| BLOG TALK FOR MARIE-CLAIRE (BOOKS WITH MARIE-CLAIRE) |

Hey, all.

I CANNOT believe I'm sharing this, but here you go.

Marie-Claire, the new lovely young lady who reviews YA books and is sharing them not only with me but with you here on my blog, asked me to do a video to talk a little about my blog and books. Well, my little turned out to be 4 minutes and 13 second long! I've always said I suffer from verbal-you-know-what. :) After it was done, I had a fit and said to my son, "Ayrton, could you not see how many times I squinted and rolled my eyes? Also, I look like I've got a piece of gum in my mouth (bottom left), did the light have to hit my tooth at that angle? LOL I gave up on all my moaning and groaning, and eventually sent it off. I'm still laughing about it, though. Marie-Claire has been lovely, and uploaded this to her video book review YouTube channel page.

As it's about books, authors and my blog, I thought it pertinent to share it here, however embarrassed and shy I was about it. You'd never say, but you can tell by how much I managed to get out (often repeating certain words, gah! as it's the first time EVER this was going out there - me, moving, talking, squinting, squinting some more, gesticulating crazily. It's always jokingly been said that continental people could swim across an entire ocean. Why? Well, we not only use our mouths to get our point across, we think it pertinent to talk with our hands, too - hence the hands being so busy, we wouldn't drown, I'm sure you get the gist of it!

Anyway, here it is.

BOOK REVIEW AND PROMO

| BOOK DESCRIPTION |

When Renee decides the only way she can save her relationship with a hurtful boyfriend is to become submissive, she enlists the expertise of a dark and brooding master.

However, Renee's training soon has her falling for master Stefan, and as she becomes immersed in the spellbinding erotic world of domination, Renee realizes she's infatuated with a man who remains mysteriously out of reach; a man who refuses to be loved.

Behind Stefan's cold, remote facade is a man dealing with his own past and his own pain.

'Her Master's Kiss' is an intense emotional romance story filled with passion, conflict and steamy erotica!

A story of over 20,000 words!

| AUTHOR LINKS |

WEBSITE   .   FACEBOOK   .   TWITTER   .   GOODREADS

| BUY LINKS |

AMAZON US   .   AMAZON UK

ALL TITLES BY VIVIEN SPARX AVAILABLE ON PAPERBACK & KINDLE AT AMAZON

REVIEW

This is the first instalment in Vivien Sparx Amazon Bestselling Series ‘Her Master’s Kiss’, an amazingly! sensuous love story with quite a number of twists and turns along the way. This author always manages to tie me in knots with her innate ability to drag the reader headlong into the world she creates from her wonderfully vivid imagination.

Renee is left Feeling insecure, rejected and lacking in sensuality and sexual experience due, in most part to her scoundrel of an ex. His parting words rend her very soul and leave her with the certainty that she alone is responsible for the breakdown in their relationship… that she is inadequate and in desperate need of repair.

By answering an ad to be trained as a submissive Renee heads in with her eyes wide shut, and unwittingly sets in motion a sequence of events that take her on an intense emotional journey to herself.

The author builds a slow burn of anticipation arousing the senses to a fever pitch with each titillating lesson Renee takes part in. With his expertise as a Master Stefan reveals to our naive and very beautiful heroine layer after layer of the BDSM world far different than the one portrayed in the pages of her romance novels, or the misguided conclusions in her imaginings.

With Stefan’s guidance Renee tries to find the strength within to “step outside of her own sexuality” and become the object her master commands her to be, however disconnecting her mind from her body is a hard lesson to learn.

When Renee reaches breaking point she is forced to see the disappointment, anger and frustration she feels is caused not by this cold, detached and commandingly handsome man and the truth that he forces her to see… but by her own actions and reactions.

Stefan is caught off guard as through all his teachings, punishment and pleasure alike the undeniable attraction and urge to release his dominant protector builds to a crescendo causing him to blur the lines between student and teacher.

