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Monday, June 27, 2016

Selene Castrovilla's Rough Romance Trilogy





MELT
Rough Romance Trilogy, Book 1
by Selene Castrovilla
Last Syllable Books
YA Contemporary Romance
278 pages







Based on true events, MELT is both a chilling tale of abuse, and a timeless romance. MELT will hit you like a punch in the face, and also seep through the cracks in your soul.


MELT is a brutal love story set against the metaphorical backdrop of The Wizard of Oz (not a retelling). When sixteen year old Dorothy moves to the small town of Highland Park, she meets, and falls for Joey – a “bad boy” who tells no one about the catastrophic domestic violence he witnesses at home. Can these two lovers survive peer pressure, Joey’s reputation, and his alcoholism?

Told in dual first person, Joey’s words are scattered on the page – reflecting his broken state. Dorothy is the voice of reason – until something so shattering happens that she, too, may lose her grip. Can their love endure, or will it melt away?

MELTGoodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble


MY TIDBITS

This is a romance with so many sharp edges that it cuts, burns and won't let go even long after the last page has been read.

The story centers around Joey, a seventeen-year-old with alcohol, drug and jail burdens, and Dorothy, a sixteen-year-old with a wholesome life and family. It's told from both points of view, switching with chapters to make it easy to follow. But this isn't a normal story or romance. Joey's horrible family circumstances are presented raw and naked with no room for sugar coated. This is made clear in his voice--short, choppy phrases and words. Dorothy, on the other hand, has a more traditional story telling feel, but this too changes when circumstances throw her into direct conflict with Joey's world.

Warm, fuzzy feelings have nothing to do with this book. It's a literary look at how horrid life can be, the damage it does and the difficult but still hopeful process of healing. The words grip and bite, letting the pure emotions and thoughts come over--ones very fitting to teens in this circumstance. Love and romance are a wonder and beautiful, but life is not. This book does a marvelous job in bringing this message across in its purest and harshest form. In other words, it's a book teens will understand, feel and not easily forget.





SIGNS OF LIFE (Rough Romance #2) by Selene Castrovilla
Publisher: Last Syllable Books | Publication Date: June 21, 2016


The tables are turned with a vengeance in this tour de force love story. Nearly a year has gone by and now it’s Dorothy who is fragmented and lost, while Joey keeps the promise he had made her to better himself—even though she’s gone. Joey talks about what is happening in the present while Dorothy describes what happened before— in the moments and hours after the Glock dropped. This time the stakes are even higher, as Joey forces himself to move forward while Dorothy is frozen in place. But when he learns of a devastating decision, Joey races to find her before it is too late. Truth, consequence, repercussion and modern medicine collide as pieces converge in this psychological, thrilling story, which begs the question: Can love really conquer all?

Signs of Life: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble



Here's Selene Castrovilla!


Selene Castrovilla is the award-winning author of multiple narrative nonfiction picture books and young adult novels. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School and a BA in English from New York University. She lives on Long Island with her two sons and too many cats. Visit her website: www.SeleneCastrovilla.com


Author LinksWebsite | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Pinterest




Follow the tour. . .


June 20th - The Recipe Fairy
June 22nd - Dystopian Citzn
June 24th - Actin' Up with Books
June 27th - Kidbits
June 29th - A Book and a Latte
July 2nd - The Quirky Reader
July 4th - Rhea's Neon Journal

July 8th - Worth Reading It?


Last but not least...

a...


GIVEAWAY!!!

One signed set of MELT and SIGN OF LIFE (US Only)
$50 Gift Card to Amazon or Book Depository (International)

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Friday, June 24, 2016

Celebrating the Small Things


It's time for another edition of. . .

CELEBRATE THE SMALL THINGS!


This is a weekly blog hop sponsored by the amazing Lexa Cain, and co-hosted by L.G. Keltner from Writing Off the Edge and myself. Every week, wonderful things happen, tiny things, which make us smile. But as time grabs us up, we forget all about those moments. This is the chance for us to reflect back on those and remember that there are tons of things worth celebrating.

This week, I'm celebrating. . .


