Category: YA

Exigency book blast tour

by dmcain84, posted in Amazon, authors, awethors, bookrelease, books, extract, fantasy, fiction, novels, release, YA

BLOG BOOK BLAST TOUR

Exigency (Protectors of the Elemental Magic Book 2)

preorder

Author: Marnie Cate

Title: Exigency

Series: The Protectors of the Elemental Magic Series

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy/Romance

Synopsis:

There is a world around us that most people don’t take the time to see.

Mara Stone’s world was shaken, but she is a fighter. Facing new adversaries, Mara is learning what it truly means to protect the magic. As she starts to rebuild her life, the web of her family’s secrets continues to unravel. Mara is forced to face her fear of losing everything she holds dear.

She said that you would be a challenge to my children. I thought I had made the right choice when I selected Eliza. If only Mae had not interfered. But, enough of those sad thoughts, I think the two of you will be perfect replacements.

When Mara and Cole find themselves in the cold world of Snowstrum, they will have to choose either to be true to their promise to protect the magic, or to follow their desires. Magic may not be enough to free them from the icy fortress they are trapped in.

The second book in the Protectors of the Elemental Magic series, Exigency is a compelling, magical young adult fantasy tale.

Excerpt

As I continued walking, the air died down but I quickly found myself encompassed by a dense fog. My hair was no longer blinding me but I could barely see my hand in front of me. A soft voice in me told me to just to keep walking and I listened until I stepped into cold water.

“Damn it,” I cried out.

Not sure where I was I stopped and called, “Air, please blow away this fog and let me see where I am.”

Sitting down, I waited while the moist vapor drifted away showing me that I was on the rocky shore of Sparrow Lake. Sitting down, I wrapped my arms around my legs and gently began to rock myself. How did I get so far from home? I felt as if I was losing a connection with reality. I kept telling myself that if I just listened to my heart everything would be as planned. As I questioned my recent behavior and my faith that the Goddess would guide me, I heard a crackling sound behind me. Turning to the direction of the noise, I saw a shadow quickly dart through the tree line.

Calling out, I said, “Stop! Who are you? Why are you following me?”

No response came from the forest. Standing to face the unknown, the cold breeze off the lake picked up and covered my arms with goosebumps. Rubbing my arms frantically to warm up, I called out again.

“Whoever is out there, show yourself,” I said.

“With all the magic you hold, you could easily climb up the mountain and give them what they deserve,” said the bewitching voice of a woman.

“You could start a little fire. One little ball of your magic could ignite the forest surrounding them. It would grow and grow until it would burn the mansion down. Or you could call a great wind and bring everything and everyone inside down into a crumbling ruin.”

With more anger, the voice said, “And there is always my favorite. You can call the rain and demand it to pour down. Calling more and more of your magic until you finally send everything off the mountain. Mudslides happen all the time.”

“Or if you wanted to be lazy, you can just ask the ground to shake and shake and shake until you have created dust out of them all.”

The voice taunted, “Wouldn’t it be so easy? Don’t you think they deserve to be punished for what they did…?”

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EXIGENCY COMPLETE
 

Amazon Book link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BVSJU5K

Marnie Cate

Marnie Cate Biography

Marnie Cate was born and raised in Montana before adventuring to the warmer states of Arizona and California. Her love of Dame Judi Dench and dreams of caticorns and rainbows inspired her to chase her dreams. One great sentence came to mind and the world of elemental magic and the humans they lived amongst filled her mind. With her first book Remember: Protectors of the Elemental Magic, the story has just begun.

Links:

Marnie Cate’s website: marniecate.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarnieCate

Twitter: twitter.com/Marnie_Cate

Pinterest: pinterest.com/marniecate

Goodreads: goodreads.com/Marnie_Cate

Amazon page: amazon.com/dp/B01BVSJU5K/

Relaunch promotion for Marnie Cate’s ‘Remember’

by dmcain84, posted in authors, awethors, blog tour, books, coverreveal, epic, fantasy, fiction, novels, release, YA

relaunch cover

Remember: Protectors of the Elemental Magic

Relaunch Tour

To celebrate the relaunch of Marnie Cate’s beloved first novel, Remember: Protectors of the Elemental Magic,  it will be available on Kindle for $0.99 / £0.99 beginning  October 29, 2015 through November 4, 2015

Remember_Complete

Author: Marnie Cate

Title: Remember: Protectors of the Elemental Magic

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Synopsis

Hiding the truth from you is no longer protecting you. Sit and I will tell you what you need to know.

