Close Up Magic: My Dream Come True & Contest!

Please welcome Michelle Garren Flye to talk about her dream magic book!

First of all, thank you to Zoe Dawson for having me on her blog! It’s so great to be here, meeting new people and talking about my new book.

I’ve dreamed about writing a good story about magic for years and this summer, that dream comes true. Close Up Magic will be available for reader consumption on June 1.
 

I don’t know why it took me so long to write a good story about magic. I’ve been trying most of my life. I wrote about things like unicorns and fairies when I was a child. I expanded to ghosts and vampires later on. None of that stuff was what I really wanted it to be…although I think I did come close with a werewolf short story once.

What’s different this time? What makes Close Up Magic what I consider good when everything else fell short?

I think it’s because I let go of the fantastic and wrote about the magic I know. Love. I just made the hero, Andre, a magician.

Last October, I got the opportunity to see David Copperfield’s show in Las Vegas. Another of my dreams come true since I’ve admired him since I was a kid. I probably watched every one of his television specials, and I think I fell in love with him when I was about eight years old. Of course, the age difference was a problem, so it never really worked out.

The funny thing was, I didn’t know I was going to see David Copperfield when I went to Vegas, and I already had Close Up Magic pretty much outlined in preparation for National Novel Writing Month in November. So I can’t really say he was the inspiration for the novel, but I can say his show inspired me. It pretty much lit a much-needed fire under me so I was champing at the bit to WRITE when November 1 rolled around.

And my story was born.

Along the way, I learned a lot of really cool stuff about magic. Like the origin of the old pulling the rabbit out of the hat trick was in the 1700s when a woman in England claimed to have given birth to a litter of white rabbits. Of course, she achieved a lot of notoriety for this (much as our own reality stars become famous), but was eventually charged with fraud and admitted to it. A local magician, however, capitalized on her story, advertising that he would perform the “Birth of a Rabbit”. And he did just that, borrowing a top hat from an audience member and producing a live rabbit from it.

I’ve been posting a lot of the tidbits I’ve learned on a Facebook page for Close Up Magic ( https://www.facebook.com/CloseUpMagicFlye), and the great thing about it is, if you like that page, you’re automatically entered to win a Kindle Paperwhite I’ll be giving away on my blog (http://michellegflye.com).  Also, I’ll enter anyone who comments on this page in the contest, but please leave me a way to contact you! If you want even more ways to enter to win, check out the rules here: http://michellegflye.com/2013/04/13/having-fun-with-magic-wanna-join-me-contest/ .

So tell me, do you believe in magic or is it all tricks? And even if it is a trick, do you care? Isn’t it worth it if the magician can make you believe in something beyond reality for a while?

Book Spotlight: Broken Faith by Brandy Nacole

This was it.  The moment Heaven and Hell would clash.  But which unearthly being would win?  The Fallen Angel or the Hell Hounds?

Overtaken by fear, I close my eyes.

Kayson is a Fallen Angel who has spent decades running from the Hell Hounds while searching for something that no one else believes can be so, not even God.  Kayson is determined to find a Blood Child.  But when a hound finds Kayson first, he is sure his end has come.

Falon, Alpha of the Hell Hounds, destroyer of the blood children, and devoted believer in his master’s plan, is bound and determined to drag Kayson back to Hell with him.

Sabrina is a Vampire, a half-breed created from one of Lucifer’s original blood children.  After years of hiding, Sabrina’s fate changes when she finds Kayson barely alive. Against her instincts, Sabrina saves him.  Now she and Kayson are both marked by the Hell Hounds.

Emma is an ordinary human, whose only problem is making ends meet, and getting over the hurt caused by her untrustworthy brother.  Her everyday problems become supernatural ones when she finds Kayson and Sabrina hiding in her parent’s backyard shed.

Kayson, Sabrina and Emma are unlikely allies, thrown together by chance to fight against the most powerful creatures of the underworld in order to follow their world-changing quest.  But will the broken faith of one break the faith of all?

Broken Faith will be available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBookstore on April 2nd.

For a limited time, Broken Faith will be on sale for 0.99 

Here are some reviews that are already in

"Loved it! I loved the story back ground about the angels and the fallen. How the blood children came to be was AWESOME!!! The story flowed, gave you the perfect amount of back ground info. It just sucked me right in!"  -Carrie, ARC reader

"OMG! Brandy Nacole never seems to disappoint~! This was AMAZING!!! In this new Spiritual, Supernatural twist, has took me on a ride like NO other and BLOWN ME AWAY! Just like all the other books Brandy has written! This one Truly ROCKED!"

