Feature & Follow Friday #9

Hi peeps…

If you are new to the #FF fun, Feature & Follow is a blog hop that expands your blog following by a joint effort between bloggers.

Feature & Follow is hosted by Rachel of Parajunkee and Alison of Alison Can Read.

Ok, so here’s how it works… Leave a comment on this post so that I can follow you back.



For more details regarding Feature and Follow have a look at the following websites -
Parajunkee
Alison Can Read

Make sure to follow back if someone follows you! Let’s start spreading some blogger love…

Interview: Solitaire Parke

Today we have author Solitaire Parke on the blog for an interview, telling us about his novels, why he writes and his current projects. Be sure to stop by the blog on Saturday, June 30th for an AH-MAZING giveaway sponsored by Solitaire. Let the fun begin!

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Describe your series? What genre would you classify it into?

"The Emerald Dragon" is book one of the Series "Dragomeir" and is told by the leading character, Tanis.  The story is how he bonded with a dragon and prepares for an apocalyptic war.  The series explores many species such as, Demons, Dragons, Hell Hounds, and Vampires coexisting with mankind in Arizona.  I would consider this series to be Urban Fantasy.

How did you come up with the idea for the series?

I have read Fantasy for years, but I have never found all of the species I liked in one book.  The Dragomeir series fixes that problem for me.  I thought it would be fun for others too.

When and why did you begin writing?

Around the age of twelve.  I had been in the hospital for months and when I got home, I couldn't really do much.  I had been reading a lot during that time and it was a logical progression; reading stories, to writing them.

WINNER: $10 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

On Thursday, 14 June we had the awesome Laxmi Hariharan over for an author interview! Laxmi talks writes about her series, Destiny of Shaitan, about writing science fiction and a few other interesting deets :) If you hare interested in reading her interview - click here

Laxmi has been so friggin' fabulous that she sponsored a giveaway...Booyah! We've had a great response... and today we're announcing the WINNER!

ARC Review: Determinant

Determinant [The Guardians of Vesturon #3]
By A.M. Hargrove

The Guardians of Vesturon Series:
Beginnings: Prequel #0.1 - Goodreads page
Survival #1 - Goodreads page | See review
Resurrection #2 - Goodreads page
Determinant #3

Synopsis:

January St. Davis, on her own since the age of sixteen and struggling to stay in college, thinks she's scored in a major way when she lands a paid summer internship at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. One evening, after working an especially long shift, a chance encounter with a group of mysterious men alters the course of her life.

Rykerian Yarrister, a Guardian of Vesturon with unearthly powers and impossibly gorgeous looks, finds himself at odds over the human female he recently saved from certain death. When it seems he is on the verge of winning her over, she is ripped from his hands by a strange and powerful being, threatening to destroy her if his demands are not met.

Do Rykerian and the Guardians have the ability to meet this fierce barbarian's ultimatums, or will January suffer a horrid demise?

| See cover reveal, excerpt & author bio |

Where to begin? I was blown away by Determinant - it's definitely my favourite in the series. My emotions were on a major roller coaster ride - completely haywire!!

Rykerian is so sensitive, sweet, sensual, loving and romantic - the list could go on. He's the type of guy that would carry you on his hands and kiss the ground you walk on! Ok, he does have his moments of typical 'guyness' (is that a word? lol), but what guy doesn't? He gained a lover mate but also lost a close family member - I was gutted!! My throat was so tight from swallowing back tears!

Books To Die For: Our Top 5 Favourites

Ritesh and I decided to do something a little different today and not just flood the blog with guest posts and interviews! So today, we are listing our top 5 'to die for' books/series :) - books are listed in no particular order.

