I’m not going to lie–this book was labor-intensive. I wrote at least thirty-five pages of scenes that just didn’t work because Leigh, my main character, stopped talking to me for a looooong time, likely because I made her relive the nightmare known as The Grave Winner. Sorry, Leigh!

Anyway, in case you missed it, here’s the cover, blurb, and a few links. Other links will be added later. And, oh! I’ll be doing a blog tour in September, so stay tuned for details and giveaways!

Leigh Baxton just wants to pick up the pieces of her life—if you could call it that—but someone keeps resurrecting the dead. These new zombies have a knack for spilling Leigh’s precious blood, something she was warned about by a certain pair of undead sorceresses.

Desperate to find out why they’re here so Leigh can put the nightmares behind her, she must learn more about the gifts she carries. With Tram’s training sessions and clues from her mom’s past, Leigh begins to piece together what she’s capable of.

Too bad there isn’t a Cliff’s Notes version to saving the world.

The zombies have teamed up with followers of the darkest sorceress who ever lived, and they’ll play a wicked game until she’s freed from her prison inside the earth. When the battle to the death begins, Leigh must rely on friends, crushes, and even her enemies to win the war, but not the grave.

Amazon

Amazon International

13 Questions with The Devil Made Me Do It Author @sromkey

July 1, 2014June 30, 2014 by Lindsey Loucks, posted in 13 Questions, Crescent Moon Press, Liliana Sanches, Shawna Romkey, Speak of the Devil, The Devil Made Me Do It

I love this cover! It’s so eerie! Fun fact – it was designed by the Liliana Sanches, the same cover designer who did The Grave Winner and What Gifts She Carried!

The Devil Made Me Do It

Book Two: Speak of the Devil series

By Shawna Romkey

Coming July 1 – Go to hell!

The demons strike back!

Lily is working with the angels to stifle the last of the demon outbreaks and to figure out how to stop the Silence of God, so life can get back to boring normality. But all hell breaks loose when she’s stolen from school and brought face to face with the devil himself. Lily has to find her way back home to Luc, crack the prophecy that breaks the curse silencing God, and figure out how she and Luc can ever really be together; but Lucifer has other plans for her that don’t include her ever getting out of Hell in tact.

Book One, Speak of the Devil, is currently on sale for $2.99 for the Kindle.

Excerpt

Why me? I asked this question a lot, when I died, when I lived, when I’d lost my friends, when I’d hooked up with angels, when I was chased by demons, so it seemed trivial to ask it now, but why me? Why couldn’t I have a regular non-angel boyfriend to make out with and not worry about ruining, well, everything for everybody everywhere?

Snap out of it, Lily, I told myself. You have an amazing ability and super-hot— too hot— angel boyfriend, a blessed life that someone upstairs seems to think is valuable and worthy of protection. Quit feeling sorry for yourself and girl up.

“Right, girl up. I can do this,” I said aloud. My body was under control finally and I felt like I could go back to class as long as we got a new scene to work on. But I’d hurt Luc. I had to talk to him. I had to fix it and make it right. He was suffering with this as much as I was and probably more so since he had to have that pious-angel behavior and all.

I stood to go, pushing the vanity chair back as I did so.

“Lily!” someone whispered.

“What?” I turned to see if Cassie was there.

“Lily, look!” It was difficult to tell if it was a male orfemale voice since it was a whisper.

The voice was coming from behind me. I looked back around – that’s when I saw the surface of the mirror tremble, as though it were liquid. It rippled from the center. “Lilith!” The whisper came from the mirror.

Too late I remembered something Luc and Belle had said about mirrors. The surface splashed out toward me, and though I reflexively turned away and pulled back, the watery mirror grabbed me with its newly formed reflective arms and pulled me inside.

__________________________________________________________

Oooooh, I like that excerpt! Now it’s time to get to know Shawna a bit better with 13 Questions!

1. The zombie apocalypse is here. You’re going to fight them off with the first thing you see on your left. What is it?

My cell phone.

