'The Charleston Vampire Chronicles' Book Tour

Welcome to the book tour for The Charleston Vampire Chronicles by L.A. Freed, hosted by Tempting Book Tours.



**My thoughts**

This vampire trilogy is different from others you may have read. The lead character is another female. What I noted about "Ainjul" is that she has a strong religious background that conflicts with her new position in life as a vampire. That conflict bothers her and is a source of struggle for her. Matthew is not a traditional "sexy" vampire who is just looking to score with women. He has his own personal family struggles that cross moral boundaries. And then there is Kate, plus a government conspiracy. Also notable is how much author L.A. Freed's love of animals shines through in her narrative. Have you ever heard of a vampire dog?

These are not light and fluffy novels filled with hot sex and sparkly vampires. They are serious, yet pull you in at the same time. There are twists and turns that keep you guessing. Some of the hidden stories that are revealed can be shocking. I was reminded of V.C. Andrews with one of the stories! These stories are also quite graphic. I wasn't disgusted by any of them, nor turned off, but I have a high threshold. Other graphic ones I have read actually bothered me. If you can handle Stephen King, you will be absolutely fine.

L.A. Freed also has her own interpretations of how vampires are created and how they live. Some of their traits parallel traditional vampire myths and legends. Some of them seem to be unique to this story. Each is fully explained and helps to make these stories unique in their own way. She is an excellent storyteller. You'll be sure to love this series!

Check out descriptions of each title in the series and then download them to your Kindle or purchase them in hard copy! If you're still unsure, watch the YouTube trailer to be convinced! Also be sure to enter the Rafflecopter down at the bottom!

Blurb for Blood Thirst:

My heart slammed inside my chest as I fought him. My fear became anger; I knew I would die before I'd let him violate me. I squirmed beneath him and bucked violently, nearly knocking him off. He retaliated by driving his weight harder against me and shoving his knee into my belly. Vomit rose in my throat.

Cold pain pierced my neck, and I drew in a strangled gasp as I realized he must have a knife. Wet warmth slid across my throat. He pressed his face against me and locked his mouth over the source of my pain.

Warmth spread through me and grew into the heat of need. I found myself pushing into him as my fear dissolved. My heart slowed and matched each pull as he drew the very life out of me. Pounding. Pounding. Pounding. It was ecstasy, and I wanted it to go on forever. Then the sound of my heart grew faint, and he pulled away from me.

He lifted his head and turned to look at me. Blood colored his lips like the grease paint smile of a clown, and ran in a jagged line from the corner of his mouth to the tip of his chin where it hung in a small, clotted drip. He smiled. The sight of the small, sharp fangs shocked me back into fear. THIS IS DEATH.

Buy link: http://amzn.to/UtaMsG

Blurb for Blood Divided
  

Overwhelmed with guilt at the sin that was his undoing and the monster he's become, the vampire, Matthew Trenton, stows away on a ship bound for the New World in an attempt to start over.

Through sheer perseverance, he survives the hardships and savagery of the untamed shores of Charles Town. Then, vampires begin to come to him to die, and he realizes what an enigma he is among them, but why? What makes him so different?

He needs mortals for blood, but also depends on them for companionship and verification that his existence has reason.  He has an overwhelming need to guide them, protect them, and sway them with his ideas for the future of his new country.

As his mortal companions die, and his country begins to tear itself apart in war, he faces despair so deep that he contemplates his own end … until he sees his sister's child on the docks. 

Filled with a new reason to exist, he watches his family grow.  Time comes full circle when Angela Trenton is born. She not only carries his family name, but is the very image of his beloved sister. He falls hopelessly in love with her. And he knows in order to keep her with him forever he will need to discover why his blood is divided.

Buy link: http://amzn.to/WnI7vZ

Blurb for Blood Feud

Fifteen years ago, an auto accident killed Kate Delwen's husband and son. In an instant, her life changed forever. Little did she know then, their deaths were no accident.

Tonight, her life will turn upside down again, just as the immortals intended so many years ago. She will die, be reborn and emerge as a reluctant hero amid a world of powerful vampires embroiled in an ancient Blood Feud.

