[Blog Tour] Rules of Survival by Jus Accardo #giveaway

Book Title: Rules of Survival

Author: Jus Accardo

Tagline: If you want to survive, you have to follow the rules

Book Synopsis: Mikayla Morgan is wanted for her mother's murder. She's been on the run for almost a year now, avoiding not only the police but the real killer. Tired of running and desperate to clear her name, she breaks one of the most sacred rules: never return to the scene of the crime.

Every bounty hunter on the Eastern Seaboard is after the Morgan girl—but Shaun Denver and his partner snagged her. She's a piece of work, and Shaun can't decide if he wants to kiss her or kill her. When things take a sharp turn south, Shaun does the only thing he can think of to keep her close—he handcuffs them together.

As the danger mounts and the killer closes in, the chemistry between them threatens to explode. Shaun and Kayla will need to break all the rules if they hope to get out of this alive.

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

Twitter: @EPEmbrace  Steals and Deals

Author Bio:

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. But at the last minute, she realized her true path lay with fiction, not food.

Jus is the bestselling author of the popular Denazen series from Entangled publishing, as well as the Darker Agency series, and the New Adult series, The Eternal Balance. A native New Yorker, she lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband, three dogs, and sometimes guard bear, Oswald.

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Giveaway Info:

$15 Amazon Gift Card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

[Release Day] Camouflaged by Selena Laurence

It's a pleasure to have my friend, Selena Laurence, here with us today with her new NA release -- CAMOUFLAGED. 

The Book

Camouflaged (Hiding From Love Novella #0.5)

Gabe Thompson enlisted to help out his buddy, but three years later he's 100% US military bad boy, serving in the desert of Afghanistan where the days are hot, but the nights are hotter.

Alexis Garcia is out to save the world. The University of Texas freshman has come to Afghanistan to do aid work with the United Nations. She's all about the peace, and she has no use for the camp's biggest, baddest, gun toting player.

But, sometimes camouflage is more than a color, and people aren't what they seem. When conflict develops not only between Gabe and Alexis, but also all around them, they're forced to look deeper, and what they find will rock their worlds and change their hearts forever.

Camouflaged is the prequel novella to Top 100 bestselling Military Romance, Hidden.

The Author

Selena Laurence lives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and spends a hell of a lot of time at soccer games, on her laptop, and reading. She requires a Mocha Latte every day to function, keeps a goldendoodle at her feet most of the time, and has more kids than she knows what to do with. Her husband, Mr. Laurence, spends as much time as he can at the office and the gym in order to avoid the kids, the dog, the laptop and the reading, but he always shows up for the soccer games, and he makes a mean Mocha Latte.

Selena can help you Escape the Everyday at these online locations: www.selenalaurence.com

Twitter: @selenalaurence

Facebook: SelenaLaurenceRomanceAuthor

The Reviews

5 STARS: “absolutely amazing. Definitely another book that is going on my perfect romance shelf.” – Heather, Not Everyone’s Mama Book Reviews

4 STARS: “Selena does a fantastic job building the characters and the story line so that you’re sucked in from page one.” – Michele, Goodreads

5 STARS: “well written beautiful storyline and characters” – Caryn, Goodreads

5 STARS: “This is a perfect love story” – Mary, Goodreads

4 STARS: “Selena Laurence grabs you from the first paragraph and pulls you into Gabe and Alexis' story which keeps you interested until the very end.” – Mary, Goodreads

 The Excerpt

I focused on those gorgeous lips. “I think you’re all bark and no bite, and that you’re trying to chase me away with your bad attitude because you’re afraid of me. I bet you like to be in control of everything all the time, don’t you?”

            She swallowed and I felt everything below my belt tighten to the point of pain. I dug my hand into the hunk of hair at the back of her head and gently pulled her toward me. She didn’t resist as my heart rate picked up and her breaths came in little pants.

            “You’re afraid you won’t be able to control a guy like me, aren’t you? And you know what? You’re right. You wouldn’t be able to control me. But I’d take you on the ride of your life, and you’d thank me for it afterwards.” I leaned in ever so slowly, my lips hovering over hers as her eyes fluttered shut. I could feel the heat from her face, and her chest grazed mine, setting off sparks all up and down my spine. Her hair was like strands of silk, and I gripped the back of her head tighter, pulling her that infinitesimal bit closer. She had a quick intake of breath and I felt my chest clutch. 

BUY LINK:

http://www.amazon.com/Camouflaged-Hiding-Love-0-5-ebook/dp/B00G6BLT1Q/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1382898328&sr=1-3&keywords=Selena+Laurence

[Cover Reveal] Hidden by Selena Laurence #coverreveal #NA

HIDDEN – A Hiding From Love Novel

New Adult Contemporary Romance

Nick Carlisle comes to Hawaii to hide—from what happened during his service in Afghanistan, from relationships, from his future. Lyndsey Anderson came to Hawaii to hide too—from the man who abused her, from the sacrifices she made, from her dark past. But when Nick meets Lyndsey, Hawaii gets a whole lot hotter, and they find they can’t hide their hearts. As Nick fights to come to terms with what he’s done, Lyndsey struggles to forgive herself for the choices she’s made. But when the dangerous past threatens the beautiful present, can they survive to learn how to love? And who will finally reveal what’s hidden?

Selena Laurence 

I’m a wife, and a mom, and some would say a generally all-around nice person who woke up one day and realized that a) life wasn’t getting any longer, and b) the only thing I really liked to do was write and read Romance fiction. It was a lifelong tendency that started with books like PRIDE AND PREJUDICE when I was a teen, and continued in college when I would sit in the library and read Harlequins instead of studying for finals (OK, that part wasn’t terribly smart). Over the years I filled my need for romance by getting married (Mr. Laurence has a romantic streak hidden in there somewhere), watching soap operas, and dreaming about all sorts of improbable stories.