2. How do you like your vampires: not at all, sparkly, wearing a cape, or drinking blood from bottles? Why?

I do like vampires. Not sparkly. Capes are cool if it’s a period piece. Blood from bottles? Hmmm, not so much. I think I just like them yummy… Ian Somerholder, Alexander Skarsgard. That type of thing. :p

3. Other than your release day, what is something you’re really looking forward to?

Cover reveals are especially fun! That’s when it becomes real. Then there’s holding the book in your hands for the first time. That’s fun, too.

4. What’s the name of the book you’re reading?

I’m reading The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.

5. Pop or soda or soda pop or Coke?

It was soda when I was in Missouri. I got ridiculed once I moved to Nova Scotia, so I’ve converted to pop.

6. What is your favorite salty treat?

Chips and salsa

7. What makes you laugh?

Everything. I’m easily amused. My friends think I’m the best audience ever, but they also leave my house thinking all their jokes are a lot funnier than they really are.

8. What’s the one physical object you can’t live without?

My cell phone or laptop. Don’t know what I’d do without them.

9. What are you going to do right after you finish this interview?

Maybe read outside. It’s a beautiful day.

10. Would you rather have hiccups for the rest of your life or feel like you need to sneeze but not be able to for the rest of your life? Why?

The latter. I hate hiccups.

11. Do you have any strange writing quirks? If so, what are they?

I write in bed, which may seem weird. It’s comfy and I use my laptop. I probably write a lot more sleeping scenes than other people do though.

12. Would you consider yourself a pioneer or a settler? Why?

Pioneer. I’m a risk taker. I like variety and new things. I wouldn’t want to settle.

13. When it comes to food, are you the adventurous type, or do you like standard foods?

Adventurous as long as it isn’t gross. I wouldn’t survive on Fear Factor.

Good answers! You can find even more about Shawna below!

Shawna Romkey, teacher by day, writer by night (or day or whenever anyone leaves her alone long enough to get some work done). Bestselling YA / NA paranormal author of Speak of the Devil. The second in the series, The Devil Made Me Do It, will release July 1.

Shawna is from Kansas City, Missouri, but resides in Nova Scotia in a house by the sea with her husband, two sons, and currently two dogs but that’s subject to change depending on the local homeless dog population.

For more info, check out her website at www.shawnaromkey.com.

Links:

Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads

Splash Into Summer with Blood of a Mermaid by @OkatieO

June 5, 2014 by Lindsey Loucks, posted in Blood of a Mermaid, Crescent Moon Press, Katie O'Sullivan, Son of a Mermaid

Splash Into Summer Reading!

Blood of a Mermaid, Book 2 in the Mermaids of Cape Cod series, is available now! Shea MacNamara is back, still trying to navigate his newfound abilities and the world under the waves. To celebrate, there’s a giant giveaway of a bunch of goodies from a fantastic group of YA authors, with ebooks, swag and signed paperbacks! There’s also a Goodreads Giveaway for another signed copy of Blood of a Mermaid, and a sale price for the first book in the series, Son of a Mermaid – only $2.99 on Amazon!

So what are you waiting for? Splash into Summer, mermaid style!

About the Book:

Mermaid blood.

When Shea MacNamara fell into the ocean for the first time, he found he could breathe underwater. The son of a mermaid, the sea is in his blood. Literally. The best part of Shea’s new life? His girlfriend Kae, who also happens to be a beautiful mermaid.

But darkness lurks under the sea. When evil mermen kidnap Kae, the king reminds Shea that having royal blood means making tough choices.

An Arctic dungeon, a fiery plane crash, the legendary halls of Atlantis…and narwhals?

Having mermaid blood just got a lot more complicated.

Excerpt from BLOOD OF A MERMAID, by Katie O’Sullivan

Staring into Xander’s dark eyes, she saw again the lonely boy who needed to be comforted. Her heart ached for him. Another surge of electricity shot through her body and her mind slowly began to cloud.

