Shades of Avalon Tour Sign Up

 

The Sign Up is open for the Shades of Avalon(Shades book#2) Tour. The fun happens April 14th to April 25. There’ll be prizes, of course, excerpts, guest posts, outtakes, and promo posts, hopefully a review or two. Sign up HERE.

Release Date April 15th

From Omnific Publishing

Ben Pryor grew up as an average kid in Camden, Maine, unaware of the supernatural storm brewing in his Celtic blood. However, at nineteen, as the last born in the royal line of the beings that once ruled Atlantis, Ben has eagerly embraced his newfound abilities and birthright.
When Caleb, his sister’s mate, goes missing under suspicious circumstances, the prime suspect is the last remaining member of the overthrown corrupt Guardian Council.
With the discovery that an old acquaintance has been keeping secrets and the future Ben was so sure of shifting before his eyes, the situation becomes more complicated, the ransom for Caleb too high.
In the sequel to Shades of Atlantis, Ben will delve deeper than he ever imagined into the magical old ways of the Guardians, the secrets of Excalibur, and the truth behind the legend of King Arthur.

Prizes

There will be two levels of prizes – Young Adult and Adult

Young Adult

Main Prize Pack –

Signed print editions of Shades of Atlantis and Shades of Avalon

Triskele pewter pendant

Handmade Dragon’s Blood Soap from Amas Veritas

Set of promotional book cards

Signed bookmark

Other Young Adult Prizes –

Print of Son of a Mermaid by Katie O’Sullivan

Ebook of Embrace by Cherie Colyer

Ebook of Legendary by L. H. Nicole

Ebook of Streamline by Jennifer Lane

Ebook of Shades of Atlantis and Shades of Avalon

Adult

Main Prize Pack –

Signed print editions of Shades of Atlantis and Shades of Avalon

Triskele pewter pendant

Handmade Dragon’s Blood Soap from Amas Veritas

Set of promotional book cards

Signed bookmark

Other Adult Prizes

Ebook of Of Silver and Beasts & Of Darkness and Crowns by Trisha Wolfe

Ebook of Poughkeepsie & Return to Poughkeepsie by Debra Anastasia

Ebook of Hans and Greta by Nicki Elson

Ebook of The Guardian’s Wildchild by Feather Stone

Ebook of Devine Temptation by Nicki Elson

Ebook of Shades of Atlantis & Shades of Avalon

That’s not all!

If you buy Shades of Avalon on Amazon Kindle on April 15th, Omnific Publishing will give you Shades of Atlantis absolutely FREE!

Darkly Delicious

I’ve joined up with a kickass group of Young Adult authors to form Darkly Delicious YA.  To get started we have holiday posts each day this month and after that there will be regular contributions from each author.

Release Day ~ On Best Behavior by Jennifer Lane

On Best Behavior, the 3rd book in the Conduct Series is here at last! Congratulations to Jennifer Lane.

 

Planning a wedding is never easy—especially when the Russian Mafia wants you dead.
On Best Behavior—the third and final book in The Conduct Series—finds our favorite couple moving forward, despite the odds. Following a pardon by the Governor of Illinois, ex-cons Sophie Taylor and Grant Madsen are finally free to pursue their love and the life that lies ahead for them. Grant now fights the forces that have hurt his loved ones by working undercover for the FBI, and he has infiltrated the Russian Mafia in Chicago. Sophie dives into swimming with Grant’s nephew, Ben, and into her career as a psychology professor. Thankfully, now it’s Ben’s turn to heal through therapy sessions with Dr. Hunter Hayes.
With so many things going right for Grant and Sophie, it's too bad the Russians aren’t their only threat. When Grant’s father, Enzo Barberi, discovers his own son thwarted his plan to break out of prison, his overdeveloped sense of vengeance flares to life. As Sophie scrambles to save her fiancé, it's impossible to say who will kill Grant first—the Russians or his Italian family. Can love triumph over evil? Are hard work and a pledge to be on best behavior ever enough?
Once again, author Jennifer Lane brings a harrowing tale of romantic suspense with a psychological twist, and it's sure to leave readers breathless.

New Cover for Unmade

After considering the feedback for the original cover of Unmade, it’s had a make over. So here we have it, cover #2.

