Why I ♥ @LizSchulte & You Should Too! #Giveaway #PrintBooks #FreebieFriday

I met Liz Schulte briefly at the RT Booklovers Convention a few years back. Shortly after that, I stumbled upon a bookmark I'd picked up from her (featuring her cleverly titled Easy Bake Coven novel) and reached out to ask her if she'd like to submit a short story to Badass and the Beast, an anthology I was co-editing with my critique partner Kory Shrum. She said yes, and I've been stalking her ever since.

Okay, stalking might be too strong of a word. I am pretty impressed by her though. With 20+ books out, spanning multiple genres, her motivation and stamina are enviable. Consider me in awe. Since Liz is in Columbia, MO, less than 2 hours from my home at Lake of the Ozarks, I was lucky enough to hang out with her a bit this summer and do a few joint book signings. I especially enjoyed checking out her local haunt in Columbia, Village Books. Becky, the owner, is the sweetest! And a total book pimp. I left with a bag full of awesome. ♥  If you're local or passing through, definitely stop in and say hello. Here's a little slideshow of our fancy time there:




If you're new to Liz and her books, you can find out more on her website  www.lizschulte.com  You can also enter below for a chance to win a starter library of some of her awesome books! I have 9 paperbacks up for grabs:

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And since I can't stand letting anyone go empty handed (especially when it comes to books) everyone is welcome to grab the first book in Liz's Sekhmet Bounty series on Kindle for FREE by clicking HERE.

And if you're a kindle unlimited subscriber, check out Liz's popular Easy Bake Cover series HERE.

Want more FREE ebooks? (Don't we all?) HERE are 33 more by various authors across various genres. Happy Friday! xoxo

#MondayBlogs #BigBookGiveaway Enter to #win all the #books!

Is it really July already? How did that happen? O.o This summer is flying by way too fast. But on the up side, July means it's time for the epic #BigBookGiveaway! There are 20 books in all (including 2 by me) divided into 2 lots of 10, and you can enter the giveaway via the handy dandy Rafflecopter below. If you'd like to see more details about the books, authors, and bloggers involved in this big fun, check out Girl Who Reads post HERE.

 

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“Season’s Reapings” Release Day #FBparty Monday 12/14 6pm CT #giveaway

Come party with me on Facebook next Monday (12/14/15) 6-8pm CT to celebrate the release of “Season’s Reapings” a Lana Harvey holiday short story, and play games to win gift cards for Amazon, iTunes, and B&N. Plus signed books, ebooks, audio books, and some sweet Ambrosia Ale drinking glasses! 

Click HERE to RSVP on FB and receive updates and reminders!  

Christmas looks good on Limbo City, especially with Bub under the mistletoe. Lana Harvey’s holiday cheer is in overdrive, but when she and archangel Gabriel are summoned to harvest a holly jolly soul in Alaska, the spirit of Christmas brings all the villains to the tundra...

Available December 14th, 2015

Badass and the Beast #BlogTour #Giveaway Day 2

For those of you bumming over the long wait until the October release of Death Wish (Lana Harvey book 5) fret not! Lana and the gang make an appearance in the Badass and the Beast anthology—which is now available on Amazon and Kindle. Woot! 

Last year, Kory Shrum and I decided to embark on an epic adventure: co-editing an anthology for charity. We, and many of our fellow authors, have a soft spot for furbabies (or feathered/scaled babies), so theming the short stories around beastly companions was an easy call. Then Kory found the Animal Welfare Institute and checked them out on Charity Watch (A+ rating!) and we were set! The stories we received were fantastic and so very diverse. They also inspired me to redesign the cover several times until it reflected that diversity. 