Kae struggled to retain control of her thoughts. “I must…get home. It’s late and…and my parents will worry.” She knew she should back away from Xander and leave the garden, but she couldn’t make herself swim away. In fact, she found herself inching closer to his warm body, as if against her will, until his heat completely encircled her.

“Stay with me, Kae,” he whispered, his words hovering in the water around her, echoing in her head.

“Okay,” she heard herself agree, although she knew it was wrong. But she couldn’t quite remember why it was wrong. She did know she didn’t want to leave him, not when he needed her.

His words, Stay with me, seemed to have invaded her entire being, insinuating themselves into every fiber and muscle of her body, sapping her will power to make any decision other than to stay. A small part of her mind tried to disagree, but her body would not listen. She hovered in place, staring into Xander’s dark, bottomless eyes, unable to move away.

~ * ~ * ~

About the Author:

Katie O’Sullivan lives with her family and big dogs next to the ocean on Cape Cod, drinking way too much coffee and inventing new excuses not to dust. A recovering English major, she earned her degree at Colgate University and writes romance and adventure for young adults and the young at heart.

Living next to the Atlantic influences everything she writes. Her YA mermaid series begins in Nantucket Sound with SON OF A MERMAID, and continues the undersea adventures with BLOOD OF A MERMAID, coming from Crescent Moon Press in May 2014. Her latest contemporary romance from The Wild Rose Press is MY KIND OF CRAZY, a Cape Cod story of second chances and starting over.

Website ~ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon Author Page

Buy Links:

Son of a Mermaid, available for $2.99 on Amazon!

Blood of a Mermaid, available on AMAZON and Barnes&Noble

Add BLOOD OF A MERMAID on Goodreads, and enter the Giveaway below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Grave Winner Has Been Reduced in Price! #ya #paranormal

May 7, 2014 by Lindsey Loucks, posted in Book Birthday, Crescent Moon Press, The Grave Winner, What Gifts She Carried

In honor of its one year birthday, The Grave Winner has been reduced from $7.99 to $4.99 for a limited time!

Click here —-> Amazon

Grab your copy today! Also, stay tuned for details about the birthday bash I’m throwing with tons of prizes! And also, stay tuned for the cover reveal of What Gifts She Carried, book two of The Grave Winner series! It’s just as stunning as the first book’s cover!!!!

The Seer’s Lover by @katdefalla is FREE!

April 9, 2014April 8, 2014 by Lindsey Loucks, posted in Book Spotlight, Crescent Moon Press

Today’s book spotlight is for my CMP sister Kat de Falla and her novel, The Seer’s Lover, a paranormal romance, which is free now through April 12th!

I love this creepy cover!

Here’s what it’s about:

Calise Rowe’s question of who walks among us

leads her into an ancient war between seers and demons.

For years, Calise Rowe has been able to sense unusual energy from people, making her believe she is different. Pulled into an ancient war raging for centuries between demon hunters and seers, she’s about to find out she’s right.

Her search for the truth leads her to Lucas Rojas, a seer of angels and demons who walk the earth shrouded from normal human eyes. He’s hidden his gift for years and refuses to endanger Calise by sharing it with her.

In the sultry Costa Rican Jungles, their worlds collide. As their passion and desire ignite, so does the ancient war between demons and seers. Will their combined efforts be enough to save themselves and the entire human world, or will their new found love be their downfall?

Excerpt:

She traced a circle in the sand with her finger.

Why would she disclose her whole existence to someone she’d just met? Someone who talked so little about himself that she found herself talking to fill the void. Saying things she could barely admit in her own head.

His hand covered hers. “I’m lonely, too. Getting to know you this week has been the brightest point in my life and I don’t want you to leave, but I know the only place you’ll be safe is far away from me.”

She swallowed. He had read her mind.

He lay down on his back and closed his eyes. “Cali, you know when you hear a song for the first time and you kind of ingest it? You can’t possibly know right away that it will be one of your favorite songs for the rest of your life. A classic.”

“Yeah.” She hoped he was going somewhere good with this.

