Ruby's Fire Cover Reveal

Isn't that cover beautiful? If you like the synop, you can sign up for the blog tour here.

Ruby's Fire
Catherine Stine
Series: Fireseed, #2 (however, can be read as a stand-alone)
Publication date:  June 26, 2013
Genre: YA Sci-Fi

Synopsis:
If everything about you changes, what remains?
Seventeen year-old Ruby, long-pledged to the much older Stiles from the Fireseed desert cult, escapes with only a change of clothes, a pouch of Oblivion Powder and her mute little brother, Thorn. Arriving at The Greening, a boarding school for orphaned teens, she can finally stop running. Or can she? The Greening is not what it seems. Students are rampaging out of control and as she cares for the secret Fireseed crop, she experiences frightening physical changes. She’s ashamed of her attraction to burly, hard-talking Blane, the resident bodyguard, and wonders why she can’t be happy with the gentler Armonk. She’s long considered her great beauty a liability, a thing she’s misused in order to survive. And how is she to stop her dependence on Oblivion to find a real beauty within, using her talent as a maker of salves, when she has nightmares of Stiles without it?

When George Axiom, wealthy mogul of Vegas-by-the-Sea offers a huge cash prize for the winner of a student contest, Ruby is hopeful she might collect the prize to rescue her family and friends from what she now knows is a dangerous cult. But when Stiles comes to reclaim her, and Thorn sickens after creating the most astonishing contest project of all, the world Ruby knows is changed forever. This romantic fantasy set in 2099 on earth has a crafty heroine in Ruby, and a swoonworthy cast, which will surely appeal to the YA and new adult audience.


Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17970591-ruby-s-fire
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AUTHOR BIO
Catherine Stine writes YA, New Adult and middle grade fiction. Her YA futuristic thriller, Fireseed One, illustrated by the author was granted a Bronze Wishing Shelf Book Award and an Indie Reader Approved notable stamp. Her YA Refugees, earned a New York Public Library Best Book. Middle grade novels include A Girl’s Best Friend. More and more, she’s enjoying writing speculative tales. She teaches literature at the School of Visual Arts and creative writing at the Philadelphia Writing Conference and in her own ongoing NYC writing workshop. Catherine earned a double focus MFA in Creative Writing at the New School.
Visit her at www.catherinestine.blogspot.com and at www.catherinestine.com.

Author Links:
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Show Days #3

Wow! I'm so behind on the blog it's not funny. This series should have been just about done by now.

The idea of "Show Days" is that I write a brief (very brief) scene and you tell me who the character is and what she/he is doing. The purpose is to help me learn to "Show." For more about this, you can go here.

"Twenty, forty, sixty, eighty, one." I slapped the last twenty into the wrinkled hand of the man in front of me.

"Thank ya, sweetheart."
"You're welcome, Mr Wright. Would you like a receipt for this transaction?"
"No thanks." Mr.Wright turned to leave. I watched him walk out of the lobby.

I sighed as I took my vest off and shoved it under the counter. I put the key in my register, removed the drawer, and took it to the vault room to tally up bills and coins.

Half an hour later, I arrived at the reading. Patricia and her girls sat at one end of the 12 person dining table. I sat at the other.

A mostly bald man with a ring of white hair around the edge of his head sat at the center. "With Becca here, we shall begin."
"The house and all it entails is bequeathed to Patricia Wickes."
A collective sigh came from the other end of the table.
I scoffed under my breath. "Afraid he might actually leave me something because he insisted I be here?"
"A total of fifty thousand dollars after funeral expenses is bequeathed to Patricia Wickes. A sum of ten thousand dollars is bequeathed to each of his daughters--" the attorney continued.
"Oh wow!" I exclaimed drawing eyes from the other end of the table. "He finally acknowledged my existence." Then I laughed. "If he had done it before I owed the government a bzillion dollars for college it might matter."
"May I continue?" The attorney asked.
I nodded.
"A sum of then thousand is bequeathed to each of his daughters, Payton, Spice, and Tanner. The remainder of the estate and a sincere apology is left to Rebecca Wickes Fuller."
I gasped for a minute. There had to be a catch. "The remainder of the estate means I'm responsible for all remaining debt."
"The debt has been cleared."
Tanner stood. "I'm fighting this. He obviously made some mistake in old age." She looked to the attorney. "Joe, you'll help us right?"
"As the executor of the will, I'm afraid I have to look out for your father's last wishes."
A smile stretched across my face. "I'm going home today and paying the loan. The whole thing. If you sue me, you'll get a letter saying if I ever make any, you can have a whole lot of money. Since I probably never will, I'm not too worried about it." I winked at her and headed out the door. For the first time ever, I was the "other" sister.