17,000 words approx

Available 14th August 2013 in E-book

Summary

Lincoln Dowling wouldn’t hurt a fly. That character trait proved deadly when a stray dog stepped into the path of his car on prom night. With all efforts to save Lincoln failing, his mother turns to the one person who might be able to save him.

A year later, Lincoln remains under the care of innovative scientist, Matthew Baker. To the outside world, his recovery is astounding. However, for Lincoln, learning to act has become a matter of survival.

Plagued by nightmares of grisly murders and convinced something has gone wrong, he struggles to convince his girlfriend that these nightmares are bleeding into reality.

As Lincoln is forced to the brink of insanity, he will have to face his worst fears to keep the monster from destroying the one he loves.

Announcement and Cover Reveal of Unmade by Carol Oates

I’ve been playing around with the storyline for Unmade in one way or another since my late teen years and finally wrote an earlier and much shorter incarnation a few years ago. The more grown up, dark tale didn’t fit with what I was working on at the time. Still, I kept working on rewriting, developing, and expanding the story during breaks from other projects. Now, here it is.

17,000 words approx

Available August 2013 in E-book
New Adult
 

Summary

Lincoln Dowling wouldn’t hurt a fly. That character trait proved deadly when a stray dog stepped into the path of his car on prom night. With all efforts to save Lincoln failing, his mother turns to the one person who might be able to save him.

A year later, Lincoln remains under the care of innovative scientist, Matthew Baker. To the outside world, his recovery is astounding. However, for Lincoln, learning to act has become a matter of survival.

Plagued by nightmares of grisly murders and convinced something has gone wrong, he struggles to convince his girlfriend that these nightmares are bleeding into reality.

As Lincoln is forced to the brink of insanity, he will have to face his worst fears to keep the monster from destroying the one he loves.

Shades of Ireland at Brú na Bóinne

It’s Saint Patrick’s week here in Ireland. It’s the week when the world is awash with green and everyone and their mother goes back in time until they find a link to the little land on the edge of the Atlantic.

I can’t think of a better time for to tell you I’ve been revising for months and the manuscript for the sequel, Shades of Avalon is finished and will shortly be going to my publisher! It’s taken a long time and I can honestly say the story has gone through a dizzying number of changes. The second book once again takes the characters from Camden to England and Ireland as they try to unravel the dark plans of the last remaining council member.
One of the major locations in book 2 is Brú na Bóinne. This is a region of Ireland around the River Boyne in Ireland and consists of 40 passage tombs dating back 5,000 years. The area also contains more than a third of the megalithic artwork in Western Europe. The most recognizable of these and featured in Shades of Avalon is probably the Tri-Spiral. It is used as a symbol of  Brú na Bóinne and often of Ireland.

The Tri-Spiral is often thought of as a Celtic symbol but it pre-dates the arrival of the Celts in Ireland by many years. Archaeologists guess at what it means, including representation of  deity and the possibility it depicts the three main sites of Brú na Bóinne—Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth. The above image is taken from a carving in the central chamber at Newgrange. Other spiral carvings appear on the entrance stone at Newgrange, kerbs stones and internal stones at Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth.

Knowth(image from worldheritageireland.ie)

Newgrange

Dowth(image from worldheritageireland.ie)

Newgrange Entrance

Kebstone at Newgrange

Kerbstone K15 at Knowth. Also known at the Sundial Stone

Tomb 15 at Knowth

North chamber at Dowth(image from worldheritageireland.ie)

However, it’s really anyone’s guess what the symbols really mean. They are simply too old to conclusively know.  Likewise with the purpose of these structures. We can guess they were used to either bury or honour the dead from the remains discovered there. Clearly they had another purpose. Perhaps ceremonial or maybe scientific.

Above is a replica of the granite stone basin at Knowth, known as Dagda’s Cauldron. Dagda’s Cauldron in mythology was thought to be life sustaining and is sometimes associated with The Holy Grail. Perhaps in the past the dead were cremated, the bones and remains placed in the basin. This particular basin is suggested to depict Atlantis in the carvings on stone. This leads us to the possibility the passageways were not only ceremonial, but scientific in nature.
It’s suggested the kerbstones at Knowth(some damaged or missing) were detailed depictions of the night sky and that once upon a time the moon and sun travelled though the passageways and illuminated the internal chambers during the equinoxes. This is impossible to verify since passageways have been distorted or destroyed over time. Most notably and controversially during excavation when a concrete slab was erected inside the western passage.  
However, we can see the illumination phenomenon at Newgrange.

