Going on a Blog Tour!

The lovely folks at Sizzling PR have coordinated a blog tour for me from September 23 - September 30. At each stop you'll find information about my book, plus interviews, guest posts, reviews and more!

And to bribe you to check it out, I'm offering a prize! One lucky winner will receive a signed paperback copy of X5, AND $25 to spend at Amazon, where you could pick up some of the other great offerings from Evernight Teen. They've got a slew of new titles just released or coming soon. 

Below is the schedule. I hope you can stop by! Each of these bloggers has a host of other treats on their blogs that you won't want to miss. Plus, I've got the Rafflecopter below for my awesome giveaway!

23 – Guest Post @ Laura Diamond

23 – Guest Post @ Jessica Tornese

24 – Spotlight @ Indie Author Books and More

24 — Interview @ Self Publish or Die

25 – Spotlight @ The Seraphine Muse

25 — Interview @ Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews

26 – Spotlight @ New Age Mama

27 – Interview and Review @ Sizzling Hot YA Books

28 — Top ten list @ Kayla’s Place

30 — Spotlight @ Le’ Book Squirrel

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Evernight Teen Feature: Blood Hex by Erin Butler

Today's feature is Blood Hex by Erin Butler. This book is about a girl named Sarah who discovers her dead father's journal and learns of an aunt she hadn't known about. Annoyed with her mother for keeping this a secret, Sarah takes off to find the aunt and learn more about her dad. But the town she ends up in is full of strange secrets, and Sarah feels as though she's caught up in something much bigger than herself.

Sarah's story is interspersed with the tale of Isabella from centuries earlier, and her fight for the boy she loves amid a town obsessed with witch hunts.

Although the alternating story lines confused me a little at first (and let's face it, I confuse easily!), once I got my head around it, I was drawn in and had to keep going to figure out how Isabella's story and Sarah's connected. In the beginning, it doesn't seem as if they do, but little by little, Erin tosses out crumbs to keep you searching for the truth. It's very well written, and the author does a great job of stringing the reader along on this intricate and well-planned story. The ending is a bit surprising, but makes complete sense when you arrive there. Definitely check out this amazing book from Evernight Teen!


Blurb

Two girls. Four centuries. One curse. 

Isabella started it—all because a boy fell in love with her—but it ends with Sarah. 

Isabella and Thomas meet in secret during the witching hours while the rest of the villagers hide behind locked doors. And even though Isabella's scared, she wants Thomas more. He'll protect her from the night, from his father who'll decide her future, and from the paranoia-fueled hunting parties taking away innocents. 

Centuries later, seventeen-year old Sarah runs away to an aunt she never knew she had. Her dad? Dead. Her mother? A liar. She wants the memories of a father she never got, but instead, discovers her father's death wasn’t innocent. Everyone—the Wiccans, the townies, even her quasi-boyfriend—is hiding something. The history-rich town has a secret they will kill to keep, entangling Sarah into a centuries old witch curse.

14+ due to violence and adult situations

Buy Links:   Evernight Teen     Amazon

Evernight Teen Double Feature: Phoenix: The Rising by Bette Maybee & Elysium by Sylah Sloan

Phoenix: The Rising is Evernight Teen's first book, and they certainly picked a great one to get started with. The story revolves around Julie, a seventeen year old girl who is struggling with illness, family issues, and being accepted at her new school. Then she meets Eli, and suddenly her whole world changes, because now she's trying to escape from the Nephilim, fallen angels who've gone on a killing spree in search of the Phoenix.

Once I started this book, I only put it down because I literally could not keep my eyes open. It's fast paced and gripping. I love the way Bette's taken actual mythology and created her own modern take on it. The writing is excellent and will keep you hooked throughout. And though the story is complete in itself, its ending hints at a sequel and I'm looking forward to reading that as well!

Blurb

Every 300 years, the immortal Phoenix returns to Mono Lake to be reborn—but this time it didn't return alone.  The Nephilim are back in force, trying to keep it from being reborn so one of them can claim its immortality. But first they have to figure out who the Phoenix is—and any red-haired, green-eyed, seventeen-year-old in the area is fair game. And so, the killing begins...

Julie Mason doesn't believe all this legend crap until she falls for Eli Sullivan, whose hallucination-inducing kiss not only saves her, but makes her the Nephilim’s prime target. But, it's worth the risk. Her death is inevitable...not even Eli can prevent it.  All she has to do is keep the Nephilim off Eli’s trail until The Rising. Once Eli is reborn and forgets his past life, Julie’s life is over, whether she’s dead or not. At least that's what she thinks...

