Cover Reveal: Drowning in you by Rebecca Berto

 Title: Drowning in You

Author: Rebecca Berto

Expected release date: April 12, 2013

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Age Group: New Adult Cover

Designer: Okay Creations. ; JacquelineBarkla Photography 

Reveal organized by: AToMR Tours

Add Drowning to Goodreads 

                                                                                                                                                                                    Secretly crushing

                                                                                                                                                                           Crushed by a tragedy

Charlee May’s been crushing on Dexter Hollingworth since she was fifteen. Five years later, a horrific skiing disaster at Mason’s Ski Lift Resort leaves her millionaire dad critically injured and her mom dead at the hands of Dexter operating the lifts. Charlee is suddenly the sole caretaker for her little brother while their world falls apart.

Dexter couldn’t be more different from Charlee. He’s tattooed, avoids exclusive relationships and his Dad has a fair share of illegal dealings. With Dexter’s reputation, almost everyone believes he planned the Mason’s skiing disaster.

And after all these years he’s still crushing on Charlee May, the girl who’s too good for him.

When this cruel twist of fate ties Charlee’s family and Dexter’s reputation together, Charlee and Dexter wonder if their feelings are reciprocated, while Dexter discovers his dad is trying to steal the May’s millionaire fortune.

But like an addiction, one look, one touch, one taste—they’re hooked no matter the consequences.

The premise sounds interesting. And I love the cover! It's very fresh and romantic. And the colors used, in my opinion, convey pretty much the tone of the story itself. Looking forward to reading this one.

About the Author

 

Rebecca Berto writes stories that are a bit sexy, and straddle the line between Literary and Tear Your Heart Out. She gets a thrill when her readers are emotional reading her stories, and gets even more of a kick when they tell her so. She’s strangely imaginative, spends too much time on her computer, and is certifiably crazy when she works on her fiction.

Rebecca Berto lives in Melbourne, Australia with her boyfriend and their doggy.

Rebecca Berto | Facebook | Twitter

Cover Reveal: FAKING IT by Cora Carmack

Hi, guys! How are you all?

Remember a few months ago when I participated on the blog tour of an amazing New Adult indie that then went and became a New York Times and USA Today's Bestseller? No? Here, let me remind you. It was Losing it, by Cora Carmack. (PS.: She's so nice!)

Now the blogger power has been called again for its companion novel, Faking It. This one is centered around Cade. If you've read the first novel, you might remember things didn't end up quite well for him. And he was so sweet! Aaw, I get all touchy about him. No, really. I do. I distinctly remember asking to read more about him the minute I was done with Losing It. I had to scroll through months of emails to give you proof of this, but here it is: "Cade left me curious, though. I'd like to read more about him if Cora ever decides to write about his post-Bliss life." This was dated Setember 22, 2012. I'm like.. psyquic or something.

And now, Faking It is a reality! As a reader, I cannot begin to tell you how happy this makes me. I feel like its long-distance crazy aunt. You know the one. The one that has no real influence whatsoever in your life other than pinching your cheeks every holiday and scolding you when you want more dessert, but when you make it big, she looks at you all teary-eyed and proud and points out that she always knew you were meant to be a star. That crazy aunt.

And now, I want you to forget all that rambling from before and concentrate real hard on what I'm about to show you. Ready?

 

Faking It's cover! Isn't it pretty? I love it. It matches its predecesor perfectly. Cover-Cade is hot! And we already know he's super sweet. In case you are a non-believer (shame on you) here's the blurb:

Mackenzie "Max" Miller has a problem. 

Her parents have arrived in town for a surprise visit, 

and if they see her dyed hair, tattoos, and piercings, they just might disown her. 

Even worse, they're expecting to meet a nice, wholesome boyfriend, 

not a guy named Mace who has a neck tattoo and plays in a band. 

All her lies are about to come crashing down around her, 

but then she meets Cade.

Cade moved to Philadelphia to act and to leave his problems behind in Texas. 

So far though, he's kept the problems and had very little opportunity to take the stage. 

When Max approaches him in a coffee shop with a crazy request 

to pretend to be her boyfriend, he agrees to play the part. 

