Winner

The winner for BR Kingsolver's Succubus ebooks is:

Susan P.!

(confirmed)

The winner for both from Entangled Publishing:

is...

Suz Reads!

Don't forget these 2 ebooks are perfect for the challenge ahead!

Link up post

Bookish Deals

One of my fave authors is having a deal on some great books:

The first two books in the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series, will be available for $3.99 each from July 3-22 at major e-book retailers. 

Spider's Bite

Amazon

B&N









Web of Lies

Amazon

B&N








There is an e-bundle available for the Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series. It includes the First Frost prequel e-story, along with the first three books in the series: Touch of Frost, Kiss of Frost, and Dark Frost. The e-bundle retails for $22.99, but you should be able to find a discount at most places (for example, it's currently $12.64 @ Amazon).

Mythos Academy eBundle:

Amazon

B&N

Kobo







Also...

A couple of romances both from JoAnn Ross:

Both discounted to $3.99 until 7/10.

Bonus content: Excerpt from FAR HARBOR http://www.joannross.com/Page.asp?NavID=27#excerpt and from HOMEPLACEhttp://www.joannross.com/Page.asp?NavID=28#excerpt

Amazon

B&N

Enjoy!

Cover Reveal: Witch Born

Brusenna thought it was finished.

She defeated the Dark Witch, saving the Haven Witches from imprisonment and death. She found love and a place to belong.

She was wrong.

Haven is not the sanctuary it appears to be. Even love is in danger of slipping away like water through cupped hands.

Some things can't be saved.

A new threat merges with the old as the Witches’ dark history begins to catch up with them. Only Brusenna knows the extent of the danger and how to stop it, though doing so might cost her everything. 

Including her life.

Will Brusenna be required to make the ultimate sacrifice?

I enjoyed the first book, Witch Song and I have to say the second book looks like it rocks! I love this cover!

Character Interview of Hester from The White Swan Affair

London, 1810 

After the tragic death of her beloved, Hester Aspinall vowed never to be ruled by her passions again. Still, she is drawn to her landlord, handsome adventurer Thomas Ramsay—but she doesn't fool herself that a man of his station would look twice at a poor tailor's sister. 

With the sea for a mistress, Thomas has no intention of entering into matrimony. And yet, he can't get the plain-spoken and desirable Hester out of his mind, even though she's never tried to secure his attentions as other women do. 

Everything changes the night Hester's brother is arrested during a raid on a gay brothel, the infamous White Swan. With no one else to turn to, and terrified Robert will hang for his crime, Hester accepts Thomas's offer to bear the cost of the defense. A true gentleman, Thomas expects nothing in return—but Hester can no longer deny her own desires... 

She may offer her body eagerly, but can she protect her heart?

M: Hester, thanks so much for joining me today at Books and Things!! I really appreciate you stopping by to answer some questions.

So, let’s start with the biggie: When did you know you were in love with Thomas?

H: Well, if you will promise not to think me very forward, I will admit to liking Thomas Ramsay from the moment we first met in my brother’s shop. He is a very likely looking man. But I never imagined that he would return my interest so I tried to suppress an interest in him that I might have felt. We moved in very different circles. It was only with my brother’s arrest and the chaos that ensued that Thomas and I were able to bridge our differences. But once I was installed in his home, I knew that my heart was in serious danger of being lost.

There were so many instances when he showed me what a truly excellent man he was. He rescued me from the mob outside the shop; he took me into his home when I had nowhere else to go; he assumed the burden of my brother’s upkeep whilst in Newgate. But those large gestures had less to do with my falling in love with him than the quiet, unobtrusive gestures I observed him perform countless times. He did them because they made me happy, not because he expected to be rewarded for it. That’s when I knew I loved him with all my heart.


M: Aside from the romance, you deal with some serious consequences of your brother's lifestyle. How did you feel when you first hear about the charges?

H: I thought the papers must be in error. That there had been some sort of dreadful muddle or that there was a case of mistaken identity. I didn’t even know what it meant to be ‘homosexual’ – Thomas had to explain it to me. I wanted to sink into the floor. But very quickly, I became angry. Angry at Robert. Angry at those false friends who would not support us. Angry at myself for the doubts I was entertaining about my brother’s innocence. It was not a happy time and I am eternally grateful that those days are behind us now.

M: What made you accept your brother as he is?

H: Is it enough to say that he is my brother, so I could do no less? But I cannot lie. The strain that Robert’s revelation about where his romantic interests lay and then his arrest put on our relationship was considerable. He resented my turning to Thomas and living with the latter without benefit of marriage lines. I resented his interference and his lack of faith in my abilities. We spoke very bitterly to each other in the early days of our mutual ordeal. But as time passed, the hurt waned and I came to remember just what I owed to my brother. He cared for me after our parents passed away and I was carrying the child of my late fiancé. Few would have criticized him if he had simply turned me out of the house for my folly but he did not. He was steadfast in his protection of me and when I lost the child, he never chided me for my grief, either.

His choice to go to the White Swan that night was reckless but it was superseded by twenty-four years of kindness to me. If he had been put to death, as some of his compatriots later were, I could not have lived with the guilt if we had remained unreconciled. We both of us made choices that the other found difficult to accept, but it is the nature of family to forgive.

M: What surprised you the most by the outcome of all the drama in your life?