14+ for brief violence and sexuality

Buy links:  Evernight Teen     Amazon

Elysium is not to be confused with the recent movie. It's the story of a girl who suddenly finds out that her life is not what she once thought it was. She's taken to a new school for paranormal people such as herself, and discovers that she is a pawn in a new power play.

I really enjoyed Sylah's book. It was the first of the Evernight Teen books that I read, even before I had considered submitting my own work to them, and it got me interested. Yes it's paranormal, yes there are vampires, but Sylah has given us a unique take on the existence of the paranormal in our own normal world. Her descriptions are brilliant, and the tension between Meadow and Caedon leaps off the page. Sure he's a couple hundred years older than she is, but when you hit the triple digits, it's hard to find someone your own age. The author makes the romance work. I'd love to read more from Sylah, though she's terribly busy at the moment, both personally and professionally. This book is one of my top picks!

Blurb

Meadow Caldwell is about to learn a very dark secret about herself. 

When she is taken away from the only family she has ever known and thrust into the world of the paranormal, she learns not everything or everyone is what it seems. 

Arcane Manor, a school for creatures of myth and lore, is all Meadow knows now. The only person she can rely on is herself in this strange, new world, especially with the secret of her true identity. 

When Dr. Cadeon Frost, an enigmatic vampire, helps her unravel her past, Meadow finds herself falling for the quiet, intelligent doctor. 

When she is thrust out of reality and into the arms of a mysterious man, she is trapped between the world she knows and one that nightmares are made of. It is up to her to stop not only an evil that threatens her, but everyone she cares for.

14+ for brief sexuality

Buy links:  Evernight Teen      Amazon

Back to School Madness

Well folks, today was the first day of school and things have been crazy!

First off, I work in a brand-new school. We weren't able to actually get into the building until last Friday meaning I spent a good portion of the weekend getting stuff organized. It's a beautiful place and I love it, but parts of it are still under construction. Ack! It'll be an interesting few weeks until that's all finished and I can actually find all my resources. Many of them are on the stage, but there are no steps to get to the stage and all access points are blocked off because they're still under construction. It would be great if I could find some reliable transporter technology to zap it all up to my room, but I think I'm stuck waiting until we can get on the old-fashioned way.

Second, we had a houseguest all last week and that always throws everyone out of routine, especially because we made a few day trips, one of them to Fort George in Niagara on the Lake. Check out these pics!

The music teacher in me loved this! On the right is an old-school bassoon. I mean REALLY old-school, from around 1812. The weird instrument on the left is called a Serpent. Fitting really. It's sort of a precursor to the modern tuba. It was neat to hear an ensemble of musicians playing on replica instruments.

I know it's kind of hard to see, but the dude in this pic is firing a musket which was heavily used during the War of 1812. He didn't fire actual shots, just blanks, but it still created a lot of smoke!

And on top of that, I had to get my own kids ready for school, and couldn't find half their school supplies because I bought some stuff weeks ago and put it aside for safe keeping. It's very safe because no one can find it.

So of course, I forgot to get my Evernight Teen feature done on Monday, so to make up for it, next Monday will be a double feature! Stay tuned!

I hope all of you had a relaxing Labour Day weekend and are getting back into your own school routines.

Release Day! Giveaway!

Image from www.freedigitalphotos.net

Well ladies and gentleman, it's finally here!

RELEASE DAY!

I am officially a published author. Hard to believe! And I'm so happy to be able to share this exciting day with you! Well, truthfully, I'm celebrating at a staff meeting and finishing up my classroom for the first day on Tuesday. But I may crack open a bottle of wine tonight! And I'm definitely not cooking!

I wanted to share the celebration, so I'm having a giveaway! A signed print copy of the book is the prize! If you want to enter, all you have to do is answer this simple question by doing a little searching on my blog.

What is the NUMBER (hint, hint) of words from the original manuscript that ended up in this final version? Check out the blog archives on the sidebar to find the entry and then use the Rafflecopter below to submit your answer. Once you've done that, you'll unlock the bonus entries which you can earn by following me and Evernight Teen on Twitter and Facebook.

Oh, and in case you'd like to buy my book, it's available on the Evernight Teen site and Amazon so far. More links to come!

Thanks once again!

Evernight Teen Feature: X5 by Diana Stager

Today I'm featuring a fantastic, amazing, wonderful, stellar book from Evernight Teen. Okay, I'm a bit biased because it's MINE! It's a surreal experience to know that very soon, people will be reading a book that I wrote, and hopefully enjoying it. Clearly, I won't give a review because I can't judge my own work objectively. Instead, I'm giving you the official blurb and excerpt!