But when Cade plays the role a little too well, 

they're forced to keep the ruse going. 

And the more they fake the relationship, the more real it begins to feel.

Cover-Max looks just like I imagined her from the blurb. Given Cora's records, it's safe to say this one will be hilarious and romantic. If you haven't read Losing it, the paperback releases in the U.S. on February 26, 2013.

I am ridiculously excited about this book. June, be here already. Or not. I turn 23 in June so I'm conflicted.

Review - The Reluctant Countess by Wendy Vella

 

Publisher: Loveswept for Random House

Date of Publication: Out now.

Review Copy obtained from: Netgalley 

Regal, poised, and elegant, Sophie, Countess of Monmouth, is everything that a highborn lady should be. But Sophie is hiding a past that is far from royal. When Patrick, Earl of Coulter, realizes that her story doesn't add up, he resolves to find out the truth of what Sophie and her sister-in-law are concealing. Although Sophie has every reason to avoid him, the handsome and charismatic Patrick awakens something wicked deep within her soul . . . a powerful need that Sophie must stifle in order to protect her place in society.

  

If you're a fan of Romance novels and feel like you've read everything the genre has to offer, then this book is definitely for you. 

It breaks the formula. You know the one, where the female protagonist is this vulnerable lady and along comes her Prince Charming/Sexy Highlander/Brooding Earl and rocks her world, transforming her into a Strong Woman, capable of speaking her mind, be in control, etc, ect.

The Reluctant Countess, Sophie, is a vulnerable young woman, yes. But she has a sense of responsibility and loyalty that makes her tough and fierce long before her Brooding Earl came in the picture. Of course, romance is important (and abundant), but I cannot stress enough how much I loved Sophie for being tough and brave long before Patrick showed up. When I learned her reasons for doing what she did, I loved her even more.

About Patrick... Oh, boy. He's the perfect match for Sophie. He lets her be who she is in spite of what every one thinks. He is afraid she'll be in danger, but he lets her make her own choices. Free will is hot, you guys.

There are plenty of funny moments, as well as perfectly developed secondary characters I wish I could see more of (I'm looking at you, Amelia and Stephen.)

In occasions, the story developed a bit slowly, but even then it was filled with humor and romance. It was also a little bit predictable in the beginning, but about half way something happened that made me wonder: "Where did that come from?" And from then on, adventure also makes an appearance. 

If you like stories with well-developed characters, humor, adventure and romance, you will enjoy The Reluctant Countess immensely.

Insecure Writer Support Group - When you think TOO much

For those of you who have no idea, the purpose of this group is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds. If you haven't yet, go check yourself in at Alex Cavanaugh's blog.

 In my IWSG post this February, I'd like to share a problem that plagues me in all aspects of my life, not just in my writing. I think too much. I took the Myers-Briggs test a few days ago, and even psychology says so.

"Their minds are constantly working to generate new theories.." or "is not naturally likely to tailor the truth so as to explain it in an understandable way to others." Yeah, sounds familiar. And that last one is particularly difficult to ignore when I'm writing. 

Inspiration vs. Implementation 

 

In my head, I have hundreds of different scenes for my books. When I sit down to write them, and my writing actually flows, I'm the happiest person you'd find. I get lost in my own ideas and there's nothing better than that. 

And sometimes, I hit a wall. I'm sure everyone here has been through something similar. I get unhealthily frustrated. I bark at passers-by. In short, I get kind of bitchy. (My sister is nodding along like I'm explaining the Origin of Universe to her, when all I'm doing is reading this post aloud, so I must be right about that.) 

Allow me to demonstrate with an example. I don't know of you've heard, but recently Sharon Bayliss organized a World-Building blogfest. And awesome idea, if you ask me. So I joined. And didn't post ONE day. Sharon, if you read this, forgive me. I have issues. I also have a couple of posts written, but I chickened out completely. But let me share a paragraph of post #1, in which we were supposed to explain Geography and Climate in our fantasy world: 

"My brain makes me wonder things like: "What would happen if the Earth wasn't round?", or "What would have happened if the Earth did not have the Moon? ", or "What would happen if the Earth was not tilted?" or "What would happen if the Earth did not have seasons?". The list goes on. It's like I never got over that annoying 4-6 year-old phase, when you want to know EVERYTHING and you have access to the Internet. Imagine trying to come up with whole alternate what-ifs for each of these questions and more. You might understand why I get stuck."

