Friday, January 30, 2015

Underground Rose

Today I'm featuring fellow author, Sara Burr. Having just published my book, HAVEN WAITING, it's fun to see other stories about witches. This one sounds great!

Underground Rose

After her surprise discovery of a mystical gift, fourteen-year-old Rose Wilson thinks her life is ruined. It turns out she comes from a long line of gifted women, and despite her protests, Rose’s mom ships her off to her grandmother’s house to spend the summer learning about her family’s well-hidden secrets. To make matters worse, Rose is expected to carry out this tradition alongside her mousy, bookworm cousin, Megan. What a waste of a summer.

With some effort, Rose and Megan manage to find common ground and by the time they get home, they’re working together to adjust to their new life. But everything is turned upside down again when their families are exposed by witch hunters who call themselves The Witches’ Hammer. With killers on the loose, their tiny town isn’t safe anymore. Rose’s entire family is fragmented and forced to flee through a network of hiding places, dubbed The Witches’ Underground Railroad.


As she journeys to the sea, Rose learns more and more about who she really is. The closer she gets to her destination, the more danger she encounters, until she is forced to make the ultimate decision: follow her family’s edict of non-violence and become an orphan, or save her mom's life.

Here's an excerpt from Underground Rose: Was It Magic?

A pool of blood already surrounded Amber's head, and she was as pale as a ghost. Her breathing was shallow and labored.

Rose started parting her wet hair, little by little, trying to find the wound. Finally, after the longest minute of her life, she found it. The wide cut was right on the crown of Amber's head – how could she have missed that? – and it was bleeding fast.

Fighting not to gag at the metallic smell, Rose put her hands on the slippery gash and pushed, like the lady said, but the blood just seeped through her fingers. The bleeding wasn't stopping. Was she doing it right?

Feeling completely helpless, she began to sob.

She didn't dare leave Amber again to go back to the phone.

“I don't know what to do!” she cried out. “Help,” she croaked, knowing no one could hear. “Please help.”

Suddenly, she felt something strange happening, deep inside her chest. A comforting warmth, like hot chocolate on a freezing cold day, heated her from the inside out. It spread and expanded from her chest, bubbling and tingling like a fizzy drink, growing like wild morning glory vines, covering every part of her insides.

Was it coming from her heart?

It grew until she felt like she couldn’t contain all that heat for one second longer. Then, when she thought she might just explode, the heat-vines raced down her arms. An effervescent mixture of blue, pink, and purple light exploded from her hands, and surrounded Amber's head like a quivering, transparent cocoon.

Rose sucked in a breath and blinked in disbelief.

She was frozen – afraid to move or even breathe. She stared with her mouth agape, her emerald eyes wide, as the bleeding slowed.

What the heck is happening? she thought. Is this a dream?

She didn't understand what she was seeing. Was it ... magic?

The glimmering cocoon continued pulsating from her fingertips, surrounding Amber's head. Rose didn't dare let go, for fear of undoing this miracle.

Then Amber started to stir.

This was not something Rose wanted to discuss. What kind of a freak would Amber think
she was? Reluctantly, she removed her hands.

The vines of warmth snapped back into her, like a recoiling measuring tape. Then, the peculiar sensation was gone. No more heat. No more colors. She looked at her hands in a mixture of awe and disgust.

What was that? she asked herself.

She didn't know, but she was glad it was over.

A few short seconds later, Amber opened her eyes. Her face so pale her freckles looked three dimensional and her icy blue eyes were even more clear than usual.


About the Author:

Sara has been entranced by the written word for as long as she can remember. The daughter of a school teacher, she fell in love with books as soon as she could read them. She wrote her very first story, about a girl who ran away and hid in her cousin’s lilac bush, when she was just eleven. Although her stories have grown more complicated and less petulant since then, Sara still loves to entertain kids with her words.

When she isn’t writing, Sara has a big family to keep her busy: a husband who is her other half, and four children who are wonderfully individual. They live next to a beautiful lake in a tiny town with no street lights. Sara spends lots of time taking care of little superheroes. She likes to camp with her family, enjoys traveling, and hopes to see the Northern Lights someday.




Want to know more about Sara and her writing?

Tsu

If you're interested in purchasing Underground Rose, go here:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Monday, January 12, 2015

HAVEN WAITING BLOG TOUR

Welcome to the Haven Waiting Blog Tour! Click on a new link each day to read fun interviews, reviews, and spotlights about Tifani Clark's latest release: Haven Waiting.


January 12: Peering Into...the inner workings of Alison Miller Woods
January 13: Author Linda Covella
January 14: The Literary Pit Stop
January 15: Author Krysten Lindsay Hager
January 20: Norma's Novels
January 23: Author Rose Shababy


Friday, January 9, 2015

Cover Reveal from the Amazing Tamara Grantham!

COVER REVEAL: 

DREAMTHIEF by Tamara Grantham

We are pleased to reveal the official cover for Dreamthief by Tamara Grantham. This book is amazing on the inside and now the outside is just as awesome! We can't wait to hear what you think of the cover. Make sure to leave a comment and let us know your thoughts. 



