On January 15, the blog tour for All’s Fair in Vanities Wars by Elizabeth Marx kicked off at Missy Reads Reviews. Today, Ms. Marx is gracious enough to visit us and tell us a bit about her writing. Please welcome her.

When you leave here, don’t forget to visit some of the other stops to learn more about All’s Fair in Vanities War and the Grand Giveaway!

Elizabeth Marx: I’m glad you like the cover of All’s Fair in Vanities War. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, never has a phrase been truer than for an author. A single image imbedded in our minds, spins magical worlds, and faraway places where monsters and mayhem rule. It also gives us inspiration. I was stuck on the idea of writing a young adult series about the seven deadly sins.I somehow got on the idea of vanity, and I wanted to know what symbols represent vanity and two concepts kept coming up: mirror and skull. I thought, cool, but how do they work together? So I put them in a search engine and voila, All is Vanity, Charles Allan Gilbert’s 1892 optical illusion. When you first look at his sketch (top) you might immediately see the woman looking in her mirror, but if you stare at the image long enough you’ll see the skull, the symbol for death.

That’s pretty cool. With the two images side by side, the skull really comes out in your cover art.

Your heroine, Keleigh Flaherty has a Celtic origin. How closely did you follow the Celtic folklore? And did you have to put a lot of research into bring the Celtic aspect to life?

Keleigh Flaherty was born a vate, she comes from a hereditary line of vates and her magical abilities are as much a part of her DNA as her strawberry sorbet hair or her moss green eyes. I tried to closely follow Celtic folklore and combine that with what little is known about druids and vates, but there isn’t a lot material available since the Roman’s systematically wiped the druids out and the druid tradition was an oral one, leaving little documentation. I loosely based Keleigh’s magical abilities on other hereditary lines of witchcraft. I spent many hours on research and I’m arranging much of my research into a compendium.

How I imagine The Seer.

What was the hardest aspect about writing All’s Fair in Vanities Wars?

The hardest part of writing All’s Fair in Vanities War was getting a balance on the relationship between the main characters, Locke, Keleigh and The Seer. They are sort of tied into a love triangle, but one of them is dead, so you’d think that would take The Seer out of the equation, but it doesn’t because not only was her life forfeited by someone, we don’t know who yet, but she has been reborn to watch over someone. The Seer initially thinks its Locke, but she later learns its Keleigh. You have to ask yourself how much love does it take The Seer to watch the person she loves, fall in love with Keleigh, and how much more affection does it take The Seer to accept their love as legitimate. The Seer is a very special spirit, you can “Like” her at: http://www.facebook.com/TheSeers7DeadlyFairyTales

Self-sacrificing love is always so heartbreaking. It makes me tearful just thinking about loving someone enough to step aside so they can love another.

Before we get too deep and weepy, how about a lighter topic? What’s your favorite part of the publishing process?

My favorite part of the publishing process is the actual writing. I love creating stories and characters that people know and understand. I like making them so real that when they hurt you feel their pain and you shed tears right along with them. I’d like to believe that when the characters find happiness you can also feel their joy. But recently, I’ve found through reading reviews, that I discover new things about the characters I created, from other people. When readers figure out things about characters that I never really put my finger on and yet somehow the reader knows the character or understand the character enough to figure it out, well, it’s a very rewarding feeling.

It is an amazing experience to see a piece from the readers’ eyes.

How about a brief description of a story you have hidden in your skeleton closet? And will it ever see the light of day?

I have a lot of stories in my skeleton closet, probably more than I’ll ever be able to write, but I’ve been toying with a Steampunk concept about an alternate history of the civil war in which the American Indians keep all their lands west of Kansas because they were smart enough to lasso the iron horse while the North and South were fighting. The Indians control the railroad lines and a train is the ultimate Steampunk contraption. Will the book ever see the light of day??? Hopefully, it all depends on how fast I can type.

I just got into Steampunk last year. That definitely sounds like something I’d like to read. What are you working on now?

Right now I’m working on several things. First, I’m doing the Compendium for The Seer’s 7 Deadly Fairy Tales which should be out, cross your fingers, sometime in the end of February. If you’re interested in learning more about Celtic mythology and the world behind All’s Fair in Vanities War you can ‘Like’ The Seer as mentioned above and follow her on Facebook, because she’ll announce when the Compendium is launched.

