EXCLUSIVE Timeless NEWS! (IWSG and a Bottled Genie)

AND it's that magical time. What am I talking about?

First I brought you this:

Then this:

Now it's time for this:

What's it about?

Time is the enemy.

In 1771, Alexia had everything: the man of her dreams, reconciliation with her father, even a child on the way. But she was never meant to stay. It broke her heart, but Alexia heeded destiny and traveled five hundred years back to stop the Soulless from becoming.

In the thirteenth century, the Holy Roman Church has ordered the Knights Templar to exterminate the Passionate, her bloodline. As Alexia fights this new threat—along with an unfathomable evil, and her own heart—the Soulless genesis nears. But none of her hard-won battles may matter if she dies in childbirth before completing her mission.

Can Alexia escape her own clock?

You know you want to get a first glimpse and help share this awesomeness with the world.

The reveal is happening September 12-14, 16-17, and 19, 2016.

Sign up to help HERE.

Cover Reveal

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THE COVER: This cover reveal will not only feature a chance to win an Advanced Review Copy. *gasp* Anyone who signs up to help will be entered into a separate contest for an Amazon gift card. You can participate via blogging, Twitter, Facebook, Tumbler, Pinterest, Goodreads, or any other social media.

And now for the monthly hop topic...

What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer? Where is it now? Collecting dust or has it been published?

My very first piece was a picture book I wrote in 2nd grade, but on a professional level, my first FULL novel (not novella because there were a few of those), was NEITHERLANDS: AWAKENING. The book is currently under contract and revisions are being made as we speak...read...whatever. You have no idea how excited I am to share it with the world. *dances like a loon*

Now enough about me. Let's talk about you, eh? And the awesome book YOU could win this week.

Two weeks ago, Annalisa Crawford shared two truths and one lie with us. The winners were entered to win a print book of YOU. I. US.

The game:

1. I sink when I try to swim, but float away when I'm upright.
2. Due to repeats in the UK, I have watched the complete series of Star Trek: TNG, Castle, Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother multiple times.
3. It took me 6 attempts to pass my driving test.

The lie: #3. In fact, she never passed her test. She was so bad at driving, she gave up way before the instructor even mentioned putting her in for the test!

Way to guess everyone! And the winner is:

...DRUM ROLL...

Sharorah!

Congrats, Sharorah!

And now for today's giveaway: 

At seventeen, Adeelah Naji is transformed into a genie and imprisoned in a bottle. For a thousand years, she fulfills the wishes of greedy masters—building their palaces, lining their pockets with gold, and granting them every earthly pleasure. All that sustains her is the hope of finding Karim, the boy she fell in love with as a human. When at last she finds a note from her beloved, she confirms he has access to the elixir of life and that he still searches for her. 

But someone else also hunts her. Faruq—the man who plots to use her powers to murder and seize the life forces of others—is just one step behind her. With the help of a kind master named Nathan, Adeelah continues to search for Karim while trying to evade Faruq. To complicate matters, she begins to experience growing fatigue and pain after conjuring, and finds herself struggling against an undeniable attraction to Nathan.

As Faruq closes in, Adeelah must decide just how much she’ll risk to protect Nathan and be with Karim forever. How much power does she really have to change her future, and what is she willing to sacrifice for an eternity of love? If she makes the wrong choice, the deaths of many will be on her hands.

Get Your Copy HERE.

Ready to meet the author?

Carol Riggs is an author of YA fiction who lives in the beautiful green state of Oregon, USA. Her debut novel, THE BODY INSTITUTE, released Sept 2015 from Entangled Teen, exploring body image and identity. Her fantasy YA, BOTTLED, released from Clean Reads on July 7, 2016, and her sci-fi YA, SAFE ZONE, will release from Entangled Teen in October 2016. She enjoys reading, drawing and painting, writing conferences, walking with her husband, and enjoying music and dance of all kinds. You will usually find her in her writing cave, surrounded by her dragon collection and the characters in her head.

