Amazon Queen Blog Tour and Contest

Amazon Queen
Amazon, Book 2
Author: Lori Devoti
Mass Market Paperback: 375 pages
Publisher: Pocket
Available at Indie Bound, Powell's Books, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Summary: Amazon queen Zery Kostovska has never questioned tribe traditions. After all, these rules have kept the tribe strong for millennia and enabled them to live undetected, even in modern-day America. Zery is tough, fair, commanding–the perfect Amazon leader. At least, she was. A new high priestess with a penchant for secrecy and technology is threatening Zery’s rule. Plus, with the discovery of the Amazon sons, males with the same skills as their female counterparts, even Zery can’t deny that the tribe must change. But how?

I was sent a copy of Amazon Queen by the publisher, and hadn't read the first book, Amazon Ink. Both books revolve around the legend of the Amazon tribe, who worshipped Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, forests, and hills. I love the concept, and what the author has done with it. Zery is an interesting main character because she starts out a rigid keeper of Amazon traditions and laws, never questioning her leaders, until it involves the kidnapping of a child. Zery is the focus of the story, but the other characters really make this story a winner. Her interaction with the Amazon sons, women who have left the tribe, her warrior sisters, and the evil priestess make for a fast paced, action filled read.

Amazon Queen has some unexpected twists and turns, plus a bit of sexual tension that adds to the plot. If you enjoy Seressia Glass, Kat Richardson or Patricia Briggs you will enjoy Lori Devoti.

THE CONTEST
The publisher has once again graciously allowed me to give away one copy of Amazon Queen. The contest will end on Sunday, June 6th. Please answer the following question for me:

Do you enjoy when when authors use legends and myths as a basis for their book? Do you enjoy historical fantasy or romance more than an urban setting?

Please leave your email if it's not part of your profile. I will pick a winner randomly on June 7th and post the winner on the blog.

~Moonsanity

Cheat the Grave: Seeing the Big Picture

Cheat the Grave
Sign of the Zodiac, Book 5
Author: Vicki Pettersson
Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Eos (May 25, 2010)
Available at Indie Bound, Powell's Books, Barnes & Noble and Amazon

Summary: Las Vegas socialite and otherwordly avenger Joanna Archer gave up everything when she embraced mortality—abandoning her powers and altering her destiny to save a child . . . and a city. Now her former allies are her enemies—and her enemies have nothing to fear.

Yet still she is bound to a prophecy that condemns her to roam a nightmare landscape that ordinary humans cannot see and dare not enter. And a beast is on her trail—an insane killer blinded by bloodlust, who's determined to rip much more from Joanna than merely her now-fragile life.

Cheat the Grave is the fifth book in Vicki Pettersson's Signs of the Zodiac, and I am totally in awe of her talent as a writer. It's obvious to me that Vicki has a plan. She knew what her characters were going to do, and she brought the reader along for the wild ride in the fight against evil in Las Vegas.

Vicki Pettersson has taught me a lesson as a reader: trust the authors we love. The fourth book in her series had a huge cliffhanger, which left me stunned and sad for Joanna, the main character. I thought about it, and realized that Vicki must have a plan, and I was not privy to the big picture she had in her mind for Joanna. I put the book aside, and waited. I ended up winning an ARC of Cheat the Grave, and was BLOWN AWAY by the turns in the plot, the new characters, and that "big picture" I mentioned.

There are times, especially with a dark fantasy series, that a reader has to trust the author and look at the series as a whole, rather than one book at a time. When things look bleak, and we fear the characters will never resolve things, we need to remember that the author has a plan. Cheat the Grave is a prime example of this.

Fans of the series will without a doubt LOVE Cheat the Grave. I'm sure many feel like I do, and have been sucked in by Ms. Pettersson's gripping story, her rich characters and the world of magic and mayhem she has created.

You could read Cheat the Grave as a stand alone, but I think the series as a whole is so thought provoking, creative and emotional that I can't imagine not having read all of the books. If you enjoy Marjorie M. Liu, Lori Handeland or Caitlin Kittredge you'll love Cheat the Grave and the other Sign of the Zodiac books.

The Scent of Shadows, the first book in the Signs of the Zodiac, can now be downloaded FREE for a limited time. Bonus material includes the first three chapters of the newest release. It's available for the Sony Reader, the Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook and iPad.

