From Me to You ... Video, Photography and Book Reviews

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Blog Tour - The Boyfriend Bet by Chris Cannon | Interview, Spreading the Word, & GC Giveaway (INT)

Today I'm showing off Chris Cannon's "The Boyfriend Bet," which is her recently released novel, the SECOND novel in her Boyfriend Chronicles, and the novel I recently interviewed her about!

ALSO -- Be sure to check out Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post to be able to sign up for this blog stop's GIVEAWAY(s)!! [Blog Tour will run from August 22 - 26, 2016 & Giveaway will run until September 1, 2016]

My Q&A with Chris Cannon :

Jess : Which of your characters would you most & least like to invite to dinner, from which book and why?

Chris : I’d love to invite Delia, from "The Boyfriend Bet," to dinner. She’s super creative and artistic. She likes to buy clothes, take them apart and combine them in different ways. I’d invite her to dinner in the hopes that she’d volunteer to design a new wardrobe for me.

I’d least like to have dinner with Lena, Grant’s ex-girlfriend in "The Boyfriend Bet." She’s snotty and annoying and manipulative which makes for a great character but not a good dinner date.

Jess : Which usually comes first for you, the character(s) story or the idea for the novel?

Chris : I always start with the characters and a scene. For "The Boyfriend Bet," I knew I wanted to write a book about a girl who kissed her brother’s nemesis out of spite and then ended up dating him. I knew Zoe would be the type of no-fear girl who’d go up to a guy and say, “Do you have a girlfriend who’d mind if you kissed me to piss off my brother?”

Jess : Please describe "The Boyfriend Bet" in 75 words or less.

Chris : When Zoe Cain’s brother tells her she isn’t allowed to speak to his nemesis, Grant Evertide, she kisses the rich boy out of spite. This leads to several more kisses and multiple after school detentions. Grant has no interest in dating just one girl, but he can’t seem to stop kissing Zoe.
Is Grant interested in Zoe or is he just using her to win a bet?

Jess : Is there any differences and/or similarities between Zoe from "The Boyfriend Bet" and Haley from the "Blackmail Boyfriend?"

Chris : Both stories have older brothers who dislike the guy their sister is dating and they both address class differences and cliques and the idea that you don’t have to be the same to belong together. And they both contain a lot of snarky humor because I love to make people laugh.

Jess : What is the most ironic or silly thing one of your characters, from Boyfriend Chronicles, said or did?

Chris : Zoe threatens to neuter Grant with hedge clippers if he’s lying to her about participating in a stupid bet.

Jess : Do you have any other projects in the works? If so, can you share a little of your current work with us?

Chris : I’m working on the fourth book in my shape-shifting dragon series called "Fanning the Flames." Here’s the first scene...

Asshats.

Suspicion confirmed.

Right.

"The Boyfriend Bet"
[Boyfriend Chronicles, Book 2] by Chris Cannon
Author's Book Description :

Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains multiple PDAs, after-school detentions, and gambling on the side. Warning: betting on a boyfriend is bad for your health.

This book is available to order on :

Amazon (e-Book) USD | Amazon (Paperback) USD | Barnes & Noble (NOOK Book) USD | Barnes & Noble (Paperback) USD | Shop Your Local Bookstores (IndieBound - Paperback) USD | Kobo (e-Book) USD

** Be sure to add it to your TBR pile on Goodreads & LibraryThing! **

About the Author :

Award winning author Chris Cannon lives in Southern Illinois with her husband and her three dogs, Pete the shitzu who sleeps on her desk while she writes, Molly the ever-shedding yellow lab, and Tyson the sandwich-stealing German Shepherd Beagle. She believes coffee is the Elixir of Life. Most evenings after work, you can find her sucking down caffeine and writing fire-breathing paranormal adventures or romantic comedies.

My Previous Review(s) for this Author : Going Down In Flames | Bridges Burned

My Previous Mention(s) of this Author's Books/Characters : Spreading the Word for Entangled Teen with 2 Novels by Karri Thompson & Chris Cannon | Blog Tour - Bridges Burned by Chris Cannon | Spreading the Word | Best Book Couples -- Happy Valentine's Day 2015

Book Preview(s) :

Giveaway(s)!! :

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Soo .... TWEET about this post & COMMENT on this post!! And you could WIN!! =0)

Find Chris Cannon :

This was put together by myself (From Me to You ... Video, Photography & Book Reviews) please contact me if you'd like your own promo post, while the tour is through Entangled Publishing and they supplied some of the info.

