Interview + Giveaway: Stone Rider by David Hofmeyr

UFI welcomes Author David Hofmeyr. Thanks for Joining us!!

What can you tell my readers about yourself that they might not know from looking on your bio or reading in another interview? 

I split my life between two cities, London and Paris. It sounds exotic and it can be. But sometimes it makes me feel like an outsider in both places. C’est la vie!

What do you enjoy doing on your down time? 

Travel. I’ve been all over the world and love experiencing new cultures and places and cities. I’ve lived in Cape Town, Hong Kong, London, Paris and San Francisco.

Film. I’m a fan. I watch movies all the time. I even watch trailers to get into the mood for writing. The sound and the imagery always offer inspiration for me.

What is your Favorite part of writing?

I get to play God. I choose what happens. It’s a responsibility to care for the characters in the right way. To give them depth and also to allow them to tell me what they would say and wouldn’t say. I love the creative process. Starting with a blank page … ending up somehow with a fully realized story world. It’s an incredible process. It’s magic.

Do you have any certain routines you must follow as you write? 

No. I’m a little haphazard. I’m not particularly disciplined. I write when the mood fires and I approach the page in different ways each time.

What are some of your Favorite books or Authors in the Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Genres?

I thought The Hunger Games was terrific. Divergent is great too. Excellent world building. I also loved the Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. I was a sucker for The Lord of the Rings when I was a kid and devoured all the Stephen King books.

How would you pitch STONE RIDER to someone who has not heard of it before? 

Think the Hunger Games meets Mad Max. An adrenalin-fuelled race across an epic desert. A battle for survival and humanity in a world where hope is all people have.

Can you tell us a little bit about the world that STONE RIDER is set in? 

This is a post-apocalyptic future earth. Some unknown cataclysm has blasted the world and left people divided. The uber-wealthy and the privileged leave the planet for an ark in space called Sky-Base and the those left-behind are forced to eke out a brutal existence in a world that seesaws from extreme heat in the summer to freezing winters.

Do you have a favorite scene in STONE RIDER? 

I love the scene where the protagonist, and mostly ordinary, Adam meets the extraordinary Kane. I love the ways two characters come together from different worlds and I enjoy imagining how they would meet and what they would say to each other.

Which one character out of all your books was your favorite to write about? What about the hardest to write about? 

My character, Kane is the most interesting to write. He’s an outsider and a rebel. A Christ-figure. Mysterious and dangerous. He’s a huge amount of fun to write. The hardest to write is probably the villain, because the villain has to be the most complex character. A book lives and dies but the nature of the villain. I wanted him to lie at the periphery, like a constant threat, but also bring him in close enough to thrill the reader.

What Other Projects can we look forward to reading from you? 

I am working on the sequel to Stone Rider, called Blood Rider. It takes on a more feminist shift. I wanted to see the world from a different perspective. And it’s set in winter so I up the ante on survival in a brutal world.

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David Hofmeyr is the author of STONE RIDER. He works as a Planner for Ogilvy & Mather. David was born in South Africa and lives in London.




Find David and his books

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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Stone Rider

In the vein of The Outsiders and the early Western novels of Elmore Leonard, this inventive debut novel, a cross between the cult classic Mad Max movie series and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, blends adrenaline-fueled action with an improbable yet tender romance to offer a rich and vivid portrayal of misfits and loners forced together in their struggle for a better life.

Adam Stone wants freedom and peace. He wants a chance to escape Blackwater, the dust-bowl desert town he grew up in. Most of all, he wants the beautiful Sadie Blood. Alongside Sadie and the dangerous outsider Kane, Adam will ride the Blackwater Trail in a brutal race that will test them all, body and soul. Only the strongest will survive.

The prize? A one-way ticket to Sky-Base and unimaginable luxury.

And for a chance at this new life, Adam will risk everything. 