“That first listen,” he continued, “you pick up a little of the melody and some lyrics that catch you. But when the song ends, you have to hear it again because you want to memorize all the words and sing along. After you hear it a few times and learn the words inside and out, then you begin to let the melody seep inside you. Next thing you know, you’ve completely digested the song and find yourself humming it while you are doing nothing, like shaving or driving your car. Finally, the song becomes so ingrained it becomes a part of you. Forever. You can recall it and it’s with you whenever you need it. Am I making any sense?”

She nodded, blinking back the tears fighting to fall.

“Cali, I don’t want you to go back because you’re my favorite song.”

Available on Amazon: ebook and print FREE April 8-12th

Available from The Wild Rose Press in print

World Wide Release Date: June 4^th, 2014

About Kat:

Author Kat de Falla was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where she learned to roller skate, ride a banana seat bike, and love Shakespeare thanks to her high school English teacher.

Four years at the UW-Madison wasn’t enough, so she returned to her beloved college town for her Doctor of Pharmacy degree and is happily employed as a retail pharmacist where she fills prescriptions and chats with her patients.

She is married to her soul mate, classical guitarist, Lee de Falla and raising four kids together ala the Brady Bunch.

Kat’s Links:

Author Website: www.katdefalla.com

Blog: www.quillorpill.blogspot.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/@katdefalla

Facebook:www.facebook.com/authorkatdefalla

(message me to join my street team!)

Additional Information:

Visit www.bayafaya.com for FREE music downloads arranged by ningen9 that accompany this book:

Anna’s Dance is a jazzy bossa nova meant to accompany chapter two.
Shane’s Torment is a churning soundscape of despair meant to accompany chapter six.
Cali and Lucas First Dance is a Latin fusion instrumental love song meant to accompany chapter twelve.

As I touch on Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) in this book, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to www.iorphan.org

Wait! Before you go, here’s a special giveaway for an Amazon gift card, courtesy of Kat!

The Devil’s Temptation and Puppies: @ToniDePalma1 Explains

March 21, 2014March 21, 2014 by Lindsey Loucks, posted in 13 Questions, Crescent Moon Press, Toni DePalma, YA

Two blog posts in one week?! I know. Just breathe in and out and give me a Pop Tart. Or I’ll give you a Pop Tart. Whatever.

Anyway, I’m happy because Toni De Palma is here to discuss her latest release The Devil’s Temptation, book two of The Devil’s Triangle series, and to answer my never-ending questions. Let’s get to the book first. First, this cover is gorgeous!

Here’s the blurb:

Fighting the Devil brought Cooper and Grace together. But without a little evil to spice things up, the everyday life of a normal teenager is pretty dull. A summer job crewing on a billionaire’s yacht in sunny Italy might be just the ticket to rekindle passion. While the setting is perfect, the winding, sinister back streets of Naples are also the perfect playground for a scorned Lucifer to wreak havoc. And if evil doesn’t rip them apart, the sultry billionaire’s daughter and the sexy First Officer might be what it takes to finally destroy Cooper and Grace’s love forever.

It sounds awesome! You can grab a copy at Amazon. Go ahead and one click that baby. I’ll wait.

Now it’s time for my never-ending questioning of Toni (actually there’s only thirteen)!

Me: You just walked in the door after a long day. What do you do first?

Toni: Hug my puppy. Chester is a Pekingese. I keep his hair short, which makes him look like a little brown meatloaf.

Me: Aww. That’s so sweet! I give my cat lots of cuddles too when I get home. He’ll gnaw off my hand if I don’t. What’s the one physical object you can’t live without?

Toni: My computer and IPhone (okay that’s two). I just got a Mac and am teaching myself Photoshop. Besides writing, I love photography.

Me: Oooh, Photoshop and photography! Am I predicting a future in cover design maybe? Would you rather be a vampire or a werewolf?

Toni: Being a werewolf would require major waxing, so vampire.

Me: HA! I love that answer! What are you going to do right after you finish this interview?

