LORE Review Tour

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Xpresso Book Tours is hosting a review tour this week for LORE: TALES OF MYTH AND LEGEND RETOLD. If you haven’t heard about this fantastic YA/NA anthology of myth retellings, check out this awesome tour. Be sure to click the link every day this week to see who’s reviewing LORE and what their impressions are.

THERE’S A GIVEAWAY TOO!!!!!! (You could win 1 of 2 B&N gift cards and swag from some of the authors.) 😉

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I’d also like to give a huge THANKS to all the folks who took the time to read and review LORE. *hugs*

My novella, SUNSET MOON is about a snarky delinquent, Eloise, and how she gets reacquainted with her Native American roots.

Description: Eloise doesn’t believe in Native American magic–until the dreamcatcher spiders spin her down an unknown path.

Here’s an excerpt:

Eloise doesn’t bother sneaking in. Her mom’s probably passed out from drinking anyway.

She pads to her room, flicks on the light, drags the duffle from her bed and lets it slam to the floor. The next nine months of her life are in there, reduced to a few bits of clothing. She kicks off her shoes and wanders to her desk, gaze locked on the photo of Micah and her. Her vision blurs with fresh tears. This was their last night together, and he’s being such an ass. He should be thanking her for what she is doing. So should Jimmy.

She picks up the frame and removes the picture, then carries it to the bathroom. The sour odor of beer clings to her like a heavy reminder of her fight with Micah. She tucks the photo into the wooden mirror frame on the medicine cabinet and turns on the tub faucet.

While the tub fills, she peels off her damp shirt and throws it in the hamper. She tugs off her jeans, then her underwear. Naked, she shivers, though the house is warm, stuffy even, from the mid-summer night’s air.

Her tremors aren’t from being cold. They are from a vacuous emptiness that hollows out her insides, turns her heart to ice, and chips away at her soul with each ragged breath.

She grips the sink with both hands and steadies herself. The gush of water echoes in her ears, sloshes in her skull, and drowns her mind. Her head pounds from the surge of blood coursing through her brain with the rapid beating of her heart. The row of bulbs blazing above the medicine cabinet stabs her in the eyes, coring out her orbits.

It’s too much. She needs something to take the edge off.

Now.

Here’s a couple reviews of SUNSET MOON:

“Sunset Moon: This was my favorite in the bunch. I really liked Eloise – and, of course, her sarcasm – and I was glad her character grew in the end and she strayed from such a destructive path.” ~Goodreads reviewer

“Sunset Moon by Laura Diamond is based off a Blackfeet Indian myth. I really wanted this story to be longer. Eloise, the main character, is a totally stupid twit who is putting up this fake attitude of indifference. She’s in an abusive relationship, just like her mother was years ago. Her mother is a drunk and doesn’t mother Eloise at all. Micah is a useless piece of trash as is Jimmy and here is Eloise taking the fall for two losers. She gets the choice: jail or group home. Her lawyer chose group home for her and she’s shipped off to Montana to her uncle’s house. There she recognizes little symbols from her grandmother who always tried to give her a piece of Blackfeet history/mythology with every present, every lesson. As Eloise begins her group home work of sitting with an elderly patient, she learns that her weird dream with the spiders cocooning her is actually a legend, a living legend. Again, this is one story I would LOVE to read more of and see the story fleshed out in more detail with what happens with Eloise, her mother, her loser of a boyfriend, etc. Sure, I disliked Eloise, but that intensity of dislike shows how well written she is!” ~Barnes and Noble review

 

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LORE on B&N

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LORE Book Blast

YA Bound Book Tours is hosting a book blast this week for LORE: TALES OF MYTH AND LEGEND RETOLD. Read on for the deets and for an excerpt from my story, Sunset Moon. 😉

 

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Lore: Tales of Myth and Legend Retold

by Brinda BerryKaren Y. BynumLaura DiamondJayne A. KnollsTheresa DaLayneCate Dean

Release Date: 03/2014

 

Summary from Goodreads:

A collection of six folklore retellings that will twist your mind and claim your heart.