Aaaand go for it, Ritesh...

~~~~~~~~~~

When Alexia came up with the idea for this post, I only wanted to include the books which had left a mark on me, had actually helped in my development as a reader, and as a person. After a lot of thought, and going through my 'Read' list on Goodreads, I have come up with a list of books/series which I think deserve to be here.

Harry Potter Seriesby J.K Rowling



This series rekindled the joy of reading in a young kid, who had lost that magic. This surely means that the Harry Potter series has to be on my list. I loved each and every character in the book, even Draco Malfoy. I literally grew up with these characters, and I loved being part of their life story.

WINNERS: New Design Launch Giveaway

On Friday, 25 May we had the opening post of the new and improved Alexia's Chronicles! Vicky at Sweet Dreams Design was the amazing designer of this new look :) I also announced that Ritesh Kala is joining me as an Associate Blogger...

I have to admit that seeing my blog looking all 'spiffy' and pretty has given me a new passion drive to blog. Every Tuesday we have a guest post, on Thursday's we have author interviews (except every 3rd Thursday of the month we have a blogger interview) and reviews and giveaways are thrown in between :) On Friday's we have the Follow & Feature Friday meme and on Sunday's we have the Sunday Post - which has proven to be so much fun!

Sunday Post #3

The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Inspired by the meme, In My Mailbox - it's a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books, things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

So let's get started :)

Since we’re both feeling way better, we’ve jumped in feet first and started the week off with…

Saturday, 16 June

As you know we had author Laxmi Hariharan over for an interview on June 14^th. See here

She was kind enough to sponsor a prize for the giveaway… $10 Amazon Gift Card! Woot woot J Enter here

Cover Reveal: Determinant

Author A.M. Hargrove's 3rd book in her The Guardians of Vesturon series will be released end of June. In this post I will reveal the cover for Determinant, the synopsis, an excerpt and author information. So without further ado... here it is :)

Title: Determinant [The Guardians of Vesturon #3]

Author: A.M. Hargrove

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance (with a sci-fi element)

Heat: Hot

Series: The Guardians of Vesturon - see here

Survival #1 - see here

Resurrection #2 - see here

Beginnings: Prequel #0.1 - see here

Synopsis:

January St. Davis, on her own since the age of sixteen and struggling to stay in college, thinks she's scored in a major way when she lands a paid summer internship at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. One evening, after working an especially long shift, a chance encounter with a group of mysterious men alters the course of her life.

Rykerian Yarrister, a Guardian of Vesturon with unearthly powers and impossibly gorgeous looks, finds himself at odds over the human female he recently saved from certain death. When it seems he is on the verge of winning her over, she is ripped from his hands by a strange and powerful being, threatening to destroy her if his demands are not met.

Do Rykerian and the Guardians have the ability to meet this fierce barbarian's ultimatums, or will January suffer a horrid demise?

Amazon e-book |  Amazon UK  |  Smashwords |  Barnes & Noble  |  iTunes

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Feature & Follow Friday #8

Hi peeps…

If you are new to the #FF fun, Feature & Follow is a blog hop that expands your blog following by a joint effort between bloggers. Feature & Follow is hosted by Rachel of Parajunkee and Alison of Alison Can Read.

Ok, so here’s how it works… Leave a comment on this post so that I can follow you back. For more details regarding Feature and Follow have a look at the following websites -

Parajunkee
Alison Can Read

Make sure to follow back if someone follows you! Let’s start spreading some blogger love…

ARC Review: Destiny Bewitched

Destiny Bewitched [Shadows of Destiny #4]
By Leia Shaw

Shadows of Destiny Series:
Destiny Divided #1 - see review
Destiny United #2 - see review
For the Love of Harmony #2.5 - see review
Destiny Unchained #3 - see review
Destiny Bewitched #4

From Goodreads:

Deemed “trailer trash” by humans and the daughter of the most disgraceful family of witches and warlocks since the Puritan age, Samantha is used to fighting her own battles. When her younger sister is taken to the Underworld, Sam doesn't hesitate to rescue her.

To survive the harsh land, she makes a deal with a demon — the most dangerous of creatures in the realm. Even with those lustrous horns, Geo is as hot as the hell she's stuck in. Fighting nasty beasts in a supernatural version of the gladiator games is easy compared to falling in love with a man who has no future to offer.

I've had the pleasure of receiving all of Leia Shaw's novels for review. I totally LOVE the Shadows of Destiny Series! For me personally I feel that each book is better than the last... and Destiny Bewitched is by far the friggin' best of all the other books in the series!!