Connect with Carol:   Website  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Blog

Carol gave me two truths and one lie to test your "lie detector" skills. Those who figure out the lie will go into my magic hat for the chance to win an eBook copy of BOTTLED. (Open internationally.)

You have until Tuesday, August 23 at 2 p.m. EDT to guess. Be sure to come back for the answers on August 24, 8 a.m. EDT.

TRUTH OR LIE

1. Carol loves to swim; it’s one of her favorite things to do in the summer.
2. Carol has been married three times; her current husband is her third.
3. Carol has never gone skiing before, downhill or cross-country.

So sleuths, which is the lie? What does TIMELESS mean to you? Have you signed up to help with the reveal? Do you like genie books?

How NOT to Accomplish Goals (in 5 Easy Steps)

Have you completely given up on your goals for 2016?

Several of my wonderful blogging buddies do a monthly check in about their goals for the month/year. I don't. I live off the "list." There's a master list of things I'd like to accomplish each day, and as I accomplish them, they get scratched off the list. Looking beyond that tends to overwhelm me...because you know, I'm home schooling 4 kids.

So enough about healthy habits. Let's talk about some not so healthy habits. (Because they're funner.)

At the beginning of the year, my 2016 writing goals included:

1. Finish TIMELESS (book 3 in the Maiden of Time trilogy). DONE!!!! First trilogy completed. You better bet I'm celebrating. 

2. Publish an anthology of my short stories. .....

3. Record the audiobook for MOONLESS. (Maybe after TIMELESS releases?)

4. Finish PROJECT ALASKA and start querying. 32K words, and holding...until (you guessed it) after TIMELESS releases.

5. Read 60 novels. Yeah, I knew it would be a small reading year. I'm at 34, unless you count the ones I'm critiquing and beta reading, but I don't count those--only the ones I review.

SO How Not to Accomplish Goals (in 5 Easy Steps):

#5: Get Netflix. (You'll probably spend an entire hour just trying to decide what to watch.)

(Credit: Shutterstock/Dave Clark Digital Photo)

#4: Develop a social media dependence.

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#3: Have kids. And home school them. Every day. All day.

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#2: My favorite, stay up all night every night reading EPIC books.

#1: Forget the goals because...OOHH!! Chocolate. (Or cheese.)

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Whether you're a list, calendar, or check in kind of goal keeper, I hope your goals are going swimmingly this year.

Time to give some away some book love, eh?

Last week Misha Gerrick shared two truths and one lie. The winners were entered to win an eBook: ENDLESS.

The game:

1. I'm currently wearing my hair the shortest I've ever worn it. 
2. Mashed potatoes is my ultimate comfort food.
3. I've recently resumed my classical vocal lessons.

The lie: #2. Misha hates mashed potatoes. If she wants comfort, she'd chow down on chocolate. She is actually back in voice lessons as a soprano.

Way to guess everyone! And the winner is:

...DRUM ROLL...

Cherie Reich!

Congrats, Cherie!

And now for today's giveaway: 

In You. I. Us, Annalisa Crawford captures everyday people during poignant defining moments in their lives: An artist puts his heart into his latest sketch, an elderly couple endures scrutiny by a fellow diner, an ex-student attempts to make amends with a girl she bullied at school, a teenager holds vigil at his friend’s hospital bedside, long distance lovers promise complete devotion, a broken-hearted widow stares into the sea from the edge of a cliff where her husband died, a grieving son contacts the only person he can rely on in a moment of crisis, a group of middle-aged friends inspire each other to live remarkable lives. Day after day, we make the same choices. But after reading You. I. Us., you’ll ask yourself, “What if we didn’t?”

Get Your Copy HERE.

Ready to meet the author?

Annalisa Crawford lives in Cornwall UK, with a good supply of moorland and beaches to keep her inspired. She lives with her husband, two sons, a dog and a cat. Annalisa writes dark contemporary, character-driven stories. She has been winning competitions and publishing short stories in small press journals for many years, and is the author of Cat & The Dreamer and Our Beautiful Child.

You might run across Annalisa munching on cheddar with her feet paddling in the sea.