Toni: Watch Girls. I love that show!

Me: *Googles it, then immediately adds it to Netflix* What is your favorite dessert?

Toni: I love a good piece of dark chocolate.

Me: Yessssssss. Would you rather have hiccups for the rest of your life or feel like you need to sneeze but not be able to for the rest of your life?

Toni: My dad actually had hiccups for three days straight and I know how hard that is. Since I already have allergies, I’m used to needing to sneeze. Bring on the Kleenex.

Me: Do you have any strange writing quirks?

Toni: I need sunshine and love to write by a window.

Me: I prefer dark, depressing caves myself. Would you consider yourself a pioneer or a settler? Why?

Toni: It depends on what aspect of life you’re talking about. I’m pretty easy going so I don’t see the point in fighting over being right. Does that make me a settler? Maybe. So be it.

Me: Cool! When it comes to food, are you the adventurous type, or do you like standard foods?

Toni: I grew up in Brooklyn where ethnic cuisine is standard. I love trying new foods.

Me: Yay! Me too! Where did the idea for the Devil’s Triangle series come from?

Toni: My son and I were hooked on the TV show Fringe. That gave me the idea of a story based on alternate realities. Cooper, my main character, was really the catalyst. He is such a great character, a bad boy with a good heart.

Me: I love me some bad boys. I watched the first few episodes of Fringe but couldn’t really get into it. Do I need to keep watching it? Anyway, what’s something about yourself that really annoys you?

Toni: I can be super critical of myself. I have to remember to celebrate my accomplishments rather than thinking about the next big thing I want to do.

Me: *sighs* Me too. Why do you write?

Toni: Last week I presented at a Young Authors conference. The kids I worked with reminded me of me when I was their age. So I write for them and for the kid I used to be.

Me: That’s the best answer ever! What’s the last song you listened to on purpose?

Toni: “Obsession.” An oldy but a goody.

Awesome. And now, here’s more about Toni!

Toni De Palma was born in Brooklyn, New York. As a child she spent many summers in Ischia, the Italian island where her father was brought up. Her first middle grade novel, Under the Banyan Tree, was published in 2007 and selected as a Kirkus New Voices Pick and a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age. Her second middle grade novel, Jeremy Owl, was published in 2010. Her third book, The Devil’s Triangle, A YA paranormal is getting rave reviews. Toni holds her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College and she is a recipient of a New Jersey Arts Fellowship. She currently resides in New Jersey.

http://www.tonidepalma.com/

https://www.facebook.com/WriterToniDePalma

https://www.facebook.com/TheDevilSeries

https://twitter.com/ToniDePalma1

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20581502-the-devil-s-temptation

Thanks for being here, Toni! And don’t forget to one-click her book, The Devil’s Temptation!

The Grave Winner #BlackFriday #Sale!

November 29, 2013 by Lindsey Loucks, posted in Crescent Moon Press, The Grave Winner

My YA paranormal fantasy romance, The Grave Winner, is on sale for only $0.99! Have you already read it? You could gift it to someone else! Don’t have a Kindle? There’s an app for that so you can read it on other devices!

Here’s the link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CRLM062/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0ATZS0GKGSM71RJ5TEY0&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1630083502&pf_rd_i=507846

Everyday Is Halloween

October 18, 2013October 17, 2013 by Lindsey Loucks, posted in All Entangled Eve, Blog Hop, Crescent Moon Press, Entangled Publishing, Giveaway, Halloween, Trick Or Treat

Does anyone remember that Ministry song called “Everyday is Halloween?” No? Well, here you go.

I’ve come to realize that, to me, everyday really is Halloween. One Halloween, I dressed up as a Cyndi Lauper/Madonna hybrid, and I loved the look so much that I wore the outfit even when it wasn’t a holiday. In fact, I think I still have the single black glove with the fingers cut off lying around here somewhere.