With just one ‘KISS’ Stefan shows Renee what it would be like to be owned but him... This dominant master the picture of masculinity and star of her every fantasy, but can Stefan push past the feeling of helplessness and the pain of his past to allow himself to feel, to live and to love. To bare his soul to another in a way he promised himself he never would again. Can the love of this stunningly vulnerable woman willing to give herself so completely to him, to be OWNED! by him, possibly be enough to mend his truly broken soul? 

In the end will the student become the teacher?

Once again Vivien Sparx was able to capture my senses completely, I could NOT! put this book down.

Receiving praise from within the life style like;

“Vivien Sparx is the Undisputed Authority on BDSM Erotic!” – Tiffany Boarders

Ms Sparx and her Kiss series have exceeded my every expectation.

In my opinion this series is an absolute must read!!

Start your journey today. Her Master's Kiss is FREE for a limited time only on Amazon, but be forewarned, once you have been introduced to Stefan & Renee there will be no turning back, only begging for more…

NEV'S RATING : 5 STARS

| COVER REVEAL |

| BOOK DESCRIPTION |

What will happen to the girl who has everything?

After a rough start to life, Shannon Downing finally has it all. She has her Mr. Notice Me, she has reconnected with her long-lost mother, and she is the sole heiress to a multi-billion dollar company. The only problem is going public with that information.

Hidden away at a ranch in Texas at her mother’s insistence, Shannon’s world starts to crumble. Not only does she learn of Maisy Field’s kidnapping, but she hears a secret that could destroy everything and everyone she loves.

What will happen when news comes out that she is the missing heiress to Downing International? Will she become the next target for the elusive kidnappers? And what about the secret she overheard? Will the love that she and Mr. Notice Me share be enough to hold them together?

• Release Date: August 1st, 2014

• Cover Design by: Mayhem Cover Creations - http://www.mayhemcovercreations

| ABOUT THE AUTHOR |

Rebecca Turley lives in the captivating town of Malvern in Worcestershire in the UK with her husband Jon and cat Millie.  

A hopeless romantic like most women, she enjoys becoming lost in a love story almost as much as writing one.

Embrace Me is the sequel to her debut novel Notice Me.

| AUTHOR LINKS |

WEBSITE   .   GOODREADS   .   TWITTER   .   FACEBOOK   .   AMAZON

| GIVEAWAY |

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This cover reveal was organized by:

FEATURE AND FOLLOW SSBF #4

| GRAB THE BUTTON |

Feature & Follow is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. The purpose is to meet new people and gain more followers in the book blogging community. If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers. But you have to know, the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The general the rules are:

· Follow the Feature and Follow Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}

· Follow the Featured Bloggers

· Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.

· Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.

· Follow Follow Follow as many as you can. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"

· If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers. Thanks!!

If you are new to this meme and follow my blog, let me know how you followed (I prefer GFC, but whatever suits you is fine with me) and I WILL follow you back!

School is out! What is your favorite Summer Reading book??

Way back when, I'd  spend my summer days  devouring Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. I also enjoyed Huckleberry Fin. I still have my hardcover - after many, many, many years. Shakespeare, though, was what we had to read, and I did. I didn't enjoy all of his work as most of the time it was just darn confusing, but my favourite besides Romeo and Juliet, was Twelfth Night. I loved the premise behind the twins, and of course, this was a comedy. Still, Nancy Drew and those Hardy Boys were tops! How about you? Which book/s are or were your favourite?

| YOUNG ADULT E-BOOK GIVEAWAY |

| BOOK DESCRIPTION |

A dead moon.

A mysterious girl with purple eyes.

This isn't a safety school.

His seventeenth year on earth went out with a whimper and anxious incoming freshman Hilary Litwack is headed up - straight up - to college on the moon and into a crucible that will burn away his past.

Meeting up with his aggressively thuggish cousin Vladimir, he’s thrust into a new life filled with new friends, violence and treasure, the girl of his dreams, and ultimately the secrets of the moon and the people around him.