My contribution to the anthology is a Lana Harvey short story titled “Hair of the Hellhound.” It takes place right after the events of book 4, and it features Saul and Coreen, Lana’s loveable hellhounds. Lana, Gabriel, and the hounds visit the Drunken Dove Brewery in Summerland, where Gabriel’s beer of choice (Ambrosia Ale) is made. I’ll be including the beer glass shown below in the swag giveaway items you can enter to win via the rafflecopter (also below). Be sure to check out all of the badass authors blogging through the tour for more goodies and ways to win! 

xoxo 

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The Badass and the Beast Blog Tour Schedule

May 5^th            Kory M. Shrum
May 6^th            Angela Roquet
May 7^th            Kathrine Pendleton
May 8^th            Monica LaPorta
May 11^th          Mikel Andrews
May 12^th          Shelly M. Burrows
May 13^th          Liz Schulte
May 14^th          Jason T. Graves 
May 15^th          Jasie Gale

 

#MondayBlogs: Star Wars Day Giveaway!

Happy Star Wars Day!!!

So, I've been hoarding a bit of awesomeness in my super cluttered office since last November. My husband and I are both big Star Wars fans, so for his birthday last year, I bought a Han Solo in carbonite mold and made him a chocolate Han. It turned out pretty awesome:

I was so excited about doing this I guess, that I accidentally purchased a second mold. No big. I decided I'd just stash it in my office (along with everything I've been hoarding for RT and upcoming signings and events) and then do a giveaway on Star Wars Day. So here we are. Ta da! You can win this sweet mold by entering the rafflecopter below. Super easy. Then you can enjoy a delicious Han of your own.

Good luck, and May the Fourth be with you!!!

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#BookReview of Dying for Her by @KoryShrum + #Giveaway for $100 Amazon GC & More

It's here, it's here, it's HERE!!! The 3rd book in Kory Shrum's Jesse Sullivan series is out TODAY! Can you tell I'm excited? I love this series so hard. The first two books were amazing, and I totally fell for Jesse. So the thought that she wouldn't play a major role in the third book was a little distressing. But from the first page, I was hooked. Brinkley has always been a loveable guy--even though he's a hardass. You'll have a million more reasons to love him (and bawl your eyes out) after reading this book. 

Here's my official review of Dying for Her:

If you’re a fan of Shrum’s Jesse Sullivan series and have read the first two books (Book #1 is now FREE!) you’ll LOVE this! This is the story of James T. Brinkley, Jesse’s handler. In the first two books, we’re only given a glimpse of his mysterious background and his fatherly tough love for Jesse. And while he can be abrasive and demanding at times, the endings of books one and two damn near break the heartstrings—in a lot of ways, because of him. 

Have your tissues ready, because half of Brinkley’s story runs parallel to the second book in the series, showing things from Brinkley’s POV. The other half, consisting of flashback chapters sandwiched between the present, dive way back into Brinkley’s past, when he first started working for the FBRD, the Federal Bureau of Regenerative Death, and when he first met Jesse’s father, the equally mysterious Caldwell. The chapters set in the past hold all kinds of exciting revelations, and we also see more of Gloria—one of my favorite characters! You won’t see too much of Jesse in this book, but don’t be too disappointed. Brinkley can hold his own.


If you're new to Kory Shrum's series, you're in luck. Her first book, Dying for a Living, is now available for FREE!

Kory is also an amazing blogger. Stop by, say hello, and enter her awesome giveaway for a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card, signed books, and some super cute swag! http://korymshrum.blogspot.com 

Happy New Year #Giveaway! Enter to #Win 8 signed #Books & #RT14 swag goodies!

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I'll add the Goodreads links here once they're approved too.

Good luck!

♥ 

Attack of the November!

Whoa boy, this month is gonna be interesting. I'm gonna need more coffee. And maybe a bigger boat...

First of all, congratulations to Bryony Curtis for winning my quote scramble game on the Read 'Em & Reap Blog Hop! The game prize was a cameo in my 5th Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc. novel, DEATH WISH. 

The following blog tours are happening right now, and both have a $25 Amazon gift card up for grabs, plus other goodies. There are some fun interviews, guest posts, and reviews that make my heart squee! Check them out, and don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter for a chance to win!

