BLOG TOUR WITH GUEST POST: Floor 21 by Jason Luthor

FLOOR 21

by Jason Luthor

Release Date: June 2nd 2015

Summary from Goodreads:

As humanity lives out the remainder of its existence at the top of an isolated apartment tower, young Jackie dares to question Tower Authority and their ban on traveling into the tower's depths. Intelligent and unyielding, Jackie ventures into the shadows of the floors below. But will her strong will and refusal to be quiet—in a society whose greatest pride is hiding the past—bring understanding of how humanity became trapped in the tower she has always called home, or will it simply be her undoing?

Add to Goodreads

Buy Links:

Amazon

About the Author:

Jason Luthor has spent a long life writing for sports outlets, media companies and universities. His earliest writing years came during his coverage of the San Antonio Spurs as an affiliate with the Spurs Report and its media partner, WOAI Radio. He would later enjoy a moderate relationship with Blizzard Entertainment, writing lore and stories for potential use in future games. At the academic level he has spent several years pursuing a PhD in American History at the University of Houston, with a special emphasis on Native American history.

His inspirations include some of the obvious; The Lord of the Rings and Chronciles of Narnia are some of the most cited fantasy series in history. However, his favorite reads include the Earthsea Cycle, the Chronicles of Prydain, as well as science fiction hits such as Starship Troopers and Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep?

Author Links:

Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook

Guest Post:

FLOOR 21 happened by accident. I had previously written two books, neither of them great. I had an agent in L.A. who told me I was great at building worlds but my characters didn’t pop or stand out. So, November 2014, it’s NaNoWriMo, I’m watching Walking Dead, and this interesting moment happens. There’s this young teen girl trying to escape a hospital by lowering herself down an elevator shaft. I’m watching this, then I have an idea: 

What if the horror was on ground level, but nobody had been back to the ground in centuries? 

That’s what inspired the book. I opened up a Word document, started typing in a first person narrative from the perspective of a teenage girl, and put out about five pages of it to a writing group. Response? People go nuts about it. So I think with it. I think after years of writing, feedback from my agent, and just tons of practice, I finally nailed the balance between world building and character. 

The book itself follows a headstrong girl named Jackie, whose life is lead from a position of privilege inside of an isolated apartment tower. The occupants live on the top 21 levels, and going any lower is forbidden. Nobody has seen ground, or knows why they got trapped up here, but they know there’s a living sickness known as the Creep that reacts to negative human emotions and will attack or kill people further down the tower. Teams, known as Scavengers, are sent out every three months to scavenge the lower floors for food. Not all of them make it back. 

Jackie has two questions: Who is running things from the top floor (where nobody is allowed to go), and what’s beneath the 21st floor? The book tries to combine a kind of slice-of-life story that portrays Jackie as a pretty imperfectly perfect teenager who has trouble relating to people, bouts of mild anxiety and depression, but also this bravery to explore where nobody else will. 

The greatest response I’ve had to the book has been how much people like Jackie and the characters. That would never have happened a few years ago, when I was still struggling to portray these people as interesting, engaging individuals. So, I’m glad that people are not only fascinated by the world of the tower, but also by Jackie.

Book Tour Organized by:

YA Bound Book Tours

BOOK BLITZ, EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY: Before Goodbye by Mimi Cross

Before Goodbye
Mimi Cross
Published by: Skyscape
Publication date: January 1st 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

Music means more than anything to high school student Cate Reese; it’s also what unites her with Cal Woods. Devoted classical guitar players, Cate and Cal are childhood friends newly smitten by love—until a devastating car accident rips Cal out of Cate’s life forever. Blaming herself for the horrific tragedy and struggling to surface from her despair, Cate spirals downhill in a desperate attempt to ease her pain. 

Fellow student David Bennet might look like the school’s golden boy, but underneath the surface the popular athlete battles demons of his own. Racked with survivor’s guilt after his brother’s suicide, things get worse when tragedy darkens his world again—but connecting with Cate, his sister’s longtime babysitter, starts bringing the light back in. 