Buy link: http://amzn.to/SGK2aJ



Buy the trilogy on Smashwords:

Blood Thirst http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/158202

BLOOD DIVIDED -- http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/204356

BLOOD FEUD -- https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/239808

 

About the author:


L.A. Freed, author of The Charleston Vampire Chronicles, is a true renaissance woman and lives, works, and plays in Charleston, SC. She is employed full time and works nights at The Post and Courier. It's highly unlikely that she sleeps in a coffin during the day because she's too busy training dogs to compete in AKC, USDAA and CPE agility and obedience. She also dabbles in photography and art, and has won numerous awards for her work. In a past life she trained, showed and boarded horses. She is a life member of the AQHA and owns two Quarter Horse mares. 

Stalker Links: FB - http://www.facebook.com/AuthorLaFreed

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Book Spotlight: 'A Layman's Guide to Managing Fear Using Psychology, Christianity and Non-Resistant Methods'

"A Layman's Guide to Managing Fear Using Psychology, Christianity and Non Resistant Methods" - an easy to read book that presents a general overview of techniques that are effective in managing persistent fears and anxieties. For additional information go to: http://www.managingfear.com/ 

Stan Popovich is the author of "A Layman's Guide to Managing Fear Using Psychology, Christianity and Non Resistant Methods" - an easy to read book that presents a general overview of techniques that are effective in managing persistent fears and anxieties. For additional information go to: http://www.managingfear.com/  




Buy links

http://www.managingfear.com/order.html

http://www.managingfear.com 

Website

http://www.managingfear.com 

Other  Social Media Sites 

http://twitter.com/managingfear

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/stanley-popovich/14/979/326

http://www.youtube.com/user/StanPopovich1

http://www.facebook.com/#!/stanley.popovich

'Destine' Book Tour Spotlight

Destine

Book Blurb:

Michelle Cross is an average, seventeen year old girl growing up in a small town in New Jersey. Up until her senior year, her life has consisted of a rather unglamorous existence, until a handsome new boy finds her at school. Little by little Michelle's world is turned upside down. The new boy claims to be the Archangel Gabriel cast from heaven, her best friend falls for the Antichrist, and come to find out Michelle's mother has seen it coming all along. So instead of being consumed with prom and graduation, Michelle finds herself battling the evils of Hell in her small town. Can Michelle stop the powers of Hell in time? Can love bridge the world between heaven and earth? Michelle and Gabriel find themselves the pawns in a very dangerous game between an ancient power with a mysterious message and Satan himself.

Sometimes your Destiny finds you...

Buy links:

Available through the Author App on her Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WatchersTrilogy

Available through PayPal on her Website:  http://www.destine-watcherstrilogy.com 

Amazon: http://amzn.to/Pa1fsZ

About the author:

Katherine Polillo originally planned to grow-up and run away with the circus, but after realizing that she had a debilitating fear of heights that squashed her dreams of being a tight ropewalker, she instead pursued a career in education.  She currently teaches high school history and fabricates fictional stories in her free time.  She never really out grew her imaginary friends stage, and instead has created lives and stories for the creations of her imagination to live in.  When she is present in reality and not off on an adventure with her imaginary friends, she lives in a small, New Jersey town with her husband and their two spoiled rotten, ungrateful cats. 

Stalker Links

http://www.facebook.com/WatchersTrilogy

http://www.destine-watcherstrilogy.com

https://twitter.com/KPolillo

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9569396-katherine

Follow the Tour 

8/20. Paranormal Reads http://paranormalreadsreviews.

blogspot.com/

8/21. Phenomenal Reviews http://jennswiger.blogspot.

com/

8/22. The Cover and Everything in Between http://thecoverbybrittany.

blogspot.com/

8/23. Andi's Book Reviews http://andisbookreviews.

blogspot.com/

8/24. Storytime Book Reviews http://storytimebookreviews.

blogspot.com/ 

8/25. Alchemy of Anne's Anomalies http://alchemyanne.blogspot.

com/

8/26. KB Miller http://kbmillerbooks.blogspot.

com/

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Review and Giveaway for Poe's Mother

I was intrigued by the premise of Poe's Mother when it came across my inbox as a potential review for Tempting Book Tours.

Blurb:

1975. A 15-year-old young woman. A small, dusty town. A family that worships the great American author Edgar Allan Poe, and carries his surname.
Poe's Mother is a startling new novel of dark family secrets, the lure of the supernatural, the claustrophobic isolation of a dying town and a cautionary tale of the power of words.
This is the story of Sissy Baxter and her strange relationship with Edgar and Madeline Poe - two people who claim they love her. What Sissy discovers will change her life forever, and love will never be the same.
(This book is for mature readers.)

I am a fan of Edgar Allen Poe and dark stories. I am usually apprehensive about reading books that feature a real life person as a fictional character, but somehow was willing to give this one a shot. I am so glad that I did.