With those words, the secrets of my great grandmother, Genevieve Silver, were unburied and my role as a protector of the elemental magic was revealed.

My name is Marina Addisyn Stone but Mara is what my friends and family call me.  I had always felt that there was something missing and that nothing was permanent. Why would I feel that way?  I was being raised with my little sister by my grandmother that loved and doted on me. Then, there was Cole Sands. Who could forget the blue-eyed boy that had stolen my heart? What more could a girl need?  I always thought I was just being dramatic and that bad things do happen to people but that is part of life.  People die.  People go away. Little did I know that with one secret, my life would change forever and my new world would be surrounded by the world of elemental magic?

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Excerpt

As I felt my determination build, the mirror in front of me began to change and the reflection filled with rippling water. The image made me think of the choppy water of Sparrow Lake. At first, the small waves were calm but the speed and intensity of each movement of the water grew. I found myself being splashed as the waves grew harder and began to slap against the mirror. Standing up, I moved away just in time to watch the mirror before me shatter and the violent water burst out towards me.

The room began to fill with rushing water. Feeling around the room, I searched for an exit. Behind the shattered mirror, I only found solid rock. Looking to the ceiling, I could see the same hard stone. Feeling the emotions build inside me, I began search the floor and walls around me for any exit.

“Damn! Damn! Damn it!” I cried.

The water did not slow. Instead it continued to fill the room as I frantically searched for my escape. The water soon reached my knees and, what seemed like seconds later, I was wading through waist high water. As the water continued to rise, I was soon struggling to keep my head above water. It was not enough that the water was filling the room so rapidly but soon the water felt alive. The cold waves kept tossing me back and forth as the water rose and I began to feel like I was in a game of Ping-Pong where I was the ball. Soon, I found myself pulled under the icy water and surrounded by thousands of bubbles. Frantically kicking my feet to keep my head above water, I broke the surface.

Remembering the swimming lessons my grandfather insisted on, I thought about the times I spent with my grandfather learning to swim. I began to feel less scared as I recalled his calm voice and gentle words telling me that I would be safe. As I floated in the rising water, it seemed to respond to my emotions. The thrashing became calmer as I focused on my grandfather’s words. My brief moment of peace did not last. Before I knew it, I had almost reached the ceiling that had no exit and I began to panic. At this rate, I would be trapped and drowned in minutes. As if it was feeding off my fear, the water began to toss me around again.

As the water began to rise up my neck and almost over the top of my head, I tried to calm myself. You are the granddaughter of Mae Veracor and the great granddaughter of Genevieve Silver. You are the descendent of strong women. You have nothing to fear. With these words, the water once again calmed and I was able to tilt my head back above the water. How am I going to get out of this?

Remember: Protectors of the Elemental Magic is on sale $0.99 / £0.99 Kindle from Thursday, October 29th to Wednesday, November 4th!

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Amazon Book link: My Book

marnie cate

Marnie Cate Biography

Marnie Cate was born and raised in Montana before adventuring to the warmer states of Arizona and California. Her love of Dame Judi Dench and dreams of caticorns and rainbows inspired her to chase her dreams. One great sentence came to mind and the world of elemental magic and the humans they lived amongst filled her mind. With Remember, the story has begun.

Other Works by Marnie Cate

Exigency: Protectors of the Elemental Magic – Coming Soon

The story of Mara Stone continues.  Her world was shaken but she is a fighter.  Facing new adversaries, Mara is learning what it truly means to protect the magic.

 

Awethology Light – Contribution Story  

Beginnings: Protectors of the Elemental Magic (Novellette)

The story of Genevieve Silver and the origins of the protectors of the magic. With the balance of the elemental world shaken, four elementals take on the task of protecting the magic.

Links:

www.marniecate.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarnieCate

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00UJNT7J8

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Marnie_Cate

Twitter: @Marnie_Cate

Will O’ the Wisp by C.S. Boyack – blog tour

by dmcain84, posted in authors, blog tour, bookrelease, books, fiction, release, writing, writing craft, YA

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The Frighteningly Fun Halloween Tour

Will O’ the Wisp is a paranormal tale from C. S. Boyack. It involves a mildly handicapped girl facing a mysterious threat. The wisp has been killing off Patty Hall’s family for generations, and she’s next on the list. It is suitable for young adult readers. It’s a perfect Halloween read.