Blog Tour - Pirate by Eve Langlais | Spreading the Word & Surprise Swag Pack Giveaway

Today I'm showing off Eve Langlais' "Pirate," which is the FIRST novel in her Space Gypsy Chronicles!! Today is it's Release Day!! So, help me wish it & Ms. Langlais a HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY!!

ALSO -- Be sure to check out Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post to be able to sign up for this blog stop's GIVEAWAY(s)!! [Blog Tour & Giveaway will run from August 25 - September 1, 2016]

"Pirate"
[Space Gypsy Chronicles, Book 1] by Eve Langlais
Author's Book Description :

Destiny is calling…but he’s not answering yet.

About the Author :

-- New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author --

Hello, my name is Eve Langlais and I am an International Bestselling author who loves to write hot romance, usually with werewolves, cyborgs or aliens.

I should warn you, I have a twisted imagination and a sarcastic sense of humor something I like to let loose in my writing. While well known for my shifter stories, I am also extremely partial to aliens, the kind who like to abduct humans and then drive them insane...with pleasure. Or do you like something a little darker, more serious? Then check out my cyborgs whose battle with humanity have captivated readers worldwide.

If you'd like to know more, read some excerpts or find out what I’m working on, then please visit me at my links below.

Book Excerpt(s) :

“What were you doing on Earth?”
He stuck to the most obvious reason, the one he’d cultivated as a cover. “I was on your planet because I needed some rare goods. Given that Earth is out of the way and bound with restrictions on tampering with a developing species, any type of goods from your world fetch a high price at market.”
“So you’re in the import/export business? Funny, I would not have pegged you as a businessman.”
“Don’t say that.” He recoiled at the very idea. The horror. Him, dressed in a suit and tie, his clothing perfectly pressed? He couldn’t help but laugh. He gestured to his body. “Do I look like a businessman?”
“No, but then again, you also didn’t look like a guy who was hiding a spaceship under his house,” she retorted.
“Good point. But I will note that there are more spaceships hiding on your planet than you might imagine.”
“All that superior technology and you can’t help but crash land? And they say women are bad drivers.” The tilt of her lips let him know she teased.
“Where I come from, the women don’t drive at all.”
“Why am I not surprised to hear that?”
“There are reasons we do the things we do.” She would soon learn the universe was a harsh place, especially for females. Better if she began the process now of accepting her new status in life.
“Having a little pinky between your legs doesn’t give you the right to dictate.”
“Little? Lying isn’t attractive, wench. We both know I’m more than adequately endowed.”
To his surprise, she agreed. “Fine. You’re hung, which probably explains why you’re so stupid at times. All that blood loss.”

Giveaway(s)!! :
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Soo .... TWEET about this post!! And you could WIN!! =0)

Find Eve Langlais :

This was put together by myself (From Me to You ... Video, Photography & Book Reviews) please contact me if you'd like your own promo post, while the tour is through InkSlinger PR and they supplied some of the info.

Monday, August 22, 2016

Blog Tour - Of Beasts and Bonds by N. D. Jones | Spreading the Word & GC/ARC Giveaways

Today I'm showing off N. D. Jones' "Of Beasts and Bonds," which is the SECOND novel in her Death and Destiny Trilogy!!

ALSO -- Be sure to click the giveaway link at the bottom of this post to be able to sign up for this blog stop's Multiple GIVEAWAYs!! [Blog Tour will run from August 19 - September 9, 2016 & Giveaway will run until September 10, 2016]

"Of Beasts and Bonds"
[Death and Destiny Trilogy, Book 2] by N. D. Jones
Author's Book Description :

This book is available to order on :

Amazon (e-Book) USD | Barnes & Noble (NOOK Book) USD | Kobo (e-Book) USD

** Be sure to add it to your TBR pile on Goodreads & LibraryThing! **

About the Author :

N. D. Jones lives in Maryland with her husband and two children. She is the founder of Kuumba Publishing, an art, audiobook, eBook, and paperback company. Kuumba Publishing is a forum for creativity, with a special commitment to promoting and encouraging creative works of authors and artists of African descent.

A desire to see more novels with positive, sexy, and three-dimensional African American characters as soul mates, friends, and lovers, inspired the author to take on the challenge of penning such romantic reads. She is the author of two paranormal romance series: Winged Warriors and Death and Destiny. N.D. likes to read historical and paranormal romance novels, as well as comics and manga.