Edgar Allen Poe is not a central character in this book; however his presence is strongly felt both in the story and in the storytelling. The descriptions of the Poe house mirror my visions I have when reading a Poe story. I can feel the dark emptiness of the characters and the town as a whole. It even makes me feel somewhat dark and empty as I read it. You develop a sense that nothing is going to go right and truly feel what Sissy is feeling as she tells her story. I can truly see how Meeske has been influenced by Poe and one of my all-time favorites, Daphne du Maurier.

The story is intriguing, as Sissy tries to make sense out of her own life. She has been orphaned, being raised by her depressed brother who seems to be having issues of his own. She can't wait to get out of this small town and to do something better with her life. She barely likes anyone there, save her best friend, yet is strongly drawn to the strange family down the road who share them name of the classic author. Something about the mysterious Edgar draws her to him, despite warnings from her brother and other townspeople. She pursues the connection, anyway, and finds revelations that turn her whole world upside-down.

Point-of-view alternates between Sissy and Madeline, Edgar's mother. The more that Madeline tells the story, the deeper into the realm of insanity you go with the characters. It is not intrusive into the story at all.

The only thing that makes me crazy about this book is the lack of quotation marks when someone is talking. It made it hard for me to sometimes tell if someone was speaking or if the narrator was sharing a random thought. At the same time, it helped to contribute to the detached despair and craziness of this twisted story. I couldn't put it down. And now I want to read some of Meeske's other works.

I echo the final line of the blurb - this book is for MATURE audiences, ONLY. But it is an excellent read.

Purchase your own copy from Amazon and enter the giveaway below!



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Meet Michael Meeske, Author of Poe's Mother

Michael Meeske writes across genres, including romance, mystery, suspense, horror and Gothic fiction, a genre that blends horror and romance, and has its roots in some of the earliest novels ever written. Poe's Mother is his latest release available exclusively on Amazon.com.  

From 2008 to 2010, he served as Vice President of Florida Romance Writers (FRW). He has been a member of FRW and the Romance Writers of America since 2002. He also was an active member of the Writers' Room of Boston, a non-profit working space for novelists, poets and playwrights.

Michael's writing credits include Frankenstein's Daemon, a sequel to Frankenstein, offered through Usher Books. He also is the co-author of His Weekend Proposal, a tender category romance published in August 2009 by The Wild Rose Press under the pen name of Alexa Grayson (soon to be published in Greece); Zombieville, a short story included in a 2011 anthology by FRW writers, available at Amazon.com, and Tears, a short-story published in the Fall 2000 issue of Space & Time, a magazine of fantasy and science fiction. Usher Books will publish additional works by Michael in 2012 and 2013.

Some of his influences are Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Shirley Jackson, Oscar Wilde, Daphne du Maurier, Richard Matheson, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and any work by the exquisite Brontë sisters. You can contact Michael at michaelmeeske@live.com.

You can also find Michael at any of the following links:

FB:  http://www.facebook.com/michael.meeske?ref=tn_tnmn 

FB Fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Michael-Meeske/252387778133954

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/MichaelMeeske/followers 

Website: www.michaelmeeske.com 

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4575677.Michael_Meeske

Check out the trailer for Poe's Mother.







Enter the big giveaway!

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'The Spirit Box' Review and Giveaway

Welcome to the first stop on Tempting Book Tours for The Spirit Box by JH Glaze! Read on to learn more about the book and the author, my review, and scroll down to enter a fantastic giveaway!

Book Blurb

When Walt Turner's mother died, he inherited her apartment and the antique shop below. After losing his job due to the treachery of a co-worker, The Spirit Box calls to him from the darkness of the shop with an offer of revenge.  

Lured by the promise of ultimate power and eternal life by the prisoner inside the box, Walt agrees to help it gather the final spirits it requires to return to human form.  

John Hazard is investigating a series of murders and missing persons in this otherwise quiet town. His perceptions of reality are about to be altered in a life changing confrontation that will force him beyond the boundaries of darkness and ancient evil.  

It is a spiraling descent into madness, where you may have everything you desire, if only you are willing to sacrifice all that you believe.   

When you look into The Spirit Box, be prepared to have more than your breath taken away. 

My Thoughts

It has been a while since I read a book that turned my stomach and creeped me out, in a good way.  The concept of the Spirit Box is disgusting and terrifying at the same time. Its power to change the behavior of a man into a murderous madman who doesn't even understand what is going on and feels guilty about it.

