Musical Monday: Cara Elizabeth and Elegantly Wasted

Welcome to another installment of Musical Monday! Every Monday I will feature a book and the music that inspired it! This is an awesome opportunity to showcase your book and also inspire other writers looking for new music. In case you missed it, last week's post can be found here.

Today on the blog, we have the fabulous author Cara Elizabeth!

Elegantly Wasted

by C. Elizabeth Vescio

Genre: Action / New Adult

Goodreads blurb: On the eve of her high school graduation, proper socialite Francesca “Frankie” Fairholm rebelled against her elitist and controlling family to pursue the dark lifestyle of a contract killer for the enigmatic Osiris Corporation. Years later, with her training complete, she believes she's doomed to the life of a sociopathic lone gun until a botched hit brings two unlikely allies, her cousins Addison and Katharine. 

Using Katharine’s etiquette school, Elegance, Inc., as a front, the trio weave through Frankie’s dark underworld, carrying out contracts, drinking too much wine, and trying not to get each other killed. 

Trouble follows the team home when the death of the cruel Fairholm matriarch reveals more than they ever wanted to know about their family. As the funeral preparations play out, the trio begin to realize there is much more to their employer than meets the eye and their family connections run deeper than they ever imagined.

Elegantly Wasted Playlist

"The biggest aspect about the playlist is the presence of INXS. They wrote the song Elegantly Wasted and the main character has a thing for them. Everything else is sort of songs that fit the chapter- and the heavy presence of 80's." -Cara Elizabeth

About Cara Elizabeth

Jack of all trades and stereotypical black sheep, Cara has been writing somewhat dark and morbid since that teen angst hit somewhere in the early 90's- probably because her dad was a mortician. After pursuing a degree in English, she changed gears to photography and design in 2006... although she kept penning stories for fun while reading the works of Edgar Allen Poe, Oscar Wilde and Hemingway (whom she adores even though he was a huge douche canoe).

 In 2009, her life shifted considerably and she found herself writing Elegantly Wasted- helping her sort out a bunch of stupid feelings and other lame stuff.

She enjoys cynical debates, cupcakes, making her mother-in-law sew her aprons that she never wears, zombies, the Fifth Element and Tomb Raider. She gathers her life inspirations from Neil Gaiman, Julia Child and Paul Simon. When she isn't out photographing her next project, she's studying color, concept and design or writing stuff down in hopes it makes sense one day... or she's on Pinterest.

Cara lives in Las Vegas with her husband, John and their three genetically altered dogs all of which have personal vendettas for the guy who cleans the pool.

Follow her Twitter at your own risk.

More Cara Elizabeth:

Website     Facebook    Publisher: Luna Station Press     Goodreads     Amazon     Spotify

Cover Reveal: Tremble by Jus Accardo

Check out this cover guys! Isn't it gorgeous?! Err... or rather, isn't he gorgeous? Hehehe. This is the latest cover from one of my favorite authors Jus Accardo. Check out the book below!

Tremble

by Jus Accardo

Synopsis:

Dez Cross has problems. She’s almost eighteen and on the verge of losing her mind thanks to the drug the Denazen corporation used to enhance her abilities. People close to her have turned their backs on the underground and are now fighting for the wrong side. And then there’s Kale... Things couldn’t get any worse.

Until, of course, they do. Denazen is about to start a new trial—this one called Domination—and it works. But that means out with the old and in with the new. The order has been given to terminate all remnants of the second trial—including Dez. The good news is that there’s a survivor from the original trial. A woman whose blood may hold the cure for the second generation of Supremacy kids' defects. But the underground Sixes aren’t the only ones who know about her.

Dez's father is willing to throw away everything he has to keep Dez from getting the cure—including the one thing that might tear her apart from the inside out.

Exclusive Content

            “I told them you wouldn't come alone. Yet here you are,” Kale’s dark voice said from the doorway. “You’re an odd one.”
     
             His lips parted and the corners tilted upward just a hair. “Roz is right. You are crazy.”

            “You don’t realize it, but coming from you, that’s kinda funny,” I said, swallowing hard and turning to face him. The light from the hall lit the entire right side of his face, leaving the left cloaked in darkness. Two sides of the same dangerous coin. I wanted to back away but resisted, meeting his gaze straight on. My Kale was in there somewhere—and he could sense weakness. “Did you kill her?”


            “She’s dead.”

            
“I figured as much,” I said, jaw tense. Another step closer. “But I’m asking if you did it.” 