I’m almost finished with a paranormal book about a vampire who’s been searching for something for 600 years, and it’s not blood, but a very special breeder. And then I’ve written a few chapters in my next Chick Lit book, it’s about a race car driver and an interior designer, one was given up for adoption and the other one gave someone up for adoption and they’re both waving checkered flags in each other’s faces. These two are constantly bickering in my head and I burst out laughing in public and my girls look at me and say, “Luke or Lori Lei?” I shrug and say, “Wait and see.”

Book II in The Seer’s 7 Deadly Fairy Tales will be out hopefully by October, and let’s put it this way, Balor isn’t used to not getting what he came for when he crosses into our world.

Cool deal. Anything special you’d like to say to the readers?

The only thing else I can think to add is the covers of my adult titles. Feel free to check them out especially Cutters Vs. Jocks because it’s free!

Also we authors love to hear from our readers. So feel free to email me if you’d like to be added to my mailing list. My website should also go live next month, but until then check out my super cool holding page at: http://www.elizabethmarxbooks.com

Giveaway Time

Ms. Marx is offering two digital copies of her novel All’s Fair in Vanities Wars. Entry is super easy. Just leave a comment about an interesting tidbit you learned from the interview along with your email address. That’s it! You’re entered.

*Giveaway ends February 7, 2012. Please see Giveaway Policy for nitty gritty.

Grand Giveaway

Readers also have an opportunity to win the $50 Grand Prize. To enter:

• You must “LIKE” The Seer’s Facebook page 
• Post one of her best lines from All’s Fair in Vanities War on the wall. Yes, this means you have to read the book in order to participate.

Thank you, Ms. Marx, for sharing yourself with our readers and the opportunity to read one of your works.

I’ve been really slacking on reviews. Well, today, I’m going to try and knock out some of the ones I promised but failed to deliver. First up, The Zero Knot by K.Z. Snow. I picked this book up from the NetGalley thinking it was a young adult M/M novel. Before my reception, the blurb from Ms. Snow’s website:

The Domino Club — a teenage version of a secret society, formed by four small-town friends to explore their bisexuality. Two years into his membership, Jess Bonner has had enough. He isn’t bi, he’s gay, but he’s just been afraid to admit it. He’s also an 18-year-old bound for college and bent on making a break from pretense.

When Dylan “Mig” Finch admits he’s also gay and fed up with the club, he and Jess give in to a mutual attraction that’s been building for years. Mig isn’t college-bound, but he’s one of the finest people Jess has ever known.

As the young men struggle to define their relationship and determine their priorities, forces they can’t seem to control keep tripping them up: sexual appetite, personal insecurities, fear of discovery, and more.

They need clarity. They need courage. Just as they’re on the verge of finding both, an act of vindictive jealousy sends one of them to jail. All their hard-won victories are in danger of falling to dust. 

The only way to save what they have is to recognize and declare it for what it is . . . and fight for its integrity. 

I’ve been dying to try a young adult M/M romance. I’ve read a few m/m adult romances and have had a hard time getting into them. I’d hope adding the young adult element would pull me in where other novels had not. What I found was although this is a coming-of-age novel, it is NOT a young adult novel. Yes, the protagonists are young (18), but the sexual scenes are very adult. While the level of sex in the novel surprised me, it didn’t detract from the work at all. In fact, I loved the realism, which really helped make it into a discovery, coming-of-age novel. Well done, Ms. Snow!

When I first read the prologue, I was apprehensive about this piece. The prologue didn’t grab me at all, and after reading the entire book, I wish it’d been omitted. If nothing else, it would have been nice for me to the type of person to skip prologues. After the first chapter though, the book had me hooked.

One of the passages I loved from the Zero Knot was:

“You weren’t a Freebird who’d soon be earthbound. You were an alien, and you’d never be anything else.”

It’s such a beautiful truth. A big part of adolescence and even life in general is about finding yourself, trying to fit in. But what happens when you figure out you’ll never fit in the way society expects you to? No matter the outside image you portray, you’ll always be you inside… and that you is different from the established norm.

That sums up The Zero Knot in the nutshell — young men, despite living outside the social norm, coming to terms with who they are. Throughout it all, Ms. Snow splashed enough humor to keep me laughing when I wanted to cry about the injustice of an unfair world.