“The gritty, nonstop action and violence will appeal especially to reluctant readers.”—School Library Journal 
 
“Filled with action and suspense and cool character reveals…an exciting, action-packed romp.”—Kirkus Reviews

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Interview + Giveaway: Traitor by Jody Wallace

UFI welcomes Author Jody Wallace. Thanks for Joining us!!

What can you tell my readers about yourself that they might not know from looking on your bio or reading in another interview? 

I never paint my toenails all one color. My preference, in fact, is to use at least 2 colors, preferably 10, on my toenails. Sometimes I kind of paint the toe part of my toes, too, since toes just sometimes aren’t enough. Also, because of certain visual inconveniences of middle age, my 9 year old daughter is my toenail artist. Whether or not these two things are connected is anyone’s guess.

What do you enjoy doing on your down time? 

I like to crochet earrings and amigurumi. The earrings are useful. The amigurumi are mostly just funny. I maybe possibly am working on a set of Avengers-themed...male organs...that maybe possibly are going to go on a series of photographic adventures. You can check them out at (somewhat NSFW) http://crochetpeen.tumblr.com/
 
What is your Favorite part of writing? 

Writing the beginning and the end. That middle part is killer, though.

Do you have any certain routines you must follow as you write? 

I can’t write when the kids are galloping around my recliner.

What are some of your Favorite books or Authors in the Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Genres?

Patricia Briggs, Linnea Sinclair, Natalie Damschroder, Jennifer Estep, Lindsay Buroker, Ilona Andrews

How would you pitch THE MAELSTROM SERIES to someone who has not heard of it before?

It’s like Defiance crossed with Falling Skies crossed with Dominion.

Can you tell us a little bit about the world that TRAITOR is set in? 

Once upon a time, Earth was invaded by these horrible black blobs that ate people and couldn’t be destroyed by conventional science. They were accompanied by flying bat daemons that could sort of be destroyed by a lot of missiles. Luckily some very powerful angels turned up to save Earth, and they trained a native Chosen One to confront the evil in a final battle.

Except the Chosen One turned out to be a loser, the angels turned out to be aliens pretending to be angels so the Terrans would cooperate better (they hoped), and the Earth didn’t quite get saved.
Yet.

Do you have a favorite scene in TRAITOR ? 

There’s a scene near the end of the book that I don’t want to spoil, but it’s a car chase that reveals what a badass the heroine is, how much the hero loves her, and how those two crazy lovebirds would do anything to save the world. Plus, there’s lots of blood and gore and the hero gets a fang stuck in his head.

Which one character out of all your books was your favorite to write about? What about the hardest to write about? 

Right now I’m completely enamored of the sentient Ship in the Maelstrom series. Ships in this world evolve into sentience through a certain process involving SCIENCE and other gobbledygook, developing their own very distinct personalities. As far as the hardest character to write, Sarah, the doctor in TRAITOR, was a challenge for me, because she has to know enough about DOCTOR stuff and other gobbledygook so that she sounded both realistic, brilliant and relatable. I relied on a scientist writer friend of mine named DB Sieders to help with that!

What Other Projects can we look forward to reading from you? 

I’m told I need to complete the next book in the Maelstrom series this year. So there’s that, for starters! The working title is PRODIGAL, and the world may or may not get saved in it. Yet again ☺.

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Jody Wallace grew up in the South in a very rural area. She went to school a long time and ended up with a Master's Degree in Creative Writing. Her resume includes college English instructor, technical documents editor, market analyst, web designer, and general all around pain in the butt. She currently lives in Tennessee with her family: one husband, two kids, two cats. One of her many alter egos is “The Grammar Wench,” which should give you an indication of her character. She is a terrible packrat and likes to amass vintage clothing, books, Asian-inspired kitchenware, gnomes, yarn, and other items that threaten to force her family out of the house. She also likes cats. A lot.