As Cate and David grow closer, the two shattered teenagers learn to examine the pieces of their lives…and, together, find a way to be whole again.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

EXCERPT:

CONNECTION

CATE

The sheet music perches on the black metal stand, a stack of white flags begging for surrender. But I will not. The music itself looks like a war zone: Pencil strikes are everywhere, the pages filled with casualties—discarded fingerings, interpretive markings. Added, then savagely crossed out. I am trying desperately to get the changes right, Cal’s changes.

The upcoming concert is my inspiration to get up in the morning. Making these changes is my homage to Cal, my connection to him.

But the Brooklyn gig . . . that show was for us. I need to cancel, yet can’t make the call.

There are so many people I can’t seem to call, my friends in the city—some who knew Cal. 

A few have called me, but I’m not sure that it matters. They all seem a lifetime away.

Besides the addition and blackened subtraction of musical direction, there are comments written in my music: maybe I’m just a crazy person with this boy in my head.

Cal Woods is not the only guy on my mind.

When Mr. Close finally showed today, he acted like he didn’t know why David and I were there. He probably just didn’t want to punish David for something everyone wanted to do, and he didn’t want to punish me because he doesn’t even know who I am. Half the time in PE I’m like a ghost. Or maybe Close knew I didn’t deserve a detention. Yes, I served a volleyball at the back of Dee’s head, but it couldn’t have hit her that hard, I can’t spike for shit. Of course the volleyball incident was right after I went off on her for telling me not to call Laurel. That was a big deal—to me, but not to her. So neither of these things should have sent her crying to Close. I think she was just pissed at me because of that guy she was talking to earlier.

I haven’t been able to go into the cafeteria for lunch since the accident—too many people, too many eyes on me. Hardly anyone at school knew Cal, but the fact that I was in the car with someone who died in an accident on Chapel Hill Road means that now everybody knows me.

So I’ve been going to the library with my lunch, when I remember to bring it, but I didn’t quite make it today. I couldn’t. Couldn’t stop crying.

Laurel heard I was having a meltdown in the girls’ room and came looking for me. We’d just taken seats outside on the stone wall surrounding the patio when Dee appeared at the far end.

“Dee.” Her name was a small noise escaping my lips, a sound not at all like Laurel’s secret sharing whisper-hiss, but more like choking. Dee was the last person I needed to see.

Laurel waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about her. You’re all pale. I’m going to get you some food.”

I nodded, then glanced back at Dee. But she’d already turned away, calling to a tall boy with dark hair standing at the edge of the woods that border the closest playing field.

Even with everything I was feeling, as the boy approached the patio, I was struck by his looks—he had that kind of face. Plus, he seemed familiar for some reason. But it wasn’t his face or the odd feeling of familiarity that got my attention. He was carrying a guitar case.

I watched him, watched Dee bum a cigarette. But when she started using it to gesticulate, jabbing it angrily in his direction as she spoke, he appeared to stop listening. His eyes flitted from face to face—Till they landed on mine.

One summer the Ridgeways took me to Montana, to a dude ranch called Triangle X where we rode horses all day. Out West the sky is somehow higher and wider, bluer.

Even from where I sat on the wall, I could see the boy’s blue eyes. They reminded me so much of that sky . . . I couldn’t look away.

Dee followed his gaze and shot me a cyanide smile, then tugged on his arm. But even as they were walking away, the dark-haired boy’s eyes held mine, his head swiveling to keep the connection. There was a slow-motion feel to everything as my head turned, too—

But then Laurel returned, plopping down on the wall, and time snapped back to its normal tempo. A minute later, I’d forgotten all about the boy. But maybe Dee hadn’t. She’s with Laurel now, but who knows. Maybe she had a thing with this guy.

I picture her jabbing her cigarette in his direction. Obviously, she knows him well.

So, right, I bet that’s what it is. Not the volleyball, the boy. Then again, Dee would find a way to hate me no matter what. No one has ever really hated me before, except . . . That night, the night David insisted on talking about. Wasn’t what happened just another kind of hate?

My left hand travels automatically up and down the fretboard, fingertips splayed like spider legs, running scales again and again. The fingers of my right hand dutifully hop from string to string— but these exercises don’t absorb me, not fully, not now.