Who is the character? What does she do? Where is she at?

Nothing Really

If you're hoping for a real post where Beth gives unsolicited writing advice or book recommendations, stop now. This is a post about nothing really.

I mainly just want to say, "Man, do I need some motivation." I haven't written a single word in a while. I don't know if it's because I'm dying from allergies (not exagerating. This morning when I woke up my eyes were stuck together and I had to pull them apart with my hands. Literally). Or maybe I'm just so happy the giant ice cap that encases the entire state finally melted and I can see the sun. Naturally the 10 month vitamin D has me wanting to soak up sunshine while it's here. Still, this book isn't going to write itself, so someone tell me how to get motivated.

In other news, THE ELF IS A  WHOLE FINGER TODAY!!! Yep, you read that right. One year ago today, after a chemical induction, twenty-seven hours of labor and finally a c-section the ELF was born. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELF!!!!

Review to come next week--Beth goofed! Sorry people.

Blurb: 
She’s been six different people in six different places: Madeline in Ohio, Isabelle in Missouri, Olivia in Kentucky . . . But now that she’s been transplanted to rural Louisiana, she has decided that this fake identity will be her last.

Witness Protection has taken nearly everything from her. But for now, they’ve given her a new name, Megan Rose Jones, and a horrible hair color. For the past eight months, Meg has begged her father to answer one question: What on earth did he do – or see – that landed them in this god-awful mess? Meg has just about had it with all the Suits’ rules — and her dad’s silence. If he won’t help, it’s time she got some answers for herself.

But Meg isn’t counting on Ethan Landry, an adorable Louisiana farm boy who’s too smart for his own good. He knows Meg is hiding something big. And it just might get both of them killed. As they embark on a perilous journey to free her family once and for all, Meg discovers that there’s only one rule that really matters — survival.

Expected Publication: May 14th 2013
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Purchase: Amazon

About the Author
Ashley Elston lives is North Louisiana with her husband, three sons and two cats. She worked as a wedding and portrait photographer for ten years until she decided to pursue writing full time. Ashley is also a licensed Landscape Horticulturist and helps her husband run a commercial lawn and landscaping business. They also custom harvest pecans and have cows. Yes, cows.

ashleyelston.com | twitter.com/ashley_elston

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Nantucket Blue Blurb & Give Away

Isn't that a beautiful cover?



For Cricket Thompson, a summer like this one will change everything. A summer spent on Nantucket with her best friend, Jules Clayton, and the indomitable Clayton family. A summer when she’ll make the almost unattainable Jay Logan hers. A summer to surpass all dreams.

Some of this turns out to be true. Some of it doesn’t.

When Jules and her family suffer a devastating tragedy that forces the girls apart, Jules becomes a stranger whom Cricket wonders whether she ever really knew. And instead of lying on the beach working on her caramel-colored tan, Cricket is making beds and cleaning bathrooms to support herself in paradise for the summer.

But it’s the things Cricket hadn’t counted on--most of all, falling hard for someone who should be completely off-limits--that turn her dreams into an exhilarating, bittersweet reality.

A beautiful future is within her grasp, and Cricket must find the grace to embrace it. If she does, her life could be the perfect shade of Nantucket blue.


Expected Publication: May 7th 2013
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Purchase: Amazon

About the Author
LEILA HOWLAND loves to read, explore L.A., and engage in funny and meaningful conversations with her friends and family, especially her brother who calls from Washington D.C. whenever he’s waiting for the bus. A lot gets discussed in those phone calls, but they tend to end abruptly when the bus shows up. She can really cut the rug, but wishes she could sing without people covering their ears. A graduate of Georgetown University, Leila spent five years acting in New York where she was a company member of the award-winning Flea Theater in Tribeca. It was a lot of fun and she often talks about “getting back into it.” The closest she has come was a stint as an extra on The Young and the Restless in 2010. Leila now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two dogs. She teaches high school English and blogs for HelloGiggles. NANTUCKET BLUE is her first novel.