Jody publishes the Maelstrom Chronicles with Entangled Publishing, an Earth-based science fiction romance series. You can find other science fiction, paranormal, and contemporary romances by Jody at www.jodywallace.com, including her horrible science fiction romance spoofs, The Adventures of Mari Shu, which make fun of the Maelstrom Chronicles, among other science fiction concepts and stories.

Find Jody and her books

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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Traitor

Captain Nikolas EstherVorn is a traitor. Or so it was decreed after Niko disobeyed protocol while trying to save Earth from other-dimensional creatures. Stuck in a prison cell, the last thing he needs is to be in close proximity to sexy-as-sin Dr. Sarah CallenJoseph. Not with him damn near ready break out just to get to her.

Niko's desire isn't quite his own…and Sarah can prove it. He—along with the other soldiers on the disastrous mission—were drugged with some kind of toxin. Niko has no clue how the drug got into his body or why, but Sarah suspects there’s a link between the toxin and the fertility crisis of Shipborn humans.

To investigate is forbidden. But as lust becomes something deeper, binding them together in a way neither expected, Niko and Sarah must battle time—and their superiors—to uncover the secret that could save humanity...or destroy it.

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New Releases: 7/26-8/1

Tue. July 28th

Baby's Got Bite (Take It Like a Vamp #2) by Candace Havens

The Blind Wish (The Jinni Wars #2) by Amber Lough

The Conquering Dark (Crown & Key #3) by Clay Griffith, Susan Griffith

Crazy Over You (Taming the Pack #3) by Wendy Sparrow

Dragon Fall (Black Dragons #1) by Katie MacAlister 

The Drowning God by James Kendley

Every Last Breath (The Dark Elements #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The Forgotten (Krewe of Hunters #16) by Heather Graham

Killing Pretty (Sandman Slim #7) by Richard Kadrey

Oblivion (Nevermore #3) by Kelly Creagh

Redzone (Mutant Files #2) by William C. Dietz

Spider's Trap (Elemental Assassin #13) by Jennifer Estep

As always, happy reading!

Promo + Giveaway: Bound in Black by Juliette Cross

Bound in Black 
The Vessel Trilogy #3
Amazon BN Kobo Samhain

In the belly of the beast, strategy is useless.

Genevieve Drake is on a dangerous mission to find the soul collector, Lethe, and enter the deepest, darkest level of the underworld. No one has ever returned alive from the belly of a soul collector, but she will let nothing stop her from going after the precious treasure Lethe stole from her.

As she is tested against demon spawn and foul creatures of the underworld, each triumph strengthens her Vessel power—and drags her closer to a breaking point that could forever doom her to the abyss.

Meanwhile, with the full prophecy hurtling toward completion, the Dominus Daemonum strategize for the day Gen will battle Prince Bamal’s Vessel to the death, when the Great War between heaven and hell will begin.

But Bamal has a secret weapon. When he reveals it—and Thomas reveals his own hidden agenda—Gen may not have the strength to resist the temptation to fall into darkness, forsaking the fate of the world for her broken heart.

Warning: Contains malicious demons, sinister spawn, and a vengeful heroine with plans to send them all back to burning hell.

Excerpt:

Among a throng of dancers grinding to some death-metal tune was Bleed and one of the guys from his band, Gallow’s End. Bleed. What an asinine name. Perfectly fit the owner. Last time Kat and I had seen him in that demon club on Bayou Sauvage, his long, sleek hair was dyed midnight blue. He’d changed it to deep purple. Two stumbling-drunk girls were clinging to him and the tall, lanky guy I recognized as his drummer. Their eyes shimmered red in the smoky dark of the club.

That was one thing lower demons didn’t have to worry about in New Orleans. With so many freaks in the city joining artificial vampire covens, there was no need to disguise red eyes or sharpened fangs. Both of which were the distinct outward features of a lower demon inhabiting a human.

The young brunette who looked barely eighteen hung on to Bleed’s arm. He made a signal to Drummer Boy, who escorted another girl wearing a miniskirt so short I could see her ass cheek. They veered toward a back entrance, taking their fully intoxicated dates with them. Knowing Bleed was into kink and violence and certainly not above forcing his will on the weak and vulnerable, I nudged Kat.