Book Excerpt(s) :

With focused golden eyes, alert gray ears, and keen black snout, the Mngwa took in his surroundings.
The prickly grass under his large, wide paws.
The heat of the midday sun beating down on his thick black-and-gray fur.
The scent of mullah bamyah—garlic, tomato juice, minced beef, okra, salt, and pepper.
The four snarling big cats stalking him.
Scanning each strong, lithe, and ferocious cat, the Mngwa cataloged their stance, their position, and the distance between each other and from the Mngwa. They flanked him, a large cat to his front, rear, and sides. If the Mngwa could smile, he would have. Foolishly, they thought their numbers a strategic advantage that would fell the undefeated Mngwa of myth and legend. Instead of a smile, he snarled, a baring of elongated teeth.
A challenge.
The four cats attacked, their bestial response to his bait.
Four sets of paws struck the ground, claws digging into grass and dirt, brawny legs propelling them forward. Razor-sharp teeth bared, husky growls cut through the muggy June air, and feline eyes glowed with a premature win.
The leopard reached the Mngwa first, snapping and going for the bigger cat’s neck. Not wasting time with the youngest of the four attackers, the Mngwa sidestepped the snarling, snapping leopard. To only pivot, turn, and ram the side of the too-slow feline with the Mngwa’s massive head. Away from the Mngwa the leopard flew, sailing through the air and crashing to the ground several feet away.
The three other cats spared no pitying glance to the downed leopard, who lay on his side, breathing labored and ragged. A sure sign of broken ribs.
More growls and snapping, each cat trying for a different part of the Mngwa’s massive body. The Mngwa was having none of it, so he went on the offensive. Leaping over the biggest threat, the Bengal tiger, the Mngwa landed nimbly, then ran straight at the cheetah. Taking the speckled feline by surprise, the Mngwa powered over the cat, knocking him down before hauling him up by his scrawny neck and shaking. The cheetah’s fragile neck was held firm between the Mngwa’s curved saber-shaped teeth.
When the Mngwa no longer felt resistance, he opened his deadly jaws and allowed the cheetah to fall from his brutal clutch and slip, nearly unconscious, to the waiting grass.
Smack. Bite.
The lion and tiger claimed simultaneous strikes on the Mngwa. A swipe across his hindquarters and a bite to his side. The lion latched onto the Mngwa, his lethal teeth working to find purchase in the cat of legend’s winter dense fur and even thicker hide.
Like the predator he was, the Bengal tiger charged while the Mngwa grappled with the formidable lion. A mix of yellow-and-orange with wide dark-brown stripes, the 510-pound tiger landed on top of the Mngwa. His weight hefty, his claws long, sharp, and dangerous. The maw that threatened his nape even deadlier.
The lion kept up his offensive, kept clawing, kept sinking his teeth in deeper and deeper.
The Mngwa roared, reared back on his hind legs, forcing the tiger off him and to the hard ground. With a side dive, the Mngwa dropped the entirety of his 695 pounds onto the 380-pound lion. His long, dark mane shot up and out with the force of the attack.
The downed lion snapped and snarled but didn’t get up. No, with the Mngwa looming over him, golden eyes marble hard, paw raised, claws out and within striking range of the lion’s throat, the feline had only two choices.
One would see him dead, while the other …
The lion lowered his eyes, and then his head.
Submission.
Pleased, the Mngwa shifted his gaze to the tiger, his other senses having tracked the big cat the entire time.
He knew it would come down to this—the Mngwa versus the Bengal tiger. It always did.
The big cats circled, taking each other’s measure. They searched for an opening, an opportunity to attack with the least probability of an effective and bruising counterattack. The combatants knew each other well—style of combat, defensive and offensive tactics.
Speed, size, and agility were on the Mngwa’s side. Yet, the toxin from an animal no longer than an inch, the golden poison frog could kill a dozen men. Its tiny size and bright colors deceiving. Not, at a length of 120 inches and 43 inches of shoulder height, with a tail just as long, there was anything small about the Bengal tiger baring his gleaming white teeth at the Mngwa.
The Mngwa underestimated no one—no matter the outward appearance of the enemy. Even the cat of legend, if incautious, could taste the bitter tang of defeat. So he watched and waited and plotted the tiger’s downfall.
The tiger charged, all muscle and menace. His long, powerful legs ate up the distance between them, determined copper eyes all for the Mngwa.