Official Links: leilahowland.tumblr.com | twitter.com/leilahowland




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Writing Out Of Order & A Give Away!!!

Meradeth Houston author of The Chemistry of Fate is here today to talk about writing your series out of order! Take it away, Meradeth.

My recent release, The Chemistry of Fate, is actually set before my first novel, Colors Like Memories. I really never intended for that to happen J. But, funny things happen along the path to publication, and sometimes all that can be done is roll with it. But, there have been a few things I’ve learned from writing a series out of order, and I thought I’d share them with you today.

Chemistry comes before Colors. My next book will actually also be set between
Chemistry and Colors. (Confusing, right? I sometimes really wish I could think in
a straight line!) While each of the books technically can stand on their own, there
is a main arc that all the stories deal with: the secrecy of the Sary. The fourth (and
still unwritten, eep!) book actually wraps up this overarching arc. Dealing with this
theme and building it consistently throughout the books has been one of my main
concerns.

And definitely one of my main frustrations!

The best tool that I’ve found is my white board. I bought a giant one and it hangs
next to my desk. It came with a bunch of different colors of markers and I’ve been
using it to keep track of plot lines, with different characters in different ink. (I’d
share a picture, but there are some serious spoilers there!) This has allowed me to
weave the eight main characters from each of the books together so that, hopefully,
their story makes sense.

My other trick is my notebook. I feel naked when I don’t have it on me. I will
sometimes resort to Evernote, too, when I’m somewhere with only my phone
handy. I know a lot of writers make use of notebooks to jot down notes or thoughts
when they occur to them and I’m no exception. I also end up drawing out maps of
apartments and other commonly used buildings, the Island where the Sary are from,
and a hundred other little things. I like to think that if I write it down, there’s a good
chance I won’t forget about whatever’s struck me while standing in line at Target
(which sounds good in theory at least, not so sure it always works!).

These are a few of the ways I try to keep track of my projects. How about you?

“They are everywhere, can be anyone, and are always the last person you’d expect.” When
Tom stumbles across his grandfather’s journal, he’s convinced the old man was crazier than he
thought. The book contains references to beings called the Sary, immortals who are assigned to
save humans on the verge of suicide. They certainly aren’t allowed to fall in love with mortals.
Which the journal claims Tom’s grandfather did, resulting in his expulsion from the Sary. As
strange as the journal seems, Tom can’t get the stories out of his head; especially when he finds
the photo of his grandfather’s wings.

Tom’s only distraction is Ari, the girl he studies with for their chemistry class.

Ari has one goal when she arrives in town: see how much Tom knows about the Sary and
neutralize the situation. This isn’t a normal job, but protecting the secrecy of the Sary is vital. If
Tom is a threat to exposing the Sary to the public, fate has a way of taking care of the situation,
usually ending with the mortal’s death. While Ari spends time with Tom, he becomes more than
just an assignment, but how far can a relationship go when she can’t tell him who she really is?
When she finds out just how much Tom actually knows about the Sary, Ari is forced to choose
between her wings, and her heart.

Available at: MuseItUp Publishing Amazon ibooks and B&N




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Please Help!

First, my friend Ashelyn Drake is giving away a copy of The Other Marlowe Girl here. Ashelyn is a new blogger but she has a non-explicit NA coming out soon, and those are hard to find. So stop by and say, "Hi!"

Now for the fun! I really really need your help. I need everyone to let amazon know(you can just copy & past from here down) The Fate of A Marlowe girl is available for free at barnes&noble(http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-fate-of-a-marlowe-girl-beth-fred/1114296545?ean=2940044950399) sony e-reader https://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/beth-fred/the-fate-of-a-marlowe-girlmarlowe-girls-book-1/_/R-400000000000000824826 and apple.(end copy)

I don't have a link for apple because I can't figure out how to get it w/ no i-product, but hopefully if enough people send this Amazon will finally price match my book.