Closing my eyes, I concentrate harder. Hammer-ons, pull-offs, be stiller than still. Classical musicians must not move, must not let our bodies express. The music expresses. We are merely the vehicles for the composers. For Saint Cecilia, for the Muses. Maybe, even, for God.

I do not play an instrument; I am the instrument. I serve.

My fingers move up and down the fretboard, skip, skip, skip across the strings . . .

Silently, a window in my attention span slides open. At first I notice nothing, too busy playing . . . But then a dark intruder—a recent memory—slips over the sill like vapor.

Author Bio: 

Mimi Cross was born in Toronto, Canada. She received a master's degree from New York University and a bachelor's degree in music from Ithaca College. She has been a performer, a music educator, and a yoga instructor. During the course of her musical career, she's shared the bill with artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, and Sting. She resides in New Jersey. 

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

GIVEAWAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:

BLOG TOUR, REVIEW, EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY: Fourth World: Book 1 of the Iamos Trilogy by Lyssa Chiavari

Fourth World: Book 1 of the Iamos Trilogy 

Genre: YA science fiction 

Published December 29th, 2015 

Amazon Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Fourth-World-Iamos-Trilogy-1/dp/1519496338/ref=la_B0177AG5AO_1_2/178-1719659-1799848?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1451430622&sr=1-2 

Amazon Ebook: http://www.amazon.com/Fourth-World-Iamos-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B019Y37LN2/ref=la_B0177AG5AO_1_3/178-1719659-1799848?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1451430622&sr=1-3

IAMOS, S.C.D. 8378 Nadin’s planet is dying. As its atmosphere drains away, her people are forced to live huddled in domed cities for protection. With only enough resources to support the population for one more year, time is running out. Nadin thinks she’s found a way to save Iamos, but it will mean defying the planet’s rulers, the geroi—and betraying the geroi could cost her everything.When a strange boy from another world appears out of nowhere outside the citidome’s glass walls, Nadin knows for sure that her plan will work. But to build the device that can save her people, Nadin must first find the legendary city of Elytherios. And to do that, she’ll need the help of the mysterious alien boy named Isaak.MARS, 2073 C.E. All Isaak wanted was to get through his senior year at the Academy in one piece. Everything would have been fine if he hadn’t found that ancient coin among his missing father’s possessions. The coin seems to have a strange connection not only to Isaak’s family, but to Mars’ ancient past.But how is that possible, on a planet that was supposed to be dead until just forty years ago?Now Isaak’s got agents of the Earth’s government on his tail and a deranged factory worker stalking his every move. Everyone is desperate to get their hands on something called the Key. And the only way to escape is to unlock an even bigger secret, one that could change his life—and the fate of Mars—forever.

REVIEW BY: Arianna, age 13 years, 1 month

MAY CONTAIN SPOILER:

This book was really wonderful! It entranced me because of all of the ideas, details and work that obviously went into it! 

My favorite character was "Zak" because he was extremely brave and accepting with everything. He faced government conspiracies and time travel, but made it through!

My favorite part was when he came back and saw Henry because I can't wait to see what happens next! 

I was really entertained by all of the author's ideas. I recommend this book to anyone who likes danger, planets and adventure! 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 14 and up. 

About the Author

Lyssa Chiavari is an author of speculative fiction for young adults, including Fourth World, the first book in the Iamos trilogy. She’s also the editor of Perchance to Dream, a YA collection of Shakespeare retellings, and the upcoming Circuits & Slippers anthology. When she’s not writing—which isn’t often—you can usually find her exploring the woods near her home in the Pacific Northwest or losing an unreasonable number of life balloons on Donkey Kong. 

Visit Lyssa on the web at lyssachiavari.com.