-Alicia, ARC reader

"This story a epic battle of faith and good will, that will keep you on the edge of your seat.  Make this your book to read this year it's a must read!!!"  -Jacquelyn, ARC reader

Where you can find Brandy:

Facebook 

Blog 

Goodreads (There's a handy button for you to use!)

 

Sounds good, Brandy.  I'm getting my copy!

Cover Reveal Squee!: Live For You

Live for You (Boys of the South #1) by Marquita Valentine-NA Contemporary Romance

Scheduled to release: May 2013

 
My friend and fellow Heart of the Carolina chapter mate has a upcoming New Adult release!  Wow!  That cover is very, very squeeworthy!  I know!  I can hear you all squeeing away from here!  And, she made this one herself.  Very impressive.

Here's the blurb:

On the surface, twenty-two year old Cole Morgan is exactly what any girl would be proud to take home to meet her parents: He’s charming, intensely handsome and goal-oriented...Only he has some secrets of his own, which include provoking bar fights and a former drug-addict of a mother slowly wasting away in a medical facility.

At barely twenty, Violet Lynn is Country Music's hottest star, until one night of partying gets out of control. Violet ends up in jail and on TMZ. Suddenly, she’s the girl least likely to be invited anywhere. Sick of the drama and keeping secrets, she runs away from the prying eyes of the paparazzi to her grandmother’s home in Forrestville, North Carolina.

A chance meeting knocks Cole off his feet, but he doesn’t recognize Violet for who she is. In fact no one does and Violet plans to keep it that way.

Circumstances, however annoying, keep throwing Violet and Cole together. Unable to stop themselves they give into the inevitable.

But when Nashville is ready to forgive and forget, Violet is forced to choose between Cole and claiming her spot as the new and improved Princess of Country Music.

Will Violet and Cole have the courage to live for their dreams...Or their hearts?

Here's a handy dandy button to add it to your Goodreads shelf.

 

You can check out Marquita on her website for all her juicy information and go here to The Autumn Review for an exclusive excerpt.

Gotta do it one more time, squee!

 

Cover Reveal Squee!: The Trouble With Goodbye

This cover was designed by the absolutely AMAZING Sarah Hansen at Okay Creations.

Please take a moment and add The Trouble With Goodbye to your Goodreads Shelf!!!!

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Hopeful Release Date: May 2013

Description:

One night can change everything…

Two years ago, Leigh Anne Davis shocked everyone in tiny Fairhope, Georgia when she broke up with her wealthy boyfriend to attend an Ivy League university a thousand miles away. At school, she finds a happiness and independence she’s never known.

Until one terrifying night takes it all away from her.

With no place else to go, Leigh Anne heads home to reclaim her old life. A life she worked so hard to escape. On the outside, she seems like the same girl everyone has always known. But deep inside, she’s hiding a terrible secret.

That’s when she meets Knox Warner, a troubled newcomer to Fairhope. His eyes have the same haunted look she sees every day in the mirror, and when she’s near him, the rest of the world fades away. But being with Knox would mean disappointing everyone all over again. If she wants to save what’s left of her old life, she has no choice but to say goodbye to him forever.

Only, the trouble with goodbye is that sometimes it’s about courage and sometimes it’s about fear. And sometimes you’re too broken to know the difference until it’s too late.

What do you think? Do you love it? Please leave me a comment and you can visit Sarra's website to see her post.

Oh, and guess what? This book will also be coming out in paperback. Here is the full wrap cover.

Love is in The Air Blog Hop

There is that something special in the air.  You can feel it.  It can't be denied.  The hair on the back of your neck rises, goosebumps gather, and you feel just a bit hot, a bit parched.  It all happens when he walks into the room or you catch a glimpse of him on the subway.  A little intake of breath, maybe an, "Oh my God!"  But there's one thing for certain.  For you.  Love is in the Air.

Now what are those prizes and how do you enter?

You must leave a comment with your email address.  It doesn't have to be anything big, but to be entered to win we need to have a way to contact you.  Then fill out as many of the Rafflecopter entries as you like (the more you do, the better the chances of winning.)  I will be offering two prizes open to everyone, including international. 

I'll choose a winner at random and contact by email after the giveaway is over.  Have a wonderful day!

 My Prizes 

 one $15 Amazon gift card

one ebook copy of any of the blog hop authors to read.

Grand Prize

one $25 Amazon gift card

Hop along with us and discover authors who create the type of reading experience that you're looking for. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Spotlight: Tracey Cramer-Kelly

Tracey is my first author guest.  Please make her feel welcome!

Please tell us a little about yourself.

Hi Zoe, and thank you for hosting me today! I’m writing from small-town Minnesota, where I live with my hubby and two kids, age 5 and 10. I work a full-time job, running our family motorcycle business.