Signs of the Zodiac:
1. The Scent of Shadows (2007)
2. The Taste of Night (2007)
3. The Touch of Twilight (2008)
4. City of Souls (2009)
5. Cheat the Grave (2010)

~Moonsanity

Me, Angry Teen & My Cool Tee

This is my son Mike, who is having his 16th Birthday Party today. Oh, and that t-shirt I'm wearing is the tee I won from Ilona Andrews on her blog. They will have these t-shirts at their signing which is May 25, 2010 at Powell's Cedar Hill Bookstore in Portland, Oregon. Not only will Ilona and Gordon be there, but so will Devon Monk and Lilith Saintcrow. Good times will be had by all! If you go, please take pictures since I live across the country and won't be able to attend.

For those of you who are asking the question "Wow, she looks short, is she?" Yeah, I'm only 5 foot tall, and Mike has been taller than me for awhile now:) Also, his friends bought him that lovely t-shirt, not his mom.

~Moonsanity

Kick Ass Free Reads

There has been some really kick ass free reads from authors lately, so I thought I would do a wrap up post with links for those who may have missed them.

DEMONICA LIFE
First off we have a short from Demonica author Larissa Ione that gives us a "now what happens?" called Demonica: Overkill; Snippets of Demonica Life. The first short is about Wraith and Serena and the next one will be about Luc and Kar. You'll find them here: http://larissaione.com/blog/books/demonica-overkill/
I loved Larissa's Demonica books and it's really neat that she is going to be sharing more on the characters as she has time. If you haven't read the books you WILL want to soon.

FUN WITH SUCCUBI
Next, one of my favorite authors, Jill Myles, who writes those rocking Succubus Diaries books, has a new short story entitled FOREPLAY that is a prequel to her books. You can download for free at the Simon & Schuster website. It’s available until June 18th so get it now here. You do have to register, but it's free:)

SIGN OF THE ZODIAC
The Scent of Shadows by Vicki Pettersson is available free now on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It comes with Bonus Material too. If you have not read Vicki's series, this is the PERFECT time to try it out. It's a dark urban fantasy. It's available for the Kindle here and it's also on Barnes & Noble.

ILONA ANDREWS SHARES A STORY
Questing Beast is a free story from another of my favorite author teams, Ilona Andrews.

On a world far far away, where cute things eat computers and the sky is emerald green, a small team of scientists struggles to save the planet and their own careers by mixing genetic engineering and Arthurian legend. Too bad they had forgotten the first rule of planet exploration: Nature always has the last laugh.

You can download it on Smashwords.

KAREN CHANCE'S TOMAS
"The Day of the Dead" is a short story from Karen Chance that was first published in the Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance and is now a free ebook. It features Tomas, a character from Touch the Dark (2006), the first Cassandra Palmer novel.

It's free for download on Smashwords.

I hope you enjoy these free reads. Be sure to download them as soon as you can because I've noticed they don't always stay available for long periods of time. Enjoy:)

~Moonsanity

Katie Salidas Blog Tour & Contest

Immortalis Carpe Noctem
Author: Katie Salidas
Paperback: 346 pages
Publisher: Rising Sign Books
Available at Amazon (also on Kindle)

SUMMARY: Bleeding to death after brutal mugging on the campus of UNLV, Twenty-five year old Alyssa, is rescued by the cold and aloof, vampire, Lysander. Taking pity on her, he shares the gift-and curse-of immortality. She awakens as a vampire and is soon devastated by harsh realities of her new way of life: the loss of her friends, her independence, and her humanity. Only by accepting her new-found immortality and seizing the night, will Alyssa hope to survive. She and Lysander will have to fight together against two sets of enemies bent on destroying them.

I received a copy of Immortalis Carpe Noctem as part of the author's blog tour this month. It has to be difficult for an author to come up with a different take on vampires now that there are so many books out there, but Katie Salidas did just that. Her main character, Alyssa, didn't know vampires existed and she certainly didn't choose to be turned into one after being attacked and stabbed by humans. Does she wake up loving her new body and the sudden hunger she can't quench? No, she doesn't and THAT makes sense.

