Excerpt and giveaway: True Storm by L. E. Sterling

   Today I'm bringing you a short but very exciting excerpt from L.E. Sterling's upcoming release, True Storm, which is the third and final book in the True Born trilogy and comes out May 1st 2018. Additionally, if you live in the US, check out the giveaway below for a paperback copy of True Born, the first book in this trilogy!

True Storm by L.E. Sterling

Expected Publication: May 1st 2018 by Entangled Teen

Number of pages: 400 Pages (Hardcover)

   Lucy’s twin sister, Margot, may be safely back with her—but all is not well in Plague-ravaged Dominion City. The Watchers have come out of hiding, spreading chaos and death throughout the city, and suddenly Lucy finds herself under pressure to choose her future: does it lie with her handsome new friend, Alastair; her guardian, the enigmatic True Born leader Nolan Storm; or the man who makes her heart trip, her savage True Born bodyguard Jared Price?
   But while Lucy ponders her path, fate has other plans. Betrayal is a cruel lesson, and the Fox sisters can hardly believe who is behind the plot against them. To survive this deadly game of politics, Lucy is forced to agree to a marriage of convenience. But is the DNA of her will stronger than the forces opposing her? Can she turn the tide against the oncoming storm??
   As they say in Dominion, can rogue genes ever have a happy ending? (goodreads.com)

   And now, are you ready for the excerpt...? Well, here it is:

   His hands still on my face. “I’m sorry,” I manage to say, trying to control a nervous need to giggle like a hyena. “Are we fighting? Maybe I didn’t notice because it’s all we ever seem to do.”

   A wicked grin lights his features. “That’s not all we seem to do,” he whispers, seconds before he replaces his thumb with his lips.

   It’s a soft kiss at first, tentative. Like someone asking your name. But it lights me up, sending fire shooting through my body, heat curling through my belly. I must sigh because Jared pulls back for just a moment, a question in his eyes and hunger written all over him. Then he claims my lips again, holding my face in his hands as the earth spins away from me.

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Want to read more? Pre-order your copy of True Storm by L.E. Sterling today!

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | Entangled Publishing

About the Author

   L.E. Sterling had an early obsession with sci-fi, fantasy and romance to which she remained faithful even through an M.A. in Creative Writing and a PhD in English Literature – where she completed a thesis on magical representation. She is the author of two previous novels, the cult hit YA novel The Originals (under pen name L.E. Vollick), dubbed “the Catcher in the Rye of a new generation” by one reviewer, and the urban fantasy Pluto’s Gate. Originally hailing from Parry Sound, Ontario, L.E. spent most of her summers roaming across Canada in a van with her father, a hippie musician, her brothers and an occasional stray mutt – inspiring her writing career. She currently lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | Entangle Publishing

Release Day: Seize Today by Pintip Dunn (Excerpt)

   As you guys know I love Pintip Dunn's writing, and especially her Forget Tomorrow trilogy, so I am more than excited to celebrate today's release of Seize Today, the final book in the trilogy, with an amazing excerpt from the book. But before we get to that, if you want you can find my review of the prequel, as well as book one and two following those links to remind yourself what happened in the story so far. My review of Seize Today, which I am very excited to share with you, is coming October 13th as part of the blog tour for it.

   But enough of my talking, let's just move on to the book details as well as the excerpt. Enjoy!

Seize Today by Pintip Dunn

Released: October 3rd 2017 by Entangled: Teen

Number of Pages: 300 Pages (Hardcover)

Series: Yes, #3 in the Forget Tomorrow Trilogy

   The third book in the New York Times bestselling and RITA award winning Forget Tomorrow series is a thrilling conclusion to an epic trilogy.

   Seventeen-year-old precognitive Olivia Dresden is an optimist. Since different versions of people's futures flicker before her eyes, she doesn't have to believe in human decency. She can literally see the path to goodness in each person—if only he or she would make the right decision. No one is more conflicted than her mother, Chairwoman Dresden, and Olivia is fiercely loyal to the woman her mother could be.

   But when the Chairwoman captures Ryder Russell, a boy from the rebel Underground, Olivia is forced to reevaluate her notions of love and faith. With Ryder's help, Olivia must come to terms with who her mother is in the present—and stop her before she destroys the world. (goodreads.com)

Excerpt

   "Are you sifting through my possible pathways?" he asks, his voice husky.

   I freeze. But if I'm a block of ice, his fingers do their job, tracing my lips again and again until I melt. "How…how do you know?"

   "Your eyes," he says. "They dilate when you're reaching into the future. I'm starting to learn when you're not here."

   I blink. Nobody's ever told me that before.

