Excerpt & Giveaway: Elevated by Daniel Solomon Kaplan

Title: Elevated
Series: Elevated Saga #1

Author: Daniel Solomon Kaplan

Publication: September 23rd 2014 

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult

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Synopsis: 
Most kids can’t wait until Elevated Day, when they can finally unlock their hidden superpower. Rose remains a skeptic. While the treatment reveals a power, the outcome is irreversible and abilities can range from amazing to a nuisance. On top of that, she holds a deep rooted grudge against the treatment that turned her father into an Unsound, one with abilities so dangerous as to force them to a life of exile.

Her choice sends her down a path of discovery, as she seeks to learn more of the truth around the treatment and what really happened to her father. Fed up with lies, Rose wants nothing more than to learn the whole truth–even if it means accepting her fate as an Elevated.

Excerpt: 

A tap on my shoulder causes me to lurch.

“You’re next,” Elliott says.

What did I do to deserve waiting with this guy? “Yeah.”

“Can you really do it?” Elliott asks.

“Do what?”

“Live not knowing, not seeing what could be.”

“I could ask you the same question.”

He’s puzzled.

“Let’s say you go through those doors and become an Unsound. And you get locked away from your family and friends for your entire life. Tell me you won't wonder what a normal life could be.”

Elliott leans in. “You know an Unsound, don’t you?”

I nod. “My dad.”

He turns his head away from me. “I’m sorry.”

I’ve always faced the same reaction. They think it’s sympathy, but it’s fear. As much as everyone talks about genetics not factoring in and your parents not determining your powers, having an Unsound in the family is mark of shame. Most don’t discuss it. The only person in my high school that knows is Aaron. After the torture thrown at me in middle school, the last thing I want to do is let anyone know.

The exit door stands to my left. I want to bolt. Want to get out of this place. Something keeps me glued to my chair.

“Rose. I know you’re scared. But if you leave now, you won’t get another chance.”

He’s right. With millions of kids involved, getting another appointment is near impossible. I would end up with the other Basics. I stare at the screen, willing the phoenix not to fly by again.

“Rose. Think about this.”

“You think I haven’t? It’s all I’ve thought for years. I’m not like you, or the other kids here. You sit there, blindly waiting for your number to be called, trusting everything will be—“

“You don't know me at all.” For the first time, there’s terror in Elliott’s face. He turns back to watch the screen.

“So you’re scared too, then.”

Did he feel as helpless as I did?

Elliott takes a deep breath. “I can't control which system I was born in. I can only control how I cope with it.”

“That's the only power you think you have?” I ask.

“It’s the only power any of us have. Anything else is an illusion.”

My heart jolts as the phoenix flies by and displays my number. The mechanical voice cuts through me. “Now serving A535. That's A535. Thank you.”

I’m still. Trapped between two worlds. Somehow, none of the thinking, the planning or the debating have prepared me for this moment. Elliott stands and tries to nudge me out of my chair. I won’t move. I’ll wait here. If they want me so bad, they can drag me through those doors. A part of me wishes they would. The exit is a few steps away.

“Rose, please!” His blue eyes plead with me.

Author Bio:

Daniel Solomon Kaplan is a playwright turned author after much arm twisting from his wife. He currently has several novels in the works, including CATALYST, the next book of the Elevated Series, scheduled to debut before the end of the year.

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Giveaway: This giveaway for one (1) eBook copy of Elevated. Open internationally.Please use the rafflecopter form below to enter. This giveaway is sponsored by the Author and/or Xpresso Book Tours.

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Cover Reveal: Cage of Deceit by Jennifer Anne Davis

Title: Cage of Deceit 

Author: Jennifer Anne Davis
Series: Reign of Secrets #1
Publication: August 25th 2015

Publisher: Clean Teen Publishing

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

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Synopsis:
Jennifer Anne Davis’ best-selling True Reign series captivated readers from the very first page. Now, get ready to become entangled in the follow-up series, Reign of Secrets. In this new series, follow Allyssa, the daughter of the beloved Emperor Darmik and Empress Rema— and find out what happens after happily ever after.

Seventeen-year-old Allyssa appears to be the ideal princess of Emperion—she's beautiful, elegant, and refined. She is the darling of the kingdom and, one day, will be the most powerful ruler in the world. But for her, life at court is like a suffocating cage. During the day, she manages to keep a smile on her face and play the part of the perfect princess. But at night, she sneaks out of the castle and roams the streets with a commoner who doesn't know her true identity. She keeps tabs on the shady under dealings of the city and seeks out ways to help her people firsthand.

When a royal messenger arrives half dead, carrying news that an army from the northern front is amassing to destroy Emperion, Allyssa is forced to entertain an alliance with a handsome prince from a neighboring kingdom. She needs to marry him in order to secure his country's help to fight their mutual enemy. Prince Odar turns out to be rather charming, well spoken, and cultivated. In other words, he represents everything she despises about court life. To make matters worse, the prince insists that Jarvik— his nosy squire—watch Allyssa's every move, suffocating her even more. Jarvik is infuriating, bossy, and constantly looks down upon her.

