Happy Release Day and Guest Post by Elizabeth Seckman!

These past few weeks, I've been able to share several new book releases for friends of mine, and today, I'm especially excited to share with you one release in particular. Elizabeth Seckman is a dear friend and an incredibly talented romance author. Her latest release, Swept Away, has a special place in my heart because I was one of her beta readers for it, and I fell in love with the story right from the start. And do you want to know the coolest part? While I was beta reading her story, I was vacationing in the Outer Banks, which is where the story takes place! Pretty awesome, right?

Elizabeth is here today to share a wonderful guest post about some of the fabulous lighthouses in that area. Take it away, Elizabeth! :)

Isn't the cover gorgeous?!! I'm in love.

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Hi Kristin! Thanks for having me over.

Swept Away takes place on the tiny island of Ocracoke, part of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It’s a beautiful place with a rich history and breath-taking vistas. There are so many wonderful spots to visit on the island, but one place I always make sure to visit is the Ocracoke light.

I love lighthouses. They remind me of a time when aesthetics was as important as function. While serving a life-saving purpose, these towers were also picturesque additions to the landscape. Just imagine if today’s cell phone towers were built with such care!

I’ve always wanted to be a lighthouse explorer, since being a keeper is pretty much out of the question thanks to electric. In my travels, I’ve been able to see four of the five lighthouses on the Outer Banks.

At the top of the island at Corolla Village is the Currituck Lighthouse. Built in 1875, it’s the newest light on the island and was intentionally left unpainted to stand out from its southern peers.

A way south, below the city of Nags Head, is the Bodie Island Lighthouse. The light that stands there today is actually the third structure. The first was built by a guy who knew nothing about lighthouses and it was tipping over within a few years. The second light was destroyed by retreating Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War.

At Buxton, on Hatteras island, is the most famous of the OBX lights, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. The Queen of the Diamond Shoals with her candy striped pattern is the tallest brick light on the American coastline, standing at 208 feet tall. Finished in 1875, this light stood sentinel along one of the most treacherous waterways until she had to be moved inland in 1999 due to beach erosion.

A short ferry ride from Hatteras to the island of Ocracoke is the Ocracoke Lighthouse.  This light only measures 65 feet tall. It was built on two acres of land, purchased for $50.00 during its construction in 1823. The entire set-up, from light to keeper station, only cost about $11,000 to build. 

There are other lights on the barrier islands that make up the Outer Banks, but I haven't made it to them yet. One day, I will. Maybe when life is slow, I may get bored, and I'll travel around and mark them all off my list. 

Book Synopsis:

He came looking for a ghost. Instead, he found a girl.

Tucker Boone is a war-hardened Marine on a ghost hunt. Fresh out of the corps, Tucker learns he has a missing half-sister, Maddy. The only clue to her whereabouts is a cryptic note…I’ve gone Mad, Mags. Tucker agrees to search for her and heads to Ocracoke, North Carolina where a ghost named Mad Mags is said to haunt the ancient graveyards dotting the island.

The note doesn’t bring him any closer to finding Maddy, but it does offer him a diversion to the doldrums of civilian life— his new island neighbor, Josie McCoy. Tucker is drawn to her quiet spirit. There’s something special about Josie…a connection he can’t quite explain.

By summer’s end, he’s mixed up in deception, murder, and the love of a lifetime. Logic tells him to head home and forget the truths he found on the island. But can he walk away? Josie offers him more than love; she offers him hope. When the clues pile up and it looks like she can never be the girl for him, he has to make a choice- play it safe and break her heart, or risk everything for a chance at being swept away.

About the Author:

Elizabeth is a multi-published author and family laundry wench. She is the mother of four boys, who are quickly all becoming men! Her life is filled with stinky size-twelve shoes and beard clippings in the sink. Is it any wonder she enjoys days spent writing women's fiction of stories of romance and happily ever after? 

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Congrats to Elizabeth! Have you ordered your copy of Swept Away yet?

Release Day and Giveaway! The Neverland Wars by Audrey Greathouse

I'm excited to share with you my CTP sister's new release of The Neverland Wars. I've been looking forward to this release because I love the cover SO much! And I think the premise is fantastic. (Who doesn't love a good Peter Pan story. And Peter as a teenager? YES!) I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this. *grabby hands*

The Neverland Wars
Audrey Greathouse
Published by: Clean Teen Publishing
Publication date: May 9th 2016
Genres: Fairy Tales, Retelling, Young Adult

Magic can do a lot—give you flight, show you mermaids, help you taste the stars, and… solve the budget crisis? That’s what the grown-ups will do with it if they ever make it to Neverland to steal its magic and bring their children home.
However, Gwen doesn’t know this. She’s just a sixteen-year-old girl with a place on the debate team and a powerful crush on Jay, the soon-to-be homecoming king. She doesn’t know her little sister could actually run away with Peter Pan, or that she might have to chase after her to bring her home safe. Gwen will find out though—and when she does, she’ll discover she’s in the middle of a looming war between Neverland and reality.
She’ll be out of place as a teenager in Neverland, but she won’t be the only one. Peter Pan’s constant treks back to the mainland have slowly aged him into adolescence as well. Soon, Gwen will have to decide whether she’s going to join impish, playful Peter in his fight for eternal youth… or if she’s going to scramble back to reality in time for the homecoming dance.

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EXCERPT:

A flash of lightning electrified the sky, shooting light through the forest with a jarring pang. The boom of thunder followed immediately after. The sky was grey and the clouds shifted like a swarm of dark fish in a pond. Gwen feared she would be caught in a storm, but not a drop of rain had fallen yet.
All at once, Gwen found herself in a meadow. She had never been here before; she knew that. Wildflowers cropped up in sporadic clumps, and the long, green grasses were uncut at her calves. The tree line had suddenly broken. One minute, she was racing through the forest, the next, she was floating here. Pausing to catch her breath, she ironically felt safer in this open area than in the claustrophobic security of the forest. She landed gently, unthinkingly. Turning her head to the sky, she saw the faint grey clouds blowing and rolling away. Darker clouds seemed to be coming to take their place.