Without a word, we were off the stools and following the four through the storage room, which indeed had a back entrance for deliveries. The door to the alley creaked closed. Bleed said something, obviously witty and wonderful because the girls giggled in unison. I reached into my boot and pulled out my sharpened stiletto. Kat pulled out a similar but thicker blade, sheathed on a vest harness covered by her jacket.

Kat cracked the door, peering outside. We heard the distant shuffling as the four moved farther off.

“Hurry,” I whispered.

We slipped through the exit and stalked after them. They rounded the corner of a darkened building. Although we were walking in the open, this part of the business district was deserted after hours. In the French Quarter, you could find crowds on every street well into the wee hours of the morning. But this area was only busy during the daytime. Perfect place to commit some heinous crime on unsuspecting, underage and intoxicated girls.

By the time we reached the next block, Bleed and Drummer Boy had lured the girls down a dark alley. Talk about cliché.

“Where issit?” slurred the brunette. The other girl’s giggle echoed off the alley walls.

“Right over here,” said Bleed. “I’m going to show you.”

I could hear the sneer in his voice. I grabbed Kat’s arm, and she looked back at me as we edged closer to the corner of the alley. Sift, I mouthed. She nodded.

Holding up my left hand, I put up one finger, then two, then three.

We sifted into the alley a yard away from them. There was no telling what Bleed had in mind, because we interrupted whatever it was he had planned. Somehow, he didn’t look surprised to see us, which put me on edge. My VS zinged to life, igniting my underlight to full throttle.

The brunette pointed at me, her hair a mess, her lipstick smeared. “Hey. You look like a fairy.”

She and her friend burst into laughter, one of them bending her knees with the weight of drunken hilarity. They’d definitely put more than alcohol in their systems. Or they’d had four too many of whatever they were drinking.

“Go,” I told the girls. “Get out of here.”

“Whu…why?” hiccupped Miniskirt.

Whispering the words to break through a cast of illusion, I slashed my dagger in the air toward Bleed, who’d not said a word. For the briefest of seconds, the outer shell of the beautiful human he hid inside vanished, revealing the fanged, bony, pasty-gray demon he truly was. Three seconds later, the veil that cloaked the demon in dark beauty hid the beast within once more.

The girls—slack-jawed and wide-eyed—simply stared in horror until Bleed hissed at them. They squealed and stumbled away toward the street, the brunette breaking a heel but not stopping.

“There now, Domina,” said Bleed, speaking to Kat, whom he favored over me. My feelings weren’t hurt, trust me. “Now that you have us all to yourself, what shall we do?”

“I think it’s time to send you back to your playpen, once and for all,” she answered with stoic grace.

The gangly one was already backing away, but not Bleed. “I would like nothing more than to bask in the tortures you have planned for me,” he said in a sultry tone, inching closer to her.

“Not this shit again,” I said, remembering how last time he’d begged her for a little S&M treatment.

He ignored me. “Word has spread, Domina, that you have certain tastes. Delicacies that align with my own desires.”

“I’m riveted,” said Kat. “Please. Do tell what demons are saying about me.”

The salacious grin that spread across Bleed’s face as his hand slipped down and cupped his crotch sent a grotesque chill over my body. “That you prefer…chains in the bedroom. I too enjoy bondage, Domina.” The asshole hadn’t noticed that Kat had gone rigid with rage, just as she always did two seconds before she was going to strike. “Perhaps we could enjoy each other—”

She sliced out with a leap, but he moved like lightning, prepared for her attack. He ended up behind her with one arm wrapped around her waist. The other hand whipped out and grabbed her wrist holding the dagger. He whispered something I couldn’t hear. Before I could even react to help her, she doubled over and flipped him on the pavement.

