Cover Reveal~SWEET MADNESS by Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie

SWEET MADNESS

Coming September 18, 2015 from Merit Press

Lizzie Borden took an axe,

And gave her mother forty whacks.

When she saw what she had done,

She gave her father forty one.

BLURB: 

Who was Lizzie Borden? A confused young woman, or a cold-hearted killer? For generations, people all over the world have wondered how Andrew Borden and his second wife, Abby, met their gruesome deaths. Lizzie, Andrew’s younger daughter, was charged, but a jury took only 90 minutes to find her not guilty. In this retelling, the family maid, Bridget Sullivan, shines a compassionate light on a young woman oppressed by her cheap father and her ambitious stepmother. Was Lizzie mad, or was she driven to madness?

Mark it to read on Goodreads

Preorder Sweet Madness:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Trisha Leaver lives on Cape Cod with her husband, three children, and one rather irreverent black lab. She is a chronic daydreamer who prefers the cozy confines of her own imagination to the mundane routine of everyday life.  She writes Young Adult Contemporary fiction, Psychological Horror and Science Fiction and is published with FSG/ Macmillan, Flux/Llewellyn and Merit Press. To can learn more about Trisha’s books, upcoming shenanigans, and her quest to reel in the perfect tuna, please visit her website: www.trishaleaver.com

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Lindsay Currie lives in Chicago with her three awesome children, husband, and a one hundred and sixty pound lap dog named Sam. She has an unnatural fondness for coffee, chocolate and things that go bump in the night. She spends her days curled up in the comfortable confines of her writing nook, penning young adult psychological horror, contemporary fiction and science-fiction and is published with Flux/Llewellyn, Merit Press and Spencer Hill Contemporary. Learn more about her at www.lindsaycurrie.com

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To celebrate, we are giving away four AMAZING books from our publisher Merit Press. 

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Happy St. Patrick's Day and Happy Book Birthday!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! And Happy Book Birthday to Suzanne de Montigny for The Shadow of the Unicorn II: The Deception. What's the book about? Here's Suzanne to tell you more!

It’s finally here—the launch of my second tween novel, The Shadow of the Unicorn II: The Deception. Finally, the continuing saga of unicorns existing 12,000 years ago—how they survived the humans the second time around. Rather than me telling you what it's about, I thought you might prefer to watch this trailer.

So what do you think? Why not drop by my on-line FB launch, eat some cyber-food, have some cyber-drink, meet a character or two, and share your thoughts. Best of all, you can win prizes!!! There are nine in total! Plus you’ll learn all about unicorns.

The Shadow of the Unicorn II: The Deception is available at most major retailers, including:

MUSEITUP PUBLISHING

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

But wait! Did you miss what happened in The Shadow of the Unicorn: The Legacy? If so, you can purchase an e-book or print copy here: 

MUSEITUP PUBLISHING

AMAZON
BARNES & NOBLE

Don't forget to stop by the FB Launch Party for fun and prizes!! I hope to see you there.

About the Author:

SUZANNE DE MONTIGNY wrote her first unicorn novel at the age of twelve. Several years later, she discovered it in an old box in the basement, thus reigniting her love affair with the unicorns. As a teacher in Vancouver, B.C., she learned she could spin a good tale that kept kids and teachers begging for more. The Shadow of the Unicorn: The Legacy is her first novel. She lives in Burnaby, B.C. with her husband and two boys.

Getting Lucky with Meradeth Houston

Today I'm super lucky to be swapping blogs with the talented and wonderful Meradeth Houston. After you finish reading (and commenting) here, swing by Meradeth's blog to read about my lucky break and a short excerpt from Quest of the Hart.

Now, to encourage your comments, Meradeth is giving away one of her e-books (winner's choice) to a lucky commentor, so comment away!!

And now, here's Meradeth!!

Thanks so much for hosting me today, Mary! It's a treat to hand out here and chat about luck!