At heart I am a storyteller; I love digging deep into a character and exploring how things that happen in their life impact and transform them. I’ve published two novels (both of which have been winners or finalists in contests), and my third will release this summer.

What is your favorite pastime, other than writing?

My favorite way to spend time is riding my motorcycle, especially if my kids and hubby are with me. Unfortunately, here in Minnesota I’m lucky if I can stretch that to seven months of the year.

I’m also a vocalist (I’ve released two cover songs and been featured on other albums) and play taiko drums, which is like a cross between martial arts and banging on BIG drums (great exercise!). I’ve even toyed with video and production; in fact, my second music video, featuring a female motorcyclist, was just released: http://www.traceycramerkelly.com/cool-rider-music-video/

What is a typical writing day for you?

There is no such thing as a typical day when you own a business and have active kids! So my writing time is “stolen” hours whenever I can get them (I’m writing this in a coffee shop). It makes it harder to get into the “flow” but I’m proof it can be done if you want it badly enough! I also daydream anywhere and everywhere, so that when I do sit down to write I have an idea where I want to go.

Do you use real events or persons in your stories or as inspiration?

I spent five years in the National Guard as a paramedic, and that figures prominently in my writing. I’m also a biker chick, so I started writing motorcycle-riding characters. Because of my hobbies and my military background, I’ve had the fortune of meeting, working and playing with some very interesting people! I think everything I write is affected by what I’ve experienced. Yes, there’s a healthy dose of imagination and plenty of creative license, but a seed has to be sown somewhere, and for me it is often a ‘human’ interchange.

Tell us about your books.

My first, Last Chance Rescue, is about two members of a search-and-rescue team who have a problem trusting each other with more than their physical safety.

True Surrender is a military romance with a wounded veteran hero whose struggle with an amputation and PTSD nearly destroy his relationships and career.

My upcoming novel, Take Two, is about an actor who is poisoned on set and forced to recover at the (rather older, ahem) director’s home with her two teenage daughters.

I understand you’re doing something special for Take Two?

Oh, this is the fun stuff! Starting March 6, I’m sharing a new “installment” of Take Two (for FREE) on my blog every week. I hope your readers will come and enjoy this. Click here for details: http://www.traceycramerkelly.com/read-my-next-novel-for-free-heres-how/

You mentioned an unusual tie-in between your books?

A fun twist to my writing is that my novels are intertwined.

For instance, the hero of True Surrender was briefly married when he was younger. His ex-wife is the heroine in my first novel, Last Chance Rescue.

In Take Two (my upcoming novel), the characters are filming a movie. I used True Surrender as the “movie” they are filming.

Take Two is also the second creative offering in what I call the “Cool Rider Project,” which (as you might conclude from the title) is biker themed. Details can be found at http://www.traceycramerkelly.com/biker-themed-writing/

What inspired you to write Take Two?

I like to say that my second book (True Surrender) led to my third. The first video I produced (“The Rose / Surrender Version”) features scenes from True Surrender. The experience of seeing my writing come to life was exhilarating and empowering but also humbling. The seed for Take Two was planted then, but as is often the case, the characters told me what would happen next!

What are you working on now?

I’m experimenting with short-story erotica, and I recently completed my first short script (a theater/film production). I’d love to write a movie script, but I only have so many hours in a day, so I’ve chosen to focus on novels and novellas. And I try to keep singing because it brings me such joy.

Tell us what excites you about writing and getting published.

When I hear from readers that my writing touched them in some way, it really makes my day. Sometimes it is hard to keep going. But ultimately, I have this need to share, and hopefully I’ll find readers who are receptive to my style of writing, which is not your formulaic romance.

And finally, where can we stalk you?

My “hub” is my web site (www.TraceyCramerKelly.com)

Take Two installments will be posted to my blog: http://www.TraceyCramerKelly.com/blog

https://www.facebook.com/TraceyCramerKelly

https://twitter.com/TraceyCramerKel

About the Author:

Tracey Cramer-Kelly is an author and singer/musician. Her work fuses writing, music and visual imagery and includes novels, short stories and music videos.

Two of her novels, Last Chance Rescue and True Surrender, are Indie Book Awards Finalists. True Surrender also won a Gold Medal from the Military Writers Society of America.

Music videos include "The Rose (Surrender Version)," which tells the story of True Surrender (the novel), and "Cool Rider," a rock-n-roll video featuring Tracey as a biker chick (which she really is).

Tracey's writing draws from her experience as an Army Reserve paramedic and exposure to helicopter medivac. She obtained her helicopter pilot license in 2001. She owns a motorcycle accessories business and lives in small-town Minnesota with her husband and two young children.