May Mini-Madness Giveaways!

How does a May Mini-Madness sound to you? Every week I'll be doing a giveaway for one of my series', starting this week with The Tale of Lunarmorte trilogy. Here's the schedule I'm looking at for the giveaways...


 Tuesday 1st May to Friday 4th May - Kicking off... The Tale of Lunarmorte giveaway. Enter for a chance to win a signed copy of the entire trilogy, paperback copies sent to runners up directly from amazon and kindle vouchers up for grabs.

 Monday 7th May to Friday 11th May - The Warriors of Ankh giveaway. Enter for a chance to win a signed copy of the entire trilogy, paperback copies sent to runners up directly from amazon and kindle vouchers up for grabs.

Monday 14th to Friday 18th May - The Slumber giveaway. Enter for a chance to win a signed copy of Slumber, paperback copies to sent to runners up directly from amazon and kindle vouchers up for grabs.

Monday 21st to Friday 25th May - The Fire Spirits giveaway. Enter for a chance to win a signed copy of Smokeless Fire and Scorched Skies, paperback copies sent to runners up directly from amazon, plus kindle vouchers and signed bookmarks up for grabs. There will also be a special Scorched Skies swag pack giveaway hosted on a fantabulous book blog.

Sound good, yes? :-D 

Check back in tomorrow to enter The Tale of Lunarmorte giveaway!


Sam x

Teaser #4 - Borrowed Ember

I couldn't resist getting a teaser out to you this week... :-p

"Glowering at her, the dangerous Marid stopped inches before her, his height causing her to crane her neck back. The smell of leather and spice enveloped her and Ari hated that it wasn’t an altogether unpleasant scent. 'Is the Seal trying to take control of you, Ari Johnson?'

His perceptive question made her choke on a gasp and she took a step back, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. She wished she knew if it was from his question or his proximity. 'It does that when I feel I might be in danger.'  "

Sam x

Settling In...

VIDEO BLOG.

Showing off my new office and rambling nonsense at you...








Sam x

Borrowed Ember: Teaser #3

I start the big move tomorrow! I get the keys to my new place tomorrow morning and so begins the move which is going to take a few days. By the time I get internet up and running I don't think I'll be back online until next week. So I hope you have a great weekend! And let me leave you with a teaser for Borrowed Ember... 

Borrowed Ember (Fire Spirits #3)

" Shaking herself from her thoughts, Ari realized Asmodeus was just standing there. Glaring at her. She crossed her arms over her chest defensively. “You still wear the Seal. Well you pretend to.” She nodded at the ring hanging from a piece of leather rope around his neck.

Asmodeus touched it without breaking her gaze, his long, strong fingers brushing the ancient-looking ring. “Azazil wishes it so. He does not want others hunting you.”

Ari immediately thought of Dalí. Had the sorcerer told anyone else about her? “That might be too late.”

Asmodeus’ eyes flashed with violence and his voice lowered into a deep rumble, “Oh it is.” "

Sam x

Book Trailer Reveal: What I didn't Say by Keary Taylor

You all know I'm a huge fan of author Keary Taylor! I am so looking forward to her new release, her first YA contemporary titled 'What I didn't Say' coming out May 11th, and am so excited to be one of the blogs revealing the book trailer for the novel today :-)

 

What I didn't Say by Keary Taylor

Out May 11th 2012!

Keary's Official Blog  

Goodreads Link

Facebook  

Twitter

So without further ado... here is the book trailer...

I think it's awesome. Cannot wait to read this!

Sam x

First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones

First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson #1) by Darynda Jones

amazon - paperback £5.91 
 amazon - paperback $14.48  
  

Book Description

Private investigator Charlotte Davidson was born with three things: looks; a healthy respect for the male anatomy; and the rather odd job title of grim reaper. Since the age of five, she has been helping the departed solve the mysteries of their deaths so they can cross over. Thus, when three lawyers from the same law firm are murdered, they come to her to find their killer.

In the meantime, Charley's dealing with a being more powerful - and definitely sexier - than any spectre she's ever come across before. With the help of a pain-in-the-ass skip tracer, a dead pubescent gangbanger named Angel, and a lifetime supply of sarcasm, Charley sets out to solve the highest profile case of the year and discovers that dodging bullets isn't nearly as dangerous as falling in love.




My Thoughts

One word: Snark!

This book is hilarious - I was literally laughing out loud from the first page. From the witty and sarcastic heroine, Charley, to the funny chapter taglines (my favourite being: Never knock on Death's door. Ring the doorbell and run. He totally hates that), this was the ultimate in fun read. The plot was complex enough to keep me intrigued but not too complex that I was confused. Charley is sassy, her friend Cookie is a riot, hot sceptic cop Garett is intriguing, and smokin' scary but yummy Reyes is a super cool subplot that I hope is really going to develop more over the next couple of books.

Fast-paced, action-packed, humorous and sexy. What more could anyone ask for in a adult pnr book?

:-D Bring on book two!

Need an Editing Service?

Hey folks, 

For all you writers out there looking for an awesome editing service check out Ashley's Freelance Editing. Ashley and her team edited my manuscript for Scorched Skies (Fire Spirits #2) and were professional, friendly and exceptionally thorough. Her prices are reasonable too! Yay :-) I know I'll be heading back to her for my next book so I highly recommend you guys give her a wee lookie look! Click on the pic to check out the website...

Sam x

Slammed by Colleen Hoover

Slammed (Slammed #1)
 by Colleen Hoover


Book Description
(taken from goodreads)

'Slammed' is the first of a two book series. The second book, "Point of Retreat," will be available for download after March 2nd, 2012.