Well, I better get back to work. It also happens to be NaNoWriMo time! 

xoxo

Read 'Em & Reap Blog Hog

I've been terrible about blogging lately. Sorry y'all. I'm hoping to make up for it today with an explosion of awesome! I met the lovely Lisa Medley at the RT convention in New Orleans last May, and it was inevitable that we would hit it off, because A) she also writes reapers, and B) she too is from Missouri. So when she asked me if I wanted to be part of a kick-ass blog hop featuring a dozen reaper writers, I was all the YES. That it would be taking place the week of Halloween was just a bonus.

So from now until the big day, come play with us, and you could win books and swag and even a $100 Amazon Gift Card! It's as easy as share/like/following the grim writers listed in the Rafflecopter below.

As for games... the first reaper reader to unscramble the following quote and post its author in the comments will have a character named after them in Death Wish, book 5 of my Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc. series. The character will be harvested by Lana and the gang at some point in the book. I promise to make it an interesting death. ; )

The scrambled quote: he never may is going he that know to can himself To immortal. but know that is He everyone is die, he dead.

Hint: Punctuation marks go with the words they follow, and the capitalized words are meant to be. Good luck!


If you're new to my Lana series, you can grab book 1, Graveyard Shift, for FREE on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, & Smashwords.

The Inferno has Evolved… 

Lana Harvey is a reaper, and a lousy one at that. She resides in Limbo City, the modern capital of the collective afterlives, where she likes to stick it to the man (the legendary Grim Reaper himself) by harvesting the bare minimum of souls required of her. She’d much rather be hanging out with Gabriel, her favorite archangel, at Purgatory Lounge. But when a shocking promotion falls in her lap, Lana learns something that could unravel the very fabric of Eternity. If the job isn’t completed, there could be some real hell to pay.

For more grim entertainment, check out the following authors and blogs!

An InLinkz Link-up

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Giveaway & Review: DYING BY THE HOUR by Kory Shrum

If you missed my first post interviewing and gushing about the talented Kory Shrum, you can catch up by reading it HERE. I adored the first book in Kory's Jesse Sullivan series, DYING FOR A LIVING. And I adore the second book, DYING BY THE HOUR, even more!

After 83 deaths, Jesse Sullivan knows how to die. As a Necronite, she is one of the population’s rare 2% who can serve as a death replacement agent, dying so others don’t have to. But using her NRD to save lives is why she’s being hunted.

For Ally Gallagher, death is permanent. If she fails to protect Jesse again, there will be no third attempt. After a quiet year the signs of serious danger have returned. People connected to Jesse are disappearing. Her home is vandalized and threatening messages are turning up in the safest of places.

Then Jesse is taken and Ally has only hours to get her back. But no salvation comes without its price.

My official review: Sexy, Snarky, & Supernaturally Fantastic! This one has it all! Just as awesome as the first! There was a lot more tension and action in this sequel to Dying for a Living. There was also a second POV, from Ally, Jesse's friend/coworker/love interest. I usually don't care for the alternating views when a book is written in first person, but it really made this story that much better. Ally's adventures were critically insightful, and a very interesting contract to Jesse's. This was much darker and more intense than the first book, but I was glad that Shrum still maintained the snark and humor I so enjoy in her work!

To celebrate the release of her much anticipated sequel, Kory is giving away all kinds of awesome goodies!

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You can also chat with Kory and win more goodies after her blog tour concludes, at the Facebook Afterparty on September 16th HERE.

Kory M. Shrum lives in Michigan with her partner and a ferocious guard pug. She has dabbled in everything from fortune telling to martial arts and when not reading or writing, she can be found teaching, traveling, and wearing a gi. She is author of the urban fantasy novels Dying for a Living and Dying by the Hour. She'd love to hear from you on Facebook, Twitter, or her blog: www.korymshrum.com 

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads 

 

Giveaway, Review, & Interview: All things Kory Shrum!

I've been DYING to do this giveaway! Kory Shrum is one of my favorite new authors. We began talking online a few months ago, and since then, we've started a critique group together (shout-out to the horsemen!) and we're making plans to take over upcoming book conventions. I LOVE Kory's first novel, and I'm pretty tickled that I've gotten to read quite a bit of book 2 in our crit group! Here's my official review of book 1, DYING FOR A LIVING.