Leia has grown as an author and this novel proves it. :) Destiny Bewitched is sexier racier (if that's even a word?) than the rest (besides for For the Love of Harmony, where Leia introduces a light 'throw me on the bed and tie me up' style of writing) of the series!

Blogger Interview: Natasha Anne Fernandez

Alexia and I have planned a new feature on the blog. Once a month, every Third Thursday of the month, we will be interviewing a book blogger. Of course, we wanted to start this feature by interviewing the friends we've made while blogging, and who better than one of our best friends!

Let me introduce you to Natasha Anne Fernandez, the teenager who loves to read! I met Natasha through Terra Harmony, when I had planned a week long feature on the blog for her. She introduced me to both Natasha and Alexia, and we three have been friends ever since. Nat is now like the younger sister I never had (I have an elder sister, who can sometimes be the bane of my existence, hope Nat does not feel like that about me!)

~Alexia: Nat and I met in a group on Goodreads (for the life of me I can't remember which group). We helped each other with blogging issues and supported each other, from there it's went down hill - no, only kidding lol!! 

So Natasha, tell us a bit about yourself.

Well, let's see. I discovered reading when my mum handed me a box of Disney bedtime story books and I am just so fascinated by the prince charming's in the story, I guess that is the onset for my fascination towards fictional characters. I grew up reading and there is not a day gone by without me falling asleep beside a book.I’m a goth at heart, I love dark and contrast color, and I am a huge movie buff. I love exploring new genres (movies, music and books included) and love to eat! Anything meat suits me just fine. I love meeting new people and wish I have a little bit of Bellatrix Lestrange craziness in me. 

PS. I cry easily over books and movies.

Guest Post: The Hero Inside Every Woman

The Hero Inside Every Woman

By Diane Lynn McGyver

Let’s first set the stage: I grew up in a house with seven brothers and two sisters; all but one sibling was older than me. I gravitated towards the boys because they did more enjoyable things—fishing, camping, go-carts, hiking, swimming—than the girls—knitting, dishes, laundry, house-cleaning, baking. Boys also played Cowboys and Indians, Cops and Robbers and various other games where at least one of the cast starred as the hero.

Being a tomboy, rough and tough like my brothers, I took turns at portraying the good guys and the bad guys. This gave me the opportunity to envision what both sides of the conflict experienced, and as it turned out, it was a great help when I later constructed characters—both hero and villain—in my stories.

But what it really taught me was a girl could be a hero, too. Unlike being a helpless princess in a silly fairy tale, I could be the Lone Ranger or Tonto, Spiderman, Captain Kidd or Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest…or some made-up, female version of these heroes. I could take control and win the day!

It took me a while to translate ‘women can be heroes’ into making my heroes female. Up until about a dozen years ago, I still wrote stories with men leading the way. In my mind I was still the hero, and he was still male.

Sunday Post #2

The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Inspired by the meme, In My Mailbox - it's a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books, things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

So lets get started :)

So this week has been pretty slow with reviews as Ritesh and I were/are both sick :( Here is what happened this week...

Tuesday, 12 June

We had author Zoe Brooks over for a guest post - Development of Central Characters.  

Sneak peak - "In order for me to really enjoy a book, I need to care for the central character. I like her to be flawed and human, and I want to come to an understanding of her during the course of the story. One other thing I need - she should have some guts. It's what I attempt to do in my own books. It seems from the reviews that I have succeeded. But where did my central character come from? When I was a little girl I used to get a comic called Bimbo (it really was called that) and my favourite bit was a series called The Further Adventures of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." Read more here

Giveaway: $10 Amazon Gift Card

We just done an interview with Laxmi Hariharan, author of the Destiny of Shaitan. Laxmi has graciously sponsored an awesome giveaway. We will be giving one lucky winner a $10 Amazon Gift Card. This has to be the easiest $10 you could win! So go ahead and enter the rafflecopter below. Be sure to stop by Laxmi's interview and leave her a comment!

The rules are quite simple.

1. Only one entry per user.
2. Giveaway is open internationally.
3. Entries will be open till June 25, 2012.
4. We will notify the author of the winner, and will pass your email address to her. The author will contact the winner.