Getting Lucky. No, not that way!  ":-)"

In the publishing world, there is a whole lot of luck that goes along with getting a book picked up by an agent/editor/reader. While hard work accounts for the vast majority of success, being in the right place at the right time totally plays a role!

For me, there’s been a whole lot of luck that’s helped me along the way. Some of the best luck
has been finding the amazing writing friends that have helped me on my journey. Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without them! They’ve talked me down from the ledge (well, the delete button at least), more than a few times. When things get frustrating—and they always will at some point or another—having strong allies and friendships make all the difference. And I can certainly say that I lucked out when it came to great writing buddies!

There are plenty of other ways that luck has graced me: finding and being accepted by the houses that have taken a chance on my books; the many readers who have lucked onto my novels and enjoyed them; and a hundred other things. And I certainly hope luck doesn’t abandon me in the future—we all need a little to go along with our hard work!

What about you? What’s been your luckiest break?

Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win one of Meradeth's books!

About the author:
Meradeth's never been a big fan of talking about herself, but if you really want to know, here are some random tidbits about her:

• She's a Northern California girl. And now is braving the cold winters in Montana.
• When she's not writing, she's sequencing dead people's DNA. For fun!
• She’s also an anthropology professor and loves getting people interested in studying humans.
• If she could have a super-power, it would totally be flying. Which is a little strange, because she's terrified of heights.

Find Meradeth Houston online at:
www.MeradethHouston.com Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Amazon, Goodreads, and of course her blog!

Building Characters with Kai Strand and the cast of FINDING THOR

Today I'm thrilled to welcome my good friend Kai Strand as she celebrates the release of her new novel, Finding Thor. Take it away, Kai!

Hi. I’m Kai Strand, author of the young adult romantic suspense, FINDING THOR, which released today. Yay! I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce you to the main players in FINDING THOR. First let me share a little about the book:

Tragedy has left Cara Cassidy broken and the only thing keeping her from giving in completely is her guilt. Until Nik Rock.

Nik stirs up feelings in degrees she has never experienced, and causes her to do things that most assuredly give him the wrong impression – like kiss him before their first date. Somehow, he breaks down the walls around her emotions until she has no choice but to forgive herself and feel again.

But a mysterious, troubled past follows Nik, and Cara may prove to be his weakest link.

When a royal princess shows up looking for Nik, and an international gang arrives looking for missing jewels, Cara lands in mortal danger. Will she be able to save herself? What will happen to her newly repaired psyche if she loses Nik?

Romance, mystery, and high stakes – just another day in high school.

Now a little about the main characters, including a favorite quote that shows off their strength of character. (Ha ha, that sounds kind of punny!)

Cara Cassidy – High school sophomore. Recent tragedy in her life has left her emotionally broken. Everybody knows it. Even accepts it. She’s okay with that, because overcoming it would force her to face things she’s not ready to face. So she keeps to herself. Hangs out with her best friend, Kelly – who she couldn’t live without. Plods her way through the school year.

Then one fateful day she sees a boy in the park whose presence sends shivers down her spine. She runs, but as the saying goes—she can’t hide. He’s the new boy at school and he’s going to change her life forever.

Favorite “Cara” quote: “I don’t think we can always understand a person’s motivations. Sometimes the pains they feel are from the world they live in without us.”

Nik Rock – High school junior. New guy. Quiet. Controlled. A gentle giant. Until provoked. Mysterious circumstances surround his reasons for coming to town and Nik isn’t talking about them. He’s there for a reason and it has nothing to do with making new friends or finding a girlfriend.

But there is something about Cara that lures him to her. Though he doesn’t want to, he finds himself getting involved. By the time his past catches up to him, it’s too late for the both of them.

Favorite “Nik” quote: “Cara means beloved.” (or the one on my website – le sigh)

Kelly Spark – High school sophomore. Cara’s best friend and backbone. Cara often thinks of Kelly as an Amazon warrior. Kelly fights off Devon’s unwanted attention, shores Cara up when the world weighs heavy on her shoulders, and bursts in—lethal tongue a blazing—when Cara’s sanity is called into question.

