New Release Spotlight and Giveaway: Summer's Squall by Amy Schissler

Do you like winter? A lot of people don’t, like me, who perseveres through it longing for beach days and hours spent by the pool. Fortunately, summer is coming. Yes, it’s about seven months away, but we can still celebrate it. And today, Amy Schliser is on the blog telling us all about her new book, Summer’s Squall.

Women's Fiction Giveaway! Grand Prize Gift Baskets of all 20 eBooks!

Prepare for winter!

As fall settles in, it's time to prep for the coming colder days and nights with lots of great ebooks. Here's a selection of 20 titles in Women's Fiction, including my novel Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer's love story. Take a moment to discover new authors. Maybe you'll get hooked on a new series. Enter to win 1 of 2 gift baskets holding ALL 20 books, or 1 of 20 featured ebooks! 

Win up to 20+ Women's Fiction eBooks!

(2) Grand Prize "Gift Baskets" of ALL eBooks!
(20+) Winners of Individual eBooks 
(randomly selected titles)

Disclaimer: Each participating author is responsible for providing winners with prizes.

9 Reasons Why YA Fiction Still Gets Me

photo by BillionPhotos.com via AdobeStock

There's something about YA fiction. Although I've been an adult for decades, I love it. I love to read it and I love to write it. 

Maybe it's because it pulls me back to my teenage years, when everything was all wrong, and gives me a chance to view life from a different lens, to a life where I wasn't gawky, awkward, and insecure, where money wasn't an issue and I had the right jeans and the right sneakers, where my father didn't pass away and leave me rudderless. 

Or maybe it's because I have my own young adult (now a perfect 22) and lived through her much happier teen years, seeing that she had everything I lacked. 

My love of books and reading solidified when I was a teen, providing a much needed escape. YA spans a variety of genres - historical, fantasy, paranormal, romance, social - and brought me places I could only dream of seeing or didn't know existed. 

It introduced me to cultures and worlds beyond my own. 

I met important and famous people, and time traveled throughout the ages.

I learned about dark things in life while never leaving my comfort zone. 

I fell in love with heroes and heroines. 

I read and reread many books that touched my soul.

I still need to escape sometimes and a YA novel is often the best transporter. Some favorites: John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, Suzanne Collins' Hunger Game series, the Harry Potters, Cynthia Toney's Bird Face series, Ruta Sepetys' Between Shades of Gray, and Alyssa Sheinmel's R.I.P. Eliza Hart. 

How about you? Are you a YA fan? What's moved you lately?

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Here's a collection of 14 YA books currently free to download in the Discoveries promo sponsored by My Book Cave.  Multi authors, multi genres, rated all ages to moderate+ for language, sexuality, and violence. A sample of my novel Swim Season is included. Download now! Offer ends October 31st. 

Oh, The Places You'll Go! Giveaway Hop

After more than 16 years of back to school shopping, I thought I was done with the annual pilgrimage to the big box stores for school supplies. But no, I raced to the supermarket last week at the first sound of a major sale on pens, pencils, markers, paper, and glue sticks and stocked up. True, my daughter graduated from college in May, but as she is now a graduate student in early childhood education and Head Teacher at a preschool, the need for deeply discounted classroom essentials lives on. I suppose this will be an annual excursion for a lifetime.

But we've still got a few weeks of summer left, so before stressing over the whole back-to-school madness let's celebrate them with The 2nd Annual Oh The Places You’ll Go Giveaway Hop, hosted by The Mommy Island and The Kids Did It! Starts today! Visit all of the blogs in the linky at the bottom of this post and discover over 100 bloggers and all kinds of great prizes. Don't delay! The Giveaways end August  23rd at 11:59 pm. 

Happy 90th Birthday Mom! And a Free EBook in Your Honor

I'm getting ready for a BIG party on Saturday - my mom's 90th birthday celebration! All birthdays are reasons to celebrate, but reaching 90? Becoming a nonagenarian? Now that's something special, isn't it? Everyone is super-excited, but no one more than Mom, because she never dreamed she'd live this long. We are all blessed.

