Blog Tour (Feature & Giveaway): Grace Doll by Jennifer Laurens

Happy Halloween readers and followers! Today on the blog I am featuring Jennifer Laurens and her lastest novel. Grace Doll is set in the 1940s, so I asked her to share a few favorites from that time period.

Jennifer's Favorite 1940s Actors



left to right - Clark Gable, Shirley Temple, Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly,
Heddy Lamarr, Judy Garland, and Cary Grant

Jennifer's Favorite 1940s Movies

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Kick-Ass Heroines

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Favorite Kick-Ass Heroines
May Be Slightly Spoilery

10. Amy Cahill - The 39 Clues

Amy Cahill, along with her little brother Dan, had to go up against her entire family in a giant scavenger hunt to become the most powerful person in the world (or something like that). After the first series, she did intense training of martial arts and survival stuff to ready herself for a looming threat.



9. Anna Korlov - Anna Dressed in Blood

Anna is strong enough to tear a boy in half. However, she fights against the evil urges pushing her to violence. She's terrifying, but still seems vulnerable. Maybe that's not a good word, but let's just agree on awesome.




8. Katniss Everdeen - The Hunger Games

She risked death for her sister, fought in the Hunger Games twice, took part in a revolution, and made some really tough decisions. Plus, you don't want her pointing an arrow at you. That would be a very, very bad thing.

Author Interview: Tim Mettey (Secrets: The Hero Chronicles #1)

Tim Mettey is the CEO and Disaster Relief Coordinator of Matthew 25: Ministries, an international humanitarian aid and disaster relief organization helping the poorest of the poor locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Matthew 25: Ministries provides life-saving and life-improving necessities, community development assistance and disaster relief worldwide.



What was the inspiration for The Hero Chronicles series?

My inspiration for the book is the men, women and children that have either stood up for someone or risked everything for someone, no matter what the consequences were.

Did you learn anything from writing the book, if so what?

I learned a lot while writing the book. The most important thing I learned is patience. I have been working on the story for years now. At first I wanted to rush to get it into some format that I could share with others, but thanks to the encouragement I received from my wife and friends, I took the necessary time to get the first book of the series ready for publishing. And I am so glad I did.

Do you have a favorite scene from the book that you can share with us?

Review: The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron

Title: The Dark Unwinding
Author: Sharon Cameron
Publisher: Scholastic
Release Date: September 1, 2012
Acquired Via: Publisher
The Dark Unwinding is the debut young adult novel by Sharon Cameron. It is a Victorian mystery, centering on Katharine Tulman, an orphan who lives under the "kindness" of her Aunt Alice. She is sent to stay with her uncle, Frederick Tulman, to testify that he has gone mad so she can secure the dwindling family fortune for her cousin, Robert. However, once she arrives at Stranwyne Keep, Katharine learns that things are not at all what they seem and that maybe what is happening at the estate is more than madness.

The Writing of The Dark Unwinding was enjoyable, though a little confusing for me. I had a bit of trouble following the plot (mysteries that are too layered tend to lose me), and I spent a great deal of the book wanting to shake Katharine. There was a lot that we (the audience) are kept guessing at throughout the course of the novel. Is Uncle Tully mad or a genius? Is Katharine herself mad? Is there something deeper and darker going on at Stranwyne Keep? The mystery in the story was a bit complex for my taste, but if you enjoy mysteries, this will be a good book for you.

The characters in novel all have little secrets of their own. Mrs. Jefferies, Davy, Mary, and Lane each have something to hide from Katharine, but it is not their open disdain for who she is and what she came to Stranwyne Keep to do. They are all extremely loyal to and protective of Frederick Tulman, and they will go to any length to protect him. Their behavior is admirable to an extent, but they all become rather scary. If I was Katharine, I would have left after the first week, duties be damned. The estate was creepy, and there is no way I would sleep in a house with that many people who had it out for me. Even her only ally, the student Ben Aldridge, had secrets and became a bit frightening.

Giveaway: To Kill a Mockingbird Prize Pack

You’ve read the book…now see it come to life on movie screens nationwide!
For one day only on Thursday, November 15th, select movie theaters nationwide will show the award-winning film version of Harper Lee’s classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird, in an event in honor of its 50th anniversary. In partnership with Fathom Events, Harper Perennial is offering YOU a chance to win 2 tickets for this event, plus a copy of the book!

