Guest Blog & Giveaway: I'll Be Damned by Casey Keen

UFI welcomes Casey Keen Author of I'll Be Damned. Thanks for Joining us!!

What Inspires me to Write?

What drives you? What makes you better at your job, relationships, etc.? What makes you want to change the world? What makes you feel alive? Answer these questions and you’ve found your inspiration. To some, it’s a football while others it’s a glass of wine. We all have our own reasons and/or motivations backing every aspect in our lives… mine just happens to be my creativity. 

What encouraged me to even attempt writing? First, it began with a fondness. After I read my first paranormal romance series, I fell in love with the whimsical genre. I researched self-publishing and decided to pursue it, I mean, why not? Ideas, plots and characters piled in my head, waiting to be created. Once I opened the creative doors, I couldn’t close them! My imagination spilled out of me and onto my computer screen. I never thought I’d be a writer, or have anything worth writing about, until I opened my mind and blew the dust off my creativity.

What I enjoy most about writing is not only overcoming numerous challenges (writer’s block, stale scenes, etc.), but I feel like a kid again! I haven’t lost the remarkable ability to create, dream, envision, etc. anything I want. What’s the best part? I get to put it all on paper, making it more concrete (to me at least)! My brain giggles excitedly whenever I finish an awesome scene or create a witty response in my character’s dialogue. It’s this excitement that inspires me to continue writing.

__________________________________

I was born in Philadelphia, PA and grew up in the suburban outskirts of this amazing city. I love anything paranormal and/or supernatural - seriously I live in Philadelphia! For those of you who don’t know, this city is an awesomely haunted place! This healthy paranormal addiction has provided me the motivation to write my first book, “I’ll Be Damned.”

I graduated from Drexel University with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and I'm currently working on the Anna Wolfe Series.

Find Casey and her books

Website / Twitter / Facebook

__________________________________

I'll Be Damned
Anna Wolfe #1

Amazon     BN      Kobo    Sony    Smashwords

 

A sister kidnapped.

An impending war between Heaven and Hell looming around the corner.

A Grand Witch who has no idea what she is.

The Prince of Darkness’s obsession in claiming her.

Two sinfully gorgeous men pulling her in two different directions.

As the owner of the coffee shop Déjà Brew in Savannah, Georgia, Anna thought her life was ordinary. That is until her sister is kidnapped by a demon, prompting two handsome men to march into her life unexpectedly. Valen, the sinfully gorgeous, overprotective werewolf who is Anna’s sworn guardian and Roman, the most handsome and powerful Warlock in the entire Netherworld.

Suddenly, her world is stripped of everything she knows and replaced with frightening news about who she really is - a powerful Grand Witch. Now, it’s up to her to draw out her dormant magic, rescue her sister and stop an impending heavenly war threatening to eradicate the human race all while staying alive.

__________________________________

__________________________________

Tour wide  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Week in Review: 6/16-6/22

Books Ive Bought/received

*Solstice by P.J. Hoover- Publisher

Books I Read

Don't Bite the Bridesmaid by Tiffany Allee
Elysian Fields by Suzanne Johnson
The Night Beat by Gini Koch

Reviews Posted

Fiery Edge of Steel by Jill Archer

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

* New Releases for the week. Was there anything you were looking forward to reading?

* Monday a guest blog was posted by Suzanne Johnson to promote her  Sentinel of New Orleans series.

* Wednesday- Guest Blog and Giveaway for Forsaken By the Others by Jess Haines. 

* Thursday- Guest Blog and Giveaway for The Morgan Crowe Trilogy by Maggie Berkley

* Friday there was a guest post by Shea Berkley, Author of The Keepers of Life series.

* If you happen to wonder why I am not reading as much as usually it is because we are getting ready to move and my kids are out of school so I am pretty busy these days. We are purchasing our very first home, we close on 6/28 and our moving 6/29 =) I will be back to my normal reading self shortly after that.

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
 

 * I love comments so if you see something you like (or not) please comment away and let me know.

Review: Fiery Edge of Steel by Jill Archer

Fiery Edge of Steel

Author: Jill Archer

Release Date: May 28, 2013

Publisher: Ace

Noon Onyx Book #2

ISBN:  0425257169

ISBN13: 9780425257166

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: Publisher

Lucifer and his army triumphed at Armageddon, leaving humans and demons living in uncertain peace based on sacrifice and strict laws. It is up to those with mixed demon and human blood, the Host, to prevent society from falling into anarchy.

Noon Onyx is the first female Host in memory to wield the destructive waning magic that is used to maintain order among the demons. Her unique abilities, paired with a lack of control and reluctance to kill, have branded her as an outsider from her peers. Only her powerful lover, Ari Carmine, and a roguish and mysterious Angel, Rafe Sinclair, support her unconventional ways.

