Release day: Between the Shadow and the Soul!

Today I finally get to share Between the Shadow and the Soul with you! It's the first in the Darkest Soul duology. This is the longest book I've ever written and the first told in dual POV (Nela + Darko). It's sometimes creepy, sometimes magical, sometimes scary and sometimes romantic. I hope you'll love it as much as I do.

21st Century Cologne
On the day of her sixteenth birthday Nela receives her Binding – a tattoo that’ll punish even the thought of magic with burning pain. In a world where the Brotherhood still burns witches at the stake, Nela has learned to fear her magical powers. But her powers are growing and refuse to be ignored. When Nela meets Darko, he shows her a hidden world of magic she can’t resist. 

Darko hates the Brotherhood with blind fervor for destroying his life. Except for revenge, there’s only one thing that keeps him going: the wish to bring his dead sister back to life. The only way to gain the necessary power is by summoning a demon with the help of a Necromancer and absorbing its demonic power. When his Master tells Darko that Nela is what they need for the ritual, Darko doesn’t hesitate to gain her trust. A trust he’ll have to betray. 

As Nela meets witches in the underground bars of Cologne and celebrates Walpurgisnight with magical folk from all over the world, she realizes that she doesn’t want to bow to the Brotherhood’s rules anymore. She wants to be free to live as a witch. Defying the Brotherhood could mean death by fire, but as Nela is pulled deeper into Darko’s world, she realizes that his darkness might be the true danger.

You can get the e-book for only $3.99! The paperback version should be available soon as well.
Get it on Amazon! Get it on Smashwords! Get it on Barnes & Noble! 

Cover reveal: Between the Shadow and the Soul

Guys, guys! Today I get to reveal the cover of my new book, a YA gothic called "Between the Shadow and the Soul"!

Here it is:

And here's the full spread:

Summary:
21st Century Cologne
On the day of her sixteenth birthday Nela receives her Binding – a tattoo that’ll punish even the thought of magic with burning pain. In a world where the Brotherhood still burns witches at the stake, Nela has learned to fear her magical powers. But her powers are growing and refuse to be ignored. When Nela meets Darko, he shows her a hidden world of magic she can’t resist. 

Darko hates the Brotherhood with blind fervor for destroying his life. Except for revenge, there’s only one thing that keeps him going: the wish to bring his dead sister back to life. The only way to gain the necessary power is by summoning a demon with the help of a Necromancer and absorbing its demonic power. When his Master tells Darko that Nela is what they need for the ritual, Darko doesn’t hesitate to gain her trust. A trust he’ll have to betray. 

As Nela meets witches in the underground bars of Cologne and celebrates Walpurgisnight with magical folk from all over the world, she realizes that she doesn’t want to bow to the Brotherhood’s rules anymore. She wants to be free to live as a witch. Defying the Brotherhood could mean death by fire, but as Nela is pulled deeper into Darko’s world, she realizes that his darkness might be the true danger.

Pub date: December 15th, 2014!

You can pre-order it! 

Or add it on goodreads!

I love the cover so much! Letitia from Romantic Book Affairs designed it for me!

To celebrate, I'm having a giveaway! It's international.

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New book!

I'm so excited! I've waited a long time to share my new book with you! It's YA gothic. It's dark and twisted. It's set in Cologne! There are Walpurgisnight revels, dark underground bars in Cologne, there's blood and magic and romance and death and everything in between.
Do you want to know what it's called?
The title is...

Between the Shadow and the Soul

Here's the summary:

21st Century Cologne
On the day of her sixteenth birthday Nela receives her Binding – a tattoo that’ll punish even the thought of magic with burning pain. In a world where the Brotherhood still burns witches at the stake, Nela has learned to fear her magical powers. But her powers are growing and refuse to be ignored. When Nela meets Darko, he shows her a hidden world of magic she can’t resist. 

Darko hates the Brotherhood with blind fervor for destroying his life. Except for revenge, there’s only one thing that keeps him going: the wish to bring his dead sister back to life. The only way to gain the necessary power is by summoning a demon with the help of a Necromancer and absorbing its demonic power. When his Master tells Darko that Nela is what they need for the ritual, Darko doesn’t hesitate to gain her trust. A trust he’ll have to betray. 

As Nela meets witches in the underground bars of Cologne and celebrates Walpurgisnight with magical folk from all over the world, she realizes that she doesn’t want to bow to the Brotherhood’s rules anymore. She wants to be free to live as a witch. Defying the Brotherhood could mean death by fire, but as Nela is pulled deeper into Darko’s world, she realizes that his darkness might be the true danger.

It's the first in a duology and it'll be out in December, probably Dec. 15th. 

You can add it on goodreads. And you can pre-order it.