Here's Mom and me playing our favorite game.

To share this special day with my readers, I'm offering a free Kindle copy of my latest release Birthday Party, 2nd in my Daisy Hunter Series. 

Blurb: It's Suzanne's 13th birthday, and Daisy is shocked and saddened to learn that she's never had a birthday party. So she sets out to give her one, complete with a cake, ice cream, soda, and balloons. But when Suzanne's mother shows up, the party's over. A poignant coming of age story where good will and alcoholism collide.

Beach Reads Giveaway! Win up to 45+ eBooks!

Win up to 45+ Beach Reads eBooks! 

(2) Grand Prize "Gift Baskets" of ALL eBooks!

 (40+) Winners of Individual eBooks (randomly selected titles)

I'm off to the beach, and you can bet I've got a bag packed with books, both paperback and loaded on to my Kindle. I love to read on the beach. I can dig deeper into the story as the sound of waves ebbing the shore lulls me into a relaxed state, and the hot sun warms me all over. Heaven! If you love to read on the beach you can win 45 or more new titles in the Authors XP Beach Reads Giveaway, a multi-author, multi-genre event. I'm offering a preview of my YA sports novel Swim Season, great for kids who love to read whether or not they're interested in swimming or sports. Lots of drama and tension. Hey, it's high school. Enter the giveaway now! 

Summer Love Romance eBook Giveaway!

Ready, set, read! 

If you're like me you know that summer is THE BEST time to indulge in your reading habit, whether on vacation at the pool, the beach, a campground, or just lazing around the house trying to beat the heat. And I've got a great way for you to fill your ereader with lots of new ebooks to keep you reading for weeks: 

 The Summer Love Romance Giveaway!

I've teamed up with a fantastic group of romance authors to offer you a fine selection of 35 FREE ebooks in a variety of genres - contemporary, new adult, sci-fi, mystery, action, paranormal - ALL with a strong romantic thread. I've included an excerpt from my novel Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer's love story, which takes place on Cape Cod - a perfect summer spot - during five days in July, and, as one reader said, "It's filled with the kind of love most people dream of." 

Plus, we've added ONE $50 gift card to raffle  off to ONE lucky reader. 

Intrigued? Enter here and start reading! Offer ends July 20.

Father's Day Memories: Blueprint for a Great Dad

photo by Sergey Nivens via Adobe Stock

Celebrating Father's Day is bittersweet for me, because I suddenly and unexpectedly lost my own father at the tender age of 15. He suffered a heart attack at home one lazy Sunday morning and life was never the same. Ted "Bunky" Kasica was a good man,  and my brothers, mother, and I keenly felt his loss. It's been 41 years, and I don't believe any of us ever got over it. In his short life, he left us with many gifts, most importantly a blueprint for what makes a man a great father. 

Dad was the 11th of twelve children born to Polish immigrants in South Boston. His own father unexpectedly died when he was just three years old. He never finished high school, but enlisted in the United States Army where he served as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. In spite of his humble roots, his early life was one grand adventure. The Army took him out of Boston, and stationed him in Germany and Austria for years. His love for that life is clearly documented in the few photographs I have of him as a young soldier: parachuting out of airplanes, skiing in Austria, and competing as an amateur lightweight boxer.

Once home from the Army, he soon met my mother and fell in love, married, and settled down at the age of 28 to a quiet life as a cabinetmaker, with four children, a mortgage, and an ailing heart.

Dad as young soldier, family man, and fisherman.

My father was a man who loved his family, his children, and spent all of his time with us. He was an avid fisherman and loved boats. His skill as a cabinetmaker allowed him to refurbish a couple of old wrecks, and we spent many evenings and weekends skimming a pond, bass fishing. Other nights we swam in his favorite fishing holes while he fished from shore, casting for catfish. Winter presented no obstacles, because he loved to ice fish, and I recall many afternoons out on the ice practicing my skating in the bitter cold while he dangled for a catch.