H: That I should be lucky enough to spend the rest of my days with the man I love and my brother with the man he loves. Of course, I miss Robert dreadfully, now that he and Timothy have travelled to India to act as my husband’s business representatives but knowing how happy he is, now that he is free of the cloud that hung above him here in England, I have resigned myself to it. We are reconciled and distance is no true distance between those who love each other, I believe.

As for myself, Thomas and I, despite the differences and difficulties that lay between us in the beginning, are truly well matched. I am every day reminded of my good fortune in matters of the heart. It was not an easy road to travel but having him in my life makes all of the worry worthwhile.

M: Thanks again, Hester! I'm so glad to have you here! Everyone, don't forget to leave a comment or a question for Hester!

H: Thank you, Melissa. As a token of my appreciation, I’d like to offer one of your delightful readers a chance to win a signed copy of “The White Swan Affair” It is Miss Mady’s excellent book that recounts all of the perils, romance and adventures I faced with Thomas and my brother during the course of the trial. If they would be so good as to fill out the rafflecopter form a digital copy of the book will be sent to one lucky recipient.

Elyse Mady is the author of historical romances “The White Swan Affair” and “The Debutante’s Dilemma”, with Carina Press and two contemporary romances.  Upcoming books include the Regency novella “The Debutante’s Desire”.  She blogs at www.elysemady.com.  You can also find her on Twitter at @elysemady, Facebook and Goodreads.

In addition to her writing commitments, Elyse also teaches film and literature at a local college. With her excellent writerly imagination, she one day dreams of topping the NY Times Bestseller’s List and reclaiming her pre-kid body without the bother of either sit-ups or the denunciation of ice-cream.

Fairy Metal Thunder Read a Long: Week 1

This weeks questions come from Missie @ The Unread Reader

Questions for Chapter 1-6 of Fairy Metal Thunder:

1. At the beginning of the story, the Assorted Zebras are just a garage band, but they are expecting to make it big. Who knows, you just might find yourself at one of their concerts someday. Until then, show me your favorite concert t-shirt. It could be a picture of a concert you actually attended or a pic of a vintage tee of your favorite band. Be sure to tell me the story behind the tee.

I don't have any pictures from concerts I've attended... and I don't have any of my tees available for me to take a pic. Plus, I refused to buy any of the big name shirts ever since they reached $30+ for a flimsy one. BUT I will show you my fave place to attend a concert:

RED ROCKS BABY!

All the following by U2

Sunday Bloody Sunday
Surrender
A Day Without Me
(I just linked it since it is restricted and you have to go on the site to see it anyway oh and PS...to Bono.. Love the hair! LOL)

Unfortunately I wasn't at this concert, but it is at Red Rocks. Such a great place for a concert. They reportedly loved the venue but couldn't play there again since it is fairly small and they got big shortly after this was out. Poor guys. :D

2. Jason’s mom forces him to agree to do some yard work for Mrs. Dullahan, which wouldn’t be so bad if she wasn’t rumored to be a witch. Tell me about the worst chore you were ever forced to do. Who make you do it? Bonus points if you have a picture to share of you doing the dirty work. 

I think I shared this in the other read-a-long. It was fielding calls on a phone operations center that should have stayed in the 20s that my dad forced upon me. Hm... well how about cleaning my dog after an accident when my dog got very sick (and don't worry, I was too busy to take pics, so relax...). That was a no brainer though that it had to be done. I just hated that they were sick. :(

3. Uh oh! There seems to be a jewelry thief in the neighborhood. Have you have had anything stolen from you? Or have you ever lost something precious? Did you ever find it? Make a Reward if Found poster for the stolen or lost item. Convince us to find it for you. Make the reward good!

Yes I did. My parents had this cat before I came along. When I was born the kitty took me over and I was hers! I have lots of pics of me and the cat, but my scanner is on the fritz so I can't show those... but my reward poster is (pic is unknown source and not my kitty):

click to enlarge

No, we never found her and we are certain someone took her. :(

4. In Faerie, Jason declares himself as Jason the Guy Who Wants That Necklace Back. Weird, but then again every name has a meaning. What does your name mean? What is the origin? Do you go by any kind of nicknames? How did you get that nickname? 

Melissa means HONEYBEE! (common Missie... you KNOW that!) :D

From Wikipedia:

Melissa is a given name for a female child. The name comes from the Greek word μέλισσα (melissa), "honey bee",^[1] which in turn comes from μέλι (meli), "honey".^[2][3] In Ireland it is sometimes used as a feminine form of the Gaelic male name Maoilíosa, which means "servant of Jesus." Melissa also refers to the plant known as lemon balm (family Lamiaceae; genus and species Melissa officinalis).
According to Greek mythology, perhaps reflecting Minoan culture in making her the daughter of a Cretan king Melissos, Melissa was a nymph who discovered and taught the use of honey and from whom bees were believed to have received their name.^[4] She was one of the nymphic nurses of Zeus, sister to Amaltheia, but rather than feeding the baby milk, Melissa, appropriately for her name, fed him honey. Or, alternatively, the bees brought honey straight to his mouth. Because of her, Melissa became the name of all the nymphs who cared for the patriarch god as a baby

Nicknames: Missy, Mel, Meli, Miss Miss which are variations on my name. I've had others but none really stuck.

5. When Jason gets home from his all night adventures through Fairy, his parents unfairly ground him for a month! Care to share a time you were grounded by your parents for no good reason?

Oh I was a precious innocent child. Any and ALL punishments were for no good reason. *cough*

Before you go, don't forget to check out the giveaway here for:

Just click the pic!↑

Then visit the rest of the giveaways. It ends on the 7th.