Is it always this hot here?"

"Welcome to Georgia." Cole chuckles and shrugs as we walk towards the student bakery. Cole is one of the first students I bumped into at the registration office. His lemon-colored T-shirt shines bright compared to his dark skin, and his impressive physique makes me look at him twice. His eyes are intriguing—an even mix of blue and green.

As we walk, I can't help but admire how lush the vegetation is on campus. Every tree outstretches towards the sidewalks, providing a much needed break from the glaring sun. The patches of grass remind me of ocean waves, if the ocean sparkled like emeralds. Even the flowerbeds near the Administration building had bundles of purple and orange wildflowers that couldn't be contained.

"What's that smell?" I ask. "And don't say it smells like fresh meat. I heard a teacher in the Registrar's Office use that joke about a hundred times."

"I'll show you."

I follow Cole across campus until the heavenly smell of baked bread and sugary doughnuts grows stronger. I long for that smell sometimes. It takes me back to my schoolgirl days when I spent my weekends in the kitchen with Grandma Liz. My Grandma Liz came to Calle Pastry Academy when she was in her early twenties. I imagine her tiny frame and long, dancer legs. It's a miracle that she came to this school and still stayed so thin.

 

Author A. Gardner 

 A. Gardner is a native westerner exploring the sweet bites of the south. After years of working in the healthcare industry, she moved across the country with her husband and adventurous baby boy. She is a mystery and romance writer with a serious cupcake obsession and a love of storytelling that began at an early age. When she is not writing, she is either chasing after her son, out for a swim, trying out a new recipe, or painting her nails bright blue.

  

 $50 Blast Giveaway 

 Enter to win an Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 12/20/15 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by readinglight.com. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. 

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