SHIMMER: A heartbroken boy rescues a mermaid… but is it too late to save her?

BETWEEN is about a girl, a genie, and a ton of bad decisions.

SUNSET MOON: Eloise doesn’t believe in Native American magic–until the dreamcatcher spiders spin her down an unknown path.

THE MAKER: An incapacitated young man bent on revenge builds a creature to do it for him.

A BEAUTIFUL MOURNING: The story of a Maya goddess torn between duty and love, and the ultimate sacrifice she must make to achieve true happiness.

THE BARRICADES: When a human girl risks everything to save the life of an Eternal prince, will their feelings for each other change the world they know, or tear it apart?

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20804029-lore?ac=1

 

***Rafflecopter Code:

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

(We’re giving away 6, $10 Amazon Giftcards if entrants like our pages on FB and tweet a message about LORE.)

 

Lore 

 

***Buy Links:

 

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lore-Tales-Myth-Legend-Retold-ebook/dp/B00J6064O6/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_i

 

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lore-cate-dean/1118968353?ean=2940149569847

 

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/lore-4

 

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/lore/id846032892?mt=11

 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20804029-lore?from_search=true

 

***Author Bios:

 

Brinda Berry:

 

Brinda Berry lives in the southern US with her family and two spunky cairn terriers. She’s terribly fond of chocolate, coffee, and books that take her away from reality.  She doesn’t mind being called a geek or “crazy dog lady”. When she’s not working the day job or writing a novel, she’s guilty of surfing the internet for no good

Find Brinda at www.brindaberry.com .

 

Karen Y. Bynum:

 

Dragons, unicorns, genies…oh my! NA/YA author, coffee-lover, olive-hater, tea-drinker, music-listener. Random becomes me. Easily distrac— Blog

 

Laura Diamond:

 

Laura Diamond is a board certified psychiatrist and multi-published author of all things young adult paranormal, dystopian, and horror. When she’s not writing, she is working at the hospital, blogging at Author Laura Diamond–Lucid Dreamer, and renovating her 225+ year old fixer-upper mansion.

 

Jayne A. Knolls:

 

Jayne A. Knolls lives and works in New York City.  The Maker is her first published work of New Adult Fiction. Jayne can reached at JAKnolls@optonline.net

Theresa DaLayne:

 

My name is Theresa DaLayne and I’m a new adult author with Bloomsbury Spark, an amazing digital imprint of Bloomsbury publishing. Website

 

Cate Dean:

 

Hi there – thanks for checking in. My name is Cate Dean, and I write romantic suspense and paranormal, with some action packed YA paranormal and fantasy thrown in. I love to write, and I have been doing it most of my life. I’ve made up stories in my head for as long as I can remember, and I am thrilled to be able to write them down and share them with you. If you want to be the first to know when the next book is released, or be in on some fun, exclusive contests and giveaways, join my list here: http://catedeanwrites.com/join-my-list. You can learn more about me and my books at my website: http://catedeanwrites.com

 

 

***EXCERPT:

 

Sunset Moon by Laura Diamond:

 

Eloise doesn’t bother sneaking in. Her mom’s probably passed out from drunk anyway.

 

She pads to her room, flicks on the light, drags the duffle from her bed and lets it slam to the floor. The next nine months of her life are in there, reduced to a few bits of clothing. She kicks off her shoes and wanders to her desk, gaze locked on the photo of Micah and her. Her vision blurs with fresh tears. This was their last night together, and he’s being such an ass. He should be thanking her for what she is doing. So should Jimmy.

 

She picks up the frame and removes the picture, then carries it to the bathroom. The sour odor of beer clings to her like a heavy reminder of her fight with Micah. She tucks the photo into the wooden mirror frame on the medicine cabinet and turns on the tub faucet.

While the tub fills, she peels off her damp shirt and throws it in the hamper. She tugs off her jeans, then her underwear. Naked, she shivers, though the house is warm, stuffy even, from the mid-summer night’s air.