The cover reveal is next week! I can't even put into words how gorgeous the cover is! 

YA Scavenger Hunt

At the bottom of the page I'm also offering a bonus giveaway - don't miss it!

Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! This bi-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors...and a chance to win some awesome prizes! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize--one lucky winner will receive one signed book from each author on the hunt in my team! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours!

Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are SIX contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the Gold Team --but there is also a red team, a blue team, an orange team, a red team, and an indie team for a chance to win a whole different set of signed books!

If you'd like to find out more about the hunt, see links to all the authors participating, and see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page.

SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE

Directions: Below, you'll notice that I've listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the Gold team, and then add them up (don't worry, you can use a calculator!).

Entry Form: Once you've added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.

Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian's permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by October 5th, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

Now let's move on to the author I'm hosting today:

Sara B. Larson

Sara B. Larson can't remember a time when she didn't write books--although she now uses a computer instead of a Little Mermaid notebook. Sara lives in Utah with her husband and their three children. She writes during naptime and the quiet hours when most people are sleeping. Her husband claims she should have a degree in "the art of multitasking." When she's not mothering or writing, you can often find her at the gym repenting of her sugar addiction.

Sara is promoting IGNITE (sequel to DEFY) during this hunt. Here's the cover:

Summary (spoilers for anyone who hasn't read DEFY):
In the kingdom of Antion, peace has at long last been restored. Now that King Hector’s reign of terror is over, the newly crowned King Damian, along with his most trusted guard, Alexa, must focus on rebuilding Antion and reclaiming the hope of their people. But the wounds of the past are no as easily mended as Alexa and Damian had hoped. And to further complicate matters, Alexa still harbors a secret love for Damian, a love she refuses to acknowledge for the sake of Antion, and for the sake of the king himself. 

When new threats to the kingdom surface—including an assassination attempt on Damian—blame is cast on the once-friendly nation of Blevon. Alexa knows things are not what they seem, however, and once again the fate of her country hangs in the balance. Will Alexa be able to protect her king and find the true enemy before it’s too late?

Filled with romance and treachery, magic and violence, this stunning sequel to Defy whisks readers off on another thrilling adventure.

IGNITE comes out January 6th, 2015 from Scholastic and here's the link to order a signed copy of DEFY or pre-order a signed copy of IGNITE from Sara's local indie, The King's English. 


BONUS CONTENT
Sara offers a new scene, pre-DEFY, told from Alexa's POV when she was 8.

++++++++++++++

Alexa, age 8

The fire behind the grate hissed and crackled, a soft addition to the sound of my parent’s voices, their words a low hum in the semi-darkness of our home. Mama thought I was asleep, with my head in her lap, but I wasn’t. I wanted to hear what they had to say. Though the brush of her fingers through my hair was making me very sleepy. I had to crack one eye barely open, just a slit, to keep myself from accidentally drifting off.

Papa was a shadow silhouetted against the orange light of the flames. He sat on the ground, the sword he’d been sharpening earlier now resting in his lap. His fingers were curled around the hilt, almost as if he expected someone to burst through the door at any moment.

“You shouldn’t allow her to train with you. It isn’t right,” Mama was saying. Which was why I’d worked so hard to stay awake: they were talking about me.

“She’s a natural. And she wants to learn. Why would I refuse? Because she’s a girl?”

I felt Mama nod, all the way down through her hand as her fingers paused on my head.

“That’s not good enough for me,” Papa said. “She doesn’t have to be helpless. I want my daughter to be able to defend herself.”

“She doesn’t need to be able to defend herself. She’ll have Marcel once he’s trained. She has you.” Her fingers began to slip through my hair once more, but I could feel a tension in her touch that hadn’t been there a moment before.

“And what if something happens to me? What then?”

“Nothing is going to happen to you,” Mama’s words were suddenly fierce. It was the voice she only used when she was really upset. “You are the best—”

“That’s no guarantee,” he cut her off. “Not if the rumors are true.” Papa gently set the sword down and stood up. As he crossed to where I lay with my head in Mama’s lap, I quickly shut my eyes. “Nailah, did you ever meet one of them before your family left?”

Every part of Mama stiffened at his question. “You mean…” she trailed off, almost like she didn’t want to say the words out loud.

“A black sorcerer. When you lived in Dansii, did you ever see what they can do?”

There was a weighted silence, like the breath before the rain began to pour from the sky. And then Mama murmured, “You know we did. You know that’s why we left—why my father brought us here, to Antion.”

Papa sat down beside us, lifting my legs to place them across his lap, and letting his hands rest on my calves. I couldn’t feel the callouses I knew marked his hands through the rough, homespun fabric of my nightgown. When he trained with his sword, I couldn’t help but long to be like him. Papa wielding a sword was an extraordinary kind of magic that I wanted for myself. It was a strange ache, deep inside of me. Almost like the way I felt when I hadn’t eaten for too long and my belly was so empty, that I wanted to devour all the food on the table all at once.