The Goodreads page for the book https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25555364-fourth-world  
my author website http://lyssachiavari.com 
Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/lyssachiavariauthor 
Twitter https://twitter.com/lyssachiavari 

Read below for an excerpt from Fourth World:

The sky looked red. That was all I could think as I gazed out over the desiccated plain. The once-gray rocks and boulders, strewn about the old dry coastline, were now almost completely covered with rust. Orange-tinged clouds swirled above my head, the air thick with choking dust kicked up by the harsh wind that raked over the parched ground. Even though we'd been forbidden to leave the safety of the citidome, I’d decided to take the risk that night. I had wanted to see the sunset—really see the sunset—for what could be the last time. It had been so long since I’d seen the sky, I couldn’t remember what it looked like. But I certainly hadn’t expected it to be so red. The oxygen was too thin. It made breathing difficult, painful. I couldn't believe how quickly it was depleting now, at the end. Last year on my annual we’d still been able go outside. But now we had to huddle in our enclosed cities, looking out at the world through the tinted filter of smooth blue glass. And even that option wouldn't last much longer. The world really was ending. It was much too soon. This was the first day of my eighth year, my enilikin. I still had my whole life ahead of me. I hadn’t even completed my schooling yet, thanks to Gitrin. It would be at least another year, now, before I was ready to take my place in the ranks of the geroi. But in their last report, the scientists said that our planet couldn't sustain us another year. My heart stuck in my throat at the thought. Standing here, looking at this, I knew it to be true. Sometime in the next six-hundred days the last of our atmosphere would be gone. The energy sources used to power the citidome would be entirely depleted. And if the colony on Hamos wasn’t stabilized—if we didn’t complete evacuation by that time—we'd all be dead. I’d be dead. Before I even got a chance to live. We needed more geroi. And still she told me I wasn’t ready. Everything was so hideously unfair. I shivered as the biting wind dragged over me, pulling wisps of colorless hair loose from the tight braid encircling my scalp. There was briefest hint of the fragrance of flowers on the wind’s breath, but it was overpowered by the dry, metallic scent of the ever-reddening earth. What if this was the last time I’d ever smell Iamos? The last time I’d ever see the sun, or the sky, without something in between me and it? No. I took a final shuddering breath, and, tucking a flyaway hair behind my ear, I made my decision. I was not giving up. It was not over. No matter what it took, this would not be my last annual. It was only as I turned to head inside that I saw him. I might have missed him otherwise, but the light from the setting sun threw his form into relief. A boy was sprawled across the ground. He wore no breathing apparatus. He was completely unprotected. And he wasn’t moving. Panicked, I raced to his side. I was out of breath by the time I reached him, even though he lay only a short distance away. “Are you all right?” I asked, wheezing. When he didn’t respond, I rolled him over onto his back. He was young—probably close to my own age. I realized instantly he couldn’t be from my city; his traits were all wrong. He must have come from another citidome. But how? He couldn’t have walked. All that way, unprotected? He would never have made it… I reached for my earpiece, then hesitated. I was invisible right now—the System couldn’t track me—but if I called for help, I’d be back online and the geroi would know I’d broken the edict. Not to mention that it could draw their attention to the fact that my earpiece had been altered. Ceilos would never forgive me. But there was no way I could shift this boy’s dead weight on my own, not when I was already feeling the effects of the thin air. Before I could give myself a chance to change my mind, I pressed the button. “Gerouin Melusin,” I called. “Nadin?” Melusin’s voice was soft in my ears, like the drip of water in the caverns. There was no time for explanations. “I need help outside the dome,” I said as calmly as possible. “‘Outside’?” she repeated, her gentle voice faltering almost imperceptibly. “What are you doing—” “Just hurry,” I interrupted her, breathless. “I found someone out here. He’s injured.” The gerouin said nothing more, simply disconnecting. I turned back to the boy. He was still unconscious, but he was breathing—barely. I crouched to get a better look at him. His hair was coated in the red dust that the wind kicked up in swirling eddies, but I could see it was curly and dark. His skin, on the other hand, appeared bleached like an old man’s, even though he was clearly young. Could unprotected exposure to solar rays have done this? The atmosphere was so thin now… I inhaled shakily, my lungs burning. It was already painful for me to be outside, and I couldn’t have been out for more than five minutes. This boy… how did he get here? 