5. It is the responsibility of the author to ensure that you receive the gift card. If you do not receive your prize in 15 days, please let us know.

That is it! So go ahead and enter!

Feature & Follow Friday #7

Hi peeps…

If you are new to the #FF fun, Feature & Follow is a blog hop that expands your blog following by a joint effort between bloggers. Feature & Follow is hosted by Rachel of Parajunkee and Alison of Alison Can Read.

Ok, so here’s how it works… Leave a comment on this post so that I can follow you back. For more details regarding Feature and Follow have a look at the following websites -

Parajunkee
Alison Can Read


Make sure to follow back if someone follows you! Let’s start spreading some blogger love… 

Interview: Laxmi Hariharan

Today we have author Laxmi Hariharan on the blog. This is really exciting for me, as Laxmi is from India AND writes science fiction, which is an awesome combination! We chat about Laxmi's books, about writing science fiction and the quirks involved in it and of course about India! Also, Laxmi has graciously agreed to hold a giveaway for a $10 Amazon Gift Card too, so go check it out as well!. Now, let's get started!


Describe your book? How do you come up with the idea for the book? 

The Destiny of Shaitan is a delicious blend of gods & humans, sacred & profane; a gripping ride offering a glimpse into your own power. Partially set in a futuristic Bombay, this coming of age story is painted against the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic world. When Tiina accompanies Yudi on a mission to save the universe from the ruthless Shaitan, she seeks more than the end of the tyrant; she seeks herself. The final showdown between Tiina, Yudi, and Shaitan has unexpected consequences, for Shaitan will do anything in his power to win the fight.  The stakes are high and the combatants determined. Will Shaitan's ultimate destiny be fulfilled

I am inspired by Indian mythology. My grandmother narrated me these amazing stories of Indian Gods and Goddesses and their fantastic adventures, when I was growing up in Bombay. So I think the seeds of this book were sown when I was a five year old. I hope The Destiny of Shaitan will introduce an entire new generation around the world to Indian mythology – in a very cool, easy to understand fashion. 

Guest Post: Development of Central characters

Development of Central characters: Where do they come from?

By Zoe Brooks

In order for me to really enjoy a book, I need to care for the central character. I like her to be flawed and human, and I want to come to an understanding of her during the course of the story. One other thing I need - she should have some guts. It's what I attempt to do in my own books. It seems from the reviews that I have succeeded. But where did my central character come from?

When I was a little girl I used to get a comic called Bimbo (it really was called that) and my favourite bit was a series called The Further Adventures of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Having read it I would run up and down the hall inventing the next installment and somehow my version was always better than that which the real writers came up with. Even then I liked my heroines strong and active.

My reading of Bimbo may have stopped, but my favourite character stayed with me as the centre of my daydreams. She came in all sorts of forms as I would have several stories going at any one time and her trials and tribulations evolved as I did. Looking back I now realise that I used her as a mechanism to explore the world and understand people I met in it. I still do.

Sunday Post #1

The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Inspired by the meme, In My Mailbox - it's a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books, things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

So lets get started :)

Sunday, June 3

On Sunday we had author Stephen Zimmer on the blog for his Spirit of Fire blog tour. His guest post - War: What is it good for?

Sneak peak - "Conflict is one of the most critical elements of a compelling story, and there are few better contexts for bringing conflicts of all kinds into a story than war. Wars provide an environment in which characters of all kinds develop, are tested rigorously, and ultimately go through their individual arcs to destinations that are for the better or worse."  Read more here

Interview: Natalie Hancock

Today we have Natalie Hancock on the blog for an interview. Natalie is a young author that has written 3 books already - Eternal Darkness, Dark Shadows & Dark Awakening (Cursed in Darkness Series). She is an inspiration to all young authors out there :) She will be discussing her novels, how they came about, her characters and the genre. So without further ado, lets get to the interview...

Describe your books? What genre would you classify it into?

Erotic Vampire Paranormal Romance

How do you come up with the idea for the books? 

Hmm... I’ve read a lot of vampire paranormal romance books, and I guess I got the idea for a vampire book from those. Although I didn’t start writing the books until I started dreaming about them.

