Cover of Wakeworld + Giveaway Alert

Yesterday Kerry Schafer revealed the cover of Wakeworld (the second book in her Between series) on her site.

It's so gorgeous I just had to show you:


Wakeworld (Between #2)
By Kerry Schafer

"Vivian Maylor is trying to hold it together. But her attempts to build a life with the man she loves seem doomed by the dragon inside her yearning to break free. Vivian is a dreamshifter, the last line of defense between reality and the dreamworld, and the only one of her kind.

Weston Jennings also believes he is the only one of his kind. He fears his powers as a dreamshifter, and resists learning to control them. After suffering a tragic loss, Weston heads deep into the woods of the Pacific Northwest to embrace a safe life of solitude. But when a terrible mistake leads to an innocent’s death, his guilt drives him to his former home, where he encounters what he never thought he would find: another shifter.

Now Vivian and Weston must work together to defeat a new threat to the dreamworld."


preorder here:



Doesn't that cover look totally gorgeous?!
And doesn't that blurb sound cool?!

To celebrate the cover reveal Kerry has a giveaway over on her site.
Prize: a handpainted penguin mug with the saying "A penguin can be any color you want it to be" and a free read of her upcoming novella The Dream Runner, coming this fall to e-book.

So run over there for a chance at that awesome prize!

Website address: www.kerryschafer.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kerryschaferbooks

And go read my interview with Kerry to learn more about her and her books here if you haven't already read it.

An Interview with Linda Poitevin + Giveaway

Today I bring you an interview with Linda Poitevin, author of the amazing Grigori Legacy series. Linda is also the author of the contemporary romance Gwynneth Ever After.


Welcome to Pearls Cast Before A McPig, Linda.

Thank you so very much for inviting me onto your blog, Sullivan! It’s a pleasure to visit with you!

Could you tell a bit about yourself for those people who don’t know you yet?

What, you mean I’m not totally world-famous?!? That’s it...now I’m traumatized for life...*laughs* Just kidding, of course (that would be my rather wacky sense of humor making an appearance...sorry!). Let’s see...I’m Canadian, married to a cop for 27 years, mom to three mostly grown girls (my youngest is 19), keeper of a small zoo (two cats, a rabbit, a bearded dragon lizard, and a dog that’s big enough to count for three), a total coffee snob (...and addict...), an organic gardener, an avid walker, and one of the world’s great procrastinators (I blame the Internet!). :-)

How many books will there be in the Grigori Legacy series?

There will be a total of four.

Have you ever used people you know as characters in your books?

Not on purpose, no...though I do suspect some personality traits have found their way into my characters.

Are there any other projects you’re working on or thinking about starting in the near future?

I do have an idea for another series, but the fourth book in the Grigori Legacy series is my first priority right now.

If you could meet any characters in your book, who would it be and why?

The Archangel Michael. While I hadn’t even imagined him yet when I started writing the series, he’s grown into a wonderfully complex, surprisingly human character. That humanness makes him feel more approachable, somehow. I would love to meet him. :-)


Where can you be found when you’re not at your desk writing?

Out walking through the woods, in my garden, having coffee with a friend...writing takes up most of my time, however, because I also do freelance writing/editing for clients.

What did you do to celebrate the release of your first book?

I went to the bookstore and took pictures of it on the shelf. :-) :-)

What is the best thing about being a published author?

Hearing from readers that I kept them up way past their bedtimes because they simply couldn’t put the book down. That has to be the Best. Compliment. Ever.

What authors have been an influence to you? And have you read any books lately that you want to share with us or have you been too busy with writing to read?

I’m not conscious of any particular authors being a direct influence...I think it’s a more of an osmosis thing with me. While I read widely, I tend not to analyze books that much, so if I’m being influenced by them, it’s very much at a subconscious level. Books I’ve read in the last few months have included Cold Days by Jim Butcher, Hopeless by Colleen Hoover, Ashen Winter by Mike Mullin, Gathering Night by Margaret Elphinstone, Graveminder by Melissa Marr, and The Thirteen Hallows by Michael Scott.