When she sneaks out of the castle in disguise one evening, Allyssa comes face-to-face with an assassin who isn't from this part of the world, an assassin who was sent to murder the royal family. Stuck in an impossible bind, she allows Jarvik to help her. Together, the unlikely pair confronts the man sent to kill her so she can discover who's behind the lethal plot. Only, the more she learns, the more she understands that the invading army and the assassin are connected to an enemy she thought was long gone—an enemy with the power to destroy her family and the people of Emperion. The cage she so longs to break free from might just be the one thing she has to fight to keep intact. In order to save her kingdom, she has to sacrifice her freedom, her heart, and maybe even her life.

Author Bio: 

Jennifer graduated from the University of San Diego with a degree in English and a teaching credential. Afterwards, she married her best friend and high school sweetheart. Jennifer is currently a full-time writer and mother of three young children. Her days are spent living in imaginary worlds and fueling her own kids' creativity.

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Excerpt: The Token 9: Chet Sinclair by Marata Eros

Title: The Token 9: Chet Sinclair

Author: Marata Eros

Publication: February 27th 2015

Genre: New Adult, Romance

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Synopsis: 
An Addiction.
Kiki is desperate to stop the twisted relationship she shares with Chet Sinclair, but finds that she can’t. He is too vital, too potent… like a magnet, she cleaves to him. Desperate to break the pattern, she goes into hiding to escape her feelings and a ghost from her past comes back to haunt her.
The Consumption.
Needy and unnerved, Kiki turns to the one person that offered her solace from the past. Can Damon Axton erase what’s begun? Will he be the one to break the cycle of sexual intensity and obsession that Chet uses to imprison her, body and soul?
A Recompense of Love.
When Sinclair discovers where Kiki is hiding, their passion explodes once again. Can either admit their true feelings for each other? Or will sensual enslavement destroy their dark love before it has begun?

Excerpt:

“No.” I stare down at Ax from where's he perched on the beat-up futon—my bed. “We're not a team until we get some shit straight.”

Ax's jet black eyebrow hops to his hairline. “Baby—”

“No,” I say, waving a palm in his face like a railroad arm coming down over a track. “Don't you baby me.” My eyes shoot sparks, and he leans back with a grunt.

“You clobbered Chet.” I cross my arms.

“Yeah-huh.” He gives his short hair a rough scrub. “And Chump was deserving, Kik.”

I stomp my high heel. “Maybe!” I stab the air with my finger. “But you nailed him from behind, and now he's, I don't know, dead or broken somewhere.”

Ax shakes his head. “I've looked into Chet-buddy, and his rich ass can take care of its own self.” He wags a finger and leans back again.

I pace as if the energy is pouring off me. I whirl and point at him.

His eyes narrow on my hot pink nail tip.

“You have a closet full of chick’s clothing,” I say.

Ax shrugs, giving my once-pristine outfit an eye rake. “I see you made use of it.”

“Why, Ax?”

His expression is unreadable, not the open face I remember so well. “The Crawl isn't my only business, Kik. I have some others.”

“What do you mean?” I search his face, and a flicker skates across his dark gaze. “Don't bullshit me, Ax. It won't work. I'm a fucking hard-charging broad. You know this.”

He grins, white teeth slashing across his face. “Oh, I know. Damn, girl, do I know.” He chuckles. “This isn't where I normally hang. In fact, this is just a little lily pad I hop on to sleep over once in a while. Sometimes employees from my other businesses need somewhere to crash, and I give them a boost.”

“How much of a boost?” I'm aware my voice has just dipped into suspicion.

“Kik…” His eyes meet mine, and they're not remotely soft, but hard as flint. “Why do I feel you're coming down hard on me when I've been doing nothing but helping you? Let me count the ways of my awesome.” He winks, ticking off his great points on his fingers. “I took you in when Chump was admiring his own dick.” I roll my eyes, and he continues. “I haven't put the moves on your hotness.”

Oh.

Author Bio: 

Marata Eros (a pen name for Tamara Rose Blodgett), is the NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling author of A Terrible Love. Marata has more than thirty-five titles in multiple genres including Dark Fantasy, Dark Romance as well as her highly successful Dark Erotica series.

Marata lives in South Dakota with her husband, children and fur kids. She is an ardent reader of many genres. Tamara enjoys interacting with her readers via Twitter, blog and newsletter as often as possible. Please stop by and say hi :)

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Cover Reveal: I Heart Robot by Suzanne van Rooyen

Title: I Heart Robot

Author: Suzanne van Rooyen

Publication: March 31st 2015

Publisher: Month9Books

Genre: Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult

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Synopsis: 
Sixteen-year-old Tyri wants to be a musician and wants to be with someone who won’t belittle her musical aspirations.