Who I’d recommend The Zero Knot to? That’s a tough one. I want to say everyone because the story line was so touching and provided such understanding. However, the graphic nature of some sex scenes makes this work suitable for adults. Parents should definitely read this one through before they consider passing it along to their teen.

Bottom line: I loved it. I’ll definitely be looking for more works by K.Z. Snow.

The Zero Knot is Available at: Barnes & Nobles, The Book Depository

After reading Tempest by Julie Cross (see review here), I head over to Goodreads to see when I’d get my next fix. Would you believe she already had a short story prequel? Woot! I dug right in. The blurb from Goodreads:

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, throws lots of parties, is interested in a girl he can’t have, and oh yeah, he can travel back through time.But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

This was a short read; this will be a short review.

I read this and totally wanted more. I absolutely love Julie Cross’s style of writing. The humor is fantastic. My only issue with this prequel is it left me sort of hanging. I’d hoped to find out how Jackson and Holly became an item, but it was more of a snippet of their relationship while Holly was dating David.

So basically, it was a decent read, but missed the mark in terms of filling in the “how did it happen?” elements from Tempest.

I’m really looking forward to the sequel of Tempest.

Tomorrow is Today is a free read. PICK IT UP!

I’d been searching the local used bookstore for months, looking for a work on Revelation. When NetGalley offered it, I jumped all over it. So I read it, then got busy. I’ve been juggling the review for Revelation for Everyone by N.T. Wright to make way for other books I’ve read. I just need to get this one done. As I mentioned earlier, tonight’s the night of reviews. The blurb from Goodreads:

N. T. Wright has undertaken a tremendous task: to provide guides to all the books of the New Testament, and to include in them his own translation of the entire text. Each short passage is followed by a highly readable discussion, with background information, useful explanations and suggestions, and thoughts as to how the text can be relevant to our lives today. A glossary is included at the back of the book. The series is suitable for group study, personal study, or daily devotions.

I loved the beginning of this book where it talked about the letters. While in high school, I’d never been much interested in history. In fact, it was a chore. These days, history has piqued my interest, and N.T. Wright really covered the historical relevance of Revelation.

Mr. Wright managed to turn the letters from a “Yah, yah… so what?” to “Really? That’s that’s why each letter had a particular focus?” I came away from the first few chapters of Revelation with new understandings I could apply to my life.

The rest of the book relied on a lot of speculation which may or may not be true in the end, yet was presented as fact. Basically, Mr. Wright took areas of the Revelation (the dragon, the beast, etc) and assigned symbolic meanings to them. Is the symbolism he used accurate? Who can say until all is revealed?

As for me, I’m more of an individual who prefers the bible presented with factual and historical evidence, as Mr. Wright did for the seven letters. However, his interpretation for the latter parts of Revelation were still interesting, and I believe most venturing into the final book of the bible would come out with more knowledge overall.

I recommend Revelation for Everyone to anyone who has general or little knowledge of Revelation and wants to dig deeper.

Available at: Barnes & Nobles and The Book Depository

One giveaway ends, another begins. Woot! Head over to Live to Read and enter to win a copy of I Loved You First. While you’re there cruising her blog, take some time to check out Krystal’s review.

This Sunday Showcase is made possible by NetGalley. Yep, that’s right… all the books I received over the last week or two are from that wonderful place.

A lost voice of old Japan reclaims her rightful place in history in this breathtaking work of imagination and scholarship from award-winning and internationally acclaimed author Katherine Govier. In the evocative tale of 19th century Tokyo, The Printmaker’s Daughter  delivers an enthralling tale of one of the world’s great unknown artists: Oei, the mysterious daughter of master printmaker Hokusai, painter of theThirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. In a novel that will resonate with readers of Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, Lisa See’s Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, and David Mitchell’s The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, the sights and sensations of an exotic, bygone era form the richly captivating backdrop for an intimate, finely wrought story of daughterhood and duty, art and authorship, the immortality of creation and the anonymity of history.

Why I chose it: Ever since I read “The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan, I’ve been a sucker for Asia media which delves deep in the culture, especially if it explores the female aspects of the country. Though I’ve really been into Asian movies, it’s been awhile since I’ve read any Asian books. I’m hoping this will be an excellent opportunity to dive back into the genre.