Annalisa gave me two truths and one lie to test your "lie detector" skills. Those who figure out the lie will go into my magic hat for the chance to win an PRINT copy of You. I. Us. (Open internationally.)

You have until Tuesday, August 2 at 2 p.m. EDT to guess. Be sure to come back for the answers on August 3, 8 a.m. EDT.

TRUTH OR LIE

1. I sink when I try to swim, but float away when I'm upright.
2. Due to repeats in the UK, I have watched the complete series of Star Trek: TNG, Castle, Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother multiple times.
3. It took me 6 attempts to pass my driving test.

So sleuths, which is the lie? What are your goals for 2016? How are you doing with them? What's your favorite distraction? Have you met Annalisa?

Book Trouble: Read on or Set it on Fire?

Do you put a book down after a first chapter? 

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Truthfully, I don't very often, but lately, several of the books on my kindle have been less than engaging--not saying they aren't great, I'm just not the right reader for them. 

I love anything with a supernatural element, be it scary, heartwarming, or romantic. I enjoy a good family story and the occasional contemporary. Adventure, danger, fantasy, huge character arcs,..any of those will win me over. 

There are two genres I don't touch: true crime, and general fiction labeled as "heart-warming," aka the-author-wants-to-mess-with-your-emotions-by-being-cruel-and-manipulative. I'll read most anything else, but the books that really get me are the ones that make me care about the main character right away, no matter the genre.

I just started reading a new book, and it's all I want to do. It's not even one of my preferred genres, but I'm hooked. Fortunately, I get to share the wonderful author and his book with you this week for Writerly Wednesday. How awesome is that? 

Ready to guess the lie and win a book? 

Last week, Annalisa Crawford shared OUR BEAUTIFUL CHILD with us, along with two truths and one lie. Those who guessed the lie correctly were entered into a random drawing for the chance to win her eBook.  

Annalisa's game: 

1. Annalisa went abroad for the first time when she was 29 and heavily pregnant.

2. She's very accident prone – this year alone she's torn something in her hip, broken her big toe and had her dog land on her head.
3. She's watched The Sound of Music more than 200 times. 

And the lie is:

#3. She has actually never seen The Sound of Music and has no plans to.. 

Speaking of The Sound of Music, I played Maria Rainer (the lead) in that musical YEARS ago, and suffered from the ensuing nightmares where I had to go perform it again months or years later and couldn't remember my lines. Ug. (Traumatizing.)

Enough of that.

Way to guess those of you who got it right! And the winner is:

...DRUM ROLL...

Kristin Smith!

Congrats Kristin! 

And now to today's feature:

Master assassin Shayla Carver has killed many times. That's what assassins do, nothing to lose sleep over, but this mission is different.

She's never killed a whole planet before.

In a time when Earth is little more than a legend, life is dangerous for wayward colonies. Everyone fears the Emperor’s power to order a Cleansing, the burning of all traces of civilization from the face of a planet. Shayla's own home world was Cleansed, and now, years later, she's ready to exact payment in kind.

But her meticulous planning didn't prepare her for living undercover amongst some of the two billion people she's about to slaughter. Ordinary people. Not the strutting Imperials readily dismissed as legitimate targets or collateral damage. Then there's the Emperor himself. An ordinary man with troubles and dreams of his own.

Did this man really order the slaughter of innocents?

Can she?

Now she's starting to lose sleep.

Get your copy HERE.

Ian Bott is a science fiction writer who successfully evaded the writing bug until it bit him, late in life, by means of a sneak stealth attack.

As a software developer he rebelled against mind-deadening software specifications and resolved to write technical documents fit for ordinary human consumption. From there, it was a small step to speculative fiction.

He lives in beautiful British Columbia with his wife, two children, and a steadily expanding menagerie of pets.

Ian loves all sorts of cheese, but his favorite for special occasions is a creamy Stilton with a nice glass of port. 

Ian gave me two truths and one lie to test your "lie detector" skills. Those who figure out the lie will go into my magic hat for the chance to win an eBook of GHOSTS OF INNOCENCE. How awesome is that?