Q-I-99 aka ‘Quinn’ lives in a scrap metal sanctuary with other rogue droids. While some use violence to make their voices heard, demanding equal rights for AI enhanced robots, Quinn just wants a moment on stage with his violin to show the humans that androids like him have more to offer than their processing power.

Tyri and Quinn’s worlds collide when they’re accepted by the Baldur Junior Philharmonic Orchestra. As the rift between robots and humans deepens, Tyri and Quinn’s love of music brings them closer together, making Tyri question where her loyalties lie and Quinn question his place in the world. With the city on the brink of civil war, Tyri and Quinn make a shocking discovery that turns their world inside out. Will their passion for music be enough to hold them together while everything else crumbles down around them, or will the truth of who they are tear them apart?

Trailer:

Author Bio: 

I'm a YA author with a penchant for the dark and strange. I primarily write speculative fiction but enjoy literary writing as well. I occasionally delve into adult genres too.

I'm a musician and have a Master's degree in music, but I prefer writing strange stories, baking peanut butter cupcakes and playing with my shiba inu. 

I'm repped by Jordy Albert of the Booker Albert Agency.

Publicity manager for Anaiah Press.

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Excerpt:Sword by Amy Bai

Title: Sword

Author: Amy Bai

Publication: February 10th 2015

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

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Synopsis: Sword shall guide the hands of men . . .

For over a thousand years the kingdom of Lardan has been at peace: isolated from the world, safe from the wars of its neighbors, slowly forgetting the wild and deadly magic of its origins. Now the deepest truths of the past and the darkest predictions for the future survive only in the verses of nursery rhymes.

For over a thousand years, some of Lardan’s fractious provinces have been biding their time.

Kyali Corwynall is the daughter of the Lord General, a child of one of the royal Houses, and the court’s only sword-wielding girl. She has known for all of her sixteen years what the future holds for her–politics and duty, the management of a House, and protecting her best friend, the princess and presumed heir to the throne. But one day an old nursery rhyme begins to come true, an ancient magic wakes, and the future changes for everyone. In the space of a single night her entire life unravels into violence and chaos. Now Kyali must find a way to master the magic her people have left behind, or watch her world–and her closest friends–fall to a war older than the kingdom itself.

Excerpt:

An arm reached out of the dark and wrapped around her neck.

She saw it coming from the corner of her eye, but only had time to twitch uselessly sideways. Another arm immediately followed the first one, muffling her startled cry and stealing her breath.

Too shocked to be afraid, she bit down. The hand over her face jerked away. Her elbow drove backwards and her heel went up into a knee. The awful crack of bone that followed drew a pained groan from behind her, and brought her panic in a thundering flood. Her attacker staggered, pulling her with him. The dropped candle sputtered on the floor beside them, throwing huge shadows everywhere. Spurred on by the thought that she might have to finish this struggle in the dark, she shouted. It was a much softer sound than she'd intended, but the floorboards above them creaked ominously, the arms around her fell away, and he screamed, as though she had burned him.

Leaving this mystery for later consideration, Kyali flung herself at the steps and scrambled up, leaving the back panel of her skirts in his fist. Her sword clattered on the floor as she snatched at it. He came hard on her heels and, as she turned, drove himself obligingly onto it for her. Stunned, she froze again.

Her blood sang in her ears. By the look on his face—a fair face, some much colder part of her noted, with the Western short-beard—he was at least as surprised as she was. He drew a bubbling breath. A dagger dropped from his hand and hit the floor between them.

They stared at one another.

He made an odd face then, and coughed a gout of blood all over her. She blinked through the drops. She knew she had to move—not dead till they stop bleeding, Father would say—but she couldn't. For all her years of study, all the secrecy and swordplay, she had never killed a man. She supposed, watching his face in a perversely distant way, that she still hadn't quite managed it. But he fell forward onto her then, going limp, and after the instinctive terror of having him land on her subsided the sight of his glassy gaze, of her old practice sword sticking out of his ribs, made it clear that she had done it now.

She watched his face closely while his blood dripped down her cheek. He didn't move. He seemed not to be bleeding anymore, though with all the blood on him already how could one tell? She didn’t intend to get closer to check. She couldn't hear anyone else in the house. Through the haze of shock, she was grateful the soldiers weren't here to witness this bizarrely personal moment.

"Well," Kyali said, beginning to be pleased at how well she was taking this—and then threw up on him.

Damn.

Author Bio: 

Amy Bai has been, by order of neither chronology nor preference, a barista, a numbers-cruncher, a paper-pusher, and a farmhand. She likes thunderstorms, the enthusiasm of dogs, tall boots and long jackets, cinnamon basil, margaritas, and being surprised by the weirdness of her fellow humans. She lives in New England with her guitar-playing Russian husband and two very goofy sheepdogs.

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