Thanks for dropping by. I'm looking forward to reading Sins of the Lost.




About Sins of the Lost:

Heaven and Hell are on the brink of war as Lucifer builds his Nephilim army and waits for his new agenda to become a reality — that of having a Nephilimchild of his own bloodline to lead his forces to cataclysmic victory.

With rumors of the pending war rampant on Earth, Alex fights to save humanity from its own panic –­ leaving little time for her fledgling
relationship with Seth, the man with heavenly origins who has captured her heart. But when Nephilim children begin to disappear, along with Alex’s own vulnerable niece, the inevitable war between Heaven and Hell becomes as personal as sin.

Heaven has its own plans to fight the coming apocalypse, but first it needs Seth back. Asked to betray the man she loves, Alex must turn for help to the soulmate she thought she’d given up — the Archangel Aramael, who may be her last chance to save her family and humanity from the ashes of Lucifer’s Armageddon.

Get it from Amazon on October 15, 2013

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Swag Giveaway

Linda kindly offered a swag pack to one reader of my blog.

The winner is Anna!

A winner will be picked at random on September 27th.
Open internationally to everyone who's legally allowed to enter this giveaway.

------------------

Don't forget to leave a comment:
I decided to have an event wide giveaway on my blog for commenters.

At the end of this event I'll pick one commenter on any author post of this event at random and that person will win a book of his/her choice as long as bookdepository ships to where you live, you're legally allowed to enter, and the book costs no more than 10$

And drop by Between Dreams and Reality as well for more great author posts.

Secondhand Spirits - Book Review

Secondhand Spirits (A Witchcraft Mystery #1)
by Juliet Blackwell

What is it about:
Lily Ivory is not your average witch. Her spell-casting powers tend to draw mischievous spirits while keeping normal humans at a distance. But now her vintage clothing store could give her a chance to make friends in San Francisco....

Lily hopes for a normal life when she opens Aunt Cora's Closet. With her magical knack for vintage fashion -she can sense vibrations of the past from clothing and jewelry—her store becomes a big hit.

But when a client is murdered and children start disappearing from the Bay Area, Lily may be the only one who can unravel the crime. She tries to keep her identity a secret while investigating, but it's not easy—especially under the spells of sexy "mythbuster" Max Carmichael and powerful witch Aidan Rhodes. Will Lily's witchy ways be forced out of the closet?

What did I think of it:
I will confess I totally picked up this book because I heard there was a pig in this series.

And indeed Lily gets a familiar at the start of the story: Oscar, a goblin who looks like a pig when normal people are around. And he's awesome! Just for Oscar alone I'd be tempted to read more books in this series.

Luckily Oscar isn't the only good thing about this book though. I really liked Lily and her friends as well. Add a fun story and an intriguing mystery to the mix and I was hooked. Some things were a bit obvious to me, but that didn't annoy me.

I liked how Blackwell used existing folklore and made it her own, and I look forward to learn more about Lily and her magic and about other witches in future books.

Overall this is a fast and enjoyable read and I will most certainly pick up the next book in this series.

Why should you read it:
It's a fun Paranormal Cozy Mystery

Interview with Allison Pang + Giveaway

Today Allison Pang, author of the Abby Sinclair series visits our blog for an interview.


hi Allison. Welcome to Pearls Cast Before A McPig.
Could you tell a bit about yourself for those people who don’t know you yet?

Hmmm. I’m an avid gamer, reader, lego-builder and lover of all things Hello Kitty. I also have a penchant for bacon.

How would you describe the Abby Sinclair series?

It’s the story of how “normal” girl ends up discovering a society of magical beings (known as OtherFolk) who live behind the scenes of the mundane world. After becoming employed by a faery princess, she quickly ends up way over her head, getting mixed up with an incubus lover, a faery prince, a tiny ass-biting unicorn and an assortment of other crazy creatures.