            He cocked his head to the left and I could see his expression. Confusion. “You asked the same thing about the other girl. Why does it matter?”

            “Because it does. It matters to you, too. You just don’t remember.”

            He took another step. Inches. He was inches from me now, the warmth from his body radiating like the sun. Every one of my muscles plunged into an all-out war with my heart. Common sense screamed for me to match his steps forward with ones away. Keep your distance—he’s dangerous!

My heart wanted to move closer. I wanted this to all be nothing more than a bad dream.

            “I feel like...when I look at you—” He shook his head and placed a hand on either side of me, up against the mattress, and brought his face close to mine. For the longest moment all he did was stare. When he did speak, there was so much rage in his voice. “You stabbed me. When that didn’t do the trick, you pushed me from the bridge. I’m asking you why?”

            “I never did that, Kale. No one’s ever pushed you from a bridge as far as I know. I promise. As for the scar, yeah. You were stabbed. Alex did it.”

            “You’re lying, Kiernan.”

            “I’m not. And my name is Dez,” I said, voice cracking under the weight of his words. “Deznee.” I wasn’t ready to give up, so I went with what had always worked for me. Something insane.

            Pushing forward, I crushed my lips to his, wrapping both arms around his neck to lock him in place. He didn’t resist and, to my surprise, didn’t shove me away. Instead, after a moment, he responded, his lips moving fervently with mine.

            The kiss only lasted a few moments. I was the one who broke it, pulling away as the clouds passed, allowing the moonlight to shine through the bedroom window once again. For a second, neither of us said a word. His cheeks glistened with my tears, making it look like he’d been crying, too, as he stared—eyes wide and mouth agape—like he’d never seen me before.

            For a crazy, insane moment, time froze. I thought maybe the kiss had done the trick. That this time the princess had woken the prince. He looked at me with a mix of shock and awe, the tiniest hint of my Kale gleamed through. My heart pounded so loudly I could barely hear anything else. It was there. I could see the spark in his eyes. “Kale?”

            But it didn’t last. Or maybe it hadn’t been there at all. Maybe I wanted to see it so badly that I imagined the whole thing.

About Jus Accardo

Jus Accardo spent her childhood reading and learning to cook. Determined to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps as a chef, she applied and was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America. At the last minute, she realized her path lay with fiction, not food, and passed on the spot to pursue writing.

Jus is the bestselling author of YA paranormal romance and urban fantasy fiction.

A native New Yorker, she lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband, three dogs, and sometimes guard bear, Oswald. Her first book, Touch was released in November 2011 from Entangled Publishing. She is currently working on the next book in the Denazen series.

Website

Goodreads

Twitter

Facebook

Find Tremble

Goodreads
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Book Depository

Blog Tour: Ever by Jessa Russo

Ever by Jessa Russo

I was so excited when I heard about Jessa Russo's young adult paranormal fantasy novel Ever. I was even more excited when I was able to feature it on my site and review it! Woot! So huge thank you to Jessa Russo for letting me participate!

Ever is part of the Ever series. Evade, the second book in the novel is expected to be released in 2013 and I'm not aware of any additional dates set up for the other releases.

Check it out!

 

Ever

Goodreads blurb: BOOK ONE in The EVER Trilogy Seventeen-year-old Ever’s love life has been on hold for the past two years. She’s secretly in love with her best friend Frankie, and he’s completely oblivious. Of course, it doesn't help that he’s dead, and waking up to his ghost every day has made moving on nearly impossible. Frustrated and desperate for something real, Ever finds herself falling for her hot new neighbor Toby. His relaxed confidence is irresistible, and not just Ever knows it. But falling for Toby comes with a price that throws Ever’s life into a whirlwind of chaos and drama. More than hearts are on the line, and more than Ever will suffer. Some girls lose their hearts to love. Some girls lose their minds. Ever Van Ruysdael could lose her soul.  

Click here to check out the Giveaway!

 

Ever Tour Stops

In case you want to check out the rest of the stops on the Ever tour, check out the links below!