My mother worked nights and Dad watched over us. We played games, swam in the city pool, worked in his wood shop, tended to his garden,  and listened to Red Sox and Bruins games, or the classical music he loved: Bach, Beethoven, Mozart. I grew up in a  musical house. The last gift he gave me was an acoustic guitar, and he took me for lessons every Thursday night. It was precious time alone with him, sharing something we both loved. Foolishly, I gave up on the guitar shortly after he passed. 

My father went to work every day, six days a week, to a job he didn't always want to go to, but he shouldered his responsibilities like a man and made sure a paycheck came home with him every Friday night. He was a daily presence in his children's lives, doling out love and fun generously, and discipline reluctantly. He shared what he loved with us, and taught us an appreciation for many precious things: nature, music, family. He gave of himself, his time, and his talents. Toys and trinkets would never make up for his loss. 

We thought we'd have him forever. His death was a shock. But he left us with something not everyone gets, no matter how long they have their father: The blueprint for how to be a great dad.

Fantastic Young Adult Fiction Giveaway! Build that Summer TBR List

5 Lucky Winners Will Each Receive a $10 Gift Card!

For me, summer is all about reading: at the beach, in the pool, laid out in a hammock in my backyard. Of course, this requires lots of books. YA is one of my favorite genres, so I'm happy to offer you 30+ FREE titles for your e-reader along with a cool raffle to get your summer reading started.

You're going to love these FREE ebooks, so please enter our raffle so you get even more books from these great authors. 5 winners will each receive a $10 gift card from Amazon, iTunes, or Barnes & Noble.

Enter now!

 Good luck. I hope you win! 

What about you? Where do you like to read?

Sweep Me Away with Sweet Contemporary Romance Giveaway and Raffle!

I recently discovered something called subscriber magnets from My Book Cave and thought I'd give them a try. This is way for me to partner with other authors to share our books and find new readers. The bonus for readers is discovering new authors and books and a chance to win some great prizes.
This week's promotion, Sweep Me Away with Sweet Contemporary Romance, offers several great reads in a variety of romance genres. Some are samplings while others are free ebooks in their entirety. I added a sample of Blue Hydrangeas to the mix because so many people tell me it's  a true love story. 


One lucky reader will win a $50 gift card from our Amazon, iTunes, or Barnes and Noble raffle. To  enter the raffle and discover new books for your summer reading, follow this link.

Happy Reading!

Welcome to the International Authors' Day Blog Hop

Today is International Authors' Day, a day to celebrate those who have the imagination, skill, talent, and tenacity to bring us a world of books. As a reader, I definitely appreciate a well told, well written story, but as an author I understand the amount of sacrifice, time, and angst required to take an idea from first draft to the shelves of your  favorite bookstore. 

International Authors' Day is sponsored by Debdatta Dasgupta Sahay of  b00k r3vi3ws blog. Follow the blog tour at the end of this post where you will meet some great new authors, peruse their books, then enter a giveaway to win great prizes (BOOKS!) 
 

My mother had lots of stories of me as a child but the one I love best was the story of my wanting to drop out of school three weeks into first grade because "I still can't read or write!" Seems I couldn't wait to learn these skills. She had a conference with the teacher to ask her to move me along. I still remember those early primers featuring a little black dog named Tag. 

Once I mastered reading I was always lost in a book and I still am. I'm not one to turn down the promise of a good story which is why I have to-be-read stacks on my nightstand, at the base of my bookcase, and on my Kindle and iPhone (is it possible to overload those things?) I'm always in the midst of reading four or five different books in a variety of genres contained in various devices: hardcovers, paperbacks, ebooks, and audiobooks. Some I bought, some were gifts or giveaways, some are borrowed from the library. I don't discriminate. If it looks good I'll pick it up. I may not finish, but I start. 

There is never enough time for reading. 

I hope I live long enough to get through my TBR piles. 

Respond to this post and you'll be entered into a drawing to win a copy of each of my Kindle reads - Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer's love story, (full-length novel,) and short stories Collection and Ino's Love. 

All raffles run July 14-18. Happy reading!