 The Giveaway: 

1 signed copy of Fourth World + a bookmark, open US only 

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

BOOK BLITZ, EXCERPT & 2 GIVEAWAYS: Blood, Milk & Chocolate – Part 2 (The Grimm Diaries, #4) by Cameron Jace

Blood, Milk & Chocolate – Part 2 

Cameron Jace

(The Grimm Diaries, #4)

Publication date: January 4th 2016

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Fairy Tales

Carmilla Karnstein’s journey through the Seven Seas, trying to find the Tower of Tales and meet Lady Shallot so she can help her and Angel to escape from Night Von Sorrow’s wrath. Lady Shallot finds them an island on the back of whale. They call it Sorrow and begin a journey of most heart wrenching secrets. What and where Sorrow really is. Who the Lost Seven are. And most of all who Carmilla and her new born daughter really are. 

In the fourth installments of this epic tale, nothing is like it seems, some of the favorite character dies, and the thin line between good and evil blurs even more.

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

Life in the Seven Seas didn’t promise a happily ever after for Angel and me. Sailing in our small boat, I didn’t know what was worse. The nights or the days.

The days were gloomy. Looms of mist surmounted our boat, and we could hardly see the horizon. Angel liked to call it the sea’s edge, as if there was an imaginary waterfall at the end where all ship’s fell off into oblivion. The apple trader I fell in love with surely had a dark imagination.

The nights in the Seven Seas were the embodiment of scare. The fear of the unknown. Because we still couldn’t see ahead. The hope of finding the Tale of Towers and meeting Lady Shallot to help us escape Night Von Sorrow were diminishing tide by tide. The Seven Seas were a slow death. Day after day, I began to realize we may have fooled ourselves, thinking we could really escape and find a place we could call our home.

And there was more.

By day we sometimes saw other ships looming beyond the mist which draped like curtains before our eyes. The mist blurred our destinations. And the thing we thought we glimpsed behind may have been illusions.

“Do you see them, Angel.” I said.

“See what?”

“The ships looming behind the mist. The silhouettes of sailors. Their red eyes.”

“I see nothing, Carmilla. You’re imaging things. The sea does that sometimes.”

I turned back to him. He was standing at the farther side of the boat, trying to catch some fish. He had been like that since I’d sold my soul to fate. Nothing mattered to him but food.

Angel spend half of the days catching an incredible amount of fish. To me, the fish saved me from starving. But to Angel, the fish he caught meant nothing but blood.

I had seen him ripg a large fish with his teeth and sucking out the its red guts with insatiable hunger. He had to drink fast before its blood clotted. One after the other. Someday when he couldn’t catch the fish, he jumped into the water, disappeared for hours and then reappeared with a big fish between his teeth.

“You breath under water?” I remember asking.

“I guess so,” He didn’t even care that he began acquiring incredible vampire powers. “I can only do it when I am really hungry.”

We’d sit next to each other. I ate fish. He drank its insides. The rest of the day he’d sleep, tired of hunting for blood. This wasn’t the love stories I had imagined when I first met him.

But I wasn’t surprised. I, Carmilla Karnstein, was bound for sorrow by Captain Hook, Fate of the Seven Seas. And Angel was risking his full transformation into a vampire like his father.

One night, I realized we we were two survivors unable to love each other, but couldn’t. 

Survival took most of our time, and the bond between us thinned with every passing wave rocking our boat of life in the Seven Seas.

That night was the first time I thought about having a child. Angel and I needed something we both cared about to keep our bond from fraying. And it was a strange thought. Because somehow I knew, deep inside my soul, that I will not only have one child. But two.

Something told me I will have two girls. Twins.

 Author Bio:

Cameron Jace is the bestselling author of the Grimm Diaries and Insanity series. A graduate of the college of Architecture, collector of out-of-print books, he is obsessed with the origins of folk tales and the mysterious storytellers who spread them. Three of his books made Amazon's Top 100 Customer Favorites in Kindle 2013 & Amazon's Top 100 kindle list. Cameron lives in California with his girlfriend. When he isn't writing or collecting books, he is playing music. 