 So there. If you thought you have issues... I have beaten you with a baseball bat, my friend. 

The exercise I'm making myself do to try and solve this is to step away from every WIP I have and concentrate in solving all of these questions and more. I will most likely end up writing an Encyclopedia of Aragua. How cool would that be?

To resume... Brain: SHUT UP. I mean, not completely, just enough so I can actually write something.

A Beautiful post...

I've been slacking unforgivably here. I'm sorry. I had a million things going on. The last couple of weeks have been crazy with college stuff and whatnot. It's that time of the year, I'm sure you don't need me to tell you. I was able to smuggle a couple of hours every day to read and boy...  What a good thing I did.

If you are in the YA community, I'm positive you've heard about The Caster Chronicles by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. So I'm here today to tell you a little bit of my experience with this awesome series. I won't write a review. At least not in the traditional sense.

These are the covers in reading order. 1) Beautiful Creatures. 2) Beautiful Darkness. 3) Beautiful Chaos. 4) Beatiful Redemption.

I don't remember where exactly Beautiful Creatures got in my radar, but I remember it had barely been out for a month or so. The blurb seemed interesting, so I bought it.

And a little after it made it into my TBR pile, I heard they adapting it into a movie. And I was like: What? [Insert dumbfounded face here]

You have to understand. Up until that point, all the major fandoms based on books came into my life already established. Harry Potter wasn't even heard of in my country before the movies. I jumped late (and I mean, late) into the Twilight ship. The Hunger Games and The Mortal Instruments bleeped on my radar well into their second and third books, respectively. And they were both already huge.

But I can proudly say that I was fan of this series since the beginning. I saw the fandom grow spectacularly with every book that came out. The authors were nice enough to answer questions to me from the beginning. (I remember asking a bunch of stuff to Kami Garcia back when she used formspring. See? We go way back.) My country was even mentioned in Beautiful Chaos, I think. When news reached inhabitants of Gatlin of weird phenomenom around the world, Paraguay was there. True, we don't get many tornadoes around here, but it was the beggining of the end of the world. One would imagine tornadoes were to be expected.

My point is... I was there when it happened. Not in Gatlin, of course, because that would be weird, but when the books became huge, I was already well acquainted with them. I was one of those smug, annoying girls who said: "You are in love with what series, now? Well, I read that one a gazillion years ago." And it felt wonderful!

I could say that... erm, all of the aforementioned franchises (except The Mortal Instruments because the last book won't come out UNTIL 2014) left a lot to be desired in the aftermath. I think I'm most pissed with the Hunger Games, in that department. Don't get me started with that whole Gale fiasco.

So, major kudos to this lovely ladies for delivering a final installment that turned out to be... well, PERFECT. Seven across, as in the end of The Caster Chronicles. It left some questions unanswered, but I'm not mad about using my imagination to answer them. All in all, Beautiful Redemption lived up to its name. And it was incredible. Plus, we get to find out what the heck happened with Link in the basement when he was nine years old. Finally. And about Link...

Am waitin' to read more about Wesley Lincoln and Ridley Duchannes, now, ya hear Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl? (That's me, channeling Amma, in case you were wondering.)

And here are some awesome pictures about the movie, in case you don't believe me about the grandiousness of this series. Not a word, I know (and my autocorrect knows) but sooo fitting..

If you haven't read the books yet, what the heck are you waiting for? You know, the movie comes out in February, 2013. There's only so much time before you become one of those people who only know good books (and use that term loosely about some of the other franchises) because they were made into movies, right? You don't want to be one of those people. You wanna be on my team. Go Team Caster Chronicles!