If you could meet any characters from your books, who would it be and why?

Almost all of them? Honestly, I’d love to hang with any of the main characters – at least for a little bit. (Though I’ll go out on a limb, and say Phineas is probably my favorite, so if I had to pick just one, it would be him. Because, unicorn.)

If you could, would you change places with any of your characters?

Nooooo way. I’ve got enough problems of my own in the real world without worrying about if my soul belongs to the Devil or if I’ve accidentally ruined human-OtherFolk relationships by making some sort of social faux pas.


Are there any other projects you’re working on or thinking about starting in the near future?

I have an ongoing webcomic called Fox & Willow that is updated twice a week over at http://www.sadsausagedogs.com It’s really more of a graphic novel, about a runaway princess and a fox demon, but each “chapter” is loosely based on a fairy tale. I’m also working on a new book – it’s a bit of fantasy and a bit of steampunk – definitely very different than the Abby Sinclair books.

What is the most memorable moment (good, bad, or other) you have had in your life as an author?

Probably getting a chance to be on a panel at NYCC. I was crazy nervous, but it was an awesome experience. Also, getting James A. Moore to write a short story about Dr. Doom vs Barbie at World Fantasy Con last year. (http://www.jamesamoorebooks.com/Index_files/Word%20Whore.pdf)

What authors have been an influence to you? And have you read any books lately that you want to share with us or have you been too busy with writing to read?

Probably too many to count. Jacqueline Carey, Kate Elliott, Lynn Flewelling, Robin Hobb, Anne Bishop – it’s a pretty long list. The last fiction book I read was Written in Red by Anne Bishop, which I really enjoyed.

Are there zombies or pigs in any of your books or will there be any in future books?

Actually...yes. The book I’m working on right now does appear to have a sort of zombie. Maybe not the typical brain-eating type, but there is a sickness that does give cause its victims to essentially rot to death.

Oh, that does sound very intriguing. I'll keep an eye out for it. Thanks for dropping by today.


About A Brush of Darkness:

The man of her dreams might be the cause of her nightmares.
Six months ago, Abby Sinclair was struggling to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Now, she has an enchanted iPod, a miniature unicorn living in her underwear drawer, and a magical marketplace to manage. But despite her growing knowledge of the OtherWorld, Abby isn’t at all prepared for Brystion, the dark, mysterious, and sexy-as- sin incubus searching for his sister, convinced Abby has the key to the succubus’s whereabouts. Abby has enough problems without having this seductive shape-shifter literally invade her dreams to get information. But when her Faery boss and some of her friends vanish, as well, Abby and Brystion must form an uneasy alliance. As she is sucked deeper and deeper into this perilous world of faeries, angels, and daemons, Abby realizes her life is in as much danger as her heart—and there’s no one she can trust to save her.



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Giveaway
Allison kindly offered the choice of any one of her Abby Sinclair books + a set of trading cards to one reader of my blog.

The winner is Mirjam B.

A winner will be picked at random on September 25th.
Open internationally to everyone who's legally allowed to enter this giveaway.

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Don't forget to leave a comment:
I decided to have an event wide giveaway on my blog for commenters.

At the end of this event I'll pick one commenter on any author post of this event at random and that person will win a book of his/her choice as long as bookdepository ships to where you live, you're legally allowed to enter, and the book costs no more than 10$

And drop by Between Dreams and Reality as well for more great author posts.

TBR Orphans Challenge Update 8

In August we did very well on our TBR Orphans challenge.


I read two books that had been on my shelves for more than 3 months:
Ill Wind by Rachel Caine and Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong.

Ill Wind has only been in my TBR pile a little over 3 months, but Dime Store Magic has been in there since October 2011. I must say I can't understand why I didn't pick it up sooner, because it's a great read.

Voodoo Bride read one TBR Orphan:
Firelight by Kristen Callihan.

We just had Kristen drop by for an interview and this inspired Voodoo Bride to finally pick up Firelight which she got as a Christmas present from Melliane.