Walt is one of the first main characters I have met in a long time that I despised from the very beginning. He is a whiny jackass who is cocky for no reason other than he has incredibly poor self-esteem. That did not deter me from zipping through his story, eager to find out what was going to happen next, though. Sometimes those characters you hate drive you through, just so that you can find out if and how they meet their demise. Detective John Hazard is an intriguing character whom I would like to get to know better. This is JH Glaze's first novel, and it does feel like a first novel. It is also the first book in a series that promises to improve as it goes along, as writers often do. I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more in the series.

If you like sick and twisted plots, like Stephen King's earlier books, then this is a book for you.

About the Author

 

When was the last time you saw someone working on a laptop while riding Public Transportation during rush hour? There is one Atlanta area author, JH Glaze, you may have seen. He would have been writing one of his novels on his way to 'the day job'.

His first novel 'The Spirit Box', a horror/thriller about a man who inherits an ancient box from his deceased mother, was written almost 80% on the train. It was finally published in September 2011. Since then, he has completed a second novel in the series, 'NorthWest'. This exciting cross-genre novel was 100% written on Public Transportation.

When asked why he enjoys writing on the train, he'll tell you, “Riding on the train is the only time of the day when I won't be distracted by email and other things that just seem to come up when I'm in my office. The atmosphere on the train also incites an atmosphere of uncertainty and excitement that can't be duplicated in a home office environment. Anything could happen on that train at any time and my writing channels that energy!”

What does he say about his writing style? “I want to involve you in the stories, to bring you into my worlds and share with you the thoughts that inspire them. The stories originate with simple ideas, and I tell them in a way that carries you the reader, through it inside of your own mind.”

The writing style of JH Glaze has been called 'Unique' and has been well received by readers from a broad spectrum of genres. Readers and reviewers alike have given high ratings to both of the first 2 books in the series. The release of the third, 'Send No Angel', scheduled for release in Summer 2012 and is highly anticipated by fans of this author.

JH Glaze was born in Niles, Ohio and currently resides in Atlanta.  He lives with his wife and editor, Susan Grimm, their dogs, Harley and Jake, and JoJo, the Senegal parrot. To find more information, search the web for JH Glaze, The Spirit Box, NorthWest, Send No Angel and The Horror Challenge.

Connect with JH Glaze

Website: 

http://www.jhglaze.com 

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/JHGlaze.author
https://www.facebook.com/thespiritboxbook
https://www.facebook.com/northwestbook
https://www.facebook.com/sendnoangel
https://www.facebook.com/thehorrorchallenge

Amazon Author Page: 

http://www.amazon.com/JH-Glaze/e/B005SWFQGI/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3?qid=1336949590&sr=8-3

Goodreads Author Page:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5198413.J_H_Glaze

Tumblr:
http://www.tumblr.com/blog/jh-glaze

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Meet Christie Silvers and the Liz Baker series

I have been Facebook friends with author Christie Silvers on Facebook for a couple of years now, but had never read any of her fiction. A couple of months ago, she asked for people to review her Liz Baker series, starting with A Time for Death. While vampires and paranormal had previously not been my genre of choice, I decided to give it a go. I was completely hooked. I stayed up late that first night devouring every word.

By the next day, she sent me the second book, Kill Me Next Week. I read it almost as quickly as I had the first one. Parent-teacher conference season got in my way, so I only just finished the third book in the series, Killer Intentions. I'm now sad that we all have to wait until this fall for the fourth installment.

Read on to learn a little bit more about all three books in the series. Learn a little bit about author Christie Silvers. Scroll to the bottom of the post for a giveaway in which you can receive print copies of all three books in the series!


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Liz Baker, a 32 year old small town bar owner, thought it would be a normal evening of sex in a cemetery with her longtime beau, until she spotted someone in the distance, and all normality in her world ceased to exist.

After several murders in her small town of Tremmel Crossing, Georgia, Liz comes to the realization that the murderer is coming after her, and he’s more dangerous than any human could possibly be.

With the help of her dead mother, bar bouncer, and cemetery lover, Liz learns that the murdering vampire was sent by her biological father to claim her as his own. Only then does she discover her real parentage and underlying special powers.

However, the vampire sent to claim her has powers of his own, most importantly the power to control her mind, emotions and desires. She wants him, needs him, her entire body aches for him, but she soon finds out that she must fight back to save the lives of her friends and loved ones. Only death will release her from Marcus’s powerful hold, but who will die first?