Thanksgiving Blog Hop - Hosted by Brenda Drake

This Blog Hop is hosted by the awesome Brenda Drake, who very nicely asked us to join her on this journey of thanksgiving. Just post pictures or thoughts of thanks from now until Thanksgiving, hop around during the month, and get to know each other. It seemed cool, so here we are. 

I’ve never celebrated Thanksgiving. It’s not a Holiday where I’m from. I confess, though. I’ve always found it intriguing. I know (unless TV shows are full of bullshit, which would promptly shatter a life-long illusion) that there are parades most people watch on TV, and you all gather and eat turkey and mashed potatoes (that last one I learned from Friends. Remember that episode in which Monica had to make at least four different kinds? I always remember that, for some reason.).

 

 

That’s how your Holiday comes across for us down here.

I wasn’t quite sure what was it that you Americans where giving thanks for, but there’s virtually nothing (pardon the pun) a quick googling can’t help you with.

And googling it is exactly what I did. Did you know in Canada they celebrate Thanksgiving, too? I sure didn’t. Different history than the more internationally known American tradition, but they also do it.

Ooookay, back to the topic.

This year, in honor of all the American friends I made during some contests I participated in, I’ll celebrate Thanksgiving with you. At least on my blog. You’ll have to eat the turkey and stuff for me because I’m pretty sure they don’t even sell that bird around here. But I’m with you in spirit, my friends.

I’m thankful for the internet. Weird, huh? Maybe this crazy girl from the end of the world didn’t understand your holiday after all, you wonder, no?

Sure I did.

I’m sure some of you would agree with me on this one, though. Writing can be a lonely business. Sometimes I let my sister talking to herself because I suddenly had a breakthrough idea. This idea is gonna fix that one problem that got me stuck for weeks. How could I not let the world hanging to capture it before I lose it? It’s just not done. But then, after I’m reading that one brilliant scene I finally got around to write I notice. My sister is long gone. I’m sure she’ll forgive me when I become a best-selling author and cart her off to Paris like I promised her ages ago, but the point remains. We sacrifice time with our loved ones to write. At least I do.

And here’s where the internet comes from. If it weren’t for it, I wouldn’t even know how is it that a novel gets published. Of all authors out there constantly giving interviews and things, something that Stephanie Meyer said once got stuck in my head:

“There’s ton of information online if you are interested in publishing a novel.”

And then I discovered that info is not only found about publishing it. You get people supporting you that are going through the same issues you’re having, down to that coffee addiction that makes you grumble if not fulfilled or that crazy pair of pajamas that become your uniform on weekends. And it makes you feel connected.

That connection with the world that I had to put on hold with my family and friends gets not restored, because nothing compares to quality time with a loved one, but it definitely becomes something that helps you push harder to take steps forward. And believing that some day (hopefully not too far away) it’ll all be worth it.

An argument could be made that it’s not really the internet, but the fellow writers that I should be grateful for, but as I have already mention in previous posts (you are probably rolling your eyes at me now) I live far, far away from people who could understand my inner musings. I mean, I’m sure there are great future novelists in Paraguay right now (like Augusto Roa Bastos, for example. The guy was a genious novelist and a fellow Paraguayan.) But people speak spanish around me. Other than my parents, siblings and a few friends, no one knows I write in english. So how could they provide any comfort? And it’s not their job to go along with my crazy plans (Except my mother. It sort of falls under her job description.) If I lived next to fellow english-writing writers (that wasn’t redundant at all) I’m sure the internet wouldn’t be such a crucial invention for me. But I don’t. And there are no immediate plans for that to change, so the internet it is.

That being said, of course I’m grateful for y’all. See? I’m even using “y’all”, something that again, if the TV is to be trusted, is a very American way to say “you all”. I’m no one to judge how you make your language your own because God knows, Paraguayans speak an unofficial dialect that most spanish-speaking people from other countries have trouble following. (It’s because we have actually 2 official languages [spanish and guarani] and have a tendency of mixing them up quite often. It’s called “jopara”. Bet you didn’t know that. See how cultured the internet makes everyone?)

So, to wrapped up.. the internet is something to be grateful for. So I am.