Another Halloween, my mom sewed me a white cat costume even though I really wanted to be a black kitty. Her fear was that while Trick-Or-Treating, I would be invisible to cars. Jeez, my mom was smart, but of course I didn’t realize it then. So, I was a white cat. Years later in high school, I was still a white cat, only without the costume. For some reason, I felt the need to prance around on my tiptoes and clean my face with my paws, er, hands. No, I wasn’t drunk during those entire four years; it’s just a thing I did every once in a while. That, and peeing in random people’s yards for money.

Ahem. Anyway. Where was I? Right. Halloween.

One of my favorite things to do from November 1st to October 31st is to prepare for Halloween by watching scary movies. Some of my favorites include The Exorcist, The Ring, Paranormal Activity, and Alien. Sometimes when I’m feeling a bit wicked, I’ll pull all my long hair in front of my face and do that jerky walk like Samara in The Ring toward my BF. He doesn’t find this humorous.

As you may have figured out, Halloween is my very favorite holiday of all the holidays ever. Which is why I celebrate it everyday. I’d like to share my giddy love with you by offering a chance to win a $10 gift card from Amazon or Barnes & Noble. You pick! See the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Oh, and don’t forget to click the badges at the top of this post to hop around other authors’ blogs for more chances to win prizes!

Brewing the Idea for DAKOTA CAPTIVE: @AlyConnerBrown Gets Cookin’

October 4, 2013October 3, 2013 by Lindsey Loucks, posted in Alythia Brown, Crescent Moon Press, Dakota Captive

Hey, peeps! Today I have Alythia Brown on my blog to talk about how she mixed a little fantasy and a little Lakota mythology to create her new release, Dakota Captive. Take it away, Alythia!

Dakota Captive had been a work in progress for years before I finally took it seriously and finished the book. I was living in Oregon for a short while and would jog in the forest, thinking about how the story would play out. At the time, my sons were three and zero and I didn’t have very much time for silence (or thinking, really), except when I was running. The serenity of nature pushed me to develop my plans.

I knew I wanted to write a story about the Lakota, but I didn’t necessarily want to write historical fiction and I knew I couldn’t break away from fantasy writing just yet. In my “spare time,” I read about Lakota mythology and ideas began to brew.

And then I remembered the Peace Pipe and my somewhat unusual trip to North Dakota when I was younger. My mother had realized that the artifact we thought was a wagon spoke was actually an authentic Lakota Peace Pipe and we embarked on a trip to return the pipe to the ancestors of the slaughtered people of Wounded Knee. I wanted to surrender this story to my characters so they could make it their own, mix in some Lakota mythology, and twist the entire thing into a fantasy novel.

I am currently working on book two in the trilogy. Now that all three of our kids are three and older, I hope to write at a faster speed!

When the evil spirit of Jumlin returns with his army of Offspring, the Earth Spirits are summoned to protect the Sioux. Unbeknownst to Charli, these Earth Spirits are a sacred secret. So she probably shouldn’t have spied from behind a rock when they shifted from their animal forms. She shouldn’t have taken pictures. And she definitely shouldn’t have gotten caught. And they’re not going to let her go until some creepy witch doctor, or something, erases her memory.

So all she has to do is try to keep her big mouth shut, get her memory erased and go home, right? Wrong. Because Jumlin’s Offspring are stalking Charli. And since no one can explain this unusual behavior, it becomes imperative to enter the Other World for sanctuary. Now if only she can figure out why she’s beginning to fall for one of her abductors on top of everything else…

Buy Links:

Amazon

About the Author:

Alythia Brown was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she now lives with her husband and their three small children. She found her inspiration to write Dakota Captive after traveling to North Dakota to return an authentic peace pipe to the Lakota Natives. The artifact had been picked up after the Massacre of Wounded Knee in 1890, and eventually ended up in the hands of one of her ancestors–who, in turn, told everyone it was a
wagon spoke. Alythia is the author of two short stories, published in the Mertales anthology, and she aspires to publish many more books for children, teens, and young adults.

You can stalk Alythia here:

Website

Twitter

Thanks for coming by, Alythia!