1) Haying! Honestly, I'm not sure whether to celebrate this one or not. It's great to have the hay for the year, but the sweat and work that are needed to cut it, rake it, bale it, and bring it in aren't things which feel like celebrating, especially when it's 90+ degrees in 60+ humidity. But for the first time, we've got the machines to do our own hay, and we've been doing exactly that.



2) Pizza night thanks to my son! The oldest suddenly had the urge to bug his sister while she waitresses over at Pizza Hut, so he invited us all out to dinner. And who doesn't like pizza???

3) Release Day for Casting Shadows by Ilana Waters!
     This is the 2nd book in her Seluna series, a YA Fantasy which mix Greek myths with ancient pantheons into a paranormal romance with flair. 

4) Only one week left to the release of The Thing That Turned Me anthology! This one is sure to include the names of several authors you recognize and has stories as varied as the rainbow itself. In other words, there's something in this one for everyone.





Now, that I've rattled away, it's your turn. What put a smile on your face this last week? Did you enjoy the sun? Did you pick up a new book? Roll down a grass hill? What are you celebrating?





Friday, June 17, 2016

Celebrate the Small Things even in the heat



It's time for another edition of. . .

CELEBRATE THE SMALL THINGS!


This is a weekly blog hop sponsored by the amazing Lexa Cain, and co-hosted by L.G. Keltner from Writing Off the Edge and myself. Every week, wonderful things happen, tiny things, which make us smile. But as time grabs us up, we forget all about those moments. This is the chance for us to reflect back on those and remember that there are tons of things worth celebrating.

This week, I'm celebrating. . .


1) My youngest son's birthday! He's turning eleven today and has wished for a family board game night with tons of snacks. So guess what we're doing this evening?

2) My daughter found another car! She ran her last one out of oil around January (not good!) and has finally pooled up enough money for a new one. God was watching out for her because she found a 2009 Chevy Aveo down the street for only $750...and it doesn't have any problems really. The people simply were sick of it and wanted it gone. So she (and Momma Taxi) are doing a huge happy dance.

3) Flowers! The people who owned this house last did a wonderful job of planting things which bloom in succession, so there's always a gorgeous blooming session somewhere around the yard. I love flowers but my green thumb and I aren't always in tune with each other. So it's great that someone else already got these established.

AND...

Best of all. . .

I'm helping Medeia Shariff celebrate the release of her brand new book today!
Happy Book B-day!!!




A LOVE THAT DISTURBS by Medeia Sharif
Evernight Teen, June 17, 2016
Purchase from Amazon (merchant sites will be updated on the author's site)

Maysa Mazari is alarmed by her mother’s talk about arranged marriage. As a hijab-wearing Pakistani-American, she wants to find love on her own. Her judgmental Muslim clique has protected her from racist taunts, although the leader is turning on her as Maysa strays from the group because of her attraction to Haydee.

Haydee Gomez is a former gang member and juvenile detention student. Now living with a clean-cut aunt, she wants to turn her life around, even though one person will never let her forget her roots—Rafe, her abusive pimp. Haydee attempts to pull away from a life of prostitution when she develops feelings for Maysa, although Rafe isn’t willing to give her up too easily.

Finding themselves in danger from Maysa’s friends and Haydee’s pimp, it’s apparent their love disturbs everyone around them as they fight to stay together.

Find Medeia – YA and MG Author

Blog   |   Twitter   |   Goodreads   |   Instagram   |   Amazon


And what about you? What put a smile on your face? Find the best chocolate ice cream ever? Get to go out for a night on the town? See someone you haven't met in awhile?

What are you celebrating this week?

Friday, June 10, 2016

Celebrate the Small Things...


It's time for another edition of. . .

CELEBRATE THE SMALL THINGS!


This is a weekly blog hop sponsored by the amazing Lexa Cain, and co-hosted by L.G. Keltner from Writing Off the Edge and myself. Every week, wonderful things happen, tiny things, which make us smile. But as time grabs us up, we forget all about those moments. This is the chance for us to reflect back on those and remember that there are tons of things worth celebrating.


Ho-whoa. I'm late again...and really should write these a few days in advance.

But this week, I'm celebrating:

1) Iced Tea! The temperatures are going up (90's) and the humidity is soaring with it, which means TONS of ice tea for me.