   "You…noticed?" I ask.

   "I notice everything about you," he says easily. "So, tell me. What did you see in our possible futures?" His voice is low and liquid, and it reaches inside me and caresses parts I didn't know existed. "What did I do? More importantly, what did you like?"

   Heat floods my face. "What, exactly, are we talking about?"

   "I don't know." His eyes gleam wickedly. "What do you think we're talking about?"

   "Future pathways," I snap. If I have to electro-whip my attention back on track, I'll do it, damn the Fates. "I see everything from me slapping you to…" I trail off, and my cheeks flame even hotter. Oh my. I can't possibly put into words the images flying through my head like a hailstorm.

    "Now I'm really intrigued." He moves his hand to my hair, tugging slightly. I feel the tension all the way to my toes. "Are you really not going to tell me? Because, you know, then I'll have to guess."

   "I'm not going to tell you," I whisper.

    His lips curve in a mischievous grin that makes me want to tuck him in my pocket and keep him forever. And then, while I'm still reeling from his cuteness, he leans in.

   I'm not ready. My mouth is partway open, and I'm in the middle of a breath. He kisses me anyway. I shut my mouth in a hurry. Lips, so soft. His back and shoulders, so hard. Holy Fates, that was his tongue. His tongue, slipping between my teeth. Sparks. So many sparks, igniting in the air around us.

   "How's this?" he whispers against my mouth. "Did you see this in our future?"

   I nod helplessly.

   He moves closer, scooping me up and shifting me on the mattress so that he can lie next to me. Our foreheads touch; so do our knees. "And this? Was this in some of our pathways?"

   I nod again, but that doesn't seem to satisfy him anymore. His eyes intent on mine, he catches my lower lip between his teeth. "Do you like it?"

   Do I like it? What kind of question is that?

   I've tasted every emotion in our world. I know the sorrow a mother feels when she clasps her deceased baby to her chest. I know the pride of a gold-star athlete when he stands on a podium and accepts North Amerie's highest honor. I know the rage that silences the heart of a murderer as he cuts short another's life.

   I even know kisses—hot, frenzied, passionate, fumbling, sweet, aching, innocent kisses. I've seen them all in other people’s futures, thousands of kisses, millions of kisses, as varied as the pathways themselves.

   And yet…and yet…I've felt nothing like kissing Ryder. Even the vision of this moment itself.

   So, yeah, I like it. It scares me how much I like it.

About the Author

   Pintip Dunn is a New York Times bestselling author of YA fiction. She graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B. in English Literature and Language. She received her J.D. at Yale Law School.
   Pintip’s novel, FORGET TOMORROW, won the RWA RITA® for Best First Book. It is also a finalist for the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire, the Japanese Sakura Medal, the MASL Truman Award, and the Tome Society It list. In addition, THE DARKEST LIE was nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award. Her other books include REMEMBER YESTERDAY, SEIZE TODAY, and GIRL ON THE VERGE.
   She lives with her husband and children in Maryland.

Website // Twitter // Facebook // Goodreads // Newsletter // Instagram

Sneak Peak at The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever by Jeff Strand + his favorite five Zombie movies + Giveaway

   Sourcebooks Fire contacted me recently and asked if I'd want to help them spread the word for The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever by Jeff Strand and of course I couldn't say no. I mean, that title sounds amazing and I cannot wait to read it. They've provided me with lots of awesome things to share with you guys, thanks again for that, so without further ado, here it is:

The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever by Jeff Strand
Release Date: March 1, 2016 by Sourcebooks Fire
Number of Pages: 272 Pages (Paperback)
Series: No

   After producing three horror movies that went mostly ignored on YouTube, Justin and his filmmaking buddies decide it’s time they create something noteworthy, something epic. They’re going to film the Greatest Zombie Movie Ever. They may not have money or a script, but they have passion. And, after a rash text message, they also have the beautiful Alicia Howtz—Justin’s crush—as the lead.
   With only one month to complete their movie, a script that can’t possibly get worse, and the hopes and dreams of Alicia on the line, Justin is feeling the pressure. Add to that a cast of uncooperative extras and incompetent production assistants, and Justin must face the sad, sad truth. He may actually be producing The Worst Zombie Movie Ever…

Jeff Strand’s Five Favorite Zombie Movies:

   My five favorite zombie movies are very similar to many other people’s five favorite zombie movies. I could’ve gone the condescending click-bait route and written about “The Five Best Zombie Movies You’ve Never Seen!” but, no, I’m going with my five real favorites….