Insecure Writer's Support Group #1

So someone (no idea who) put me on the list for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. The idea is so fantabulous that I can't help but going along, although some notification would have been lovely.

For those of you who have no idea, the purpose of this group is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Really, when you think about it, why the hell didn't someone thought of doing this ages ago? 

It feels like I've been writing for ever, but the truth is I'm just starting out, at least seriously. I have one finished manuscript that still needs heavy revising, and three other projects which are half-way and on the drawer. Oh, and I'm starting a new one now for NaNoWriMo. I'm really excited about it. 

But then again, I'm always excited about WIPs when they are born. Those three that are unfinished were my dearest babies at their respective times, but somewhere along the way of plotting and pansing (I'm a hardcore hybrid) I just lost the way. 

I don't know about you guys, but when I "lose my muse" it's virtually impossible for me to get back on track. It's n times easier to just start a new WIP and wait for those ground-breaking ideas to come to me in a moment of clarity and make my lost manuscripts jump out of the drawer. And before you even think about saying anything, I'm know that I'm being incredibly stupid about that approach.

And it's not even that my one-liners for those manuscripts were bad. One is about a teenage girl who's been raised in a secret society of empaths (they are matriarchal) and havoc wrecks when they find a boy in their midst. Another is about a college girl (New Adult, if you must. When I started it, that term wasn't as popular as it is now) who was murdered and for some reason comes back to life. It has something to do with the weapon used to kill her, she didn't become a vampire or anything paranormal like that. And the other one is about four girls who are the ancient embodiment of the seasons (think of them as faeries, except that word is never actually mentioned). See? They are kind of cool, in my humble opinion. But they are only half-way done. 

And my mother pressuring me to just FINISH them of course helps nothing. I'm sure she means well, but... not really helping. I got stuck in a place that only I can crawl out of. I'm well aware of that. 

Not to justify my procrastination or anything like that, BUT... my working theory is that I just haven't lived enough. I'm young. And I know that there are gifted teenagers out there who could write a pullitzer-deserving novel but not all of us are like that. It's a fact we have to accept. It's specially hard when you consider that as a child, I was always ahead of my peers. I was spoiled into believing I was "smart". Parents, don't tell your children they are the best, even if they are. I'm not saying I was perfect, because God knows that would be big, fat lie. But it sure didn't help me accept failure. And I say this with no presumptions or anything. It's just how things are. 

Great, now this post makes me sound like a spoiled brat, doesn't it? But whatever. It's cheaper than therapy and helps just as much.

Anyway, more on these and other subjects in posts to come :)

Johana.

Creative Cursing

With all this NaNo madness going on, I had an epiphany today. My previous projects were all Young Adult, but I’ve had these ideas for an Adult Romance novel living in my head for so long that I decided to go ahead and put them to good use. It was a crazy, last-minute decision, but I’m doing it. And it’s working! I’m so excited I can’t stop thinking about it.

Anyway, that’s just as intro for the real reason behind this post.  Creative cursing. I completely suck at that, apparently.

In YA there’s not much use (usually) for curse words, but given the age and… natural inclinations of my new MCs, there’s endless room for creative cursing that I just can’t get my head around

.

I remember after finishing Kim Harrison’s The Hollows series that every so often, I found myself yelling: “Taking it to the turn” or “Tink’s undergarments!” at random.  It was particularly hilarious because no one in my day to day life actually speaks English. And there I was, using Jenks’ funny expletives in English. People confirmed then their suspicions that I was crazy. And I just smiled condescendingly at them, muttering a prayer that someday, I find someone who‘d understand my predicaments. (I’m still waiting for my prayers to be heard, by the way.)

And then, after finishing Kiersten White’s Paranormalcy, my household thrived in the epoch of the “Bleep” cursing. This was, again, funny. But now people kind of got the gist of what I meant.

I had another example, but I forgot. It happens to me all the time. I’ll get back at you on it.

Anyway, the idea remains. It hardly is an unexplored territory, but it’s kind of difficult for me. And I want my future readers to get stuck in their heads funny curse words as much as the next writer.

What about you? Does creative cursing come easily to you?