Book Blast & Giveaway: Wizdom and Pandora by K.M. Woodard

About The Author:

A lifetime resident of the Washington, DC area, K.M. Woodard has always enjoyed the outdoors and loves to 

travel. After working 17 years with the MetLife Insurance Company, she pursued her career as a Federal Law

Enforcement Agent with Homeland Security and has a Masters Degree in Criminology. A true Tolkien fan, her 

passion for medieval and ancient times and her personal travel adventures often inspire ideas for new books.

Her active imagination and fascination with escaping reality to a world of enchantment, mystery and suspense

has resulted in a series of novels sure to delight readers looking for fast-paced adventure at every twist and 

turn, interspersed with a smidgen of humor.

Author Links - 

www.wizdomandpandora.com

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

Twitter: @wizdomandpandor

Goodreads member/blog: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7380415.K_M_Woodard

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Wizdom-And-Pandora-Quest-Blood/dp/1468538020/ref=sr_1_1?

ie=UTF8&qid=1400258256&sr=8-1&keywords=wizdom+and+pandora

Book Genre: Young Adult/Fiction/Fantasy

Publisher: Authorhouse

Release Date: 10/30/2014

Buy Link(s): AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/Wizdom-And-Pandora-Quest-Blood/dp/1468538020/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400258256&sr=8-1&keywords=wizdom+and+pandora

AUTHORHOUSE: http://bookstore.authorhouse.com/Products/SKU-000536911/WIZDOM-AND-PANDORA.aspx

Book Description:

Wizdom didn't know dragons really existed. He's never ridden a white woolly mammoth or flown on a griffin. He's never known a real king or a princess or been friends with a goblin. Wizdom's never seen elves that glow blue all the time. All he's ever known are his adoptive mother and his aunt Kayden. One day he finds himself in a secret world, face to face with dragons and fire monsters. He meets an interesting girl, Pandora, who he learns is no ordinary girl, just as he is no ordinary boy. Wizdom soon finds himself on a magical journey full of secrets, sorcery, danger and evil. He fights many fierce battles and faces certain death as his quest leads him on an adventure like never before as he discovers his true identity . . . or does he?

Excerpt:

Wizdom stared in awe, unconsciously holding his breath, as

he looked up the endless staircase of gleaming black marble

before him. The air around him was damp and musty and tickled his

nostrils. Cobwebs hung overhead, dangling high above him from the

towering ceiling. Perched at the top of the stairs was a large, golden

dragon throne. Sitting on white marble, it was surrounded by statues

of goblins, gargoyles and other strange creatures. They all stared back

disconcertingly at Wizdom, some with tongues out, others with piercing

eyes, bared teeth or pointed ears. The dragon’s head held its mouth

agape, as if ready to devour him, revealing a long golden tongue jutting

out and sharp pointed teeth. The arms of the throne were created by

the front legs of the dragon and the claws made up the feet of the chair.

A huge tail jutted out from the back of the chair and coiled around

to the front like a sitting cat. Three spikes on the tail’s end glistened

in piercing diamond shards. Giant wings stood out from the dragon’s

back, poised for flight, black and shimmering like dark sapphires. Its

eyes were large rubies, and its body was sprinkled in faceted jewels.

Two spiraling horns jutted out from its head, over a foot of solid gold,

with diamonds on the tips. Held within the horns shone an enormous

crimson red stone, casting an eerie glow and dancing shadows over the

stone statues surrounding it.

What was this place? Where was he? He dared to move forward,

ever so slowly, toward this great altar. His pulse racing, palms sweating,

he paused momentarily, staring up at the dragon’s red gleaming eyes.

As he approached the stairs, the dragon’s fiery eyes stared down at him

unnervingly, as if it was alive, watching him.

Wizdom wondered about how he had gotten there. How did he

get here? He glanced around the great hall surrounding him. Flickering

candles, sconces and torches aligned the walls of marbled stone. The

ceiling was several stories high and great pillars supported the wooden

arches above him. Shadows and darkness surrounded him, except for

the faint glow of the iron torches, and the scarlet glow of the jewel

radiating from the dragon’s crown jewel. He could feel some sort of

power emanating from it as he stood there. It made him feel happy and

safe, despite his surroundings.

Suddenly, he saw movement out of the corner of his left eye. He

looked quickly, but saw nothing. Turning to scurrying sounds to his

right, he still saw nothing but black. Was he imagining things? Because

of the obscuring darkness, he could not see very far, only as far as the

torches lining the walls. He was only eleven but he was an adventurer

and never scared and despite his current situation, he normally loved

mysteries and secret places. Unconsciously, his pulse kept racing as

the silence crept eerily around him… 

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Book Blitz & Giveaway: Burning Bright by E.J. Stevens

Today we are celebrating the release of BURNING BRIGHT, the third full-length novel in the Ivy Granger urban fantasy series by E.J. Stevens.  Let's party!