There are two basin’s at Newgrange in the right hand cavity of the cruciform chamber. Also made of granite. For those lucky enough to stand inside the cruciform chamber at sunrise on the days around the winter solstice(during cloudless skies), they will see golden light travel down the length of the passageway for several minutes before reaching the  chamber as the sun passes in front of the upper opening. The external walls are made up of hundreds of river stones(rounded gray stones) and thousands of pieces of white quartz(Grian Cloch or Sun Stone). Quartz is also an element of granite, the stone used for the basins.

image from worldheritageireland.ie

image from worldheritageireland.ie

The above two images are deceptive. The Newgrange  passageway is a tight squeeze. At times it’s necessary to duck or turn sideways for the average sized person. There is more room inside the chamber under the high vaulted corballed roof, room for perhaps twenty or so adults comfortably. It feel very secure although none the slab roof stones are secured by anything other than ancient engineering.



 

2013

First, congratulations to the winners of the signed Shades of Atlantis books at Christmas. All winners have been notified. Thank you to everyone who took part.

Writing is off to a flying start this year. Well, re-writing.

After spending most of the second half of 2012 writing new material, I’ve finally stepped away from writing and returned to revising Shades of Avalon. I’m up to revisions on chapter 4. Some of the later chapters need a lot of work, but I’m still on schedule for a complete, revised manuscript by the end of February. Early comments are favourable. That’s a huge relief. Fingers crossed for it to continue.

Happy New Year everyone!

Summer Reading Event

The YA of Omnific Publishing is happening now, see AToMR Book Blog Tours for a full list of stops. To celebrate, Omnific Publishing YA titles on Amazon.com are now marked down to $2.99 for the month of August. That includes both, Shades of Atlantis and Ember. Catch up on all the posts to be in with a chance of winning an ePack of Omnific's YA Catalogue!

If you aren’t lucky enough to win. It’s still perfect timing to pick up a kindle copy of Ember for $2.99 before the release of the sequel, Iridescent, October 16. Iridescent paperback is available for pre-order through Barnes and Noble.

Watch out for the Iridescent cover reveal August 13th, less than a week away. I can’t wait for everyone to get a look at the cover. It’s gorgeous. There are lots of blogs taking part and still a few days to sign up. 

Dear 17-Year-Old Me

Dear Carol,

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

So, now you are seventeen at last. You are keeping your head above water in school, you have a job, a little money and lots of friends. Everything is going good, although sometimes you have moments of panic about the future. It is a bright ball of flames just within your grasp. All you have to do is learn to reach for it.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both you elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

This is the time you will discover boys. There will be lots of boys. There will be some losers and some you will still be in touch with years later in one way or another. They are not all bad so please don’t treat them like they are. You are a good girl with a warm heart. Be kind and, most of all, be honest and be loyal. Playing games doesn’t ever work out well. I’d would love to tell you who you should stay away from, but I don’t need to. You already know… sadly, you love the drama.

You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...
...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

The perm that you think you will just give one last go, don’t. A perm is not a good look for you.

You are a creative soul, learn to stretch the muscles of your imagination. You don’t want to spend your life in a 9-5, shuffling papers. That isn’t you. Don’t let anyone tell you what career you should choose and what direction you should follow. Make your own decision and follow your own path for what makes you content and not for what others expect. Learn to walk in your own shoes instead of trying too hard to live up to other peoples expectations. Don’t wait to be happy.

I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.
And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

Your mother is not your enemy. One day you will realise she is simply doing the best she can with what she has. Go easy on her and the occasional hug wouldn’t go astray, she won’t be around forever. Likewise with your friends. Enjoy the time you have together now before life sucks you all off in vastly different directions.

On and on you will hike
and I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

You are stronger than you think and braver than you feel right now. There are wonderful things ahead of you, places you’ve read about and new experiences. Don’t forget to stop and breathe once in a while.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3 / 4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

Kindest regards,

Me

Excerpts from Oh, the places you will go! by Dr, Seuss.

 

Today’s post is to celebrate the release party for Jennifer Lane’s new Young Adult Novel, Streamline.