Papa lifted one hand from my leg and let it rest on top of Mama’s fingers that still pressed into my hair. “I will continue to train her, Nailah. And she will prove to you and everyone else that she can be just as good if not better than any boy. There’s something special about her….” He trailed off.

“You don’t think that she’s…” Mama’s voice had gone soft, hushed.

“No. No, she’s not. But I can sense something. Something more than normal. She’s special, Nailah. Alexa is my little Zhànshì Nánwū.” 

His words rang in my ears long after he lifted me and carried me to my bed beside Marcel. I didn’t know what they meant, but for some reason, it made me feel warm inside, right next to my heart.

Like maybe, just maybe, I could claim his magic for myself. Someday.

+++++++++++++++++++++

And don't forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of signed books by me, Sara B. Larson, and more! To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is 5.  Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the Gold team and you'll have all the secret code to enter for the grand prize!


BONUS GIVEAWAY

As I mentioned above I'm also having a Bonus Giveaway! I'm giving away one signed hardcover of DEFECTOR (left image) and one UK copy of DEFECTOR (right).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CONTINUE THE HUNT

To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out Rachele Alpine's website!

DEFECTOR in the UK!

Today DEFECTOR hits shelves in the UK! I'm so excited for my UK fans to finally read how Tessa's story continues!
Here's the cover that my lovely publisher Hodder chose for my book:

And here's the back (spoilers for Impostor aka Book 1)

You can even win a copy on goodreads:

I think I'll have a glass of wine to celebrate now! 

Rebel Wing by Tracy Banghart

Hello! My name is Tracy and I am so excited to be here today, celebrating with my blogger buddies! WHAT are we celebrating, you ask? Well, today marks the launch of a very exciting, special new program. Alloy Entertainment (of Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants fame) has partnered with Amazon to create a new imprint! As a "Powered By Amazon" imprint, it will be exclusively distributed by Amazon. Here's more info from the official press release:

"Today, Amazon Publishing and Alloy Entertainment, a

division of Warner Bros. Television Group, announced a digital-first imprint that will focus on young

adult, new adult and commercial fiction. The new imprint, named Alloy Entertainment, will be part of

Amazon Publishing’s Powered by Amazon program. Powered by Amazon enables publishers and authors

to leverage Amazon’s global distribution and personalized, targeted marketing reach."

I am super super proud to share that my previously self-published novel, Shattered Veil, is one of the inaugural books in this program! It has been retitled REBEL WING, given a new cover (check out the beauty below!), fully edited, and I am so, SO excited to share it with you today! In addition, two other books are part of the launch, and they are AWESOME. Read on for more info and purchase links for EVERY UGLY WORD by Aimee L. Salter and IMITATION by Heather Hildenbrand.

REBEL WING

YA Scifi Adventure

“I've never been actively jealous of a fictional character .  . . until now. Aris's adventures set my imagination on fire, and made my heart take flight.” ~Kass Morgan, author of New York Times bestseller The 100

Description

The Dominion of

Atalanta is at war. But for eighteen-year-old Aris, the fighting is nothing more

than a distant nightmare, something she watches on news vids from the safety of

her idyllic seaside town. Then her boyfriend, Calix, is drafted into the

Military, and the nightmare becomes a dangerous reality.

Left behind, Aris has nothing to fill

her days. Even flying her wingjet—the thing she loves most, aside from

Calix—feels meaningless without him by her side. So when she’s recruited to be a

pilot for an elite search-and-rescue unit, she leaps at the chance, hoping

she’ll be stationed near Calix. But there’s a catch: She must disguise herself

as a man named Aristos. There are no women in the Atalantan Military, and there

never will be.

Aris gives up everything to find Calix:

her home. Her family. Even her identity. But as the war rages on, Aris

discovers she’s fighting for much more than her relationship. With each injured

person she rescues and each violent battle she survives, Aris is becoming a true soldier—and the best flyer in

the Atalantan Military. She’s determined to save her Dominion . . . or die

trying.

Purchase Here

About Me

Award-winning author, Army wife, and mom

Tracy Banghart has an MA in Publishing and an unhealthy affection for cupcakes.

Her quiet childhood led to a reading addiction, writing obsession, and several

serious book boyfriends. Rebel Wing is

her third novel.  She can be found at www.tracybanghart.com 

EVERY UGLY WORD

By Aimee L. Salter

Description

When seventeen-year-old

Ashley Watson walks through the halls of her high school, bullies taunt and

shove her. She can’t go a day without fighting with her mother. And no matter

how hard she tries, she can’t make her best friend, Matt, fall in love with

her. But Ashley also has something no one else does: a literal glimpse into the

future. When Ashley looks into the mirror, she can see her twenty-three-year-old

self.