 

Her tremors aren’t from being cold. They are from a vacuous emptiness that hollows out her insides, turns her heart to ice, and chips away at her soul with each ragged breath.

 

She grips the sink with both hands and steadies herself. The gush of water echoes in her ears, sloshes in her skull, and drowns her mind. Her head pounds from the surge of blood coursing through her brain with the rapid beating of her heart. The row of bulbs blazing above the medicine cabinet stabs her in the eyes, coring out her orbits.

 

It’s too much. She needs something to take the edge off.

 

Now.

 

 

Lights of Aurora by Theresa McClinton

Theresa McClinton has a new book out! Lights of Aurora is the sequel to her YA Paranormal Romance with Mayan mythology, The Stone Guardian. She’s sharing an EXCLUSIVE excerpt on my blog today.

***Be sure to leave a comment below to be entered to win an e-copy of Lights of Aurora!***

Congrats, Theresa!!!

* * * * * * *

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Book title: Lights Of Aurora, book 2 of The Stone Legacy Series
Book Blurb:

After the discovery of her ancient Maya bloodlines, eighteen-year-old Ashley Coreandero is faced with a daunting responsibility. She must protect the stone of Muuk’Ich while Sarian, the underworld general, relentlessly drives her to the brink of insanity.

As the winter solstice approaches, it brings an onslaught of unexpected side effects. Ashley must seize control over her supercharged powers, while dealing with the overwhelming suspicion that her boyfriend, Arwan, is hiding a secret so dark it could destroy them both.

With the arrival of a surprise houseguest, Ashley’s deepest fears about Arwan are confirmed. And when middleworld deities intercede, the group of gifted Maya descendants are confronted with hardships they never saw coming—including an enemy more deadly than they have ever faced.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned—but when that woman has no soul and a taste for revenge, they will need the powers of every surviving ancestor simply to stay alive.

* * * * * * * * *
Excerpt:

Ashley clutched her chest. She didn’t know what to do, but she couldn’t run. Not if there was even a possibility of leaving Arwan behind. Who was she kidding? There was no way out even if she did run. She’d probably just die in the—

Ashley froze. Her gaze slowly dropped to her hands, outstretched in front of her with her fingers spread. They looked normal enough. Like her hands. Her normal, everyday hands. Tendons and veins buried under skin. Long, thin fingers. A scar on her left thumb from where she cut herself in the kitchen when she was a kid. Was that how the hands of a dead person looked? Just like normal hands?

The tempo of the drum grew faster, and Ashley’s attention was pulled back to the scene in front of her. She searched the temple’s peak, but whomever, or whatever was there, was gone.

The people turned back toward the temple. Ashley watched them part like the Red Sea as the creature glided toward her over the stone path. Blood still coated one of his arms and dripped from what was left of his fingertips, leaving a trail upon the ground.

The chants were too low to understand at first. Ashley strained her ears to figure out what they were saying. The entire city mumbled in unison to the beat of the drum until the mumbles grew louder, and the word they repeated was clear enough to make out.

Houn. Houn. Houn.

They repeated his name in a low, ominous tone as if trying to instigate him. It was the deity they had come to see.

The bearer of souls.

With his bloodstained hand, Houn reached out to Ashley. A thick drop of scarlet plumped on the curve of his knuckle and swelled until it fell to the dusty earth. Ashley swallowed.

Standing eye to eye with a god was a lot like standing eye to eye with a priest. Physically he wasn’t much larger than her, but what he represented made him seem ten feet tall. She could feel his power radiating on to her. The weight of his energy nearly pushed her back.

Houn slowly dropped his hand. He hadn’t spoken a word. She figured he couldn’t, though she knew by now that nothing was impossible.

He turned and stared at the top of the temple. Ashley followed his gaze, and couldn’t help but glance at the leather sack strapped to his back. There was where he carried the souls.

A man appeared at the top of the altar. He was so far away, but she could make out the shine of his tailored suit and the gloss of his black hair.