The cat of legend braced himself, choosing to face the big cat head-on. He wanted this fight, the primal challenge that only a great beast like the Bengal tiger could give him. A glorious battle of fangs, fur, and claws that would push, force, and compel the Mngwa to prove his worth, his manhood, his undisputed dominance as the predator of predators.
Crash.
The ground shook - the Mngwa and tiger locked in a feral clench.
Biting.
Clawing.
Pulling.
Strong. The tiger was so strong. But not strong enough.
The Mngwa opened his mouth wide and clamped down on fur and flesh. The neck of his opponent was thick with rigid muscles and delicate veins. The pulse of the tiger’s life a strong, fast throbbing beat in the Mngwa’s deadly mouth.
The tiger whimpered his pain. Neither loud nor long. But enough, enough for the Mngwa’s ears to detect the effect of his attack. Yet the tiger fought on, as the Mngwa knew he would. As the Mngwa wanted him to, the tiger too stubborn, courageous, and fierce to submit so easily.
No, there was much fight left in the Bengal tiger.
He swiped at the Mngwa, vicious claws finding vulnerable underbelly and drawing blood. It hurt, but not enough for the bigger cat to release his vice grip. The Mngwa sank his teeth deeper into the side of the tiger’s neck, tasting blood and prideful were-cat magic.
Her gardenia scent slammed into his senses seconds before the Mngwa and the tiger were surrounded by a ring of raging fire. Breaking his hold on the smaller cat, the Mngwa turned to see an angry fire witch barreling toward them—green eyes cold, red-gold hair and long striped sundress blowing in a wind that came out of nowhere. Her deadly focus was all for the Bengal tiger who, unlike when he fought the Mngwa, trembled with fear.
Lightning hissed.
Thunder growled.
And fire witch magic crackled in the blistering summer air.
Dammit, he had to do something and fast. Retreating as far as he could go within the cage of fire, the Mngwa propelled himself forward, accelerating when he approached the heated barrier and jumped. With ease, he cleared the four-foot high ring of fire and landed, with an oompf, on top of a glaring Sanura.
“I can’t believe you just—”
He licked her. From the front ring bodice of her green-and-orange striped dress, up her toned shoulders and around the tie neck, and into thick hair covering an ear, the Mngwa tasted his witch.
“Get off me, you big furball. I can’t breathe.”
Satisfied and comfortable, the Mngwa nuzzled his witch’s face, neck, and her heaving breasts, unfazed by Sanura’s angry protestations. The only part of him that pinned the witch down was his massive head and part of his chest. But, the Mngwa supposed, even that much weight could be heavy on a woman who, while five-feet-ten-inches tall, weighed no more than 140 pounds. With a teasing snort that had a lock of her wavy hair flying upward and out of her eye, the Mngwa decided it best to give the fire breathing witch some relief.
With a single thought from Assefa—I’ll take care of our witch, my friend, go to sleep—the cat gave way to the man. A transformative effect where fur and hide succumbed to hair and skin, paws and claws shrank to hands and legs, and golden eyes, muzzle, and fangs retreated, waning under Assefa’s command.
“Is that better?” Assefa smiled down at his hot-tempered girlfriend, right before settling the whole of him on top of the whole of her.
Very nice. Sanura made for the best mattress—plush, lush and with the right amount of firmness.
“You’re naked.” A huffed complaint that did nothing to encourage Assefa to move off her.
“Of course. My Mngwa doesn’t like clothing.” He shifted on top of her, letting Sanura feel just how naked he was. “He thinks pants are too binding. What do you think?”
She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I think you need to worry more about that big damn tiger you were fighting rather than your Mngwa in boxers.”

Book Preview(s) :

Giveaway(s)!! :

$50 Amazon Kindle gift card, Signed copy of "Of Fear and Faith" and "Of Beasts and Bonds," art print by Najja Creations
$30 Amazon Kindle gift card + eBook copy of "Of Fear and Faith" and "Of Beasts and Bonds"
$20 Amazon Kindle gift card + eBook copy of "Of Beasts and Bonds"

-- ENTER THE GIVEAWAYS HERE --
ALSO -- Be sure to follow the tour around the other blog sites!

Find N. D. Jones :

This was put together by myself (From Me to You ... Video, Photography & Book Reviews) please contact me if you'd like your own promo post, while the tour is through Bewitching Book Tours and they supplied some of the info.

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