Book Cover

Interview with C.S. Boyack

Whenever I’ve followed a blog tour, there always seems to be one post about writing tips. This is always one of my favorite posts, because I think we can all learn something from one another.

With a story like Will O’ the Wisp, I really wanted to use a few suspense techniques. I keep a living document on my iPad that’s full of writing advice, tips, and tricks. When I find something new, I update the document. The suspense techniques have been languishing here for a long time, and this was the perfect story to play with them.

Suspense is all about the unknown and waiting until discomfort settles in. There are quite a few tricks to create this, and I used a few of them in this story.

Have someone ask a seemingly innocent question, but have the answer be something vague and cryptic. This perks me right up as a reader. Didn’t seem like that big a deal, why is Aunt Tilly avoiding the question? This makes me want to turn the page. Make sure some waiting is involved to get the reader salivating. Have the phone ring before the character can ask more questions. Distract and avoid. Change the conversation.

Tense moments work well too. If a guy in a hoodie and shades follows your heroine through the park, drag it out. Don’t tell the reader that he saw her drop her wallet and just wants to give it back. While your heroine is panicking, maybe she can come up with a lightbulb moment to propel the plot forward. That sigh of relief can be followed immediately by an encounter with the real bad guy. In other words, she thanks the good samaritan, shakes his hand, and watches him leave. She breathes a sigh of relief, turns and runs right into serial killer #1.

Make a character lie, but make sure the reader knows it’s a lie. This is not the place for immediate consequences. Drag the consequences out. It’s even sweeter if the other character knows it’s a lie, and doesn’t call it out. Maybe the other character has some nefarious reason not to reveal that she knows the truth.

Use distance to your advantage. Have your heroine sit next to serial killer #1 at the cafe. Have him pass the salt, and let them touch. He knows he’s serial killer #1, the reader knows, but she doesn’t.

Distance should be increased to isolate your character. The more distance to rescue, the more tension. Just your heroine and serial killer #1 all alone at abandoned castle.

Make your heroine sneak, even if it’s not completely necessary. Back at the cafe, serial killer #1 heads for the restroom. Your heroine could ask the waitress how to get to Carnegie Hall. Instead, she grabs SK #1’s cell phone and Googles it. You know, the same phone with pictures of his dismembered victims on it.

Throw in a few temptations too. Temptations are things your heroine wants. The new office stud muffin invites your heroine to Aspen for the weekend, his treat. She ought to torture herself over the decision. She wants this, but promised to watch Aunt Tilly’s cat. Aunt Tilly lives right next door to Serial Killer #1.

There are hundreds of ways to establish suspense, and I used a few of them in Will O’ the Wisp. I’m pretty happy with the way things turned out, but readers will be the ultimate judge. Please consider being one of them.

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Patty Hall is perfectly prepared for the wrong problem. She is enamored with the space race, and knows the history of NASA by heart. She is faced with an ancient threat that has been targeting the Hall family for generations.  Hampered by an overprotective mother, if Patty can’t figure it all out in time, she may be the next member in the Hall family cemetery plot.

It’s not hard enough to be a fifteen year old girl, and a social outcast. As she watches her friends mature and grow, she has to face the idea of never turning sixteen. Please consider joining Patty on her incredible adventure.

You can pick up a copy on Amazon using your Kindle or a free reading app. Download it here:

North American version: http://a-fwd.com/asin-com=B00UPH6BNS

International version: http://a-fwd.com/asin-com=B00UQNDT2C

Author Bio
I was born in a town called Elko, Nevada. I like to tell everyone I was born in a small town in the 1940s. I’m not quite that old, but Elko has always been a little behind the times. This gives me a unique perspective of earlier times, and other ways of getting by. Some of this bleeds through into my fiction.

I moved to Idaho right after the turn of the century, and never looked back. My writing career was born here, with access to other writers and critique groups I jumped in with both feet.

I like to write about things that have something unusual. My works are in the realm of science fiction, paranormal, and fantasy. The goal is to entertain you for a few hours. I hope you enjoy the ride.

Author Photo

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Follow Craig at the following locations:

Follow my blog: http://coldhandboyack.wordpress.com

Check out all my novels here: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00ILXBXUY

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/Virgilante

On Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9841203.C_S_Boyack

“This tour sponsored by 4WillsPublishing.wordpress.com.”