2) Writing buddies! I'm still at the nightly sprints over on twitter - always 9:30pm EST for one hour. We've gotten into such a routine that we don't even say much but just scream out our progress at 10:30 EST. It keeps me writing or editing or whatever even if it's only a little every day. If you want to join in, just let me know.

3) Subways! My son got this sudden idea that he wanted to order a 6ft sub for fun. Honestly, he wanted to buy the 27 ft, which I explained how ridiculous that would be unless he invited our entire town for dinner, but after a little thinking and talking, he realized that even the 6ft is quite the monster to chow down.  Believe it or not, we had that thing gone in two days! That meant two days of no cooking or many dishes for me...which always makes for a happy mommy.



What about you? What put a smile on your face? Sing in the sun? Try something crazy this last week? Get to read a good book? What are you celebrating???


Friday, June 3, 2016

Celebrate the Small Things!


It's time for another edition of. . .

CELEBRATE THE SMALL THINGS!


This is a weekly blog hop sponsored by the amazing Lexa Cain, and co-hosted by L.G. Keltner from Writing Off the Edge and myself. Every week, wonderful things happen, tiny things, which make us smile. But as time grabs us up, we forget all about those moments. This is the chance for us to reflect back on those and remember that there are tons of things worth celebrating.

*whew* I'm late and running around like crazy-sauce the last days, but here I am celebrating. . .

1) Rainy days! It cools things down and makes my grass grow, grow, grow!

2) A lovely Memorial Day with the family! We grilled. We fished. We saw a baby deer in the weeds. We caught frogs. And boy, did we collect ticks. But it was fun and worth it.

3) Fresh baked raisin bread! Being German, my husband is a bread fan and misses the delicious German breads. To help out, I baked a Buckwheat flour bread (not quite my thing) and a braided raisin bread. The second turned out huge and beautiful. Guess I'll have to bake one again.

4) My 20th wedding anniversary! Now, if anyone has a super memory, you might remember me mentioning this exact same thing back in November (I'm betting none of you do, though). But now that you know that you might ask -why are you celebrating twice??? Well, in Germany, the church and state don't recognize each other's marriage ceremonies. Everyone needs to be married by the state...an little, official marriage 'ceremony' is performed at City Hall with relatives and special clothes and champagne and flowers and all that other jazz (that's tradition). If one wants to be married by the church, that's done next...also with a ceremony and flowers and pomp and circumstance and champagne again. So two parties. Two weddings. Often times, these are performed fairly close (time wise) to each other. Our wasn't due to different reasons. So now, I keep our 1st marriage in mind (in November), where my husband seems to like the 2nd one more. It makes for two dates of celebration...and I'm not stupid enough to complain.


And what about you? What put a smile on your face this last week?











Wednesday, June 1, 2016

IWSG - and summer fun


Hello, June! And what better way to start it off than with IWSG?

What is that?

Well, for those of you who don't know. . .the amazing founder of this awesome group, Alex J. Cavanaugh, says it this way:

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Special thanks goes to the co-hosts:  Murees Dupe, Alexia Chamberlynn, Chemist Ken, and Heather Gardner

My theme this month is. . .

SUMMEBREAK!!!


Dig out that beach hat, dust off those flip-flops and head out into the sun!!! And what does that have to do with writing? In my world, a lot.

With the kids home, writing gets tough. They are old enough that I can force in several hours if I wanted to. But do I want to? Yes. And no. Sure, I have a ton of writing I'd love to get done...and I am trying. More or less. But do I want to shove the kids aside? Not only does Mommy guilt hit hard, but honestly? No, I love spending time with my kids. The writing isn't going anywhere and as I've learned with my oldest ones, the kids are. 

Plus, I've realized something. Just like the kids need time to recharge from the classroom, I need time to let my writing brain rest. Always sitting in front of the laptop, plugging away stories and thinking of characters, plot holes and all those other things drains. As Spring comes, I start to feel dry, placid and a little uninspired. The greatest ideas and sparks come at the most unexpected times...while hiking, pulling weeds, grilling hot dogs over a fire. Shutting my head off often is the only way to let those ideas come to life again.

So yay to summer break! Slurf down that ice cream, head off to the camp grounds and splash waves into other people's faces...because writers need their breaks too.