Published 25 February 2013

AUTHOR'S WEBSITE   .   GOODREADS   .   READ A SAMPLE

| GIVEAWAY VIDEO TRAILER |

- Please note: although it's a Young Adult book, it's recommended for ages 16 +. This giveaway ends on 31 May 2013.

| GIVEAWAY REQUIREMENTS |

 - 5 e-books up for grabs in either epub, mobi or pdf -

3 winners will be chosen by Marie-Claire on her channel, and the other 2 winners right here on the blog.

. must be a follower on Marie-Claire's channel, and leave a comment here: www.youtube.com/user/BooksWithClaire

. please leave a blog comment, which will include your e-mail address and which e-book format you would prefer;

. tweet about the giveaway;

. follow this blog where you will also find Marie-Claire's reviews.

- FILL OUT THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM FOR EASY ENTRY -

a Rafflecopter giveaway

| BLOG TOUR | DARK INNOCENCE BY RAHIMA WARREN

| BOOK DESCRIPTION |

Dark Innocence: Book One of the Star-Seer's Prophecy by Rahima Warren

The “twin-souled dark innocent,” Kyr, is a youth born and raised to blindly carry out the Soul-Drinker’s brutal commands. At first, Kyr’s one desire is death, the only escape from the Soul-Drinker’s hellish rule. Just when he is about to get his wish, the secret Circle rescues him. 

Now he has to choose between the familiar easy path of despair and death, or the hard path of healing, living, and a greater destiny, about which he knows nothing. 

How can a slave who has known only evil, pain and obedience choose to become a man of courage and compassion, and fulfill the Star Seer's Prophecy?

| ABOUT THE AUTHOR |

Rahima Warren is the author of Dark Innocence: Book One of the Star-Seer's Prophecy, a deep, rich novel of the healing journey. With Master's degrees in Clinical and Transpersonal Psychology, she was in private practice as a licensed psychotherapist for over 20 years. In 2006, Rahima retired to focus on her expressive painting, creative writing, and spiritual studies.

In her work with clients recovering from abuse, she was awed by the human capacity to heal, and to reach new levels of forgiveness, wholeness and happiness. She also learned to trust the psyche's own process. This enabled her to allow a dark and mysterious story to flood forth unhindered: Dark Innocence: Book One of the Star-Seer's Prophecy. 

Rahima is a third-generation native of California and resides with her husband in Northern California, where she periodically chases squirrels off the wild bird feeders, and deer away from her roses. Her life-long love of fantasy is her parents' fault: they left sci-fi & fantasy magazines with fascinating cover art lying around the house.

| AUTHOR LINKS |

WEBSITE   .  TWITTER   .   FACEBOOK FAN PAGE   .   PINTEREST

READ AN EXCERPT OF DARK INNOCENCE

AMAZON   .   BARNES & NOBLE

| GUEST POST ON WRITING FANTASY |

The first question is why write fantasy? For me, it’s my chance to be a goddess! I have the creative freedom to bring whole new worlds into existence. And I’m not shackled to the boring mundanities of outer reality. There can be magic and mystery and perilous adventure!

Besides that, it’s my parents’ fault. They left fantasy and sci-fi magazines, such as Galaxy, If, and F&SF, etc., lying around the house. The cover art was fascinating to me as a child and I started reading the stories as soon as I could. I remember the first story I read, “Lorelei of the Red Mist,” which I thought was wonderful as a third grader. (Later I reread it, and wasn’t so impressed.) Anyway, my parents got me hooked and I’ve been reading fantasy ever since. So, I write fantasy because my brain is steeped in it. It’s the natural language of my unconscious mind.

The next question might be—how? How do I write fantasy? I know others work logically, plotting and outlining. Not me! I just dive in and let my imagination and passion loose, and follow where they take me. I wrote a post about that called “Free-Fall Writing” over on Clarion Blog. (Later I discovered there’s a whole school called that, so I am not alone.)