3/4/2013	Al's Fair With Pen & Paper
3/5/2013...	Love & Life & Learning
3/6/2013...	The Quiet Concert
3/8/2013...	Fiction for Foodies
3/11/2013...	Amazing Books!
3/12/2013...	Kate's Book Life
3/13/2013...	The Soul Sisters
3/14/2013...	Ms. Nose in a Book
3/15/2013...	My Library in the Making
3/18/2013...	CM Albert Writes
3/19/2013...	The Passionate Bookworm
3/20/2013...	Literary, Etc
3/21/2013...	Snuggling on the Sofa
3/22/2013...	Starbreaker
3/25/2013...	Beach Kissed YA Books
3/26/2013...	Girls PWN
3/27/2013...	Larissa's World
3/28/2013...	Beauty and the Bookshelf
4/2/2013...	Books for YA!
4/3/2013...	YA-Aholic
4/4/2013...	One Life Glory
4/6/2013...	Alex Reviews & Interviews
4/8/2013...	Loco for Libros
4/9/2013...	Katie's Stories
4/10/2013...	The Worm Hole
4/11/2013...	Pen & Muse
4/12/2013...	Jolene Haley
4/13/2013...	A Book Rapport, Not a Book Report
4/16/2013...	Ink in the Book
4/17/2013...	Paranormal Bookclub

Review

There were a lot of things I really liked about Ever and I truly believe that this is one of many amazing things to come out of Jessa Russo's creative brain. I liked the concept a lot. A girl who is haunted by her dead love? I mean, come on. What's not to like? Ever is not your typical YA read or concept, so picking it up kind of felt like a breath of fresh air.

Right off the bat, you can't help but feel for Ever. Her world is thrown into disarray two years prior when an accident claims the life of the boy she's in love with. If you've ever had a crush that you never told (as I have), you're plagued by a love that could have been and your heart can't help but ache for Ever.

Ever does have a love triangles (such as we find in so many YA novels these days), so if you dig that, you'll really like this book. This has quite a love triangle, and a tortured one at that. Poor Ever can't help but keep going back and forth between two boys. If you're a love triangle hater, you might find yourself throwing things across the room while yelling obscenities. It's all a matter of reading preference.

I thought that Jessa did a great job as well making me care about Ever. When the book ended I was gasping and double checking that there really wasn't any more to read. It just proves that Jessa Russo did a great job making me care enough to be like, "Gasp! The ending? What? But... I have to...know more!"

I think Jessa Russo did a great job making something new and unique. I will definitely be picking up the sequel (because I must know that happens!!!). Go pick up Ever! Just click here! 

Where to find more from Jessa

Jessa's website

EVER on Amazon

Jessa on Twitter

On Barnes & Noble

GoodReads/EVER

GoodReads/EVADE

Thank you so much Jessa for letting me review and be a part of your tour! Congrats on the release! 

Have you read Ever? Let me know what you thought below!

Musical Tuesday: Katie Teller & Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh

Hi All,
As you know, I've started a fun Monday theme called Musical Monday!  Every week I feature a writing playlist for a book. I know what you're thinking... Jolene needs more coffee because it's actually Tuesday. You're right about the coffee, but I haven't lost my marbles yet. I know what day it is. But Katie Teller is so awesome, I broke the rules and featured her playlist on a Tuesday.

Name: Katie Teller

Book: Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh

Genre: New Adult / Historical Romance

Goodreads blurb: To save her younger sisters from being taken to the cruel life of the palace, Naomi intervenes and gives herself to be a wife of the erratic Pharaoh.

In the palace, Naomi finds herself thrust into the intrigues of the royal family. Naomi becomes beloved by the Pharaoh, who declares that she will bear him his heir. But the Great Queen Nefertiti, furious with jealousy, schemes to destroy Naomi and even brings her fidelity into question, which could cost Naomi her very life.

Naomi must play the deadly game carefully. She is in a silent battle of wills, and a struggle for who will one day inherit the crown. And if she does bear an heir, she must fight to protect him as well as herself from Nefertiti who is out for blood.

Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh Playlist

Why these songs?

Kiya is a trilogy, so I have "Theme songs" for each, along with other songs.

The first two song above go with Book 1 (Hope of the Pharaoh), In My Arms goes with Book 2, and We Found Love goes with Book 3. Thriller goes with one of the characters, the Commander, which totally cracks me up because he's a killer. The Prince of Egypt soundtrack really just sets the Egypt mood.

Born and raised in Australia, Katie’s early years of day dreaming in the “bush”, and having her father tell her wild bedtime stories, inspired her passion for writing. After graduating High School, she became a foreign exchange student where she met a young man who several years later she married. Now she lives in Arizona with her husband, daughter and their dog.

She has a diploma in travel and tourism which helps inspire her writing. She is currently at school studying English and Creative Writing.

Katie loves to out sing her friends and family, play sports and be a good wife and mother. She now works as a Clerk with a lien company in Arizona to help support her family and her schooling. She loves to write, and takes the few spare moments in her day to work on her novels.