You have until Tuesday, September 23, at 1 p.m. EDT to guess--and be sure to come back for the answer on September 24.

TRUTH OR LIE

1. For five consecutive years at school, Ian won the art prize despite not taking art lessons. Looking back, he feels guilty because there were some very good artists who were probably royally peeved.
2. At University, he managed to instigate a riot that hit national headlines.
3. He built a pirate ship in the back yard, complete with masts, flags, and crows nest.

Which is the lie? Have you put down any books lately? If so, why? Have you read anything lately that really grabbed you and you HAD to keep going? What genre of books do you love/can't stand?

Moving, Part 2: Dirty Laundry and Other Dastardly Duties

It's moving day, AGAIN, but today's move is a happy one. Today I'm moving here:

Yippee!!!

(Isn't it pretty?) 

I'm a little apprehensive about what my new cleaning schedule will be like, and I'm happy to take on a slave live-in tourist who will help care for the property. Any takers? I'll be listening to/watching fireworks every night from Disney World. Awesome, right? So that's the reason I'm somewhat absent today, but I'll be back this weekend to answer comments and say hi to everyone.

And why not some cleaning funnies to celebrate:

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Quick aside, I just have to say it, reviewers are AWESOME! This last week Barb Taub was kind enough to review MOONLESS. Pop over to see what she had to say.

Any big things happening for you this week/month/year?

Ready to guess the lie and win a book? 

Last week, C.M. Keller shared SCREWING UP BABYLON with us, along with two truths and one lie. Those who guessed the lie correctly were entered into a random drawing for the chance to win two of her eBooks.  

C.M.'s game: 

1. C.M. kissed a gargoyle on Notre Dame cathedral. 
2. When she was a teenager, she drove the car with her eyes closed several times.
3. She has a rare auto-immune disease that makes her hair fall out. 

And the lie is:

#1. She apparently hasn't snogged a stone monument. 

Way to guess those of you who got it right! And the winner is:

...DRUM ROLL...

Suzi!

Congrats Suzi! 

And now to today's feature:
 

“The Boathouse collects misfits. Strange solitary creatures that yearn for contact with the outside world, but not too much. They sit, glass in hand, either staring at the table in front of them, or at some distant point on the horizon.” 

… so says the narrator of Our Beautiful Child. And he’s been around long enough to know.

People end up in this town almost by accident. Ella is running away from her nightmares, Sally is running away from the memories of previous boyfriends and Rona is running away from university. Each of them seek sanctuary in the 18th century pub, The Boathouse; but in fact, that’s where their troubles begin.

Ella finds love, a moment too late; Rona discovers a beautiful ability which needs refining before she gets hurt; and Sally meets the captivating Murray, who threatens to ruin everything.

Three women. Three stories. One pub.

Get your copy HERE.

Annalisa Crawford lives in Cornwall UK, with a good supply of beaches and moorland right on her doorstep to keep her inspired. She lives with her husband, two sons, a dog and a cat.

Despite her location, she neither surfs nor sails, and has never had any inclination t;po try. She much prefers walking along a deserted beach and listening to the waves crashing over rocks. For this reason, she really love the beach in the winter! 

Annalisa says she's a boring cheddar eater (no such thing!) and rediscovered the joy of a cheese and onion sandwich the other day.  

She gave me two truths and one lie to test your "lie detector" skills. Those who figure out the lie will go into my magic hat for the chance to win an eBook of OUR BEAUTIFUL CHILD. How awesome is that?

You have until Tuesday, September 16, at 1 p.m. EDT to guess--and be sure to come back for the answer on September 17.

TRUTH OR LIE

1. Annalisa went abroad for the first time when she was 29 and heavily pregnant.
2. She's very accident prone – this year alone she's torn something in her hip, broken her big toe and had her dog land on her head.
3. She's watched The Sound of Music more than 200 times.

Which is the lie? Have you moved recently? Any big news happening for you? One of your own? Do you love time travel stories? Do you like stories that reach deep, emotionally?