Drummer Boy took off running. “Kat!” I screamed, taking two steps after him.

She hovered over Bleed, who lay there, grinning like a fiend, on the ground. “Go.” She waved me off. “Get him!”

I took off. The dude didn’t look like much, but he sure as hell could run with those long-ass legs. I sprinted after him down the alley, coming out onto another well-lit but abandoned street in the business district. The frosty air filled my lungs, stinging as I sucked in each breath. His cackling laughter echoed to the right. I caught his lanky figure rounding a corner. Another alley.

As soon as I ran into the lane, a familiar signature wafted over me. Winter wind and new-fallen snow, ice castles and midnight blue—a potent seduction of ice and heat. The sight, sound, smell, color of winter emanated not from the atmosphere but from the man—the angel—standing five feet from me.

Drummer Boy was gone. In his place stood Thomas, the one I’d longed to find, to exact vengeance upon him for his betrayal, for what he’d done to Jude. For what he’d done to me. But for several seconds, all I could do was stand there and stare at him, convincing myself he was real and not another mirage.

Black hair curling at his nape like Michelangelo’s David. Sea-green eyes deeper than any ocean. Fair, flawless skin that rivaled that of Raphael’s most perfect painting. And a physique that had indeed been born of heaven. He was the embodiment of breathtaking beauty, and yet all I could do was imagine how quickly I could plunge my dagger into his heart.

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Juliette calls lush, moss-laden Louisiana home where the landscape curls into her imagination, creating mystical settings for her stories. She has a B.A. in creative writing from Louisiana State University, a M.Ed. in gifted education, and was privileged to study under the award-winning author Ernest J. Gaines in grad school. Her love of mythology, legends, and art serve as constant inspiration for her works. From the moment she read JANE EYRE as a teenager, she fell in love with the Gothic romance--brooding characters, mysterious settings, persevering heroines, and dark, sexy heroes. Even then, she not only longed to read more novels set in Gothic worlds, she wanted to create her own.

Juliette is a multi-published author, including her Nightwing series with Kensington Publishing and The Vessel Trilogy with Samhain Publishing.

Find Juliette and her books

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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Week in Review: 7/19-7/25

Books Received for Review

Alice by Christina Henry- eARC- Publisher via NetGalley

Beauty and the Werewolf by Kristen Miller- eARC- Publisher via NetGalley

Taming Her Wolf by Dee Carney- eARC - NetGalley

Torn Sky by Tracy Banghart- eARC- NetGalley

Dance with the Devil by Angela Dennis- eARC- Author via Publisher

Books I've Read

Rout of the Dem-Shyr by Raine Thomas
Rise of the Faire-Amanti by Raine Thomas
Alice by Christina Henry
Taming Her Wolf by Dee Carney
Dancing with the Devil by Angela Dennis

Reviews Posted

Spider's Trap by Jennifer Estep
Bound in Black by Juliette Cross
Crazy Over You by Wendy Sparrow
Old Dog, New Tricks by Hailey Edwards

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

* Monday- Cover Reveal + Giveaway for The Bleeding Dark by Janice Pia

* Tuesday- Guest Blog for The Maurin Kincaide Series by Rachel Rawlings

* Thursday- Guest Blog for Ecoterrorism by C.T. Phipps

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* Did you know you can follow UFI on these other sites?

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You can also add me (as in Stacy) to your friends on these sites if you're on them.

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

Early Review: Old Dog, New Tricks by Hailey Edwards

Old Dog, New Tricks

Author: Haley Edwards

Release Date: July 30, 2015

Publisher: CrushStar Multimedia LLC

Black Dog Book #4

ASIN:   B00WX2P5YE

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Review Copy Source: NetGalley

While Thierry is away, the Morrigan will play. Snatching the crown from her daughter-in-law’s head wasn’t the motherly thing to do, but Thierry doesn’t mind trading the throne in Faerie for the ratty couch in her Texas apartment. The old crow is welcome to it. But ruling one world is not enough. The Morrigan wants an all-access pass to the mortal realm too.