We have two very special book excerpts to share with you and, of course, A GIVEAWAY!  Keep reading for a chance to win.

Burning Bright (Ivy Granger #3) by E.J. Stevens

Burning down the house...

Things are not going well at the offices of Private Eye. Jinx is having demon problems, the city is overrun with pyromaniacal imps, and Ivy's wisp powers are burning out of control, attracting the attention of both the Seelie and Unseelie courts.

Along came a faerie queen... It's the worst possible time for the Green Lady to call in a favor, but Ivy's bound by her deal with the glaistig. Too bad there's no wiggle room in faerie bargains.

Ivy must rid the city of imps, keep Jinx from murdering her one solid link to Hell, and fulfill her bargain with the Green Lady--with sidhe assassins hot on her tail.

Just another day's work for Ivy Granger, psychic detective.

Release Date: June 17, 2014
Genre:  Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
Add to Goodreads.

Previous books in this series: Shadow Sight (Ivy Granger #1), Blood and Mistletoe (Ivy Granger #1.5), Ghost Light (Ivy Granger #2), Club Nexus (Ivy Granger #2.5).

Burning Bright available now on Amazon, Amazon.UK, Smashwords, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, and other fine retailers.

Book Excerpt #1 (Ivy gets wet.)

My first impression of Emain Ablach was that it was wet.  Very, very wet.  But I didn’t have much time to think about that fact.  I was too busy drowning.

I struggled to swim to the surface—wherever the hell that was—the weight of my clothes, leather jacket, and weapons weighing me down.  My lungs burned and my brain screamed at me to find a way out of this wet torment.  I needed air, badly.

I forced my eyes open, salt and whatever else was in the water burning like acid, but being able to see my surroundings didn’t help matters.  It did, however, make me glad for quick reflexes and muscle memory.

At the first sign of my assassin stalkers, back in a Harborsmouth alley, I’d grabbed one of my throwing knives.  I may not be able to throw it now, not in this water, but the pressure of the blade in my gloved hand made it easier to face the grinning corpses smiling back at me.

There were hundreds of them.

Bloated bodies in every state of decomposition drifted at the ends of seaweed infested chains that rose up from the ocean floor.  I would have assumed that the people on the ends of those chains were dead, a warning to anyone foolish enough to trespass here, except for the hands reaching outward and the curve of their rotting lips.

Grins like frightened, blue worms curled up toward vacant eyes.  The eyes, or what was left of them, were coated in a white film and looked as though they’d been nibbled on by grazing fish.  The chained corpses may not be able to see, but I had no doubt that they could sense my presence.  Their hands clawed at the water and their faces were all turned in my direction.  Perhaps they could scent me, like sharks on a blood trail.

Now that was a cheery thought.

I kicked away, trying to put more distance between myself and the grasping dead.  I recoiled as my boot hit something squishy.  Mab’s bones, I didn’t realize there was a chained corpse that close to where I swam.  I did not want to touch these things or the chains that bound them.  Those were visions I’d never survive.

The delay alone would kill me.

Heart pounding, I propelled myself upward, but I had a nagging suspicion that I wasn’t going to make it.  I’d sunk too deep into this watery hell.  Already my lungs burned and dizziness sent my head spinning like a ride on an otherworldly merry go round.  My limbs were cold and heavy and I could barely feel the knife in my hand.

How ironic would it be to die here, within spitting distance of a tree that grew magical apples capable of reviving the dead?

Air bubbles sprung from my nose and I fought not to breathe.  Inhaling water would mean my death.  I made one more sluggish stroke through the water and felt strong hands grip my waist and haul me upward.  I was sailing through the water, away from greedy hands and the hundreds of faces that grinned hungrily after me.

My rescuer was a strong swimmer and I doubted Torn would have gone to so much trouble to save me.  I felt a tingle of energy zing through my system, helping me to hold onto the slippery tendrils of consciousness.  Ceff, it had to be Ceff.

I gasped as my head broke the surface of the water, gulping air and choking on a mouthful of water.  I coughed up phlegm and who knows what else—with those corpses steeping down below, I didn’t want to think about it—and pushed wet, bedraggled hair from my face.  I was alive, but it wasn’t pretty.