When Noon is shipped off to a remote outpost to investigate several unusual disappearances, a task which will most likely involve trying and killing the patron demon of that area, it seems Luck is not on her side. But when the outpost settlers claim that an ancient and evil foe has stepped out of legend to commit the crimes, Noon realizes that she could be facing something much worse than she ever imagined…

I hate to have to admit it, I enjoyed book 1 more than FIERY EDGE OF STEEL. Although a lot happened it just didn't catch my attention as much as DARK LIGHT OF DAY did. I missed Noon's friends and her school life. She did learn new things on her journey but I had a hard time staying in the zone. It started off really slow and didn't really pick up as the book moved on. I found myself hoping that scenes would end but they just kept going sometimes. I am a tad bit confused about some ending events but I can not mention what confuses me without giving away spoilers. The magic was nice to witness and there was growth. I'm pretty bummed about what happened towards the end, I am sure you will be too.

I'm at a loss for what more to say without giving away things you probably want to read for yourself. Hopefully book 3 will be more like book 1. I am willing to keep reading to find out. 

I gave it 2/5 stars

Guest Blog: The Fallen Prince by Shea Berkley

UFI welcomes Shea Berkley Author of The Keepers of Life Series. Thanks for Joining us!!

 
Fallen Prince Excerpt #2

“Good morning, Dylan,” Grandma’s cheerful greeting slams into my ears.

What is it with old people and getting up early?

I dig my head further into the pillows. “Not now, Grandma.”

“Yes, now, Dylan.” She pulls the covers off, exposing my bare back to the cool air. Goosebumps rise. I’m still not used to Oregon’s cool mornings. It’s summer—where’s the 90 degree weather, or is it always this shy of downright cold?

I throw my arm behind me and rake my hand over the covers, trying to pull them back.

“Oh, no you don’t. Up. Grandpa has plans for you, and don’t ask me what. I have no idea, which usually means I won’t approve.” She paused. “Should I be worried?”

I push myself to my elbows before I look at her. “I’m a problem, Grandma. We’re down to that whole drastic measures thing.”

She ruffles my bedhead, but her eyes crinkle with concern she can’t hide. “Everyone goes through trials. If your grandfather says he knows how to help you, then…” she bites her bottom lip, worrying a tooth mark into the pink skin, “…we should trust him.”

Yeah, confidence oozes out of her.

“Then again,” she mutters, “your grandfather is a very creative man. Maybe I’ll have a talk with him before you go.”

She gives me a weak smile and leaves. I can just imagine what she’ll say to Grandpa. “Don’t break our new grandson, George. He’s still recovering.” There’ll be a long pause and lots of facial movements stressing the word recovering.

In her eyes I’m fragile—still broken.

I push to a sitting position, dig my elbows into my knees, and curl my fingers through my hair. I’m like a rope that’s been tugged too hard and the fibers are beginning to snap. I don’t want to admit it, but Grandma’s right, though not in the way I think she thinks.

I’m not sure I’ll ever recover. I can actually feel the rot of death eating at me. How many people can you kill in the name of war before you’ve crossed the line into murderer? All the screams and the horrified faces as they realized they were dying won’t go away. Crushed, burned, stabbed, and beaten—the images are a part of me now.

“I did what I had to do.” My voice is weak. Shaky. I’m not sure I’m convinced.

I can’t stop wondering if Leo blames me for his grandfather’s death. I do. He said the funeral was nice. Everyone showed up, even Carl Delgato, Jason’s bully of a dad. He went straight for the liquor afterwards. No one blamed him at the time. Jason had just been declared a runaway, but all Carl could see was his son’s opportunity to get a college wrestling scholarship going down the drain.

Time has a way of working for or against you. In a surprisingly short time, Leo has proudly accepted his grandfather’s heroism, Carl’s disgust with his son has turned to bitterness, while my frustration at knowing something is wrong with me, but not knowing what, climbs. We’re all living in a mess I created with varying degrees of success…or not at all. Somehow, I’ve got to clean it up. But how? That’s the mind-bender I’m dealing with.

__________________________________

I was thinking ... what does anyone really want to know about me, and I came up blank. So I asked a few friends and below are some questions.  Now me being me, the answers are an amalgam of fact and fiction. I'll let you decide what's real and what's not. 

If you're itching to know more about me, then ask.  Depending what you ask, I'll add the question to the list with an answer that's as close to the truth as I can make it.   
 

Find Shea and her books

Website / Twitter / Facebook

__________________________________

The Fallen Prince
Keepers of Life #2

Dylan finally feels like he has it all. He's back home in the human realm with his beautiful girlfriend, loving grandparents, and some crazy powers over the elements. But Dylan's temper is climbing out of control, and along with the bursts of rage come new powers he wasn't expecting.

Kera has these new powers, too. She's seen them before and knows what they can do if kept unchecked…and it’s not pretty. Plus, going back to her home realm, Teag, would hasten the process. Kera is determined to keep her one true love, Dylan, safe on Earth, but when the barrier between the human realm and Teag weakens, allowing monster-like creatures to pass over, Kera becomes desperate to protect her home.

When Kera is kidnapped and imprisoned in a corner of her world that no one has ever escaped from alive, can Dylan overcome his unbridled powers—and himself—to save her?

__________________________________

__________________________________