Read my full review of the book here. 

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I thought life would get back to normal after I offed Marcus. I wanted adventure, but not the kind that could kill me with the glimmer of an idea. Yeah, he was a god in bed, but what fun would that have been if I never felt my own feelings and thoughts again?

Now I'm surrounded by more monsters. I somehow knew there couldn't be just vampires in the world, but a girl can hope can't she? Oh well, that's not how it works in the real world.

Adele's estate is gorgeous, much bigger than I'm accustomed to, and it turns out to be an excellent headquarters once Cole McIntosh--Wendigo Extraordinaire--shows up and demands my services. Hell, I don't even know how to use the powers I supposedly have and this bastard wants me to reverse a gypsy curse. It's not my problem he's a dumb ass and got himself split in two. I happen to like his better half anyway. He makes a great sandwich!

Now Rick's pissed at me, Chad's looking as smoking hot as ever, and I have a handful of staff, friends, and my new high-class lawyer helping out...but will I be ready when Cole comes knocking at the front gate?

Read my full review here.

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 Saddled with the knowledge that she's not only a half-vampire, but also expected to be some kind of supernatural warrior to battle evil, Liz Baker--34 year old small town bar owner--would rather life went back to normal, choosing to ignore her destiny instead.

She survived murdering a vampire lover, being possessed by a spirit of her ancestor in order to destroy a wendigo, and even finding out that her ghostly mother is in love with the attorney in charge of her newly acquired fortune. But will she survive finding out that she has eleven half-vampire brothers and sisters?

Even with Chad at her back, and an ex-military werewolf pilot giving them defensive pointers, Liz simply wants to go back to normal. What ever normal is now. How will she ever find normal again though, what with a demon haunting her waking hours and a vampire trying to pull her into his paranormal army of offspring?

Chad didn't understand, nor would he. He didn't have this damn inner demon telling him things he shouldn't know, telling him to do things that he desired to do, but knew he should never do. She'd told me at the last second not to kill Gregory. The other children needed him. But was it true? Or just another guise in an attempt to lull me into complacency?

The demon side of me only wanted more evil, more control over my mind, my body, my actions. She had killer intentions, the kinds of intentions that would push me away from all the people I cared about and into the arms of a father I never wanted.

Read my full review here.

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Christie Silvers is a wife, mother, and writer of urban fantasy with a touch of naughtiness.  Creatures that go bump in the night inspire her.  From time to time those creatures turn to the saucy side of things and that's when Christie dabbles in the paranormal erotic side of writing.  She never knows what the characters will do until they're already doing it, which makes for some interesting late night writing sessions. 

Christie lives in north Georgia with her husband of forever, three daughters, four dogs, nine chickens, and numerous outside cats.  Aside from reading, writing, laundry, rushing her children to a variety of school functions and trying not to have a panic attack while teaching her 15 year old to drive, Christie spends her spare time wondering when she'll actually have spare time to spare.

Connect with Christie Silvers!

Website: http://www.christiesilvers.com  

Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/authorchristiesilvers  

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/christiesilvers  

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/christiesilvers/ 

GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/christiesilvers

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Review of Killer Intentions by Christie Silvers

Killer Intentions is the third book in the Liz Baker series by Christie Silvers. In this installment of the series, Liz gets some devastating news about her half sister, Jesika. Someone has already volunteered to help Liz and Jesika. Unfortunately, it's Gregory, Liz's vampire father. When Liz refuses his help, he sends her other siblings after her. At the same time, the nagging voice in Liz's head, which bears an uncanny resemblance to Dolly Parton, rears its ugly head and plagues her with self-doubt. Enter a werewolf whose job is to protect her and a visit from her mother with some surprising news and it's no wonder Liz's life feels like it has turned upside down.


I attempted to read this book in one sitting. Had life not gotten in the way, I would have done it! This third installment kept me flipping the virtual pages. Liz is an empowered, independent woman who is having a tough time right now. This book shows more of her fragility as she attempts to juggle all kinds of new revelations and to protect herself and her loved ones. As more of her layers are being stripped away, she is also blossoming into someone even more magnificent. Eventually she is going to come into her own; we are just here for the ride.

My only complaint with this book was that it ended too soon (with an appropriate cliffhanger) and the new installment isn't due out until later this fall. I can't wait to get my hands on it!


I received a complimentary copy of this book from author Christie Silvers in exchange for my honest review.

Enter to win a printed set of all three books in the Liz Baker series!

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