Stacey Kennedy's The Cat's Meow Blog Tour

 

 

Huge thank you to Mochas, Mysteries and More for letting me stop by today and talk about the Witch’s Brew series.

 

 

So, the inspiration for this series came from Libby’s character. I thought it’d be neat to have a female character who hunted for evil by using spells and magic to capture them. That’s really how the idea for the story all began. It was the simple concept that Libby worked for her coven and was responsible to go after warlocks/witches who used Black Magic.

 

 

Once I had that foundation, the rest kind of fell into place as I wrote it. You see, I’m not a planner, which typically means I spend a lot of time rewriting my stories. Especially once Kale appeared. His character made me rewrite The Cat’s Meow twice. For those who have read it, the secret that appears at the end of the book of his real identity didn’t show itself to me until I wrote that final fight scene. After I discover who Kale really was, I had to go back and rewrite the story to get his character right.

 

 

Now you can probably tell that I have no idea how many books in the series there will be. I learned long ago to not plan anything since my characters always end up taking the control and doing things their way! But in my head, I can picture three books, and maybe even four. All I know is the next book in the series, which I plan to start writing soon, will be very Kale focused. He was just too mysterious in The Cat’s Meow, and I can’t wait to learn more about the sexy warlock!

 

 

The Cat’s Meow

Witch’s Brew Book One

Urban Fantasy Romance

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

ISBN: 9781622668571

Release date: December 13, 2012

 

A good witch always has a kick-ass back-up plan.

 

Libby is an Enchantress—a witch gifted by the Goddess to conjure spells. When a magical presence is detected around a recent string of feline slayings, Libby takes the case to uncover the reasons behind the odd deaths. Much to her displeasure, the coven also sends a sexy warlock, Kale, to assist her.

 

While having the muscle around proves to be useful, fighting the attraction between them is worse than a hex, especially considering Kale is keeping secrets. But soon, Libby has bigger problems than the elusive warlock when her spells turn up clues that point to something far more sinister than slaughtered cats.

 

Now Libby has landed herself in the midst of an uprising. She trusts no one and isn’t safe—not from the warlocks stirring up trouble. Not from the worrisome rebellion she can’t escape. And certainly not from Kale, who is weaving a very dangerous spell over her heart.

 

Entangled Publishing is generously offering one ebook download to a lucky commenter...contest runs through February 10.

 

 

BUY LINKS:

Entangled Publishing - http://www.entangledpublishing.com/the-cats-meow/

 

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Cats-Meow-Witchs-Brew-ebook/dp/B00ANY22Z4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355493894&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Cat%27s+meow+Stacey+Kennedy

 

B&N - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-cats-meow-stacey-kennedy/1113961368?ean=2940015738025

 

Books on Board - http://www.booksonboard.com/index.php?BODY=viewbook&BOOK=1438196&TITLE=The+Cats+Meow&AUTHOR=Stacey+Kennedy

 

 

iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-cats-meow/id587460637?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4%253Cbr%2520%252F%253E

 

 

EXCERPT LINK: http://www.staceykennedy.com/the-cats-meow/

 

 

 

 

BIO:

Stacey Kennedy’s novels are lighthearted fantasy with heart-squeezing, thigh-clenching romance, and even give a good chuckle every now and again. But within the stories you’ll also find fast-paced action, life-threatening moments, and a big bad villain who needs to be destroyed. She lives in Southwestern Ontario with her husband and two children. If she’s not plugging away at a new story—which is rare because her muse is annoying—you’ll find her camping, curling up with the latest flick, or obsessing over Sons of Anarchy, Games of Thrones, Supernatural and Dexter.

 

Stacey welcomes comments from readers. You can find her at:

 

 

Website - http://www.staceykennedy.com/

 

Blog - http://www.staceykennedy.com/blog

 

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/AuthorStaceyKennedy

 

Facebook Fan Page - www.facebook.com/StaceyKennedyFanPage

 

Twitter - https://twitter.com/#!/Stacey_Kennedy

 

Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3473046.Stacey_Kennedy

 

Amazon Author Page - http://www.amazon.com/Stacey-Kennedy/e/B004G9KR9A/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Guest Blogger, Author Juliet Madison

Thanks Melissa for having me on the blog today to share details about my new release, FAST FORWARD, a romantic comedy with a twist!

The idea for this book came about while reading another book. One of the characters acted older than her years, and I wondered what it would be like to do a story where a character ages suddenly overnight. I thought it would be fun to take an image-conscious beautiful young woman and throw her into middle age where she’s living a life she didn’t expect, and see how she handles it. It was a lot of fun to write! 

After completing the book in June 2012, I spent some time editing and then started pitching it to publishers and agents. In October, I received an offer of publication from Harlequin Australia’s new digital imprint, Escape Publishing, and now I’m excited to say it has been released!

Here’s the blurb:

Aspiring supermodel, Kelli Crawford seems destined to marry her hotshot boyfriend, but on her twenty-fifth birthday she wakes in the future as a fifty-year-old suburban housewife married to the now middle-aged high school nerd. 