As the mystery around Nik starts to unravel, Cara isn’t able to share any of it with Kelly and then the worst happens and Kelly becomes completely embroiled in it. Will Cara lose Kelly forever?

Favorite “Kelly” quote: “Kiss it.” (I feel I must explain that I really, really adore Kelly and pretty much everything she says makes me grin or snort, or makes my heart all mushy and soft.)

Devon – High school sophomore. Favorite food – salami. Favorite person – Cara. Favorite pastimes – finding new things to call Cara that include her name and finding ways to dodge Kelly Spark.

Favorite “Devon” quote: “I hear everything you say. I just ignore the teasing stuff.”

Romolio Rokolova – Twenty-five. Member of the Renlavian Royal Guard assigned to protect Princess Huihana.

Favorite “Romolio” quote: “But please, call me Rome.” (because…phew!)

Princess Huihana – Seventeen. Youngest of three royal children. Beautiful. Generous. Possibly (or perhaps impossibly) Cara’s direct competition.

Favorite “Hana” quote: “Did they drill a hole through your tongue or are you not happy to see me?

If you can’t tell, there is plenty of drama going on in the lives of Cara and Nik, add a few car chases, kidnappings, and torture by kitchen implements, and you get some non-stop, heart pumping action. You can pick up your copy of Finding Thor from any of these retailers:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Whiskey Creek Press
All Romance
BookStrand
Goodreads

Happy reading!

About the author:

When her children were young and the electricity winked out, Kai Strand gathered her family around the fireplace and they told stories, one sentence at a time. Her boys were rather fond of the ending, “And then everybody died. The end.” Now an award winning children’s author, Kai crafts fiction for kids and teens to provide an escape hatch from their reality. With a selection of novels for young adult and middle grade readers and short stories for the younger ones, Kai entertains children of all ages, and their adults. Learn more about Kai and her books on her website, www.kaistrand.com.

FINDING THOR by Kai Strand

This Thursday, Finding Thor, by my good friend Kai Strand, releases. So, to encourage you to add this to your TBR list, I'm sharing my review with you. First, here's the back cover copy of the book.

Tragedy has left Cara Cassidy broken and the only thing keeping her from giving in completely is her guilt. Until Nik Rock.

Nik stirs up feelings in degrees she has never experienced, and causes her to do things that most assuredly give him the wrong impression – like kiss him before their first date. Somehow, he breaks down the walls around her emotions until she has no choice but to forgive herself and feel again.

But a mysterious, troubled past follows Nik, and Cara may prove to be his weakest link.

When a royal princess shows up looking for Nik, and an international gang arrives looking for missing jewels, Cara lands in mortal danger. Will she be able to save herself? What will happen to her newly repaired psyche if she loses Nik?

Romance, mystery, and high stakes – just another day in high school.

Now for my review.

Don't let the slow build fool you. Once the action hits in this book, it hits hard and fast and keeps building to the end. 

Love romance? You'll love watching Cara and Nik dance around their feelings for each other. Will they find their happy-ever-after? No spoilers here :-)

Enjoy intrigue? Stolen jewels, international thieves, and kitchen implement torture play a big part of this story.

But, underlying all of the romance and intrigue and action, is the story of a girl learning how to deal with a tragic loss. Not only how to deal with it, but how to move forward and be the strong, confident girl she was before her life was turned upside down.

Finding Thor is a read that will please across many genres. My final rating 5 stars. A great story with cross genre appeal.

 

About the Author

When her children were young and the electricity winked out, Kai Strand gathered her family around the fireplace and they told stories, one sentence at a time. Her boys were rather fond of the ending, “And then everybody died. The end.” Now an award winning children’s author, Kai crafts fiction for kids and teens to provide an escape hatch from their reality. With a selection of novels for young adult and middle grade readers and short stories for the younger ones, Kai entertains children of all ages, and their adults. Learn more about Kai and her books on her website,www.kaistrand.com.

Subscribe to Kai's mailing list and receive a free short story