Twitter       Facebook     Goodreads     Katie's Blog     

Aussie Owned and Read     AZ Typlings

Musical Monday: Michelle Smith

Welcome to the second installment of Musical Monday! Every Monday I will feature a book and the music that inspired it! This is an awesome opportunity to showcase your book and also inspire other writers looking for new music. In case you missed it, last week's post can be found here.

Today on the blog, we have the fabulous author Michelle Smith!

Name: Michelle Smith

Book: Kingdom Come
Coming out May 22 2013

Genre: YA Apocalyptic (Sci-fi)

Michelle also provided some brilliant insight to some of the songs she listed on her playlist. Here are her thoughts on why she added some of the songs she did for Kingdom Come:

"Demons" by Imagine Dragons is what I consider to be the theme song for the book. 

"The Ruler and the Killer" just screams Bennett to me. While editing his scenes, I play this and Fall Out Boy on repeat. 

"Your Guardian Angel" and "All We Are": both of these capture the relationship between Kerrigan and Ethan perfectly.

Michelle's a lover of love and all things happy. She laughs way too much (sometimes at things that aren’t even funny), is a complete sap, and will try to convince you that Harry Potter isn’t just a book series, but a way of life. 

After studying at East Carolina University, she ran away to Florida with her Coastie husband. She now lives in North Carolina with the devilishly handsome Coastie, a son who inherited her creative streak, and crazy border collie mix.

Social Media: Blog Twitter Facebook

I hope you guys enjoyed checking out the music that inspired Kingdom Come. Let me know in the comments what your favorite song was. Or if you have any suggestions for Michelle's playlist, let us know!

And if you'd like your book to be featured with your playlist, check out the information I'd need from you and then send an email to jolene.haley(@)(gmail.com) <-without parenthesis. I welcome any traditional published authors, self or indie published authors, and even unpublished authors as long as you have a finished manuscript. All genres are happily accepted!

Happy Musical Monday!

Exciting News!

Hi Guys!

I have some exciting news! I'm sure you already know that I intern with Entangled Publishing. Well, this last week I talked with the lovely Georgia McBride from Month 9 Books and Swoon Romance, and I've accepted a publicity internship with Swoon Romance!

In case you're not familiar with them, Month 9 Books is a YA and MG imprint and Swoon Romance is a romance publisher for adult, new adult, and young adult books and novellas. I'm so excited to come aboard and help out, as I really respect Month 9 and Swoon Romance.

*does happy dance*

That is all.

Okay bye.

Musical Monday: Donna Hosie

Welcome to the first installment of Musical Monday. Every Monday I will feature a book and the music that inspired it! This is an awesome opportunity to showcase your book and also inspire other writers looking for new music. On the blog today we have the fabulous author Donna Hosie!


Name: Donna Hosie

Books: 
SEARCHING FOR ARTHUR (2012)
THE FIRE OF MERLIN (2012)
THE SPIRIT OF NIMUE (May 31, 2013)

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

This is what Donna had to say about her soundtrack of choice for The Return to Camelot Trilogy:

"My writing playlist is based entirely on soundtracks. I find instrumental music incredibly inspiring. Because I write about knights and battles and loss, I find that the following really gets me in the mood: 

• Possession from the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix soundtrack
• The Half Killed from the Atonement Soundtrack
• Prepared to do Anything from the Sherlock Season two soundtrack
• Immolation from the Angels and Demons soundtrack
• Over Hill from The Hobbit Soundtrack
• The Car Chase from the A Beautiful Mind soundtrack
• The Titanic soundtrack (guilty pleasure)
• Adagio for Strings."

Return to Camelot Trilogy Playlist

 

Donna Hosie is a YA writer and full time geek. Her novels, SEARCHING FOR ARTHUR and THE FIRE OF MERLIN, are currently available for Kindle. SEARCHING FOR ARTHUR will be available in paperback in September 2013. Donna is represented by Beth Phelan of the Howard Morhaim Literary Agency and she blogs at Musings of a Penniless Writer. You can find her on Goodreads and on Amazon.

I hope you guys enjoyed checking out the music that inspired Searching For Arthur and The Fire of Merlin. Let me know in the comments what your favorite song was. Or if you have any suggestions for Donna's playlist, let us know!

And if you'd like your book to be featured with your playlist, check out the information I'd need from you and then send an email to jolene.haley(@)(gmail.com) <-without parenthesis. I welcome any traditional published authors, self or indie published authors, and even unpublished authors as long as you have a finished manuscript.

Happy Musical Monday!