Trapped in the opposite life of the one she wanted, Kelli is forced to re-evaluate her life and discover what is really important to her. Will she overcome the hilarious and heartbreaking challenges presented to her and get back to the body of her younger self? Or will she be stuck in the nightmare of hot flushes, demanding children, raunchy advances from her husband and hideous support underwear forever?

And here’s an excerpt from the book where the main character, Kelli, is hoping to be able to fit into the dress she wore twenty five years ago...

This looked promising! I pulled out an unopened cardboard package with a picture of a slim woman wearing a skin-coloured support suit on it. 

SlimFX Magic Suit - drop a dress size and reveal your slim inner Goddess!

It must be related to the YouthMagic Facial, I thought, as I peeled off the plastic and withdrew the beige suit, which looked tighter than the red dress. I might need support underwear to be able to fit into the support underwear and that could go on and on. I’d be my own Russian doll. 

I turned the package over to see if there were instructions for the suit, but all it said was to lift it over the head and roll it down the body like so. A diagram showed a woman—who clearly didn’t need the suit—happily putting it on. It also said to put on the bonus SlimBriefs before putting on the dress-shaped magic suit. I tipped the package upside down and shook out the hidden briefs. They looked like they might just fit a seven-year-old.

Okay, here goes. I was going to fit into this dress if it killed me.

I kicked off my shoes and took off my curved hem outfit, opting to leave my bra on even though it wasn’t exactly employee of the month in the breast support department. I stepped into the briefs, the fabric stretching to three times its size and pulled them up towards my hips where they abruptly stopped like a car in back-to-back traffic on the highway, or in this case, the ‘thighway’.

“Ugh,” I grunted in effort, pulling the briefs upwards. They only moved a smidgen, so I grunted and pulled some more. Bungy jumping would have come in handy right about now. “Ugh,” I continued, jumping up and down on the spot in the hope of forcing the briefs over my hips, probably causing the hors d'oeuvres in the kitchen to spring up and down on their platters, while the robotic caterers watched in confusion. 

“C’mon!” I pulled harder and the briefs shot up over my hips and squashed my jelly belly into oblivion. Well, apart from the upper abdomen where the rolls billowed out like a giant mushroom. The magic suit would fix that. 

“Done.” I breathed a sigh of relief until dread washed over me as I realised each trip to the bathroom would be an Olympic feat. I’d just have to go easy on the drinks and anyway, I only had to survive until cake time.

Now for the suit. I held the tiny thing in front of me and pulled at it. It stretched quite well. I lifted it over my head, fed my arms through it and it sat in a horizontal clump across my collarbones. 

Right, step one—check! Now to pull it down over my body. I drew in a deep breath and exhaled, quickly pulling down at the suit, but it only went halfway over my breasts. I breathed deeply again and, letting as much air whoosh out of my lungs as I could, yanked it further down my chest, flattening the boobs on the way. I might as well cancel that mammogram appointment as the SlimFX Magic Suit obviously had its own in-built mammogram function. 

“Phew,” I said, the suit now clumped across my ribcage. 

Step two—check! The last step was to squeeze it down my abdomen and hopefully dissolve the spare tire wrapped around my middle. I shouldn’t have glanced in the mirror at that moment but I did, shocked to see I almost resembled a Christmas cracker; pinched tight at top and bottom but thick in the middle.

“Okay, let’s do this.” I grabbed the suit with both hands and dragged it down my waist, squeezing my torso like a tube of toothpaste and eventually it slid over my hips where it ended just above my knees.

“Mission accomplished.” I nodded in satisfaction. Except ... why were my breaths coming in shallow bursts?

The suit was constricting my ribcage and I couldn’t draw a deep breath. This awareness only made things worse and I panicked. Oh no, oh no, I’d better take this thing off!

* * *

To read more, buy FAST FORWARD in your preferred format via Escape Publishing: http://www.escapepublishing.com.au

Connect with Juliet online:

Website: http://www.julietmadison.com

Blog: http://www.julietmadison.wordpress.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/julietmadisonauthor

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

GIVEAWAY: To go in the draw for a $25 Amazon gift card, forward your purchase receipt to fastforwardbook (at) gmail (dot) com - replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .

To go in the draw for a $50 Amazon gift card or the runner up prize of a $25 gift card, leave a comment on this post. Comment on other blogs during Juliet’s February blog tour for more entries into the draw! Winners drawn 1st March. Good luck!

Page Turner Bonanza Tour: Ride the Free Wind by Rosanne Bittner

Welcome to Rosanne Bittner! She’s here to introduce her book, Ride the Free Wind!



Blurb:
Abigail Trent Monroe abandons the only life she’s ever known to live among the Cheyenne with her half-breed husband, Zeke. Together they face peril and enjoy a passion most never experience. Their love is so strong that no amount of danger or rugged living can come between this man and woman so devoted to one another.

Against the backdrop of a magnificent landscape and during a time when freedom meant everything to the Native Americans, Zeke and Abbie cling to one another for courage and strength.