When and why did you begin writing?

I was bullied badly in school and I guess it was my way to jump out of the world I didn’t want to be in and jump into the world I wished this world was.

Guest Post: A Reading Writer's Dilemma

A Reading Writer's Dilemma

By Elysa Hendricks

When I was young, before I started writing (more years ago than I care to remember or admit) reading was my greatest pleasure. I was never a physically coordinated child. Team sports and board games (no computer stuff back in the Dark Ages) didn't appeal to me. So I spent my free time lost in the fictional worlds of Heinlein, Clark and Asimov. At some point, probably in my mid to late teens, I discovered romance novels and I was hooked. Harlequin, Rosemary Rogers, and Kathleen Woodiwiss introduced me to the world of dashing heroes and imperiled heroines, love and sometimes sex. I devoured the short contemporary Harlequins and immersed myself in the long historicals. At that time, since most science fiction and fantasy was written by men for men there was little to no "romance" included. My, how times have changed.

For a long time reading was my escape from the real world, a place I could go where the good guys and gals always won, a place where I could forget about bullies, babies, and bills.

When I was in high school I took a creative writing class and fell in love with the process of putting the people that lived in my head on paper. For a short, extremely short period of time, I thought about becoming a writer. But back then the only career that involved writing, at least according to the teachers at my school, was journalism. So in college I dutifully majored in English. I suffered through numerous journalism classes before I realized that I HATED having to write nothing but the facts.  Somehow it never occurred to me that I could write books without having first been a reporter. It seemed like every novelist I read about started as some kind of reporter, so I gave up my dream of being a writer and got a "real" job.

Review: Eternal Hunger

 

Eternal Hunger [Mark of the Vampire #1]
By Laura Wright

Mark of the Vampire Series:
Eternal Hunger #1
Eternal Kiss #2
Eternal Blood #3
Eternal Captive #4
Eternal Beast #5

From Goodreads:

A dark and sexy debut paranormal romance. In the dark, fear and desire are one... Alexander Roman wants nothing to do with those of his vampire breed. Fate places him at the door of Dr. Sara Donohue, who is dedicated to removing patients' traumatic memories. 

But as their world's collide, Sara and Alexander are bound by something even stronger as one becomes hunter and the other, prey. And Sara's only chance of survival is to surrender to the final-and most unimaginable-desire of her life.
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I stumbled across this book while visiting a new fellow book blogger’s blog. I read her review and decided I had to read Eternal Hunger.

I enjoy vampy books with the cliché ‘destined human mate’ and the struggle of acceptance and the whole “no no, it can’t be true, vampires don’t exist, you’re not real, blah blah blah”. Eternal Hunger has that part in it, but I feel that Sara (human mate) accepted it too fast – any sane person would put up more of a fight, I mean, he’s a vampire, hellooo – grab your lip gloss and run!! Lol

Blog Tour: Spirit of Fire

War - What is it Good For?

By Stephen Zimmer

Today I want to say a few words about war, and what it might be good for.  Of course, war is a horrible thing in our own world, but this post concerns war as it is used in fiction; and in that sense war does have value when it comes to forging an engaging tale.

Conflict is one of the most critical elements of a compelling story, and there are few better contexts for bringing conflicts of all kinds into a story than war.  Wars provide an environment in which characters of all kinds develop, are tested rigorously, and ultimately go through their individual arcs to destinations that are for the better or worse. 

  

In the genres that I write in, such as fantasy, wars are prime components of a great many of the most successful stories and franchises of all time.   From the epic clash with Mordor in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, to the struggle against the White Witch in Narnia, to the trials of the mercenary company in Glen Cook’s Black Company novels, wars have long provided fertile ground for storytellers.   In fact, one of the first major works of western literature, the Iliad, is centered around a large war that becomes the catalyzing force for the events that form the amazing story told in the Odyssey.

Feature & Follow Friday #6

Hi peeps…

If you are new to the #FF fun, Feature & Follow is a blog hop that expands your blog following by a joint effort between bloggers. Feature & Follow is hosted by Rachel of Parajunkee and Alison of Alison Can Read.

Ok, so here’s how it works… Leave a comment on this post so that I can follow you back. For more details regarding Feature and Follow have a look at the following websites -

Parajunkee
Alison Can Read

Make sure to follow back if someone follows you! Let’s start spreading some blogger love…