An attack on the marshal’s office leaves Thierry shaken…and Shaw missing. Now the fight brewing since Thierry took up the Black Dog’s mantle has landed on her doorstep, and the only way to save the man she loves is to defend the title she never wanted.

In OLD DOG, NEW TRICKS Thierry once again proves that she can handle just about anything. Shaw is missing and she has to travel into Faerie to get him back and beat the Morrigan once and for all. The danger is just as high, but she has her father by her side and she is determined to complete the tasks she is there for and save the man she loves.

There is some secondary character growth that I enjoyed in book 4. We get a new peek at Thierry's mother.. I saw her as a bit of a weak woman before, but she proves she is strong a few times in OLD DOG, NEW TRICKS and her relationship with Thierry grows much stronger. Thierry's father is able to prove how much he really loves her and her mom. I enjoyed seeing their bond grow after all the tension at the end of LIE DOWN WITH DOGS. One thing I didn't love, we didn't get a lot of Shaw/Thierry time due to the fact that he is taken pretty quickly in the beginning of the book.

I didn't know this before jumping into it, but apparently OLD DOG, NEW TRICKS is the last book in the series? Say WHAT? It honestly didn't feel like the series was done at the end of OLD DOG, NEW TRICKS and was looking forward to the next book. I still need to know more about Thierry, her dad and even Shaw. THAT is why OLD DOG, NEW TRICKS is getting a 3 stars from me. It just doesn't feel complete to me and that is a bummer.

I gave it 3/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Early Review: Crazy Over You by Wendy Sparrow

Crazy Over You

Author: Wendy Sparrow

Release Date: July 28, 2015

Publisher: Entangled: Select Otherworld

Taming the Pack Book #3

ISBN:   1633753468

ISBN13: 99781633753464

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Review Copy Source: Publisher via NetGalley

She's on the sheriff's most wanted list.

Waking up with a naked woman holding a knife at his throat is just about the last thing Sheriff Travis Flynn expected. And the brother she's looking for? A murderer. And dead. Probably. But the real shock comes when she insists she's not a Lycan.

LeAnn Wilcox isn't looking for love...especially not from some wolf in sheriff's clothing. She operates on the other side of the law. Once she finds her brother-alive-she'll get out of the pack's territory and go back to her regular, normal, non-furry life of changing jobs and her name whenever her past closes in.

The cool, logical Sheriff has finally met his match, but LeAnn's life is at stake if she won't claim her place in the pack, especially once his control over the pack is challenged and her brother's fate is questioned.

CRAZY OVER YOU is the third book in Sparrow's Taming the Pack series and you CAN read it as a standalone, but you will miss out on the information for previous events that are mentioned multiple times throughout the book. There are also characters involved you wont know anything about without first having read the first two books in the series. So my suggestion would be to read the books in order.

LeAnn is a fiercely independent woman with a fiery personality. She comes into Travis's home looking for information on her brother and she refuses to leave until she finds him. She knows nothing of pack life and isn't a wolf, but others don't believe her as she has their abilities and smell to her. Travis is the pack alpha. He is calm and likes things to be done a certain way. He doesn't want to hurt LeAnn, but he must tell her that her brother is dead and was a traitor to his pack. Only problem is she doesn't believe him and soon he doubts that her brother is dead himself.

I really enjoyed LeAnn and Travis as a couple. There were a lot of pushing and shoving aside of feelings, but the constant pull towards each other wore them down in the end. The pack isn't exactly welcoming of LeAnn at first, but I enjoyed watching attitudes change and certain people be put in their place.

With a pack of wolfs the story is never lacking action, drama and danger. Sparrow's writing always flows nice and the story is complimented by the storyline continuation from previous books. I like that characters are brought over from earlier books, but I was missing some of my other favorite characters. I can't help but wonder who will be featured next.

I gave it 4/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.