How many of you have read novels about newly turned vamps and thought "Ewww...blood is the new Coke?" I understand the idea that vampires are predators and their instinct is to feed on blood, but I liked that Alyssa needed time to adjust. She didn't fall madly in love with her sire the minute he turned her, and he actually pissed her off more than he nurtured her. This made sense! He's VERY old, and his level of tolerance isn't what it used to be. I get that. Alyssa is young, she misses her friends, her favorite coffee hangout and her old life. I get that too.

Katie Salidas's characters are complex and real. They annoyed me at times, but made me smile too. Life isn't always black and white. Things are not always what they seem, and I like that this is reflected in her characters. Immortalis Carpe Noctem is a darker paranormal romance that doesn't give the reader fairytale vampires that instantly fall in love. Loyalty, love and friendship are things to be earned in a world where truth is not always easy, and trust should not be given lightly.



A Las Vegas native, having grown up in the famed City of Sin, Katie loves to feature it as a recurring setting for many of her stories. You can find Katie at her blog, My Immortal Stories.

THE CONTEST
The author has graciously offered to allow me to give away a signed copy of her book to one visitor that is a U.S. resident. My question for you is this:

What is your favorite vampire book and why?

Leave your email if it's not part of your profile, and I will pick a random winner on May 28th, 2010. This contest is open for those of you in the US only.

~Moonsanity

Play Dead: Zombies & Unexpected Heroes

Play Dead
Author: Ryan Brown
Hardcover: 344 pages
Publisher: Gallery
First Edition edition (May 4, 2010)
Available from Amazon

Summary: For the first time in Killington High School history, the Jackrabbits football team is one win away from the district championship where it will face its most vicious rival, the Elmwood Heights Badgers. On the way to the game, the Jackrabbits’s bus plunges into a river, killing every player except for bad-boy quarterback Cole Logan who is certain the crash was no accident—given that Cole himself was severely injured in a brutal attack by three ski-masked men earlier that day. Bent on payback, Cole turns to a mysterious fan skilled in black magic to resurrect his teammates.

I received Play Dead as part of the book tour and contest I'm hosting today. Zombies. People either love 'em or hate 'em, depending on the book or movie. I like my zombies with a good dose of humor and suspense. Anyone can write about the undead munching on humans, but it's the creative minds that add a bit more to the mix. Ryan Brown had an idea, and he ran with it, much like a quarterback runs with his beloved football. Play Dead takes the hardcore high school football players, fans, and boosters and poses the question: What will some people do to WIN?

Simon & Schuster quotes Ryan Brown as saying:
"I considered what type of 'monsters' could actually be competitive against the most juiced-up football team I could imagine? Why, zombies of course. I really got excited about the idea of a zombie football team being the good guys...the team to cheer for."

I love that the author starts out with competitive craziness and pranks that go wrong, moves on to the black humor of zombies, then builds to the suspense and horror of a town in danger. I loved the humor, but also appreciated the author making us think about competition and doing anything for the big win. How far is too far?

Mr. Brown threw in some high school romance, teenage angst, abusive parenting, irony and a lesson about "playing God" in our own and other's lives, which made Play Dead much more than a typical zombie story. He attended high school in Texas, which I think really comes through in the book as he describes the town and it's residents in this book.

I really enjoyed Play Dead and would recommend it to fans of Dean Koontz and Stephen King. It's a faced paced thriller with shades of horror. Though the plot involves high school teenagers, the book is pretty gritty, including the language. I would let a mature 16 or 17 year old read the book. They've heard it all at that point in their life as far as language.

THE CONTEST SCOOP
The publisher has graciously allowed me to give away one hardbound copy of Play Dead. As usual, I'll ask a question, and you use your comment to answer the question as your entry. Leave your email if it's not in your profile or blog link. I will pick a random winner on June 1st, 2010 and post it on the blog.

Question: Do you have a favorite zombie book or movie? What is it, or why don't you have one?

Zombieland is my favorite movie because I really need humor to offset the grossness of zombies. They are truly gross!

~Moonsanity

RIP: Ronnie James Dio

Ronnie James Dio's voice, no matter what the song, always conjurs up magic, swords and epic fantasy when I hear him sing. Sadly, he passed away yesterday, after battling cancer.

Message from Wendy Dio from their website ( http://www.ronniejamesdio.com/ ):
Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever. ~Wendy Dio

You can leave messages on their facebook page here.

Man on the Silver Mountain is one of my favorites:




My thoughts are with Ronnie James Dio's family and friends. May his music live on forever.



~Moonsanity