I grimaced and pushed the floating evidence of my humiliating coughing fit away.  Ceff had a grip on my jacket, still helping to keep my head above the water’s surface.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

With his wet hair slicked back from large, dark green eyes and his chiseled jaw, he looked gorgeous.  He was completely in his element here, unlike his half-drowned girlfriend.

“I just swallowed a gallon of salty corpse tea and sea monkeys,” I said, a rueful grin on my face.  “I’ve been better.”

Book Excerpt #2 (Spiders, why does it have to be spiders?)

“Have you both lost your minds?” Torn asked.

“What would you have us do, leave them here to become spider food?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said.  “Yes, exactly.  It’s the cycle of life, a beautiful thing best left alone.”

I shook my head.

“That could have been any one of us,” I said.  “Hold still, we’re here to help!”

The last I yelled at the cocoon.  I didn’t know if the person inside could hear me, or how far gone they were if they could, but I had to try to comfort them.  Plus, I really didn’t want to risk maiming the person I was trying to save.

“You have no idea what kind of monster is inside that thing,” Torn said.

I scowled at Torn.  No one deserved to be hung out like prosciutto and gobbled up by some huge spider.

“This is a hero’s path,” Ceff said.  “It is highly probable that they are honorable.  If not, at least we tried.”

Torn sighed and shook his head.

“Fine, it’s your funeral,” he said.

“Ready?” Ceff asked, holding the bundle as still as he could.

“I was born ready,” I said, doing my best tough guy impersonation.

I carefully cut away at the tough fibers of the cocoon.  Almost there…

Thousands of baby spider fae poured out of the cocoon, skittering in every direction.  Except it wasn’t a cocoon.  It was an egg.  I screamed—though I’d deny it if I lived long enough for Torn to tell anyone—and stumbled away from the horde of spiders.  So much for my tough guy act.

I stomped on the spiders as I backed away, halting their progress.  A brave one ambled forward and sank it’s dripping mandibles into its nearest kin.  The other spiders followed suit, joining in the feeding frenzy.

“Oh, look, aren’t they cute?” Torn asked, pointing to where baby spiders were busy cannibalizing each other.

“Freaking adorable,” I growled.

I inched further up the trail, relieved to see that most of the spiders were too busy attacking each other to notice my retreat.

“Perhaps we should have listened to the cat sidhe, just this once,” Ceff said, whacking the more determined stragglers with his trident.

“I told you so, princess,” Torn said.

I flexed my fingers, hands itching to wring the cat sidhe’s neck and wipe that smug look off his face.  Instead, I stormed past him and around the corner.  I’d had it with this place and its creepy inhabitants.  We needed to find Ailinn’s grave, grab a magic apple, and get the hell out of dodge.

Burning Bright Release Party Giveaway

We are giving away SIX Ebook copies of BURNING BRIGHT by E.J. Stevens.

To enter, please use the easy peasy Rafflecopter form below.  This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.  Giveaway ends July 2nd.

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Learn more about the Ivy Granger urban fantasy series by visiting the Official Ivy Granger Website.

Thank you for partying with us!

Book Blast & Giveaway: Hexed by Michelle Krys

Giveaway

One winner will receive a signed copy of Hexed

Three winners will receive signed swag

Title:                Hexed (The Witch Hunter #1)

Author:             Michelle Krys

Publisher:         Delacorte Press

Pages:                384

Release Date:  June 10, 2014 

Book Blurb:  

If high school is all about social status, Indigo Blackwood, has it made.  Sure, her quirky mom owns an occult shop, and a nerd just won't stop trying to be her friend, but Indie is a popular cheerleader with a football-star boyfriend and a social circle powerful enough to ruin everyone at school. Who wouldn't want to be her? Then a guy dies right before her eyes. And the dusty old family Bible her mom is freakishly possessive of is stolen.  But it's when a frustratingly sexy stranger named Bishop enters Indie's world that she learns her destiny involves a lot more than pom-poms and parties.  If she doesn't get the Bible back, every witch on the planet will die.  And that's seriously bad new for Indie, because according to Bishop, she's a witch too.  Suddenly forced into a centuries-old war between witches and sorcerers, Indie's about to uncover the many dark truths about her life - and a future unlike any she ever imagined on top of the cheer pyramid.

Amazon           Barnes & Noble          Indie Bound        Goodreads      

Author Information:

Hi there! I'm the author of the YA novel, Hexed, slated for publication with Delacorte Press/Random House Children's Books Spring 2014.  I'm repped by Adriann Ranta of Wolf Literacy Services. Visit me at michellekrys.com or follow @MichelleKrys on Twitter.

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