Amazon

Seems like Leo Scott has it all: looks, brains, and athletic talent. He’s captain of his high school swim team with a bright future in college and beyond. But Leo has secrets. His mother’s crippling car accident has devastated his family and left Leo to deal with his father’s abuse, battered and alone.
Leo’s girlfriend Audrey Rose is poised for her own share of success. As one of Florida’s top high school swimmers, Audrey dreams of college swimming stardom. But there’s an obstacle to her glorious rise to the top. Her number-one supporter--her father--is in prison for murder.
Part murder mystery, part tale of young love in a military family, this gripping story takes readers on a journey from Pensacola to Annapolis. Leo and Audrey must band together to rise above the adversity they encounter and find their true selves in the process. When everything’s on the line . . . streamline.

Follow along to the other participants for your chance to win prizes:

A Diary of a Book Addict

A Trail of Books Left Behind

Amaterasu Reads
The Bookaholics

Cherie Colyer, Author

Chick Lit & Wine
Hannah Downing, Author
I Am a Reader, Not a Writer

Jennifer DeLucy, Author

Maji Bookshelf

Feather Stone, Author
Nicki Elson, Author
Nose in a Book
Refracted Light Reviews

Smash Attack Reads
The Shelf Book Reviews

Find Jennifer Lane

Goodreads           Twitter          Website          Facebook

Cover Reveal ~ STREAMLINE, by Jennifer Lane

Today I’m delighted to bring you the beautiful cover reveal for the debut Young Adult Novel of Jennifer Lane.

Omnific Publishing

March 27th 2012

STREAMLINE on Goodreads

Seems like Leo Scott has it all: looks, brains, and athletic talent. He’s captain of his high school swim team with a bright future in college and beyond. But Leo has secrets. His mother’s crippling car accident has devastated his family and left Leo to deal with his father’s abuse, battered and alone.

Leo’s girlfriend Audrey Rose is poised for her own share of success. As one of Florida’s top high school swimmers, Audrey dreams of college swimming stardom. But there’s an obstacle to her glorious rise to the top. Her number-one supporter--her father--is in prison for murder. 
Part murder mystery, part tale of young love in a military family, this gripping story takes readers on a journey from Pensacola to Annapolis. Leo and Audrey must band together to rise above the adversity they encounter and find their true selves in the process. When everything’s on the line . . . streamline.

Find Jennifer Lane

Blog: http://jenniferlanebooks.com/

Twitter: @JenLaneBooks

Unfinished

Two very short announcement today.

Jonas is already raising eyebrows at his new school and Cathy's day isn’t going much better. Everyone is acting as if she isn’t there, her twin is usurping her friends and her occasional boyfriend is moving on. Can she convince Jonas to help her before it’s too late?

Unfinished was written as an original short story for The Fandom Gives Back Autism Speaks fundraiser earlier this year. It has since been re-edited and extended. I will be making it available as a free e-book through smashwords and this blog at the end of the August.

You can find Unfinished on Goodreads here.

I’m opening up shop for guest posts. The first will be from author, Hannah Downing. If you would like to stop by sometime, drop me an email and we can discuss when suits you.






The Meet an Author Monday blog hop is underway, hosted by Killian McRea.

New Look

I want to say a massive thank you  to Janice over at The Blog Bakery for creating this fabulous new look for my blog. Isn’t it pretty? I practically jumped up and down when I saw the first draft. Janice deserves extra thanks for putting up with my total indecision on the theme. We didn’t set out to go for a Celtic feel. In fact, I had no idea what kind of a look I wanted. I said I would be happy with anything at all. Janice helped me go through other sites and blogs to get an idea on what I prefer. I was drawn to either neutral or dark themes, so the next step was to get ideas for graphics. Strangely, I thought I would go for supernatural creatures but I didn’t. Apparently I like Celtic inspired images… who knew?

The image is header is Celtic Woman and is used courtesy of Rosa Sinmas. It’s absolutely beautiful and I’m thrilled and honoured to display it on my blog.

After this, Janice put the blog together with little to no input from me. She checked with me at each stage but there was no need for me to say anything other than ‘I love it’.  Janice had already done a wonderful job at working out what I didn’t know I always wanted my blog to look like and delivered perfectly. The entire process was quick and painless. I can’t stop looking at it.

Now that my blog is looking pretty I am opening up to guest posts and interviews. If you would like to stop by for a visit, please send me an email and I would be happy to host you. 

If you are looking for a blog revamp, I would encourage you to give The Blog Bakery a try.