So that's three books!
Our best month so far.

How about you?
Found any forgotten treasure in your TBR pile lately?

An Interview with Laura Bickle + Giveaway

Tomorrow it's the release day of The Outside, the sequel of The Hallowed Ones. I've been looking forward to reading The Outside since last year when The Hallowed Ones blew me away with its awesomeness.

Laura Bickle, author of these two amazing YA books, the Anya Kalinczyk series and the Oracle series which she writes as Alayna Williams, found the time to drop by for an interview and she has an awesome giveaway as well.


Welcome back to Pearls Cast Before A McPig.
It's always a pleasure to have you drop by.
Could you tell a bit about yourself for those people who don’t know you yet?

Hi! Thank you so much for the chance to chat with you and your readers!

My name is Laura Bickle. My background is in criminal justice and library science. When I’m not patrolling the stacks at the public library, I’m dreaming up stories about the monsters under the stairs. I live in the Midwestern U.S. with my husband, where we’re owned by five mostly-reformed feral cats.

Tomorrow is the release day of The Outside, the sequel to the amazing The Hallowed Ones. What can we expect from it?

I’m very excited! At the end of THE HALLOWED ONES, Katie and her friends were exiled from Katie’s Amish community just as a plague of vampirism has taken root. As the title to THE OUTSIDE suggests, Katie has to confront the devastation in the world beyond her community. Her chief challenge will be protecting those she loves and her own survival in a very dangerous new landscape.

Have you ever used people you know as characters in your books?

I have occasionally used characteristics or quirks of people I know in my books. But I feel like it would be a bit invasive to take apart the entire personality of someone I know and really get into their head. It would definitely be crossing a line for me.

Are there any other projects you’re working on or thinking about starting in the near future?

I’m working on a couple of YA and adult projects at the moment. They’re more contemporary supernatural stories, which are my favorites to write. I love the process of creating a realistic world and then adding a supernatural element that turns it upside down.

If you could meet any characters in your book, who would it be and why?

One of my favorite characters is the Hexenmeister. He is something that doesn’t exist in the Amish communities I’ve seen. In my story, he’s something of a holdover from the Old World, carrying with him some Pennsylvania Dutch superstitions. He’s perceived by the others in his community as something of a crazy old man who is responsible for painting hex signs and writing letters to God.

But the Hexenmeister knows about the vampires that have just awoken. He explains to Katie how this “Darkness” was dispatched in previous centuries in Europe, before the Amish came to America. He has his own, very traditional perspective on what the evil is that goes back to Biblical times. His folklore tries to explain science, but he doesn’t have the full picture.

The Hexenmeister is the wizard of the story. I’d love to meet him and listen to his stories.


Where can you be found when you’re not at your desk writing?

Usually, I can be found under a heap of snoring cats! But when the cats aren’t sprawled all over me, I’m puttering with my collection of Tarot cards, dusting my She-Ra action figure collection, or reading comic books. I recently started taking karate lessons, so I’m also spending a good deal of time staring at my feet and counting steps and punches in Japanese.

What did you do to celebrate the release of your first book?

I went to the local pub for dinner with my husband and I fell face-first into the biggest platter of fish and chips I’d ever seen. There was also chocolate cake.

What is the best thing about being a published author?

The best thing is hearing from readers who enjoyed my work. That always makes my day!

The second best thing is getting an e-mail with my cover art attached. I love getting cover art, because it’s a chance to see the story and my protagonist through someone else’s eyes.

What authors have been an influence to you? And have you read any books lately that you want to share with us or have you been too busy with writing to read?

Robin McKinley’s HERO AND THE CROWN started my love of fantasy. I read it when I was a pre-teen, and fell in love with fantasy ever after. It was the first book I’d read that had a female protagonist who slew her own dragons. I was hooked.