RELEASE DATE: September 1, 2015
GENRE: Fantasy Romance
SERIES: Fairy World MD
PUBLISHER: Crimson Tree Publishing


LEARN MORE ABOUT:


Visiting Faythander, a fairy world, is a nasty business. Forget the fairies and unicorns, most people come back with lost memories and mental problems. Olive Kennedy knows. She's the therapist who treats patients suffering from Faythander's side effects. She may have an emotionless mother and an apathetic boyfriend, but she takes pride in her job. She's never failed to cure a client—until now.

Traveling back to Faythander wasn't on Olive's to-do list. But she has no choice. The fate of both Earth and Fairy depends on her ability to stop an evil being called the Dreamthief. Saving the world, she can handle. Falling in love—not so much. Now, she'll have to decide between her heart and the future of an entire planet. As if battling the forces of evil wasn't complicated enough…

Dreamthief is the first book in the Fairy World MD series. 

Add Dreamthief to your Goodreads TBR List


ABOUT TAMARA GRANTHAM:

Tamara Grantham was born and raised in Southeast Texas. She comes from a family of writers. She took her first writing class from her uncle Larry Franklin, who worked as an author and literary agent at the time. At the age of fifteen, she received her first acceptance letter. Her uncle wrote, “Thank you for letting me read your short story, The Quest for the Spear. I enjoyed it very much, and see that you have a talent that can be developed.” In his Writing Fiction class, he challenged each of his students (which consisted of her two sisters and cousins) to write a novel. The challenge seemed daunting at the time, so daunting that she didn’t do it.

Despite her uncle’s praise, writing was not a part of her life until the age of 28, after she was married with three small children. She read a book called Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George. While she loved the novel, the thought occurred to her that she, too, had characters and stories in her head that were just as creative.

The standing challenge from her uncle, made fourteen years earlier, finally became a reality. She wrote her first novel in one month. After that, she wrote five more books and several short stories and novellas. In 2013, she signed her first contract with former writing mentor, and New York Times-bestselling author, William Bernhardt, to contribute to his Shine series. The novellas are about young girls with unusual abilities. In November 2014, almost four years to the day that she finished her first book, she signed with Crimson Tree Publishing (the adult imprint of Clean Teen Publishing) for her novel Dreamthief.

While she’s not writing, and sometimes while she is, she raises four (soon to be five!) beautiful children, ages one to ten. She lives in Galveston, Texas with her husband and kids, one cat and one dog. Her husband David is her biggest support. For the past ten years he has been in training to become a surgeon. She frequently picks his brain for the sake of her stories, a habit she hopes he’ll forgive.



FOLLOW TAMARA:




www.tamaragrantham.com

CHECK OUT MORE FROM CRIMSON TREE PUBLISHING:

Monday, January 5, 2015

HAVEN WAITING BLOG TOUR!

Welcome to the Haven Waiting Blog Tour! Click on a new link each day to read fun interviews, reviews, and spotlights about Tifani Clark's latest release: Haven Waiting.


January 12: Peering Into...the inner workings of Alison Miller Woods
January 13: Author Linda Covella
January 14: The Literary Pit Stop
January 15: Author Krysten Lindsay Hager
January 20: Norma's Novels
January 23: Author Rose Shababy


Monday, December 29, 2014

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY HOME!

(Building the road behind our lot.)
(November 2005)
Today marks nine years since we moved into our first (and hopefully last) home. Building a home was something I never planned to do, but I'll admit it was nice to move into a place where there were no mystery stains, patched walls, etc.

(View from front yard after move in.)
This home has been good to us. All but one of our kids learned to walk here, they've all left on their first day of school from this home, they've all learned to ride their bikes in the driveway, and they've all played in the playhouse we spent almost an entire summer building. We've all laughed, cried, hurt, and healed here.


(View of home after move in.)
It might not be a mansion on a hill, but this is our home and there are countless memories etched into the walls. Oh, and the mystery stains on the carpet? They're all ours.



Playhouse
Inside playhouse (They're so young!)

Inside playhouse

Inside playhouse

As you can see, our garden, trees, and kids have all grown and thrived here. Here's to the next decade!


December 29, 2014  (9 Years since move in day) 

Spring Yard

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

HEART OF THE CASTLE Launch Party!

Tonight I have the opportunity to participate in the launch party for Lauren Ritz's Heart of the Castle.

Did you come to my blog to find something? A puzzle piece perhaps? Well, here it is!

Congratulations on your release, Lauren!




Check out my books on Amazon and Barnes and Noble:

SHADOW OF  LIFE
HAVEN WAITING




































CLICK HERE to return to the Heart of the Castle Launch party!