More particularly, I find that there’s a subtle process of listening/seeing within— discovering the next scene, the imagery or words that want to emerge next—and writing them down. This requires trusting your imagination and your unconscious mind. That’s something I learned to do through my work as a dream-worker, psychotherapist and expressive arts facilitator. In all three areas, what worked was to forget about the goal, to just be in the moment, and open up to what wants to emerge from the murky mystery of the unknown. If you’d like to learn more about this approach, see the resources at the end of this article.

One technical note: I think it is important to make a fantasy world be its own reality. For example, I make up the names of my characters, and do not use our modern terms for the days of the week, or for time or distance measurements. I wrote a post on that here.

Now, of course, the scenes and words don’t all come out as polished gems at first, so I do revise and edit in the second, third or fifteenth drafts. But never in the first draft. That is for letting imagination do its work. For example, when I wrote my fantasy trilogy, it was sparked by a little story I wrote in my journal. That ignited a wildfire of creativity, which inspired me to keep writing for the next three years, until I got to the end of the story. Then I realized three things: 1) I’d written so much, it was a trilogy! 2) It was powerful and important story worth working into shape; and 3) I needed help! So I found an editor. After many revisions, the first book, Dark Innocence, was published last year. And now it is in e-book formats!

Has this inspired you to trust your imagination and let it run wild in your first draft? I hope so! I never could have written Dark Innocence by using my logical mind. It came from a much deeper wellspring. Here are some resources for freeing your imagination so you can tap into that wellspring within you. 

- RESOURCES FOR FREEING THE IMAGINATION -

Focusing by Eugene Gendlin teaches how to listen within to murky feelings and sensations to discover their messages. It’s based on research into what actually works in psychotherapy.

Dreamworking: A Comprehensive Guide to Working With Dreams, by Strephon Kaplan Williams, teaches how to interact with your dreams through creative imagination, rather than to analyze or interpret them. One technique is to dialog with dream characters. You can see many examples of my dreams and dream dialogs on my art-site: www.soulplay.com

Painting from the Wild Heart groups, workshops and retreats facilitated by Chris Zydel, http://creativejuicesarts.com/

| GIVEAWAY |

Rahima is giving away prizes, including an e-copy of her book at each blog stop on her tour AND a Grand Prize Giveaway of a Custom Jumbo Tote Bag with your choice of fan art, chosen from here: http://www.starseersprophecy.com/fan-art/, plus other goodies, including a signed copy of Dark Innocence for one lucky winner, shipped to anywhere in the world!

1) TO WIN A BOOK: Leave a comment on this blog post to be entered to win a book. Be sure to leave your email address in the comments so we can contact you if you’re the lucky winner. This giveaway ends five days after the post goes live.

2) TO WIN THE CUSTOM JUMBO TOTE BAG with Rahima’s fan art of your choice, or a signed copy of Dark Innocence, or other goodies, click the link to go to Rahima’s website here: http://www.starseersprophecy.com/blog-tour/ and enter the Rafflecopter at the bottom of the page. A winner will be selected on June 21st.

ENTER FOR THE GRAND PRIZE on Rahima’s website here: http://www.starseersprophecy.com/blog-tour/

a Rafflecopter giveaway

| BOOK TOUR | MORE THAN YOU KNOW BY ALEXANDRIA RHODES

| BOOK DESCRIPTION |

After surviving a devastating car accident that took her father's life, Bryn Woods feels like she has nothing left in her hometown of Savannah, GA. Along with losing her father, her boyfriend, Tyler, unexpectedly leaves town the same time of the accident. Feeling alone, broke and confused, Bryn leaves Savannah for college in New York City to escape her heartbreak.

Four years later, Bryn returns to Savannah to live in her childhood home. Slowly, she begins to let the people of her past back into her life. She lets the protective walls she's built to protect herself crash down around her. As she begins to find love again with Tyler, secrets start to unravel themselves about his past. Tyler has secrets of his own. Secrets connected to the death of Bryn's father. Secrets Tyler didn't even know he kept.