"This book and author are now among my favorites! Wow! I might be a little partial to this story because I love morbid comedy, urban fantasy, and a good mystery. I'm also a big fan of original ideas, since they're so rare anymore. 

Jesse is a Necronite, though people still use the z word (zombie). She dies for a living... literally. She's a death replacement agent. Psychics (another dirty word) find people who are near death, via remote viewing, and Jesse gets paid to take their place. As a Necronite, she reanimates after a few hours, heals after a few days, collects a paycheck, and does it all over again. The world isn't quite ready for this heap of awesome, particularly the Church, who have started petitioning for Necronites to be decapitated after death so they can't come back. After a client tries to off her during a death replacement and her handler goes missing, Jesse soon finds herself in the middle of an investigation. With trust issues off the chart and danger around every bend, her only option is to do a little digging of her own. 

This is a spectacular introduction to a series I'm definitely going to be following all the way through. Jesse is a riot, and yet very complex and lovable. All of the characters are really great, and though it's on the back burner, the love triangle was a refreshing twist too, since Jesse is bisexual. Both of the love interests are exciting and sincere, and it makes it so much harder to decide who to cheer for. I'm so torn, but I can't wait to see how it all unfolds."

I had a lot of questions for Kory after I read her debut...

Q: Dying for a Living is a really original take on zombies. How did you come up with the idea? And what kind of research did you do to evolve the idea?

KS: I actually did not set out to write a zombie story—and many would argue that Jesse isn’t a zombie story at all. I wanted a heroine who discovered and came to term with her powers, but I wasn’t sure what that would look like exactly. I read a craft book about how choosing your protagonist’s occupation is really important and that is when I realized what I was missing. So I started to approach it from the position of what is the most interesting job ever and it sort of evolved from there. And the research evolved naturally. As I tried to solve the questions/complications of Jesse’s occupation and world, I sought to answer those questions. 

Q: Love triangles are pretty common in urban fantasy these days, but it's much rarer to find a bisexual love triangle. What inspired this part of the story?

KS: Apart from my own sexuality, bisexuality is a good fit for Jesse’s personality. Sexuality is a part of a person’s personality and I try to match sexuality and personality for my characters in a realistic way. 

Q: Jesse lives in Tennessee, but you're in Michigan. Have you ever lived in Tennessee? Did you have to do anything special to research setting?

KS: I was born in the Midwest—my father’s family is from Granite City, IL near St. Louis—but I was raised in the South, Tennessee in particular—where my mother’s family is from. I also went to college in Clarksville, and drove into Nashville often to visit family, friends, or visit the good bars. So most of what I describe in the book is from personal experience. 

Q: If you died and woke up to discover you were a Necronite, would you sign up as a death replacement agent? Or would you hide your ability to be safe?

KS: I would sign up for as a death replacement agent. I am not good at “playing it safe” and I would love the challenge that death replacing poses. But I am also a bit of a rule-breaker, so I would probably have a hard time following all the rules and would likely do a few things that would get me into trouble later. 

Q: How long did it take you to write Dying for a Living? And how long did it take to write the second installment, and when can we expect to see it?

KS: I banged out the first draft in about 5-6 months. And then I spent a year revising on and off before I got an agent. But several other revisions happened over the span of four years. It took me about 10 months to write the sequel, which should be out September 2014. 

Q: If Dying for a Living made it to the big screen, who would you love to see play your characters and why?

KS: I’ve answered this one in other interviews, and often my ideas change, but here is a good list: 

Jesse:     Emma Stone 
Ally:       Jennifer Lawrence 
Lane:      Liam Hemsworth 
Gabriel:   Ian Somerhalder 
Herwin:   Tom Hollander 
Rachel:    Jena Malone 
Brinkley:  Mark Ruffalo 
Garrison:  Woody Harrelson 
Caldwell:  Tom Cruise 
Kyra:       Emmy Rossum 
Kirk:        Morgan Freeman

If you haven't read DYING FOR A LIVING yet, you're missing out. But fret not! Here's your chance to win an autographed copy!