   #5: DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004 version). I was one of the many people bellowing, “You can’t remake DAWN OF THE DEAD! This is blasphemy! Blasphemy!!!” But somehow this remake to a sequel (but not a sequel to the remake) turned out to be awesome. Not quite as good as the original (SPOILER ALERT: That’s #3 on this list) but one of my all-time favorites.

   #4: RE-ANIMATOR. I’ve now seen plenty of movies that are more over-the-top insane than RE-ANIMATOR, but this was the first movie where I simply couldn’t believe what I was watching. It was hard to believe that a movie so dark and gruesome could be so funny.

   #3: DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978 version). Shameful confession: When I first saw this in high school I thought it was stupid and boring. Fortunately, I matured and accepted that it’s one of the high points of zombie cinema. It’s the reason I know to duck before walking toward spinning helicopter blades.

   #2: RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD. Fast zombies long before 28 DAYS LATER! The first time zombies ate brains! It doesn’t often get the credit it deserves, but this is one of the most influential zombie movies ever.

   #1: SHAUN OF THE DEAD. The greatest zombie comedy ever. The greatest zombie movie ever. The greatest MOVIE ever.

About Jeff Strand:

   Jeff Strand has written more than twenty books, and is a four-time nominee (and four-time non-winner) of the Bram Stoker Award. Two of his young adult novels, A Bad Day For Voodoo and I Have A Bad Feeling About This, were Junior Library Guild picks. Publishers Weekly called his work “wickedly funny.” He lives in Tampa, Florida.
   Website
   @JeffStrand

Excerpt from The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever:

   The vampire, whose fangs were too big for his mouth, turned to the camera and hissed.
   "Don't look at the camera," said Justin Hollow, the director.
   "I keep poking my lip on these things," said Harold, spitting the plastic fangs out onto the ground. He hadn't been a very frightening example of the undead before, and he was even less scary with no fangs and a thick line of drool running down his chin.
   "Cut!" shouted Justin, loud enough to be sure that the command was heard by his production crew of two. "C'mon, Harold. Stay in character. We're three hours behind schedule."
   "I don't care. I hate this. You promised that I'd get all the girls I wanted. So where are all of the girls I want?"
   Justin let out his thirty-ninth exasperated sigh of the night. "The movie has to come out first."
   "It's not even a real movie."
Justin bristled. It was a full body bristle, head to toe, which he hadn't even realized was physically possible. Bobby, who handled sound recording, and Gabe, who handled everything else, both stepped back a couple of feet. Neither of them truly believed that they were about to witness a murder, but they wanted to get out of the splash zone, just in case.
   Had this been one of Justin's movies, he would have very slowly lowered his camera, stared directly into Harold's eyes with a steel gaze, and then after an extremely dramatic pause asked "What...did...you...just...say?"
   His actual response, delivered in a squeakier voice than he would have allowed from his actors, was: "Huh?"
   "I said it's not a real movie." Harold started to wipe the fake blood off his mouth. It didn't come off, and probably wouldn't for several days. Justin had planned to feel guilty about this later, but now he wouldn't bother. "Nobody's ever going to see it. You probably won't even finish it."
   "I finished my last three movies!" Justin insisted. "I got hundreds of hits on YouTube!"
   That statement was technically accurate, though it was the lowest possible number of hits you could get and still use "hundred" in its plural form. The only comment anybody posted about his latest film had been "This twelve year-old filmmaker sort of shows promise," which really frustrated Justin since he was fifteen.
   Harold shrugged. "This is a waste of time. I've got better things to do on a Friday night."
   "Nobody ever said this was going to be easy," said Justin, who had indeed said that it was going to be easy when luring Harold into the role. "You can quit now, but what are you going to think about your decision ten years from now?"
   "I'm going to think, wow, it sure is nice to be such a well-paid dentist."
   Harold walked off the set. It wasn't an actual set, but rather a small park near Justin's home, where they were filming without a permit. Justin knew he should shout something after his ex-actor. Something vicious. Something devastating. He thought about shouting "You'll never work in this town again!" but, no, it had to be something that Harold would consider a bad thing.
   "Fine!" Justin shouted. "But when we record the audio commentary track for the Blu-Ray, I'm going to talk about how you abandoned us, and how much happier everybody was with the new actor who took your role, and how we all agreed that he should have been cast in the first place, and how he had so many girlfriends that he couldn't even keep track of them, and how they all found out about each other and had a great big awesome catfight in his front yard! And I'll pronounce your name wrong!"
   Harold continued walking, apparently not heartbroken.

   Pre-Order The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever:
   Amazon
   Apple
   Barnes & Noble

Enter to Win an Advance Copy of The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever:
a Rafflecopter giveaway