Available at: Barnes & Nobles and The Book Depository

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, throws lots of parties, is interested in a girl he can’t have, and oh yeah, he can travel back through time.But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

Why I chose it: I absolutely LOVED Tempest. In fact, Tempest was one of my favorite reads in 2011. When I found out Julie Cross was offering this short story for free, I had to have it. Haha In fact, I would have probably picked it up even if it weren’t free.

Available at: The Book Depository

After being inexplicably targeted by an evil intent on harming her at any cost, seventeen-year-old Nikki finds herself under the watchful guardianship of three mysterious young men who call themselves halflings. Sworn to defend her, misfits Mace, Raven, and Vine battle to keep Nikki safe while hiding their deepest secret—and the wings that come with.

A growing attraction between Nikki and two of her protectors presents a whole other danger. While she risks a broken heart, Mace and Raven could lose everything, including their souls. As the mysteries behind the boys’ powers, as well as her role in a scientist’s dark plan, unfold, Nikki is faced with choices that will affect the future of an entire race of heavenly beings, as well as the precarious equilibrium of the earthly world.

Why I chose it: This book just sounds like a tangled web of confusion. I don’t know what to expect, but I’m hoping for the best.

Available at: Barnes & Nobles

When Your Life Is Not Your Own
Martyr—otherwise known as Jason 3:3—is one of hundreds of clones kept in a remote facility called Jason Farms. Told that he has been created to save humanity, Martyr has just one wish before he is scheduled to ‘expire’ in less than a month. To see the sky.

Abby Goyer may have just moved to Alaska, but she has a feeling something strange is going on at the farm where her father works. But even this smart, confident girl could never have imagined what lies beneath a simple barn. Or what would happen when a mysterious boy shows up at her door, asking about the stars.

As the reality of the Jason Experiment comes to light, Martyr is caught between two futures—the one for which he was produced and the one Abby believes God created him to have. Time is running out, and Martyr must decide if a life with Abby is worth leaving everything he’s ever known.

Why I Chose it: The idea of clones totally fascinates me. And a clone which is meant to save the future? Tres cool.

Available at: Barnes & Nobles, The Book Depository

What kind of goodies landed in your mailbox?

My writing buddy, Shannon Mayer, released Dark Waters last month. Now when it comes to sexy covers, this one does it for me. What do you think? Hot, right?

The bonds of family are stretched to the breaking point as legendary monsters, a deadly prophecy, and soul swallowing fears threaten to destroy them. Magic, secrets, sensuality and mind numbing terror all rolled into one to keep the pages flying.

Loved “The Hunger Games”? Hated what happened to Prim and Katniss? Then this book is for you!

Dark Waters is available at: Amazon

I know how much you all love giveaways. It’s okay. I’m a giveaway junkie too. haha And yes, I’m entering this one.

Ms. Mayer is having a review drive for Dark Waters. Lots of ways to win and a nice chunk of change on the line. For complete details, check out her Goodreads Event. For now, I’ve made things a little easy by copying some of the information here:

$150 to one luck winner, and 5 $10 gift certificates to runners up.

How do you get in on this fabulous contest?

Just by purchasing Dark Waters and sending Ms. Mayer a copy of the proof of purchase, you’ll get 10 entries into the contest. (motionsrider@yahoo.ca)

Write a review for Dark Waters on Amazon, email Ms. Mayer the link, and get an additional 20 entries!!

There’s no purchase necessary, you can sign up for Ms. Mayer’s NEWSLETTER (Which only goes out once a month) to get 1 entry into this contest. How do you sign up? Email Ms. Mayer at motionsrider@yahoo.ca to tell her you want to be a part of her newsletter OR you can sign up off her Facebook Fan Page. (Shannon Mayer Author)

Want another free entry? “Like” Ms. Mayer’s Facebook Fan Page and she’ll give you an additional entry.

Phew. That’s a lot of chances to win, so good luck, and happy reading.

The Fine Print

This contest is open internationally, and will run from December 29th/2011 – January 29th 2012. Winners
will be announced February 5th 2012.