New Release Spotlight: "My Last Love Story"

 
Today's New Release spotlight is the fourth novel from bestselling author Falguni Kothari. Enter to win a copy at the end of the post.

Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes’s, Me Before You, My Last Love Story is a heartbreaking romantic tale about the complexities of trauma and whether love can right a wrong.

I, Simeen Desai, am tired of making lemonade with the lemons life has handed me.

Love is meant to heal wounds.
Love was meant to make my world sparkle and spin.
Love has ripped my life apart and shattered my soul.

I love my husband, and he loves me.
But Nirvaan is dying.
I love my husband. I want to make him happy.
But he is asking for the impossible.

I don’t want a baby.
I don’t want to make nice with Zayaan.
I don’t want another chance at another love story.



 
Book Links: Goodreads * Amazon US * Amazon IN

Advance Praise:

At once heartbreaking, delightful and completely unexpected. A must read! ~ Sonali Dev, author of The Bollywood Affair

In My Last Love Story, Kothari examines love and loss, desire and desolation, with a deft, wry touch that kept me reading late into the night and moved me to tears. ~ Julia Tagan, author of Stages of Desire

About the Author:

Falguni Kothari is an internationally bestselling hybrid author and an amateur Latin and Ballroom dance silver medalist with a background in Indian Classical dance. She writes in a variety of genres sewn together by the colorful threads of her South Asian heritage and expat experiences. When not writing or dancing, she fools around on all manner of social media, and loves to connect with her readers. My Last Love Story is her fourth novel.

Contact the Author:
Website * Blog * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads * Pinterest

Giveaway Details: One copy of My Last Love Story by Falguni Kothari in paperback for US or Indian Resident winner; eBook for other international winner.

Enter now!

New Release Spotlight: The Gladiator and the Guard

Today's guest is fellow Clean Indie Reads author Annie Douglass Lima. Annie writes young adult action and adventure novels. Her latest, The Gladiator and the Guard, is now available on Amazon and Smashwords. This is the second book in the Krillonian Chronicles, sequel to The Collar and the Cavvarach. Read through to find the Rafflecopter to win a $10 Amazon giftcard.

First Things First: a Little Information about Book 1: 

Bensin, a teenage slave and martial artist, is desperate to see his little sister freed. But only victory in the Krillonian Empire's most prestigious tournament will allow him to secretly arrange for Ellie's escape. Dangerous people are closing in on her, however, and Bensin is running out of time.  With his one hope fading quickly away, how can Bensin save Ellie from a life of slavery and abuse?

What is the Collar for, and What is a Cavvarach?

The story is set in a world very much like our own, with just a few major differences. One is that slavery is legal there. Slaves must wear metal collars that lock around their neck, making their enslaved status obvious to everyone. Any slave attempting to escape faces the dilemma of how and where to illegally get their collar removed (a crime punishable by enslavement for the remover). Another difference is the popularity of a martial art called cavvara shil. It is fought with a cavvarach (rhymes with "have a rack"), a weapon similar to a sword but with a steel hook protruding from partway down its top edge. Competitors can strike at each other with their feet as well as with the blades. You win in one of two ways: disarming your opponent (hooking or knocking their cavvarach out of their hands) or pinning their shoulders to the mat for five seconds.

Click here to order The Collar and the Cavvarach from Amazon for a discounted price of just 0.99 cents through May 30. Regularly 2.99. 

And now, The Gladiator and the Guard, with another awesome cover by the talented Jack Lin!

Bensin is just one victory away from freedom. But after he is accused of a crime he didn’t commit, he is condemned to the violent life and early death of a gladiator. While his loved ones seek desperately for a way to rescue him, Bensin struggles to stay alive and forge an identity in an environment designed to strip it from him. When he infuriates the authorities with his choices, he knows he is running out of time. Can he stand against the cruelty of the arena system and seize his freedom before that system crushes him?

Click here to order The Gladiator and the Guard in Kindle format from Amazon for a discounted price of just 0.99 cents through May 30. Regularly 2.99.