Her light burst to life. It was a relief to know at least some of her abilities still worked—until the sick heat rushed through her body, and dark hues of violet shined from her chest. It projected all around her, and she clung to the boulder, scorching her skin.

Her limbs went numb and she sank to the ground. Her head bowed, and on her knees, she held in view a pair of shined dress shoes standing in front of her beside the brass foot of a wooden cane.

Her gaze left the cane, swept up to the creased slacks, and stopped on a two-button jacket. His skin completely intact, Ashley’s mouth fell open as Sarian leered down at her with a heinous grin.

He held out his hand. The soul bearer stood to the side, as if giving allowance to the general of the realm.

Sarian snatched her hand and held it in his with an iron grip. She struggled to pull away, but he pinched her fingers painfully together while his thumb made small circles over her skin.

She wanted to scream but knew it would be useless, so she rose to her feet as his eyes morphed with shades of purple and black.

Sarian was enjoying this. That much was obvious by the way he held his head high, chest pushed out and chin tipped up, arrogance beaming from his face. “You are in my kingdom now, young guardian. There is no safe haven for you here.”

It wouldn’t be long until she found out what exactly he meant. When she did, she was afraid Renato’s worries would be all too justified.

While he led her down the stone path, his fingers snaked over hers. He flashed a serpentine smile, and paused at the temple’s base. The sick heat in her chest wrapped around her lungs. “I had no doubt you would eventually make the right decision, my queen.”

* * * * * * * * *
Buy links:
All Romance eBookshttp://tinyurl.com/yfg6xcv
Rafflecopter Code:

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Linky List to check out the other blogs participating and enter in a chance to win that blog’s giveaway.
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Author Info:
 
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Bio:
 

A long time enthusiast of things that go bump in the night, Theresa began her writing career as a journalism intern—possibly the least creative writing field out there. After her first semester at a local newspaper, she washed her hands of press releases and feature articles to delve into the whimsical world of fiction.

Since then, Theresa has been married, had three terrific kids, moved to central Ohio, and has been repeatedly guilt tripped into adopting a menagerie of animals that are now members of the family. But don’t be fooled by her domesticated appearance. Her greatest love is travel. Having traveled to over a dozen countries—not to mention an extended seven-year stay in Kodiak, Alaska—she is anything but settled down. But wherever life brings her, Theresa will continue to weave tales of adventure and love with the hope her stories will bring joy and inspiration to her readers.

Coming Soon: 13th Street, Novella 2.5 of The Stone Legacy Series.
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Mental Health Monday–A Better Pain Chart

When patients are admitted to the hospital, their vital signs are checked at regular intervals. Vital signs include blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, and percent oxygenation of the blood. A fifth vital sign includes rating pain on a scale of 0-10. Since pain is such a subjective thing, the scale includes pictures to help the rater identify where they lie on the scale.

Pain Measurement Scale (CLICK THE LINK TO SEE PIC)

 

A better pain chart has been made and it’s circling around the interwebz like crazy. So I thought I’d share it with all y’all.

A Better Pain Chart (CLICK LINK TO SEE PIC)

 

I deleted the pic to avoid copyright infringement, so I’ll paraphrase the scale…

0: No pain

1: Not sure if I’m in pain

2: Just need a band-aid

3: Distressed; don’t like what’s happening

4: Pain is not effing around

5: Why is this happening to me???

6: Ow. Pain is super legit right now

7: I see Jesus coming for me and I’m scared

8: Pain is disturbing. I may be dying

9: I am almost definitely dying

10: I am actually being mauled by a bear

11: Blood will explode out my face any moment

Too Serious for Numbers: You probably have ebola. It appears you may also be suffering from stigmata and/or pinkeye

Quite useful, isn’t it?

Don’t forget to check out my GIVEAWAY posts. There’s a week left to enter!

Click HERE to see my announcement and book + 3 chapter crit giveaway (just leave a comment to enter)

Click HERE to check out Rachel Firasek’s new novella and get a chance to win it (just leave a comment)