When I finally gave in to my obsession, I sat down (many times) at the local coffee shop, and wrote a book. The book was terrible, and I put it away, never to be seen again – seriously, never again. But eventually, with critique partners, beta readers, and a workshop or ten I found my rhythm and started publishing books.  Now, I spend hours and hours every day writing New Adult and Contemporary romances, drinking coffee, and trying to figure out how to get someone else to clean my house (that part’s not going so well).

I live in Colorado with my kids and Mr. L., and one very spoiled Goldendoodle. He pops up in my books every once in a while. I love to hear from readers, so don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter, and feel free to email me, Tweet or Facebook any time! www.selenalaurence.com

[Guest Post] Writing Craft for the Craftless by Selena Laurence

It's a pleasure to have fellow Crimson Romance author, Selena Laurence, at my blog today. She shares some great advice for writer's like me. Hope you enjoy!

Writing Craft for the Craftless

My critique partner, Jamie, loves craft. The craft of writing, that is. She has books and articles and reams of materials on craft. She’s studied it for years. She’s looks at charts and graphs and has giant white boards with post-it notes in all different colors.

The only craft book I own is one she gave me. I think I opened up the first page once, but then I got hungry and put it back on the shelf. When I look at Jamie’s fancy interpretations of where a story is supposed to climax, or hear her talk about “filter words” and “dark moments” my head spins and my eyes glaze over. So, how the hell do you write and publish a book when you have no interest in learning how to write one?

First and foremost? You read. And I mean LOTS. You have to read and read and read if you want the rhythm and logic of how a story is constructed to penetrate your craft-free head. Luckily for me that’s a simple task. I love to read beyond all normal human reason. I own over 700 romance novels. So, yeah, I’ve incorporated some basic story structure into my subconscious.

The next step is a little more intentional. Look at several authors who write what you want to write, and examine the structure of their stories. Most of the time you’ll probably notice that things consistently happen at the 25%, 50%, and 75% marks in their books (ebooks are great for tracking those percentage marker in books). If you’re a Romance writer like me, you’ll probably start to see that sex happens at 50%. Yay, we love that midpoint, don’t we? Once you realize that there are markers for action it’ll help you decide whether to add that extra scene before they make-up or break-up or get down and dirty, because you’ll be able to see what needs to happen at those markers.

Next, put your work on display. Yeah, I know, we all hate that, but if you’re craftless, it’s even more important to get feedback. Get a critique partner, beta readers, and a good solid revision process. I just naturally fast-draft my work, so after phase one I’m left with the shell of a story and have to go back through it and add layers of things like sensory details, smooth out transitions and fix details that need research.  I show my critique partner some portion of the manuscript at this point, then once the second layer is applied I go through a formal revision process, checking for certain mistakes I know I make, fixing those words I repeat over and over, adding in more sensory details if I need to, etc. Then, the full manuscript is off to my beta readers and my critique partner.

This is the point at which my critique partner calls me “90% girl” because I don’t want to do the really hard last 10%. I don’t like craft because I don’t like details. They give me a headache, and they’re hard (do you hear the whining here?). But, they have to be done, so after I hear back from everyone who’s seen it, I revise AGAIN!

At the end of all of this I have what I think is a pretty good book. I can’t put the plot points on a chart for you (although Jamie could), or graph out where the dark moment occurs in relationship to the word count, but people say I’ve told a good story, and in the end that’s what matters to me. And, I’ve saved myself from the fate worse than death, learning about craft. Craft is after all for breweries not books.

Author Bio:

Selena Laurence loves to write romantic stuff that helps you get away. Life can be a grind, and things like jobs and kids and dirty dishes make Jill a dull girl – and Selena too. So, she writes about hot guys and smart girls and exotic locales to give us all an “Escape from the Everyday.” Selena lives in the Rocky Mountains with her husband, children and a very spoiled Goldendoodle. Contact her at: www.selenalaurence.com

Selena's next book is Hidden, releasing later this year.

Hidden - A New Adult Romance

Nick is hiding his mistakes. Lyndsey is hiding her past. When they meet, the only thing they can't hide are their hearts. Struggling with issues of trust, family, grief, and love, can a young soldier who's witnessed the worst, and a young woman who's lived with the worst, save each other? Catch a ride on a wave of hot, Hawaiian heartbreak with Nick and Lyndsey. Catch what's Hidden.

photo credit: BLundin via photopin cc

[Cover Reveal] Sleeper by S.M. Jonhnston

Title: Sleeper (Book I in the Toy Soldiers series)

Author: S. M. Johnston

Release Date: December 2, 2013

Publisher: Entranced Publishing

Genre: NA speculative fiction

After a life saving heart transplant, eighteen-year-old Mishca Richardson is plagued by nightmares and an urgent desire to find her birth parents, which she puts down to post-operation depression. But her new heart seems to bring more than a second chance at life in the form of speed, strength and love at first sight.

About the Author:

Sharon is a writer from Mackay in Queensland, Australia who has short stories published in anthologies and was also runner-up in the Australian Literary Review's Young Adult short story contest with KARMA. By day she is a public relations executive and by night she writes weird fiction and soulful contemporaries while her husband, two sons and cat are fast asleep.

Social Media Links:

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/authorsmjohnston
Twitter: https://twitter.com/S_M_Johnston
Website: www.smjohnston.com
Blog: www.downunderwonderings.blogspot.com

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4019418.S_M_Johnston