Cover Reveal–Easy by Tammara Webber

I’m so excited to be part of the cover reveal for Tammara Webber’s new stand-alone YA contemporary novel EASY!


Without further ado……

When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a breakup. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she’s single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, stalked by her ex’s frat brother, and failing a class for the first time in her life.

Her econ professor gives her an email address for Landon, the class tutor, who shows her that she’s still the same intelligent girl she’s always been. As Jacqueline becomes interested in more from her tutor than a better grade, his teasing responses make the feeling seem mutual. There’s just one problem—their only interactions are through email.

Meanwhile, a guy in her econ class proves his worth the first night she meets him. Nothing like her popular ex or her brainy tutor, Lucas sits on the back row, sketching in a notebook and staring at her. At a downtown club, he disappears after several dances that leave her on fire. When he asks if he can sketch her, alone in her room, she agrees—hoping for more.

Then Jacqueline discovers a withheld connection between her supportive tutor and her seductive classmate, her ex comes back into the picture, and her stalker escalates his attention by spreading rumors that they’ve hooked up. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to trust is anything but easy. (YA-Mature)


Tentative release date: May 25, 2012
 
Karen: Thank you Tammara for letting me be part of the unveiling! I can’t wait to read the book for myself. You had me at "stand-alone" lol

Tammara Webber is an incredibly talented writer who is on my auto-buy list after reading her excellent Between the Lines series. In fact it was on my Top 10 list of 2011.

About the author:

Reading was one of my first and earliest loves, and writing soon followed. My first book was about a lost bear, but my lack of ability as an illustrator convinced me to abandon that effort and concentrate on passing 3rd grade. I wrote sad romantic poetry in high school and penned my first half-novel when I was 19, for which I did lots of research on Vikings (the marauders, not the football team), and which was accidentally destroyed when I stuffed it into the shredder at work.
Addictions: coffee and Cherry Garcia frozen yogurt. Also carrots, but not with coffee or frozen yogurt, because that would be disgusting. I also love shopping for earrings, because they always fit - even if I occasionally "forget" to work out. I'm a hopeful romantic who adores novels with happy endings, because there are enough sad endings in real life.



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Early Review: Dead Meat by Chris & Patrick Williams

Dead Meat by Patrick and Christopher Williams, started out as an online novel where the guys would post chapters as they were written, usually every week. I really enjoyed following along and now with a few revisions to the original story & some polishing it will be published by Permuted Press. (an excellent source for zombie fiction btw)

Note: Reviewed by Kevin (aka: Karen's DH & For What It's Worth's resident zombie reviewer)

Review:

Inhale, Swing, Move

"…mother of God…"

Exhale, Swing, Move 

"…pray for us sinners…" 

Remove blade from bone. Blood. Bile.  

"…now and at the hour…"

(Gavin - Dead Meat)

There is a rumored rabies outbreak in the small town of Rivers Edge. The Rivers Edge Dispatch is reporting that the Mayor has ordered a Voluntary Evacuation due to overrun hospitals. Patients are being admitted for neurological symptoms of "random assaults & dementia." Attacks have changed from pest-on-human to human-on-human.

As residents try to grapple with conflicting information we're introduced to Gavin and Benny; the dynamic duo. Gavin is trying to find his sister, Addison, and parents after fleeing his home town. Benny, well, he is a little more complicated. Gavin has a little saying about Benny and the order of the descriptions change depending on Benny's conflicting actions. "Benny the coyote; Benny the survivor; Benny the Hero" You're never quite sure whether you should thank him, trust him or kill him. He does agree to help Gavin find his family however and in times like these sometimes you have to team up with questionable people to survive.

The pair meet up with other survivors along the way including Rickett, an ex vietnam medic who lost both his sons. Rickett becomes sort of a mentor/father figure to them, helping Gavin & Benny learn how to survive. They also meet Henrietta Lynn Jones, aka Henry, who has seen the devastating effects of the outbreak firsthand including the governments so-called solution to the crisis.

The zombies or as Gavin and Benny describe them, "Bees", move in swarms drawn in by the scent of fresh blood. The military, brought in to help, are now called the Exterminators and use methods that are just as frightening as anything the "Bees" can dish out. It's a toss up between who is the safer option of the two to be around.

As with most zombie novels the story is more about how the survivors evolve or devolve into someone different from who they were at the beginning rather than the zombies.

If you have a weak stomach the descriptive blood and gore may be too much for you, but it's a zombie novel what would you expect? There isn't a lot of focus on what caused the zombie apocalypse and I wish we learned more about Benny since he's such a loose cannon. I would have loved to have known what makes him tick. It is touched upon but a little more would have helped explain why he took certain actions.

Radio DJ, Mav, the resident conspiracy theorist, pipes in sporadically with a few pearls of wisdom that I enjoyed. "So, some government morons release some crazy disease, you know, like in King's The Stand, only our version doesn't start with 'Don't Fear the Reaper'; ours starts with 'American Idiot' because some idiot had to start this."

Rating 3 of 4 - Beware the Bees but fear the Exterminators.
Warning: This book contains exploding brains, crunching bones, torn limbs and eviscerated entrails. Essential ingredients to any good zombie novel.