In other news, the details on the Ember blog tour hosted by YA Bound have been finalized and you can see the list of blogs and the prizes by clicking on the tour banner in the sidebar.

Everblue Release Day

     
Best friends share everything with each other. Or do they? Seventeen-year-old Ashlyn Frances Lanski is tired of her boring, single life. Spending time with her best friend Tatiana, dreaming about kissing Tatiana's twin brother Fin, and swimming competitively are her only sanctuary. The girls plan to leave their drab lakeside town far behind for college. But when Tatchi fails to return home after a family emergency, and no one knows where the family has gone, Ash chooses to do something drastic to find them. 

Ashlyn is about to discover what she’d thought to be true her whole life, wasn’t, and the truth, too fantastical to imagine. Secrets lurk beneath the deep blue waters of Lake Tahoe, secrets that will change Ashlyn's life forever. 

My review
 
I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek before release and I loved it. In fact I gushed so much I was given the wonderful opportunity of putting my thoughts on the back cover of the book. I can’t tell you how excited that made me. 

“Dive into a thrilling new world – fantastic”

-Carol Oates, author of Shades of Atlantis

Seriously, how cool is that? Thank you to Brenda and to Obsidian Mountain Publishing for the privilege. 

Without giving anything away, so much happens in this book…

The plot is well thought out, the world building is wonderful and the characters are varied and interesting. Brenda Pandos does a fantastic job of guiding the reader, allowing them to absorb the history and social structure of the Mers within the universe of Everblue without it being overwhelming and distracting from the story. 

I found myself smiling at some points and at other times holding my breath to get through a scene. At the end of each chapter I couldn't wait to start the next right away. As a result I finished this book much too soon. Everblue is an absolute must read for anyone who enjoys something a little different in YA. 

I gave Everblue 5 stars on Goodreads. 

Find Brenda:
Blog     Twitter      Goodreads    Facebook

MyVampFiction Original Fiction Contest

 

This year I was delighted to be invited to be a judge on the MyVampFiction Original Fiction Contest.  Submissions will open September 1st. This is the second annual contest and comes with great prizes.

• 1st prize: $100
• 2nd prize: $50
• Judges Choice: $25 Amazon Gift Card  (this award will be chosen from the field of non-finalists)

For full details on the guidelines and rules visit the contest page.

See here for a full list of judges including Kevin James Breaux and Rachel Caine.

I recently had a long middle of the night chat with Susan from MyVampFiction about writing, Shades of Atlantis and the people in my head. You can read it here.

 

Finally, congratulations to Brenna, winner of the Shades of Atlantis giveaway. Also to Damaris and  Elenariel who each won an Ember ebook. Thank you to everyone who stopped by during Blogfest 2011. Today on the Omnific Publishing Blog you will find an exclusive first peek inside Ember.

Ember Trailer

I’m very pleased to be able to show you the trailer for my newest release, Ember. This paranormal romance will be available to buy from 19th July 2011.


Ember on Goodreads. 
           
                                          


When Candra Ember wakes up in hospital after a dangerous encounter with a red-haired woman, she is shocked to discover that seeing a winged boy wasn’t her imagination. Candra is exposed to a world of rivalry and sacrifice she never knew existed, and the aftermath of a war to save humanity thousands of years ago. Soon she finds herself relentlessly stalked by Sebastian, a beautiful and arrogant Watcher Angel and romantically pursued by his darkly seductive rival, Draven. Ultimately, dubious about her own goodness, Candra’s very existence compromises a tentative peace in the city of Acheron.

                Drop into the Omnific Publishing Blog Monday for a sneak peek inside the book.

Blog tour and other news

I have a few announcements for today.

Firstly, if you look above you will see the lovely pink banner for Omnific Publishing's Anniversary Sale. If you love a bargain, now is your chance to get some great books and save some money at the same time.

Speaking of great books, I would like to draw you attention here to the lovely post about about my fabulous publisher and the authors signed to them.

But wait! There is more!   

Omnific publishing books are now available at Coffee Time Romance. Look at the pretty gif displayed on their site.

Don't forget to enter the Web Hunt from the 1st to the 14th February, 2011.

 It couldn't be easier. Just find the love heart on an author's site and match the saying to the author in the form on the Omnific site.

 Last but not at all least, the Shades of Atlantis blog tour has started with a review 4 star review on:

Check in with Mel tomorrow too for a guest post from me and giveaway.