After the unexpected death of her father forces eighteen year old Layken and her family to move across the country, away from everyone and everything she knows, her outlook on life is anything but hopeful.

Enter Will Cooper: the attractive twenty-one year old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry. After a night together that turns out to be everything but the expected, both Layken and Will are left with feelings they never knew they could have. Unfortunately in Layken's life, things are never what they seem. Just as quickly as it develops, their relationship is derailed by a shocking revelation, sparking a tumultuous battle between their hearts and their ethics.

As if the dramatic turn of events in her life isn't enough, Layken is slammed again when her mother reveals a secret of her own. A secret so intense, all of Layken's current problems pale in comparison to her seemingly insurmountable future. Unable to confront the changes that lie ahead of her, Layken ignores her conscience as she turns to Will for solace. Struggles ensue as both Layken and Will search for a balance between that which keeps them apart and the feelings that pull them together.
Slammed is the first installment of a two-part series. The second installment, Point of Retreat, will be available on Amazon beginning March 2nd, 2012.
  

My Thoughts

I had never heard of Slammed until someone on Facebook mentioned it. Intrigued by the title I headed over to GR to look at some reviews and was blown away by the comments and high average rating for a book that only so few have heard of. Well… I saw that Slammed’s obscurity hasn’t lasted long and it’s taking off in the bestseller’s lists and I’m not surprised. I predict that if the book ever falls under Hollywood’s radar that it won’t be long before author Colleen Hoover will hear a knock at the door for film option.

I opened my kindle to have a squint at Slammed before I went to bed and ended up staying up to 3am to finish it.

Told from the first person narrative of mc Lake, the reader is immediately pulled into her earthen, real and sad story as she moves from Texas to Michigan following the unexpected death of her father. On the first day she meets neighbor Will, and Hoover does a truly magical job (perhaps one of the best I’ve ever read) of creating an authentic and instant connection between the two. A few days after meeting, everything falls apart for Lake, and we travel through her story feeling every emotion, every shock and every epiphany. Slammed is a beautifully told story, enhanced by the insertion of some truly moving Slam poetry. It’s funny because a friend of mine had only just introduced me to some powerful Slam poetry on Youtube a few weeks before reading this. I’m definitely sending Slammed her way.

What more can I really say without giving away plot points that really need to be discovered by the reader. All I can say is that this isn’t oversentimental or cheesy. It’s real and moving … I think mostly because it reminds us all that even when the world seems to be throwing one bad thing after another at us, there’s always someone out there going through bad stuff too. Moreover, we have to learn to remember that so we don’t feel victimized by fate and more importantly we have to learn to see promise in everything else so it doesn’t get tainted by the bad.

Awesome read. Can’t wait to read part two.

Sam x

Phantasmagoria and Other Stories

I'm definitely going to be a.w.o.l for the next few days so I thought I'd leave you with a taster of what's to come in 2013...

 Cover art by the extremely talented and lovely Claudia McKinney a.k.a. Phatpuppy Art 
Model: Jake H Rafus 

Book Description (For now)

Phantasmagoria and Other Stories

Each world is different.

Each world is dark…

… Dangerous. Unreal. Fantastical.

Journey from one world of fantasy to the next in this series of short stories from paranormal and urban fantasy writer Samantha Young.

Includes:

Phantasmagoria - a Dreamwalker short story

Chasm City - a short story inspired by the cover art for ‘Phantasmagoria and Other Stories’

This Weeping Frost - the companion novella to ‘Drip Drop Teardrop, a novella’

Moon Matched - a short story from the world of Lunarmorte.

Soul Taken - a short story from the world of Warriors of Ankh.

Coming 2013!

;-) I hope you like the sound of this guys. It's a really fun project for me and I'm looking forward to it. I also am absolutely in love with this art piece... as you can see from the temporary book description I was actually inspired by this tremendous piece of artwork to write an extra short for the collection.


Ciao for now... I should be back in a little while. Hope you all have a great week :-)


Sam x

Borrowed Ember: Teaser #2

I thought I'd post a teaser for Borrowed Ember today since, as you can see from my last post, I don't know when or if I'll be around much online for the next wee while. I probably will, since I hate not answering my email and comments on the blog/facebook etc, but I know I'm going to be busy so there's no guarantee. So... here's a teaser to tide Fire Spirits fans over for now.

"Sighing, as if he were already weary with the trial, Red nodded his head towards the white-haired Jinn and his companion. “That is Sultan Azazil. He is accompanied today by his Lieutenant, Prince Asmodeus.”

Charlie resisted the urge to bite the skin around his thumb like he did when he was sitting an exam. “Is the Sultan… you know the judge?”

“No. Azazil watches over the trial. The Marid,” Red indicated a tall, slim man who was sitting in a sprawled out, bored position just along from Ari. “His name is Adeel: the just, the wise.”

“He looks bored.”

“Well the trial hasn’t started yet.”

“So Azazil has no say in this?”

Red nodded in assurance, and for some reason the knowledge that the mercurial and frankly, insane, Sultan had no part in the outcome of his trial made Charlie feel better — insane or not, the guy was all-powerful.

He shot another quick glance at Azazil. “Do I need to bow or anything?”

Red smirked. “Only when you’re acquitted.”

“Ooh I’m liking the confidence.” Charlie rubbed his sweaty hands down his jeans. “Confidence is key.”

Chuckling, Red nodded and retreated."

Sam x