Release Date: May 14th, 2013

Genre: New Adult Romance

GOODREADS

Cover Designer: LJ Anderson at Mayhem Cover Creations

| ABOUT THE AUTHOR |

Alexandria Rhodes is a first time novelist from the good old state of Ohio. She is a recent college graduate with a degree in English and Creative Writing. Alexandria has always known she needed to write and has been doing so ever since she bought a typewriter at a garage sale when she was nine. With hundreds of pages of plot ideas, scripts and character descriptions, it is no surprise that she finally came around to writing a book. Alexandria enjoys reading, writing, reviewing, spending time with family, tweeting (a little too much) and traveling, especially to Savannah, GA and New York City. Her writing is heavily influenced by her surroundings and the people in her life. She hopes that her stories will touch the hearts of her readers.

| AUTHOR LINKS |

WEBSITE   .   TWITTER   .   FACEBOOK   .   GOODREADS

| GIVEAWAY |

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This book tour was organized and designed by:

BOOK REVIEW AND NEW RELEASE

| BOOK DESCRIPTION |

How much trouble can one man get into?

In a world of sexy women where beauty and danger seem to go hand in hand, Todd Kent gets drawn into the adventure of a lifetime. But beautiful women and their mysterious secrets are not the only dangers our hero faces.

A 200 year old military secret that would change America and Australia forever... A hero unlike any other you have met before... An action-packed adventure that sweeps around the world from America to the storm-ravaged oceans of Australia's Bass Strait. A tense mystery where nothing is what it seems and no one is who they say.

'Deception' is a full-length adventure mystery novel of over 100,000 words.

| BUY LINKS |

AMAZON KINDLE 

TITLES BY VIVIEN SPARX ARE AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK AND E-BOOK FORMAT ON AMAZON

| AUTHOR LINKS |

WEBSITE   .   FACEBOOK   .   TWITTER   .   GOODREADS

REVIEW

I must say, for a romance author, Vivien Sparx certainly knows a thing or two about writing adventure mystery.

With this fast paced storyline and her flair for characterisation, Vivien propels her reader from page to breathtaking page.

Set in the late 90's across two continents, `Deception' takes you on a captivating journey of exploration, adventure, intrigue and treachery.

We follow the charming and comical Todd Kent on this cataclysmic quest to uncover the truth behind Captain McCourtie's voyage and to ascertain the final resting place of the `United'. But when everyone has an ulterior motive and trust is a luxury that could cost Kent his life, anything that could go wrong, does!

Kent has no ties, no direction and a penchant to run from the difficulties in his life. When he is forced to protect not just his pride but the only family he has left, unbidden instincts kick in, proving he is capable of absolutely anything. Despite his guarded and self-centred nature, an unexpected bond is forged along with Professor Bradford, his estranged sister Charmaine, Monty Hawthorne and Kawalski (aka sunglasses). Kent finds himself invested and determined to see this through to the bitter end.

This is not a genre that I would usually read but... when it's written by one of your absolute favourite author's, exceptions should be made. This novel displays beautifully her uncanny ability to diversify her talents.

With a maelstrom of twists and turns, Vivien Sparx emits from the depths of her imaginings a series of events that will keep you on the edge of your seat and in true Sparx form, saves the most unbelievably heart-stopping deception till the very end.

NEV'S RATING : 5 STARS

| HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY |

This time around, I thought I'd be 'mushy' and post here what I will be giving my mom. Why not? She's amazing, so I'll share it with the world. Or, at least, those of you who see this. 

I wish all you wonderful mothers a very Happy Mother's Day! May you be spoilt rotten and yes, please do use the excuse of, "Hey, it's Mother's Day... I ain't doing that!" I know, I know... we still end up doing whatever needs to be done. :)

Enjoy, be merry and have a loving and blessed day.