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5 Things About Kory:

1) She once spent the night in the trunk of a car
2) She has a BB pellet lodged in her arm
3) She has a black belt in Uechi-Ryu
4) She rescued an epileptic pug
5) She can read fortunes

Learn more about her and her work at: www.korymshrum.com

If you too would like to stalk Kory Shrum, you can find her all over the interwebs:

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon

Roquet Giveaway

About a year and a half ago, around the time I began to first tackle the interwebz officially as an "author" and my novels were being converted into ebooks for Amazon, I was doing a little search for myself (as we authors are known to do from time to time - if any of them tell you they don't, they're totally fibbing). I came across Dana Roquet. Roquet is a pretty unique name, you see. In fact, WhitePages.com shows less than 400 listings for Roquets in the entire United States. So you can imagine my surprise at finding another author with the last name Roquet. Dana and I were soon friends on Facebook, and through her more vast knowledge of our family tree, we discovered we were distant cousins! So apparently writing is in our blood. : )

To celebrate family, literature, and Valentine's Day, we're hosting a giveaway! Enter via the Rafflecopter box below for a chance to win the first two books in my series and the first two books in Dana's series, all signed. And since our big hearts just can't stand the thought of leaving a single fan empty handed, we're offering the first book in each of our series for FREE! You can find Dana's first book for all e-readers on Smashwords, and my first book on Kindle and on Smashwords.

FREE on Smashwords HERE

FREE on Kindle HERE FREE on Smashwords HERE

For my readers who are not familiar with Dana's work, here's a little snippet from "Out of the Past":

Torie

1912

     After dinner, the yard was growing dark, and lanterns were lit as the people continued their merrymaking until well after dark. My new husband Wyatt was very attentive to me. He was romantic and kept whispering sweet words in my ear about the night to come as I thought. Oh, I really need this time warp to come to an end!

     As the hours ticked by and we meandered around the yard sharing conversations with family and friends, I began to get a little panicked. This warp was lasting awfully long. I kept hoping to wake up, but as the fires died down, the crowd took up lanterns and then a procession formed. As Wyatt escorted me down the drive and toward the house on the other side of the road, I realized that I was about to spend Jennie’s wedding night with Wyatt Mills and it didn’t seem as though I was going to warp out of here! Oh shit!

     I tried to keep my cool as the gathering of people sang an old song I had heard before; in fact, I thought I remembered it from an old movie. “I Love You Truly” was the tune. As the crowd serenaded us, we stood on the front porch of our new home and waited for the song to come to an end. Then the crowd just stood there and stood there, until Wyatt figured out what the holdup was. He opened the door and gallantly lifted me into his arms and carried me over the threshold to the cheers of family and friends.

     The applause died down, and Wyatt set me on my feet inside the front room, and we watched as the throng dispersed across the road to continue their partying. Wyatt turned to me with a chuckle as he closed the door and leaned back against it, observing me with a smoldering look that was as easy to read a hundred years ago, as it was today.

     Oh good lord, what was I going to do? I couldn’t very well say I had a headache or some such foolishness. This was important! This could make or break their marriage. I really had no idea of the far-reaching effects of these time warps. I didn’t have a manual of do’s and don’ts! Oh I would give anything for a manual right now!

     Wyatt approached me and slipped his arms around my waist, and then his mouth engulfed mine in a kiss that took my breath away. With no knowledge of what they had experienced together up to this time, I didn’t know what my reaction or level of experience should be. Had we already consummated the relationship before? Was I a virgin? I knew that I was about to give the performance of my lifetime as Wyatt lifted me into his arms and carried me through the house to the bedroom which was lighted by a few candles, and the bed had been turned down invitingly, with the window covers drawn down tight.

For a fun excerpt from my novel "Graveyard Shift" check out Dana's blog HERE. Don't forget to enter below for a chance to win a signed set of books from us both! Good luck!

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