I should also tell you that I've done a guest post over at the official Evernight Teen Blog, so pop over there for even more goodies!

Enjoy!



X5  by Diana Stager

Being a socially awkward geek with anger management issues has made Travis Armstrong an outcast, but on top of that, he has visions of the future. Not that he can tell anyone, except in an anonymous online forum. When he takes a chance and meets with another group member, he winds up at The Bunker, where everyone is like him, and where, finally, he feels like he belongs.

Tara Gage has been at The Bunker since she was thirteen years old. Even among the residents there, she’s unique, and her special talents lead her to discover that The Bunker is not the safe haven it seems to be. She’s determined to escape and get back to her family.

When they each have visions of the other’s death, Travis and Tara know they have to run. With their captors desperate to get them back, they must rely on each other to get away before their visions become reality.

Excerpt

My foot jiggled in time to the song running through my head as I waited for my turn at the polygraphs. Travis was nowhere to be seen, and I was glad of that. Or that's what I told myself whenever I became aware of my disappointment at not seeing him. He drove me crazy, and really didn't seem at all exceptional, but a growing part of me didn't care about that, and just longed to be near him. Disgusted with myself, I tried to think of something else.

My thoughts were cut short when Travis and Mike entered the hallway, both looking upset about something. Their friendship puzzled me. I know Mike was trying to prod Travis into being more of a leader than a loner, but as far as I was concerned, it wasn't working. He was too introverted, too willing to follow along with what the rest of us were doing, or else go off by himself. Both of them sent anxious glances my way, setting me on edge, and just as I stood to go talk to them, the attendant called my name. Casting a last look their way, I turned and entered the polygraph room.

I tried to get through it as quickly as I could so I could find out why Mike had looked so worried. Of course, because I was in a hurry, things took twice as long as normal, and every second wasted irritated the crap out of me. By the time I returned to the hall, Mike was nowhere to be seen, and Travis was pacing back and forth. It seemed I had no choice but to talk to him.

Taking huge strides, I made it to Travis's side quickly and tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned, I hesitated for just a moment when my eyes locked with his, my stomach fluttering. Pull it together, Tara! I took a breath and then said, "What's up with Mike?"

Travis's eyes darted around and he turned to look over each shoulder before giving me a weird look. "Not much," he said finally, though he seemed to be trying to communicate something with his eyes. I frowned, and watched as his eyes widened, then darted to the side, his eyebrows lifting and then drawing together. What the hell? I shrugged and shook my head. Whatever he was trying to tell me wasn't coming across at all. He sighed and opened his mouth to say something else when something behind me caught his attention.

Turning, I saw a couple of armed security guards rushing into the polygraph room Mike had gone in. Remembering Cam, a band tightened around my stomach as my heart began to pound. Security only came to the polygraph rooms for one reason, and my fears were confirmed a moment later when they exited, holding Mike in between them.

"Mike!" I screamed, leaping forward to try to get to him. They couldn't be taking him away! What had he seen? My efforts to reach his side were blocked when Travis grabbed me from behind and wrapped his long arms around me. "Travis, let me go! Let me go!" I struggled against his grip, but it was like iron and I was getting nowhere. Lifting one foot, I kicked backward and connected with his shin. I heard him swear, but he didn't loosen his hold on me.

"Tara, stop," he whispered in my ear. "He knew this was going to happen."

I ignored him and screamed after Mike again. The security team nearly had him to the entrance to the administrative section of The Bunker. "No!" I yelled. "No, you can't take him! Mike!"

His eyes were full of pain when he turned to look at me one last time. I saw his mouth form the words, "I love you." And then the door slammed closed behind him. Hot tears streamed down my cheeks, my heart ached, and though my throat was raw and sore, I couldn't stop screaming. Travis wouldn't let me go no matter how hard I pulled against him. My squirming and wiggling wasn't doing any good, but I couldn't stop. The rational part of my brain knew that Mike was gone and nothing I did would help, but at the same time if I didn't try, I'd be giving up.

Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my arm and when I turned my head, I saw one of the infirmary staff standing with a syringe in her hand. I tried to say something to her, but the edges of my vision were going fuzzy, and then everything went dark.

X5 Cover Reveal

Getting a release date was great, but finally seeing the cover makes it real! So....

Here it is!

Isn't it awesome? Sour Cherry Designs did a fantastic job and I'm thrilled with it! On Monday, I'm posting the official blurb and teaser excerpt so make sure you stop by.