I tend to read nonfiction while I’m writing. But I always read Lauren DeStefano’s books. The Chemical Garden Trilogy is one of my all-time favorites. I love her worlds and her characters and the dilemmas she places them in – just extraordinary stuff. I can’t wait for The Internment Chronicles.

Thanks for your visit and enjoy the release day of The Outside tomorrow :)



About The Outside:

One girl. One road. One chance to save what remains…

After a plague of vampires is unleashed in the world, Katie is kicked out of her Amish community for her refusal to adhere to the new rules of survival. Now in exile, she enters an outside world of unspeakable violence with only her two “English” friends and a horse by her side. Together they seek answers and other survivors—but each sunset brings the threat of vampire attack, and each sunrise the threat of starvation.

And yet through this darkness come the shining ones: luminescent men and women with the power to deflect vampires and survive the night. But can these new people be trusted, and are they even people at all?

In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, it’s up to one Amish girl to save her family, her community, and the boy she loves . . . but what will she be asked to leave behind in return?



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Giveaway Time

Laura has kindly offered a copy of either The Hallowed Ones or The Outside to one reader of my blog!

The winner is: Lea K.

A winner will be picked at random on September 23th.
Open internationally to everyone who's legally allowed to enter this giveaway.

------------------

Don't forget to leave a comment:
I decided to have an event wide giveaway on my blog for commenters.

At the end of this event I'll pick one commenter on any author post of this event at random and that person will win a book of his/her choice as long as bookdepository ships to where you live, you're legally allowed to enter, and the book costs no more than 10$

And drop by Between Dreams and Reality as well for more great author posts.

An Interview with Maria Violante + Giveaway

Today we bring you an interview with Maria Violante, author of Wit Awakening among others.


Could you tell a bit about yourself for those people who don’t know you yet?

My name is Maria Violante. To date, I've published six books (that I actually count), with another two on tap. I'm a mild-mannered self-storage manager by day.

What can you tell us about your books?

I write speculative fiction--some fantasy, some science fiction, some urban fantasy--really, I can be all over the map. A lot of the books have romantic elements.

To give you some examples, I just sold BirthMarked, an urban fantasy with a strong alpha female heroine (a truck driver named Charlie that accidentally gets herself inducted into a monster/demon fighting order) to Taliesin publishing (waves at her homies.) And then there's Bad Moon Sign, which is slated for release in the fall. It's a Dark(ish) Fantasy about a girl that's the Morrigan incarnate--and I'll be releasing it as a serialized novel online in addition to in the normal outlets. On the other hand, I'm about halfway through writing my next Wit book--science fiction with androids, sometimes in love, fighting a giant war for their freedom.

So yeah, all over the place and LOVING it.

Have you ever used people you know as characters in your books?

Yes. In fact, BirthMarked is really special to me because a friend of mine died on the road while I was writing it--he had a massive heart in his big rig, barely getting it over to the side of the road before falling into a coma. His widow flew up and all of the drivers on the team went to visit with her. I had just returned to a normal, non-trucky kind of life (with a day job and no cash) and so couldn't go and pay my respects. It really hit me hard. I wasn't a driver, but I had lived on a truck for several months, and it can be a lonely existence. Jeff was the first driver that reached out to me, had breakfast with me, and just kind of made me feel welcome. He was always telling stories about home while wearing this fedora, and my dog just adored the man.

When I wrote the book, I knew I wanted to give him something, even though he had passed. I called his widow and asked if it would be okay to write him in a character. I was terrified, you know, because I had already written it (couldn't have stopped myself from writing it), but if she said no, I wasn't going to sell it. It just wouldn't have been right. She was really gracious about everything and we cried on the phone for a bit, swapping stories. I wish I can find that kind of love some day. They were married for a very long time, and just so much in love--like true partners.

And now I'm all teary.

Where can you be found when you’re not at your desk writing?

Desk! Ha! I don't really have one--I do most of my writing at the kitchen table or the coffee table, as I just have itty bitty laptop. I spent a lot of my youth traveling and am now trying to stamp out a normal life. It can be hard though.