---

Excerpt:
Clinging to Zeke tightly, Abbie pleaded. “Don’t let go! Don’t ever let go!”

“It’s all right, Abbie-girl,” he told her quietly.

He gladly kept his arms around her, and she kissed his neck, breathing in the wonderful, manly scent of him, running her hands across his broad, strong shoulders. He moved his lips back to her own in one long, lingering, hungry kiss, then he swung her up into his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder and asked no questions. … It did not matter at the moment where he had been or why. All that mattered was that he was here now. …

 

Buy Links:

Amazon

**This book is e-Book is exclusive to Amazon**

 

 

Author Bio:
I’ve been writing for nearly thirty years and to date have had 57 novels published, all about the American West of the 1800′s and Native Americans. I write romance, but not the typical bodice-ripping adventures. My stories are deep love stories, often family sagas told as a series. It is the hero and heroine’s love that holds them together through the trials and tribulations of settling America’s western frontiers. I absolutely love the Rockies, the Tetons, the Sierras, and the wide-open plains, prairies and desert land west of the Mississippi. In my books, I strive to tell the truth about the settling of the West and how it affected our American Indians, as well as the gritty depth of what our brave pioneers suffered in their search for free land and a better life.

I am a member of the Nebraska and Oklahoma Historical Societies, my local southwest Michigan historical society, Women Writing the West, Mid-Michigan Romance Writers of America (treasurer) and the national RWA, and a local charity group called the Coloma Lioness Club. I help run a family business and love doing things with my three young grandsons. If you visit my web site at www.rosannebittner.com, where all my titles are listed as well as a page that lists all my many writing awards; or you can visit me on Facebook. At either site you will learn news of new books to come as well as reprints of many of my past titles soon to be published in trade paperback and as e-books! I also have an author site at Amazon.com.

Author Links:
Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

The Sunday Post #27

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~ It's a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

This week I finally started a Facebook page for the blog...please check it out and "like" me here.

I'm also toying around with the idea of having my blog professionally redone..I'd love to hear your opinions on this. Did you design your blog yourself or hire someone?

Netgalley:
  

For Review:
 

Audio book for Review:


Won (thank you Story Cartel/Amy Shojai!):

Bought/Downloaded:

   

Dying to Read by Lorena McCourtney

Death, Taxes, and Peach Sangria by Diane Kelly

Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light by Patrick Mcgilligan

Overdue for Murder by Teresa Trent

A Death at the Palace by MH Baylis

Hounds of Autumn by Heather Blackwood

A Case of Imagination by Jane Tesh

Truepenny by Gretchen Rix

If Truth Be Told by Lori Guilfoyle

Down Home and Deadly (Sleuthing Sisters Mysteries)

A Run for Love by Callie Hutton

Out of Circulation by Miranda James

Blurb: Everyone in Athena, Mississippi, knows Charlie Harris, the librarian with a rescued Maine coon cat named Diesel. He's returned to his hometown to immerse himself in books, but when a feud erupts between the town's richest ladies, the writing on the wall spells murder.

The Ducote sisters are in a tiff with Vera Cassity over the location of this year's library fundraising gala, and Charlie would rather curl up in a corner than get into the fray. It seems everyone--even his housekeeper Azalea--has it in for Vera. And at the gala, she gives them good reason, with a public display of rancor aimed at anyone who gets in her way.

But those bitter words wind up being her last. When Charlie discovers Azalea standing over Vera's dead body, it's up to him--with a little help from Diesel--to clear Azalea's name, and catch a killer before his last chapter is finished.

My Review: I don't read a lot of books where a man is the protagonist, but Charlie Harris of Miranda James' Cat in the Stacks Mystery series is something special. Over the course of this series I've watched Charlie grow from a lonely librarian to a beloved member of the genteel town of Athena, surrounded by family and friends - and a very special cat, Diesel.

In this installment war has broken out amongst the society ladies of the library board over the locale of this year's fund-raising gala, culminating in one of them murdered - pushed down the stairs on the night of the gala - in her Scarlett O'Hara gown. Charlie's cherished housekeeper Azalea is found with the body - one of many with an ax to grind with the victim. As Charlie investigates it becomes apparent these old southern families are hiding generations of sordid secrets.

My favorite characters in Out of Circulation are the Ducote sisters; I picture them as the Baldwin sisters in The Waltons. The revelations that come out of their mother's journal are straight out of an historical romance novel...I couldn't get enough!

This is the best book yet in one of my favorite cozy cat series...Charlie and Diesel are a couple of charmers that I enjoy spending time with.

Show more

Show less

FTC Full Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher with the request for a review.

Nancy Drew Diaries

Mystery lovers never outgrow their love for Nancy Drew, do they? I've previously blogged about my passion for the girl sleuth in middle school and how she started my lifelong love of mysteries, so imagine how excited I was to see that Simon & Schuster is debuting a new line, the Nancy Drew Diaries. The first 2 books (set in Alaska) are scheduled to be released this coming Tuesday, February 5, and I've already preordered them for my Kindle. I think the cover art is just beautiful! You can find out more about the series here.