Click here to order The Gladiator and the Guard from Smashwords (for Nook or in other digital formats) for a discounted price of just 0.99 cents through May 30. Regularly 2.99.

 

About the Author

Annie Douglass Lima spent most of her childhood in Kenya and later graduated from Biola University in Southern California. She and her husband Floyd currently live in Taiwan, where she teaches fifth grade at Morrison Academy. She has been writing poetry, short stories, and novels since her childhood, and to date has published twelve books (two YA action and adventure novels, four fantasies, a puppet script, and five anthologies of her students’ poetry). Besides writing, her hobbies include reading (especially fantasy and science fiction), scrapbooking, and international travel.

 

Connect with Annie Douglass Lima

Email: AnnieDouglassLima@gmail.com

Blog 

Facebook

Twitter

Now, enter to win an Amazon gift card or a free digital copy of The Collar and the Cavvarach! a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Love Sweet Love Giveaway! 12 Romantic eBooks for Lovers Who Love to Read

Enter here!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

eBooks included in the Love Sweet Love! Giveaway

The Land Uncharted by Keely Brooke Keith

Finding Beth by Linnette R. Mullin 
Falling for Alaska by Shannon L. Brown
God's Daughter by Heather Day Gilbert

Unraveled by Heidi McCahan
Finding Peace by Melaine D. Snitker

Reverie by Christina Yother
Chain of Mercy by Brenda S. Anderson

Blue Hydrangeas by Marianne Sciucco
Her Imaginary Husband by Lia London 
Uncharted Redemption by Keely Brooke Keith
Reliance by Christina Yother

Official Sweepstakes Rules:
No purchase necessary to enter. Must be 18 years or older and a resident of the United States. Sweepstakes begins Feb. 8, 2016 and ends midnight CST Feb. 15, 2016. Odds of winning dependent upon the number of entries. Grand prize includes one ebook copy of each title listed here. Winner will be selected at random and notified by email. Once winner notification email is sent, winner must reply within 7 days. Once winner confirms email address, the ebooks will be emailed to the winner’s email address. First name and last initial of winner will be announced, all other information will be kept private. Sweepstakes sponsored by the participating authors. Void where prohibited by law. 

Fill Your New Kindle! The 12 Days of Giveaways

To enter the giveaways please click here!

Did you ask Santa for a new Kindle by any chance? If you’ve been a good reader this year you probably got it, and I bet you can’t wait to fill it with an assortment of great new books. If you’re like me that device will soon be bursting at the seams with a treasure trove of titles guaranteed to keep you entertained to infinity and beyond. Seriously, that ereader can hold more books than you can read in a year, in my case a lifetime! I often say I hope I live long enough to make it through my TBR list.

To get you started on building that digital library I invite you to join me and 23 more authors in The 12 Days of Giveaways, an opportunity for you to meet some up and coming new authors, discover great new reads, and win fantastic prizes including ebooks and paperbacks. On each of the twelve days two authors hosted a giveaway on their blogs.  

Today is my special day and I’m offering a free Kindle copy of my novel Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer’s love story to anyone who joins my mailing list. Blue Hydrangeas is the sad but beautiful story of a pair of retired Cape Cod innkeepers struggling with Alzheimer’s. Find out why one reader said “I read it twice just to make sure I didn’t miss anything,” and another said “The drama reaches out and grabs you.”  I’m pretty sure you’ll love the ending. Sign up here to receive your free book.

Starting tomorrow – December 26 – my short story Collection will be FREE for two days so you can add that to your collection too. Story: A young girl and her family accompany their housepainter father on a trip to collect his wages from a slow-paying customer, and encounter surprising consequences. Click to download.

To find out what the other authors are offering, curl up on the couch in a fluffy blanket, grab that Kindle and a cup of hot cocoa, and check in with them to see what’s happening. Click here.

Remember: Giveaways end at midnight

Christmas Day so don’t delay!

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Don't miss a word! Follow my Adventures in Publishing.  
Subscribe now and receive a free Kindle copy of 
Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer's love story.  
Value 2.99. Rated 4.7 stars on Amazon, 127 reviews.