Novel Reaction

I recently posted about the amazing Book Bloggers and Publishers Online Conference and what I learned from attending it.  In addition to the great information and incredible people I met there, I received free books from some of the publishers who attended.  The publishers, Bloomsbury and Scholastic, provided these amazing books!  Watch for reviews to be coming soon.  Here is a little more detail about the books from the publishers:

Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell, the year is 490 AD. Fiery 16-year-old Elaine of Ascolat, the daughter of one of King Arthur’s supporters, lives with her father on Arthur’s base camp, the sole girl in a militaristic world of men. Elaine’s only girl companion is the mysterious Morgan, Arthur’s older sister, but Elaine cannot tell Morgan her deepest secret: She is in love with Lancelot, Arthur’s second-in-command. However, when yet another girl — the lovely Gwynivere— joins their world, Elaine is confronted with startling emotions of jealousy and rivalry. But can her love for Lancelot survive the birth of an empire?

The Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles, Carlos Fuentes doesn’t want any part of the life his older brother, Alex, has laid out for him in Boulder, Colorado. He wants to keep living on the edge, and carve his own path—just like Alex did. Unfortunately, his ties to a Mexican gang aren’t easy to break, and he soon finds himself being set up by a drug lord.

When Alex arranges for Carlos to live with his former professor and his family to keep him from being sent to jail, Carlos feels completely out of place. He’s even more thrown by his strong feelings for the professor’s daughter, Kiara, who is nothing like the girls he’s usually drawn to. But Carlos and Kiara soon discover that in matters of the heart, the rules of attraction overpower the social differences that conspire to keep them apart.

As the danger grows for Carlos, he’s shocked to discover that it’s this seemingly All-American family who can save him. But is he willing to endanger their safety for a chance at the kind of life he’s never even dreamed possible?

Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey, on Solange’s sixteenth birthday, she is going to wake up dead. As if that’s not bad enough, she also has to outwit her seven overprotective older brothers, avoid the politics involved with being the only daughter born to an ancient vampire dynasty, and elude Kieran Black—agent of an anti-vampire league who is searching for his father’s killer and is intent on staking Solange and her entire family.

The second book in the same series by Alyxandra Harvey, Blood Fued, it’s been centuries since Isabeau St. Croix barely survived the French Revolution. Now she’s made her way back to the living and she must face the ultimate test by confronting the evil British lord who left her for dead the day she turned into a vampire. That’s if she can control her affection for Logan Drake, a vampire whose bite is as sweet as the revenge she seeks.

The clans are gathering for Helena’s royal coronation as the next vampire queen, and new alliances are beginning to form now that the old rifts of Lady Natasha’s reign have started to heal. But with a new common enemy, Leander Montmarte—a vicious leader who hopes to force Solange to marry him and usurp the power of the throne for himself—the clans must stand together to preserve the peace he threatens to destroy.

This second adventure in the Drake Chronicles—told from both Logan’s and Isabeau’s perspectives—has all the same butt-kicking action, heart-pounding romances and snarky humor that readers loved in Hearts at Stake, as well as exciting new revelations about the vampire dynasties to keep readers coming back for more.

Deception by Lee Nichols, when Emma Vaile’s parents go missing while away on a mysterious business trip, she’s left all alone in her creepy old house. But her brother’s very cute best friend, Bennett Stern—Emma’s knight in J. Crew armor—arrives unexpectedly to whisk her away to New England. There, Emma settles into his family’s museum-like mansion and enrolls at an old-fashioned private school. She quickly finds friends in the popular legacy crowd at Thatcher and spends her free time crushing on Bennett. But the eerie visions she’s been hiding from everyone have gotten worse. Emma has memories of Thatcher that she can’t explain—it’s as if she’s returning home to a place she’s never been. Finally, Emma confides in Bennett and learns she is a ghostkeeper, a person who can communicate with ghosts. Bennett brought Emma to Thatcher to protect her, but now he needs her help tracking an other-worldly murderer. A rich New England setting filled with mystery, tradition, and prep-school intrigue make Deception the perfect choice for fans of series like Kate Brian’s Private, as well as all those paranormal fans. The shocking ending will leave readers desperate for book two.

Hoping to escape the troubles in her kingdom, Princess Poppy reluctantly agrees to take part in a royal exchange program, whereby young princes and princesses travel to each other’s countries in the name of better political alliances—and potential marriages. It’s got the makings of a fairy tale—until a hapless servant named Eleanor is tricked by a vengeful fairy godmother into competing with Poppy for the eligible prince. Ballgowns, cinders, and enchanted glass slippers fly in this romantic and action-packed happily-ever-after quest from an author with a flair for embroidering tales in her own delightful way.

Make sure you stop by Savvyreaders.com this week as Novel Reaction has taken over. (Woot! Woot!) The theme for the week is Books-to-Movies. Do you love them? Do you hate them? Make sure you stop by as your favorite authors will be stopping by.  Also, Thursday is the beginning of the challenge I issued in March so we will be talking about Alice in Wonderland.

I am pleased to welcome author Laura Fabiani to Novel Reaction.  Laura just published her first book, Daughter of Mine.

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Nia, a Notebook and Homeopathy: Healing for the Soul by Laura Fabiani

What do the above three have in common? They helped me write my novel! Let me explain. Two years before I actually sat down and got serious about writing the story I had spinning in my head, I went through a very rough spell. I gave birth to my second child and suffered through post-partum depression, had the worst relapse of fibromyalgia, and a few months later tore an arm muscle—almost as excruciating as giving birth!

I looked like a walking zombie. My co-workers no longer recognize me. I had lost too much weight, my face was gaunt, and I couldn’t put a sentence together from the fog invading my brain. I had two children to take care of, but all I wanted to do was sleep, and maybe disappear, like…forever. Instead, I took advantage of all the loving support I had (devoted hubby, helpful Mom, doting sisters, caring congregation) and took some action. I went to see my homeopathic doctor. Within a month, the pain I had been enduring for months was gone! I began to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

My youngest sister, Katia, then introduced me to Nia. “I’m just managing to put one foot in front of the other,” I complained. “How am I supposed to do this Nia workout thing?” She ranted and raved some more until I went, thinking it was going to be the usual exercise class. I was stunned. I hadn’t had that much fun in a long, long time. Nia reawakened my creativity, my self-confidence, my sense of pleasure, my love for exploration and daring. Yes, daring. Dare I write a novel when all semblance of eloquence seemed to have vanished from my speech and thinking pattern?

I began carrying a notebook with me everywhere and scribbling in it furiously as I supervised the children at the park, the jungle gym, during bath time, and anywhere I could grab a spare moment. I was alive again, and I was celebrating! I was finally going to write that novel I dreamed of. At the time, I had no plans to publish, only to write. For those of you who have read Daughter of Mine, you will note that it is the perfect book to escape with because…well, I escaped when I was writing it. I wanted my readers to be with me in Rome and Gaeta as my main character lived her adventure.

Daughter of Mine is not just special to me because it is my first book but because I began writing it at a time in my life when I had to rediscover who I was. Writing it helped me heal—a soothing balm that eased the emotional pain that initially threatened to engulf me. It was a project born of my will to regain my life, to change the downward spiral, and to resurface new and ready to go! My advice to aspiring writers or any I’m-down-in-the-dumps-and-cannot-do-it folks: Take the right action and believe in yourself!

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Thanks to Laura for stopping by! Every author has their own process and their way of writing but regardless of their process, something magical happens when a book is written (or read).  Individuals are swept away to new places, new situations, and new events. Laura shared with us where the Magic Happens for her.