12 Days of Christmas (And giveaways!): Day 12



For unto you is born this day . . . a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
      ~ Luke 2:11

For me, Christmas is 100% about Christ.  It’s in the name.  And you can’t have Christmas without the joy of music.  As a teen, I dreamed of one day making it big as a singer.  That did not happen, but my love for music and singing has not changed.  Narrowing down only twelve Christmas songs was quite difficult, as I could sing Christmas songs for hours, until I go hoarse, but the following twelve songs reflect my most favorite and the reasons why.  And the order has no bearing on which is the top, as that can change on any given day.

1. Away in a Manger
This was one of the first Christmas songs I remember learning as a child and I remember lovingly swaddling my own baby doll as was the Christ child. Our Lord and Savior came to this earth in the humblest of circumstances, as the song states “…no crib for a bed,” and it is this reason I place this one first on the list.

2. The First Noel
Noel is an Old French word meaning Christmas.  It can also refer to a carol or hymn sung in honor of The First Noel sings of the shepherd, also in humble circumstances, that recognized right away the magnificent meaning of the star “..Shining in the East beyond them far.”
Christ’s birth. 

3. What Child is This?
Set to the familiar tune of Greensleeves, this is one I sing and hum throughout the year.  I recently was blessed to sing this for members of my church Sunday, the  14th with a good friend of mine.  I sang the melody, the soprano part while she sang the alto.  The arrangement was slightly different than standard, and it was a great joy to sing it and feel the spirit deep in my heart.  You can listen to and download this version for yourself by following this link.

4. Oh, Come All Ye Faithful
Meant to be sung majestically and joyfully, this hymn is in reference to verses in Luke chapter 2.  In verse 9 and 10 it says, “And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them. . . and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”  And those tidings were the birth of Christ, an event people had been awaiting for some time.  I can only imagine the joy of being a part of that, and I am grateful I have the light of Christ in my life today.

5. Joy to the World
One of the 53 arias in Handel’s Messiah, which he wrote in only 24 days, this is one sung annually in home and church, and one I look forward to each year.


6. Handel’s Dream
This is a beautifully arranged piece, composed by Michael Mclean, that tells a poignant fictional story of Handel.  It is a dream, and perhaps Handel had such a dream as his inspiration for the Messiah.  It is partly sang and partly narrated.  Young Handel is auditioning for the choir of angels to sing at Christ’s birth.  But he doesn’t make it.  Told he has a different voice, one that will be brought to the world in his own time, and that more orchestras and choirs than he can now imagine will be giving voice to his feelings leaves me with tears in my eyes every time I listen to it.  One you must hear, if you haven’t already.  And if you have, give it a listen again.  

7. Were You There?
Composed by Natalie Sleeth, this is a treasured song.  I have sang this many times for others since I was a teenager and played my flute as well.  With many thought provoking questions throughout.  Were you there on that first Christmas night? Were you there when the wonder foretold came to earth? Did you hear how the choirs of angels sang?  Did you see how they bowed?  Did you know if was God’s own son, the salvation of the world begun?  Did you know it was love that was sent from above to the earth?  These are but a few of the glad, powerful messages in this song.  To learn more about this great American composer, follow this link.


8. Jingle Bells & 9. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
You have to have the classics.  And though the focal point of these songs is not the Savior, they are about Santa Claus and what a great example of goodness was Saint Nicholas.  If we all spread the goodness and cheer, the true spirit of Christmas, like St. Nick does, the world would be a fantastically better place to be.  I believe in Santa Claus.  In the goodness and cheer and love and service of his name.


10. Angels We Have Heard on High
Gloria in excelsis Deo. Gloria in excelsis Deo. Latin for “glory to God in the highest,” in this French carol, the single word ‘Gloria’ is carried through four full measures, for a total count of sixteen beats, with the rest less than half that.  Beautifully arranged and fun to sing the ups and downs of the Gloria, is why this is on my top 12 most loved Christmas songs.

11. It Could Happen Again
Part of Colin Raye’s Christmas CD The Gift, this song has touch me from the first time I listened to it.  Even during the devastation of war, this is a retelling of the well known story during WWI when opposing sides came together to celebrate Christmas, only returning to fight against each other after they were ordered to.  This portrays the true meaning of Christ-like love, that men could put up their arms, share what little they had, sing Christmas carols and bring the spirit to an otherwise bleak time.  Find the CD here. This CD also happens to be the giveaway item for today. Don’t forget to enter below.


12. O Holy Night
Many, many versions of this song are out there.  Rearrangements, numerous singers, wonderful song.  Cantique De Noel, or as we know it O Holy Night, was composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 and later the words were added, written by Placide Cappeau, a wine merchant and poet who was also a professed atheist. Over 150 years later this song is still bringing joy to those who know Christ.

As we seek Christ, as we find Him, as we follow Him, we shall have the Christmas spirit, not for one fleeting day each year, but as a companion always.
~Thomas S. Monson

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. May we remember to keep Christ the center of our Christmas celebrations and try to bring the feelings and actions surrounding Christmas throughout the year.


Written by Stephanie N. Pitman
Author of Honorable Disgrace due out Feb 2, 2015

Available for pre-order http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QPCYIIC

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