*All reviews and purchase links NOT emailed to Ms. Mayer will NOT be entered into the contest.*

*Entries through Facebook and the Newsletter sign up need not send any additional emails in order to be entered into the contest*

I’m a little late on the ball. Way to bring in the New Year, right? The New Year’s Resolution Blog Carnival started YESTERDAY. Yeah, so? you may ask. Well, Melissa and Eileen over at Books R Us are offering a print copy of I Loved You First as a prize at their.

If you don’t have a copy, it’d be a great opportunity to add it to your shelf. If you have a digital copy, enter for the aesthetic version.  If you’re like me, and love the digital version, you can pick up your copy at one of the locations below:

Barnes & Nobles, Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FE, Smashwords, Diesel, Sony Reader, iTunes
Add I Loved You First to your Goodreads List.

Mind Games by Carolyn Crane (see review here) was one of my favorite reads of 2010. I believe I only had 3 books in 2010 which hit my favorite reads that year. Well, when I saw this anthology, I snagged it. I feel like I’ve had it on my to-read list forever, but it’s only been out since August 2011. Before we get to the review, the blurbs from Goodreads:

The Blushing Bounder by Meljean Brook – An Iron Seas novella of 15,000 words: The search for a killer puts Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth’s life in danger and her assistant, Constable Newberry, in the line of fire. But Newberry faces a danger of another kind: to his heart, by the woman forced to marry him. What will it take for this prudish bounder to convince his wife to stay?

Vixen by Jill Myles – A shifter novella of 15,000 words: Miko’s denied her were-fox nature for far too long and turned her back on her vixen heritage. But when she meets two very sexy cat-shifters, she has to decide if she truly wants to give up on her frisky side, or embrace it. Because the were-fox in her doesn’t want to choose between both men…it wants them both. 

Kitten-tiger & the Monk by Carolyn Crane – A Disillusionists novella of 20,000 words: Sophia Sidway, Midcity’s most dangerous memory revisionist, seeks out the mysterious Monk in the wasteland beneath the Tangle turnpike, hoping for redemption…but it turns out that the Monk is not all that pious, and the turnpike is no turnpike at all.

This anthology was quick enough, I was able to knock it out in a day. Definitely what I needed at the end of 2011. I might make my Goodreads Challenge yet!

The Blushing Bounder by Meljean Brook ~ My first introduction to a Brook’s work was in the Burning Up anthology. Brook’s work was entitled Here There Be Monsters (see review here). I totally loved her writing style. Later I picked up The Iron Duke (see review here). Though I’m not a fan of detective stories, her writing was still A+.

Once again, Ms. Brooks does an excellent job with bringing her Iron Sea world to life in The Blushing Bounder. Brooks definitely has style when it comes to writing. My biggest gripe with this work was it seemed incomplete. The romance was cold then hot. It really lacked any sort of build up. One moment the heroine was standoffish and completely uninterested. Next thing I knew, she was in love. In my prior experience with Ms. Brook, she presented herself as a STRONG mystery writer. In this story, the mystery lacked substance and was only solved on a basic level. What was the motive?

Vixen by Jill Myles ~ If I’m not mistaken, this was my first encounter with a Jill Myles work. It wasn’t bad and I may or may not look for more of her works. One thing for certain, paranormal romances are a tough sell these days. It seems like everything’s been done. That’s the issue I faced with Ms. Myles’ story. Like I said, it wasn’t a bad read, and still entertaining, but the story lacked freshness and was quite predictable. Still, the sex scene was quite steamy.

One item which has me all twisted is the idea of wild cats with a fox… odd to say the least. I wonder if her other books mix and match like that.

Kitten-tiger & the Monk by Carolyn Crane ~ Of the three stories, Ms. Crane’s work was the weakest. I was actually rather bummed, because she was the main reason I purchased this anthology. Majority of this story was backstory… I wouldn’t be surprised if 75% of it was backstory with the remaining working on the relationship between Kitten-Tiger and the Monk. Even the relationship portion was highly predictable.

One interesting item about this work is it’s in past tense. I remember Mind Games throwing me for a loop when I first started reading it. I don’t recall ever reading a book in present tense before Mind Games. It took some major adapting for me. After reading Kitten-Tiger and the Monk, I kind of wished Ms. Crane had stayed in the present tense. It might have discouraged her from loading the work with backstory.

I’m not sure if Wild & Steamy was a free read when I picked it up, but it might be now. I know it was last week.