Want to know more about the event? CLICK HERE

PRIZE PACK: 2 tickets to the event at the movie theater nearest you and a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird

TO PARTICIPATE:

First: Click here for a list of participating theaters to confirm there is a screening of the event near you.

Second: Comment on this post and share it with your friends on your own blog/Facebook/Twitter!

**A winner will be selected at random by end of day Sunday, October 28th.
**To participate, first CONFIRM there is a movie theater in your area.

My apologies, but this giveaway is for US THEATERS ONLY.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blast (Giveaway): The Waiting Booth by Brinda Berry

The Waiting Booth
by Brinda Berry
A missing boy, government agents, an interdimensional portal... Mia has one goal for her senior year at Whispering Woods High-find her missing older brother. But when her science project reveals a portal into another dimension, she learns that travelers are moving in and out of her woods in the most alarming way and government agents Regulus and Arizona are policing their immigration. Mia's drawn to the mysterious, aloof Regulus, but it's no time for a crush. She needs to find out what they know about her brother, while the agents fight to save the world from viral contamination. But when Regulus reveals that he knows Mia's secrets, she begins to wonder if there's more going on than she thought...and if she was wrong to trust him...


The Waiting Booth Book Trailer



Praise

Debut Author Challenge 2013

In continuation of my post from yesterday about the Debut Author Challenge, I am going to share with you the books that I have chosen as my initial thirteen. (You know, since it's 2013 and we have to read at least twelve.) Anyways, when I was choosing my books for the 2013, I just went through my pre-orders for next year. These are already ordered, and all I have to do is wait for them. If you're interested in any of these, just click on the title. It'll take you to Goodreads, and you can add it to your "Want to Read" list - or whatever they're calling it this week. So, here we go:

EDIT: The ones I have completed will be below my thirteen. Carry on.

Revolution 19 by Gregg Rosenblum
Release Date: January 8, 2013
Twenty years ago, the robots designed to fight our wars abandoned the battlefields. Then they turned their weapons on us.

Only a few escaped the robot revolution of 2071. Kevin, Nick, and Cass are lucky —they live with their parents in a secret human community in the woods. Then their village is detected and wiped out. Hopeful that other survivors have been captured by bots, the teens risk everything to save the only people they have left in the world—by infiltrating a city controlled by their greatest enemies.

Revolution 19 is a cinematic thriller unlike anything else. With a dynamic cast of characters, this surefire blockbuster has everything teen readers want — action, drama, mystery, and romance. Written by debut novelist Gregg Rosenblum, this gripping story shouldn’t be missed.

Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans
Release Date: January 15, 2013

In this gripping exploration of a futuristic afterlife, a teen discovers that death is just the beginning.

Since her untimely death the day before her eighteenth birthday, Felicia Ward has been trapped in Level 2, a stark white afterlife located between our world and the next. Along with her fellow drones, Felicia passes the endless hours reliving memories of her time on Earth and mourning what she’s lost—family, friends, and Neil, the boy she loved.

Then a girl in a neighboring chamber is found dead, and nobody but Felicia recalls that she existed in the first place. When Julian—a dangerously charming guy Felicia knew in life—comes to offer Felicia a way out, Felicia learns the truth: If she joins the rebellion to overthrow the Morati, the angel guardians of Level 2, she can be with Neil again.

Suspended between Heaven and Earth, Felicia finds herself at the center of an age-old struggle between good and evil. As memories from her life come back to haunt her, and as the Morati hunt her down, Felicia will discover it’s not just her own redemption at stake… but the salvation of all mankind.

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop (INT)

Welcome to my stop on the humongous Spooktacular Giveaway Hop hosted by the scarily fantastic blogs, I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and The Diary of a Bookworm! I love scary stories (as long as they aren't TOO scary *shudders*), so I know this hop is going to be a lot of fun for everyone taking part.

What You Can Win

Since my giveaway for the Happily Ever After hop was so wildly popular, I'm going to do the same thing again. I'm going to surprise the winner!

Based on the winner's answer in the Rafflecopter, I will send them a surprise book. (It'll be fine, I promise.) We all love surprises at some level, and hopefully the winner will love their spooktacular surprise!