Sign up for his mailing list here: http://bit.ly/1sxp3p1

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

GIVEAWAYS!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Hosted by:

BOOK BLITZ, EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY: Darkness Brutal (The Dark Cycle #1) and Darkness Fair (The Dark Cycle #2) by Rachel A. Marks

GIVEAWAY: 10 Ebooks of The Urban Boys: Discovery of the Five Senses by K.N. Smith

Title: The Urban Boys: Discovery of the Five Senses

Genre: Young Adult Action-Adventure, Paranormal

Published: September 29, 2015

Formats Available: All Digital

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26850355-the-urban-boys

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/urban-boys-discovery-five-senses/dp/0989474755/ref=asap_bc?ie=utf8

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-urban-boys-kn-smith/1122739135?ean=9780989474757

Apple iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/urban-boys-discovery-five/id1045819157?mt=11

Synopsis:

The Urban Boys: Discovery of the Five Senses is an action-adventure story about five teen boys who are mysteriously exposed to a foreign energy source that gives them extremely heightened senses. Sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell become hypersensitive gifts that forever change the world. The story chronicles their effortless interrelations and later exposes the testing of their deep bonds. It introduces the reader to an array of supporting characters who alter the boys’ lives forever. The Urban Boys offers young and mature readers central themes of loyalty, responsibility, honesty, fear, and triumph, which become artfully integrated with cinematic-level action and high drama. The story twists, turns, and grinds through elements of paranormal and action-adventure in a diverse, exciting, edge-of-your-seat narrative!

Overview:

The story’s small town of Danville Heights, a carefully crafted universe, contrasts with the dark, gloomy town of Sandry Lake, where evil abounds. Upon the boys’ mysterious incident with the energy source, they’re instinctively called to Sandry Lake to root out evil. Their senses guide them each time. However, secrecy about their mission, furious battles with evil thugs, extreme fatigue, and stress and pressure soon overwhelm the boys, but they must find a way to embrace their fate. A lurking, Dark Stranger seems to know their plight, and a strikingly beautiful, fearless girl lends way to heightened confusion. Shocking details about these two characters, and the evil antagonist, the dreaded Druth, twist and grind the story even further. Despite tension and fierce battles, will the boys hold it together long enough to fulfill their destiny? Intriguing, intelligent, beautifully written, and full of action, The Urban Boys: Discovery of the Five Senses offers a memorable, emotion-packed, thrilling ride for young and mature readers alike!

About the Author:

K.N. Smith is an American author and passionate advocate of childhood and family literacy programs throughout the world. She continues to inspire students of all ages to reach their highest potential in their literary and educational pursuits. Her creative literary flair sweeps across pages that twist, turn, and grind through elements of paranormal and action-adventure in diverse, exciting, edge-of-your-seat narratives. She states, “My hope is that The Urban Boys will spark imagination in a wide variety of readers while elevating global literacy efforts. It’s important that we have diverse families of readers for generations to come.” K.N. Smith has over twenty years experience in writing, communications, and creative design. She lives with her family in California.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorknsmith?_rdr=p

Goodreads:http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14431555.k_n_smith

Twitter: @knsmith_author

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0s9XFHra3A

Reviews:

"An energetic YA adventure debut with stellar action sequences. Smith's writing is intelligent and often lyrical. Her exuberant prose never fails to dazzle." - Kirkus Media

"Author K.N. Smith uses her mastery of the written word to weave an entrancing tale of adventure that keeps you turning pages in an unquenchable desire to find out what happens next. The author's matchless prose details cinematic fight sequences and fully developed characterizations especially in a final, stupendous scene that will take your breath away and leave you limp with spent emotions. Five stars for this imaginative and inspiring story, sure to be as appealing to general audiences as it will be to the YA crowd!" - Publishers Daily Reviews

"K.N. Smith has at her disposal a lyrical prose that describes the environment and the characters in such fine (and magical) detail that you can’t help but fall in love with the world she has created. ‘The Urban Boys: Discovery of the Five Senses’ is a great start to this new series and the premise holds much promise for more entertaining episodes." - Midwest Book Review

a Rafflecopter giveaway