Authors, Kai Strand & LA Dragoni

Proof of Lies (Anastasia Phoenix, #1) by Diana Rodriguez Wallach Published by Entangled Teen  Published on March 7th, 2017  Genre: YA Contemporary/Mystery Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28143051-proof-of-lies?ac=1&from_search=true Entangled Publishing: https://entangledpublishing.com/index.php/proof-of-lies.html Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Proof-Lies-Diana-Rodriguez-Wallach/dp/1633756084  B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/proof-of-lies-diana-rodriguez-wallach/1124230937?type=eBook  Some secrets are best kept hidden… Anastasia Phoenix has always been the odd girl out, whether moving from city to international city with her scientist parents or being the black belt who speaks four languages. And most definitely as the orphan whose sister is missing, presumed dead. She’s the only one who believes Keira is still alive, and when new evidence surfaces, Anastasia sets out to follow the trail—and lands in the middle of a m...

There just never seems to be enough exciting new middle grade, but A.L. Brown's got us covered. Happy release day, Ms. Brown! FABLE RANGER: SUMMONS  Take care of what you wish for. You just might get it. Twelve-year-old Casey doesn’t think life could get anymore unfair. Plans for her special basketball tournament are tossed aside by her sister’s change in wedding plans. She even has to be a bridesmaid now, with all the lace and silk and - oh the horror! All she wants is an escape, but she never imagined she’d be swept away to a world of Mother Goose rhymes, fairy tales, stories of Arabian Nights, and oh, by the way, all but one fairy godmother is kidnapped. Casey learns she’s been summoned as the Fable Ranger to lead the search and rescue of the missing wish-makers. She also discovers she isn’t the hero they would accept. In the world of fairy tales, damsels aren't meant to swoop in to save the day. Now all Casey wants is to go home, a wish easy to grant...

Today I welcome Krysten Lindsay Hager and her new book Landry in Like! Genre: contemporary clean teen fiction Landry in Like (Landry's True Colors Series: Book 3) ​ Things seem to be going well in Landry Albright’s world—she’s getting invited to be on local talk shows to talk about her modeling career, her best friends have her back, and her boyfriend Vladi is becoming someone she can truly count on…and then everything changes. Suddenly it seems like most of the girls in school are into hanging out at a new teen dance club, while Landry just wants to spend her weekends playing video games and baking cupcakes at sleepovers. Then, Yasmin McCarty, the most popular girl in school, starts to come between Landry’s friendship with Ashanti. Things take a turn when Yasmin tells Vladi that Landry is interested in another boy. Can Landry get her relationships with Ashanti and Vladi back or will she be left out and left behind?   Excerpt: I wanted to call my friends a...

STAR OF THE TEAM MG contemporary I'm posting a rare review today for a spirited middle grade book by Beverly Stowe McClure. Beverly is a valued critique partner of mine, but this book made it into the world without me seeing it first. I've been SO excited to read it. Beverly is such an inspiration to me and I love her quiet and kind writing style. She says so much through her characters while you (the reader) grin like a loon—not even aware of the fact that you've learned an important lesson.  My review: Star of the Team by Beverly Stowe McClure has many of my favorite middle grade elements. Our main character, Kate, is a perky and likeable kid, who loves to play basketball. New girl, Emily, joins their team and her gloating attitude rubs Kate the wrong way. When Kate is injured and can’t play, she worries that Emily will out score her and earn the Star of the Team honor. I enjoyed the genuine dynamics among the kids and with the adults. Kate works...

Writer friend, Nicole Zoltack has a new New Adult time travel that we'd like to share with you today. So let's turn the spotlight onto THE TEST OF TIME! BLURB: Katia jumps at the chance to go to England with her best friend after Rose ditches her deadbeat boyfriend. While walking through the market, she spies a large mansion and recognizes the guy out front as her high school friend Tony. Just as they start to reconnect, Katia passes through times and lands in the arms of Lord Landon, who looks like Tony but certainly doesn’t act like him. Soon, Katia learns that this 1815 is different from the one in history books. Trapped in a parallel world, Katia struggles to not fall for Landon but his charm proves too much for her. Just when she is about to confess her love for him, Katia travels through time yet again. The course of love never did run smooth and if Katia can’t figure out and master the test of time, she’ll never see her friends again, or worse, never be reunited...