Her older self has been

through it all already—she endured the bullying, survived the heartbreak, and

heard every ugly word her classmates threw at her. But her older self is also keeping

a dark secret: Something terrible is about to happen to Ashley. Something that will change her life

forever. Something even her older self is powerless to stop.

Perfect for fans of Thirteen Reasons Why and The List, Every Ugly Word is a gripping and emotional story about

the devastating consequences of bullying.

Purchase Here

About Aimee

Aimee L. Salter lives in Southern Oregon with her husband and son. She writes novels for teens and the occasional adult who, like herself, is still in touch with their inner-high schooler. She never stopped appreciating those moments in the dark when you say what you're really thinking. And she'll always ask you about the things you wish she wouldn't.

Aimee blogs for both writers and readers at www.aimeelsalter.com. You can also find her on Twitter and Facebook.

Every Ugly Word is her debut novel.

IMITATION

By Heather Hildenbrand

Description

Everyone is exactly like me.

There is no one like me.

Ven wrestles with

these contradicting truths every day. A clone of wealthy eighteen-year-old

Raven Rogen, Ven knows everything about the girl she was created to serve: the

clothes she wears, the boys she loves, the friends she loves to hate. Yet she’s

never met the Authentic Raven face-to-face. Imitations like Ven only get to leave

the lab when they’re needed—to replace a dead Authentic, donate an organ, or complete

a specific mission. And Raven has never needed Ven . . . until now.

When there is an

attack on Raven’s life, Ven is thrust into the real world, posing as Raven to

draw out the people who tried to harm her. But as Ven dives deeper into Raven’s

world, she begins to question everything she was ever told. She exists for

Raven, but is she prepared to sacrifice herself for a girl she’s never met?

Fans of Cinder, The Selection and Sara

Shepard’s Lying Game series will love Imitation, a thrilling, action-packed novel sure

to keep readers guessing until the very last page.

Purchase Here

About Heather

Heather Hildenbrand was born and raised in a small town in northern Virginia where she was homeschooled through high school. She now lives in coastal VA, a few miles from the Atlantic Ocean, with her two adorable children. She works from home, part time, as a property manager and when she's not furiously pounding at the keyboard, or staring off into space whilst plotting a new story, she's lying on the beach, soaking in those delicious, pre-cancerous rays. Heather loves Mexican food, hates socks with sandals, and if her house was on fire, the one thing she'd grab is her DVR player. You can find out more about her and her books at www.heatherhildenbrand.blogspot.com 

Heather is a co-founder of Accendo Press, a publishing group she operates with fellow authors: Angeline Kace and Jennifer Sommersby. Accendo (a-CH-endo), A Latin word, means “to kindle, illuminate, inflame, or set fire.” This is something Accendo strives to do inside a reader’s imagination with every title released.

Please join me, Aimee, and Heather, along with some other great YA authors for a Facebook party this afternoon to celebrate the big launch! And don't forget to enter the giveaway below!  

Thanks so much to my wonderful bloggers friends who are helping me spread the word!

Rafflecopter Giveaway

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DEFECTOR pub date!

GUYS, I'm so excited! DEFECTOR is finally out in the world. I had so much fun writing about Tessa, Alec, Devon and the FEA! I hope you'll have just as much fun reading it!

Summary (mild spoilers for Impostor): Tessa has finally made peace with her life as a Variant. She and long-time love Alec are officially a couple, and for the first time, she has everything she wants.

But the air is tense at FEA headquarters. An agent has disappeared, and rogue variant organization Abel’s Army is likely the culprit.

When Tessa is summoned for her second mission, she is unexpectedly launched into a massive conspiracy. Her best friend Holly is kidnapped and Tessa knows it was meant to be her. But who is after her? And more importantly, why?

When the FEA’s efforts to rescue Holly don’t yield any results, Tessa takes matters into her own hands. Desperate to save her friend and uncover the mystery behind Abel’s Army, Tessa launches her own investigation—but nothing could prepare her for what she finds. Everyone in her life is harboring secrets: Alec, her estranged mother, even the father she never knew.

The truth will take her out on the road and out of her comfort zone, with danger lurking everywhere. Summoning all of her courage and strength, Tessa must decide who can be trusted and what is worth fighting for—even if it means going against the life she thought she wanted. Her final decision will leave readers breathless.

The DEFECTOR Blogtour is still running and you can win hardcovers and an audiobook.

Today there's a guest post where I talk about the Top 10 things you should know about Tessa!

There's also a review by Becoming Books!

Now I need to prepare for the USA vs Germany game!