I've been really getting into board games lately. I've got one I'm actually working on making and seeing if I can't get distributed, but really, it's just great having a bunch of friends over and you know, doing something so interactive.

As far as hobbies--this sounds ridiculous, but I didn't watch a lot of TV growing up and missed most of the famous shows. I just found Buffy the Vampire Slayer last week and ZOMG it makes me squee. Will Buffy and Angel ever find love? What's going on with Willow? I feel like the dumbest fangirl ever but god, it's fun.


What did you do to celebrate the release of your first book?

Honestly, by that time, I had sold another two books--it takes a long time to go from sale to release, it feels like. And I was on the road at the time, so it wasn't like I could call all of my friends and have a party. I'll have a party for book number 10, though, because that seems really significant to me. You can't plan to be a famous writer, or a best selling writer (although I did occupy a best-selling slot on Amazon for Dark Fantasy for a while, and Hunting the Five is still number 45 for free Dark Fantasy, so HOORAY), but you can plan to be a prolific writer. So I'm going for that.

What authors have been an influence to you? And have you read any books lately that you want to share with us or have you been too busy with writing to read?

I think that reading is really important for writers. I mean, there are weeks where I'll get all funky and hate writing and think I'll never write again and it's time to give up, and I'll call a friend to complain, and he'll be all (stern voice) "Maria, have you been reading?" And I'll realize that I haven't, and I need to. And so I'll set it down and start reading again and bam, just like that, something lights up my brain and I find my groove.

I love Scalzi so much it hurts. I've read everything the man has ever written. It's the perfect balance of science and math and heart and characters and every single book he writes makes me cry at some point.

Lately, I've been getting into Heinlein, although I have issues with some of his politics and gender-ing. And then I'm like, oh right, wrote this like, half a century ago, chill out.

Are there zombies or pigs in any of your books or will there be any in future books?

Yes, sort of. I have a fantasy book I started back before I published anything that I realized was too damn complicated for me at the stage I was at; it has zombies in it. (BUNNY ZOMBIES!) When I hit ten novels, I'm going to revisit it, hopefully as a better writer. There are some GREAT ideas in it that I would love to actualize, but I so wasn't ready.

Pigs? Oooh . . . they're so cute. Now I want to write in a pig. (Note to self). I have a small dog that I tend to write into everything--he was the golden fox demon in De la Roca (Tengu) and the familiar in BirthMarked (Diesel) and I have a feeling he'll keep popping up because I love my dog more than anybody should.

Thanks for having me!

Thanks for dropping by. I hope you do revisit the Bunny Zombies story, it sounds like a must read.


About Wit Awakening:

Leah feels human, but she's actually a "Wit"—her brain is the host of an organic processing unit that regulates her actions and emotions. As part of the lowest subclass of society, she submits to a human handler who owns her, body and mind.

De Leon is the rising star of the Copy Leagues, a no-holds-barred fighting organization for genetically altered and technologically augmented Wits. His past is dark and his future uncertain, but with enough wins, he just might be able to break free of his bondage to his trainer and enjoy life as a citizen of New Dallas.

Neither of them expected to fall in love, but when her handler begins to bring Leah to the fights, a secret and dangerous relationship blossoms, one that threatens both of their lives.

Buy from Amazon

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Giveaway

Maria Violante kindly offered a digital review copy of Wit Awakening and a digital giveaway copy of Bad Moon Sign and BirthMarked as soon as they release to one reader of my blog.

The winner is Mary P.

A winner will be picked at random on September 22th.
Open internationally to everyone who's legally allowed to enter this giveaway.

------------------

Don't forget to leave a comment:
I decided to have an event wide giveaway on my blog for commenters.

At the end of this event I'll pick one commenter on any author post of this event at random and that person will win a book of his/her choice as long as bookdepository ships to where you live, you're legally allowed to enter, and the book costs no more than 10$

And drop by Between Dreams and Reality as well for more great author posts.