Release date: TBA - Coming soon on paperback to Permuted Press & Amazon
Follow Dead Meat the Novel on Facebook | Dead Meat WIki for the latest release date information.

Source: Thank you to Chris & Patrick Williams for providing an early copy for review.

**You can check out Karen's interview from 2010 with the guys here

Review: Sophie & Carter by Chelsea Fine

While other high school seniors are dreaming about their futures, Sophie and Carter are just trying to make it through each day. Carter is overwhelmed by issues at home as he struggles to support his mother. Meanwhile, next door neighbor Sophie is left to care for her three younger siblings in place of their absent and troubled mother. All that holds these two best friends together is each other, and knowing that each night they'll sit together on Sophie's front porch swing and escape from their troubles, if just for awhile. But as their relationship reaches a turning point and high school graduation near, will their friendship become something...more?

Review:

Sophie & Carter is a little gem of a story that I'm thrilled to have discovered.

I have been reading quite a few "issue" books (Every You, Every Me, You Against Me) that were wonderful but left me in a dark place for days after reading.

Sophie & Carter deals with prostitution, domestic violence, mental illness and a few other things thrown in for good measure but I could not have been happier while reading this one.

Both Sophie and Carter have suffered through years of abuse and neglect at the hands of their parents. Since they are neighbors, they have witnessed each others suffering over the years. They pretend not to know each other at school (it helps them keep their home life & troubles separate from their school life where they can be normal) but every night they meet on Sophie's front porch swing to talk about their day.

They have come to rely on each other for support and while Sophie knows she's in love with Carter, he's just coming to the realization of how much she means to him.

Told in alternating points of view we get to see how difficult life has been for each of them but also see the joy they bring to each other.

Sophie is just a delight to know. She's taking care of her brothers & sisters, lovingly nicknamed "the littles", all alone. She is one brave girl. During her POV's I felt like I was sitting at her kitchen table having a cup of coffee chatting about her story. I want to be her BFF.

Carter is swoon worthy as a boy who is unbelievably patient, kind and loyal despite his background.

This is a very short book so I don't want to spoil too much. Chelsea Fine has packed a lot of history and emotion into a little space. Despite the subject matter, Sophie & Carter is also a story filled with heart and hope. Seriously guys - check this one out! You won't be disappointed and it only took me about 3 hours to read.

Rating: 4 out 4 BIG story wrapped in a little package.

Book trailer for Sophie & Carter:

Find Chelsea Fine: website, Blog (really fun blog!), Twitter, Facebook

Buy the book! paperback, Kindle (for the ridiculously low bargain price of $2.99!!)
Publisher: Acacia Publishing, Inc. - June 20, 2011
Source: Purchased - e-book
Qualifies for the: 2011 Debut Author Challenge, Young Adult Contemporary Challenge 2011

News and cover reveals...

I reviewed Taken by Storm and Unbroken Connection by Angela Morrison last December. I also had the opportunity to  interview Angela about an interesting, interactive writing experiment she was trying with the third and final book in the series: Cayman Summer. Angela was writing the series on her blog - posting one chapter a day and taking input from fans of the series as she went.

I just received exciting news from  her today:

"Wanted to let you all know that I posted the final revision of CAYMAN SUMMER on the blog today. YAY!! We're that much closer to actual books.

If you've been waiting to read it all at once, you can do that now. Just visit the blog and click on the CAYMAN SUMMER (Ch. 1-18) page at the top.

Here's the link to today's post:

http://www.facebook.com/l/7bc17_TXKZrJveacKX1bCjD6FMQ/caymansummer.blogspot.com/2011/04/cayman-summer-is-done.html

Thanks for all your patience and support. I couldn't have done this crazy experiment without you.

All my love,

Angela"

Angela is self publishing this book and according to her blog, the book should be available for purchase the beginning of May. Congratulations Angela and thank you for including your fans in your journey!

Another author with news is Daniel Cohen. I reviewed his debut novel The Ancillary's Mark a few month's ago. Daniel has asked me to give you guys a sneak peek at his new upcoming series - Masters of the Veil: 

Life can’t get much better for Sam Lock. Popular, good-looking, and with a future as a professional football player… every guy at Stanton High School wishes he were Sam. That is, until his championship football game, when Sam accidentally links with an ancient source of energy known as the Veil and reveals his potential to become a powerful sorcerer.

Sam’s dreams are crushed as he is whisked off to Atlas Crown, a community of sorcerers who utilize the Veil as a part of everyday life. Once there, he trains beside a mute boy who speaks through music, an eternal sage who is the eyes and ears of the Veil, and a beautiful girl who's pretty sure Sam's an idiot. 

As it becomes clear that Sam is meant for power magic—the most feared and misunderstood form of sorcery—people beyond Atlas Crown learn of his dangerous potential. An exiled group of power sorcerers are eager to recruit Sam, believing that he is destined to help them achieve their long-held goal. If they succeed, they could bring about the downfall of not only Atlas Crown… but all of humankind.

Looks like a fun new trilogy for fantasy fans. It will be released March 2012 by Spencer Hill Press.