Shadow Fire Favorite Quotes The villagers will be awaiting my return, skulking in the shadows, desperate to catch a glimpse of the walking dead girl. ~Ashlyn After all, love conquers nothing but fools. ~Delistaire Perhaps you shouldn’t have chased the poor pirate all over the ship shooting light daggers at him. ~Zane How would you like a tour of this grand vessel, my angelic beauty? I’ll show you my favorite trysting spots. ~Taranis Praise for shadow Fire "Shadow Fire has something for everyone: suspense, love, action, adventure…all woven together perfectly making this debut novel a winner." ~ BTS Book Reviews "I thought the writing was strong; it had me turning the pages quickly to see what would happen next. The characters were engaging and the dialogue well-written." Lisa Temple ~ Author of Illuminating Gracie "Oh, I truly loved this one! Shadow Fire, by Kimber Leigh Wheaton, is a snappy, sassy, sweet, all-that-kind-o...

  The Only Boy by Jordan Locke Mary is stuck in Section One, living with three hundred women in a crumbling hospital. She wonders what life was like two centuries ago, before the Cleansing wiped out all the men. But the rules—the Matriarch's senseless rules—prevent her from exploring the vacant city to find out. Taylor's got a dangerous secret: he's a boy. His compound's been destroyed, and he's been relocated to Section One. Living under the Matriarch means giving up possessions, eating canned food and avoiding all physical contact. Baggy clothes hide his flat chest and skinny legs, but if anyone discovers what lies beneath, he'll be exiled. Maybe even executed. Mary's never seen a boy—the Matriarch cut the pictures of men from the textbooks—and she doesn't suspect Taylor's secret. If she knew, she might understand the need to stop the girls from teasing him. If she knew, she might realize why she breaks the rules, just to be near him. Then a...

I'm stretching a tad outside my normal viewing audience today to bring you a new adult title. "WHY?!" you ask? One word: Superheroes. Sometimes it's two words: Super heroes. Either way, how can I not highlight this brand new book,  White Hellebore, (book 2 in the series) for the adorable author Nicole Zoltack when we all know my obsession with SUPERS!  Ladies and gentlemen, White Hellebore : EXCERPT: Closing his eyes, he listened intently, but no other sounds echoed throughout the empty corridors. The only heartbeat he heard, steady and rather slow, was his own. No one else was here. Maybe he was hearing things. Only the spotlight above the Egyptian statue was on, and Nicholas flooded the museum entrance with light with a flick of a switch. On Monday, Cathy planned to move the Statue of the Black-Hearted Kiya to the Egyptian exhibit, but for its big reveal, she placed it where everyone could see it as soon as they entered the museum. The spotligh...

Today I am happy to feature The Unfinished Song (Book 1) Initiate, by Tara Maya. I asked Tara to explain the inspiration behind her warrior dancers:  The warrior dancers are inspired by several shamanistic practices around the world-- primarily on Hopi and Zuni Kachina dancers, who are usually warriors as well, but also on African secret societies. The members of these secret societies are dancers, sorcerers/shamans and also warriors. I lived in West Africa for about a year, and met several real shamans who belonged to such societies, and was once invited to watch a secret society. I wanted the civilization in Faearth to be closer to this shamanistic understanding of how power works than the usual "high magic" of medieval times, with spell books and formal orders. Fascinating, right? Thanks for explaining that for us, Tara. Now, more about the book:  DEADLY INITIATION A DETERMINED GIRL... Dindi can't do anything right, maybe because she spends more ti...

Inspired by real life, emotional events: This I Promise You by Tressa Messenger You only get one first of anything, and no matter the time, or space, or age, you never forget your firsts. When thirteen year old Nicky Moore’s parents decide to buy a small summer beach cottage at Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, she thought her life would end. It didn’t matter the beauty of the area - land and water as far as the eye could see - she was bound and determined to make her family’s summer vacation as dismal as she felt. That was until she met a boy from down the beach; a beautiful boy, with the most intense brown eyes she had ever seen and a smile that could light the ocean on fire. A summer that Nicky thought was doomed from the start, turned into a summer that she would never forget; one full of firsts. It was impossible for her to know years later how one seemingly little decision could change everything forever, but soon, as an adult, Nicky will find out that everything she once t...

Inspiration for Latitudes - A Story of Coming Home The idea for this book first came to me two years ago after completing my second novel. For my third story, I thought I was ready to use personal material, the story of my own childhood. Although not a memoir, the characters are largely based on my own family. Writing it as fiction gave me enough distance to be able to make it real and compelling. I would not have been able to write this book without the support of my own family today, my wife and three children. The absolute foundation of my life, they give me love and provide me with inspiration every day. Without them, especially my wife of over twenty years, Susan Caplan, I really have nothing. About Latitudes: A Story of Coming Home LATITUDES – A story of one boy overcoming dysfuntion, dislocation and distance… When Father and Mother, a highflying young American lawyer and his party-hard bride, fall prey to the self-destructive lure of alcohol and sexual liber...