On the other side of the meadow, Peter burst into the clearing. Bramble was leading him, guiding the boy to poor, lost Gwen. If Gwen had understood the fairy language, she would have already known that.

“Gwenny!”

“Peter?” Gwen shouted. She ran to him, and between her bounding strides and his quick flight, they met in the middle of the meadow, cornflowers and lilacs growing up around them. Perhaps if he had been on the ground initially, she would have hugged him. Peter lingered in the air for just a moment though, and by the time he landed, the impulse to hug each other had melted away into urgent discussion. “What are you doing out here?” His voice carried the sort of anger that only accompanied concern.

“I got lost in the woods; I was trying to come back. Is something wrong, Peter?”

Bramble flitted back and forth, pacing in the air, objecting to Peter and Gwen having this conversation now, rather than when they were safely underground.

“The opposition, they’ve launched an attack. We’ve got to get to cover.”

“What? No, it’s just a storm.” Gwen didn’t understand what Peter was telling her, but she had already made up her mind that she didn’t believe it.

“Gwen-dollie, we’ve got to go. There’s—”

The sky was suddenly drained of light. The thin, grey clouds that had blocked the sun were eclipsed by darker, brooding storm clouds, and as the daylight faded, small, grey flecks began to rain down. As they drifted softly, Gwen knew it wasn’t rain. Her attention was as captivated as Peter’s was, but she did not understand what it was the way he did. “Snow?” she asked quizzically, looking at the grey and dirty powder as it started to fall around her.

Peter held out his hand and caught a flake of it, crushing it in his hand. It left a smoky residue on his palm. “Ash.”

The winds picked up, and more of the ash furiously fluttered down. It became larger, and Gwen could hardly comprehend the charred flecks of paper that were plummeting down. Peter zipped up into the air, jumping more than flying, to grab a large square of it. He came back down immediately, a look of horror on his face.

“Peter, what is it?” Gwen pled, hoping that her fear was born of her unknowing, that if she only had answers she wouldn’t be afraid, but from the look on his face, she knew that answers would only bring more fear.

The invisible hand of the wind grabbed the paper from out of Peter’s hold. It blew straight to Gwen. Catching it, she realized it was a page from out of a newspaper; the title read—ISIS ATTACK ON ERBIL; HUNDREDS DEAD.

She had seen newspaper headlines before, but this news did not belong here. Not in Neverland. It was too dark, too terrifying of a thing to read amid the lilacs and cornflowers. Again, she begged, “What is this, Peter?”

The page was torn out of her hand by the vindictive wind. Peter answered her, with a word she had never feared so greatly. “Reality.”

Author Bio:

Audrey Greathouse is a lost child in a perpetual and footloose quest for her own post-adolescent Neverland. Originally from Seattle, she earned her English B.A. from Southern New Hampshire University's online program while backpacking around the west coast and pretending to be a student at Stanford. A pianist, circus artist, fire-eater, street mime, swing dancer, and novelist, Audrey wears many hats wherever she is. She has grand hopes for the future which include publishing more books and owning a crockpot. You can find her at audreygreathouse.com

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Release Day and Giveaway! Seismic Crimes by Chrys Fey

Congrats to Chrys Fey on the release of Seismic Crimes! Here's an inside look at some of the songs for her characters.

10 Songs for Beth Kennedy:

1. Waitin for You by Demi Lovato

2. Confident by Demi Lovato

3. Fight Song by Rachel Platten

4. Bitch by Meredith Brooks

5. Free the Animal by Sia

6. Army of Me by Christina Aguilera

7. The Sun will Rise by Kelly Clarkson

8. Catch my Breath by Kelly Clarkson

9. My Kind by Hillary Duff

10. I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) by Proclaimers

10 Songs for Donovan Goldwyn:

1. One Step Closer by Linkin Park

2. Somewhere I Belong by Linkin Park

3. Getting Away with Murder by Papa Roach

4. It’s Not Over by Daughtry

5. Battleships by Daughtry

6. I Bet My Life by Imagine Dragons

7. Use Somebody by Kings of Leon

8. Back at One by Brian McKnight

9. Without You by David Guetta, Usher

10. I’ll Never Break Your Heart by Backstreet Boys

Title: Seismic Crimes

Author: Chrys Fey

Series: Disaster Crimes Series (Book Two)

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Format: Digital and Print

Page Count: 282

DIGITAL LINKS:

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PRINT LINKS:

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 The Wild Rose Press

BLURB:

An Internal Affairs Investigator was murdered and his brother, Donovan Goldwyn, was framed. Now Donovan is desperate to prove his innocence. And the one person who can do that is the woman who saved him from a deadly hurricane—Beth Kennedy. From the moment their fates intertwined, passion consumed him. He wants her in his arms. More, he wants her by his side in his darkest moments.

Beth Kennedy may not know everything about Donovan, but she can’t deny what she feels for him. It’s her love for him that pushes her to do whatever she has to do to help him get justice, including putting herself in a criminal’s crosshairs.

When a tip reveals the killer's location, they travel to California, but then an earthquake of catastrophic proportions separates them. As aftershocks roll the land, Beth and Donovan have to endure dangerous conditions while trying to find their way back to one another. Will they reunite and find the killer, or will they lose everything?

HURRICANE CRIMES 99¢ SALE!

DIGITAL LINKS:

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The Wild Rose Press

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About the Author:

Chrys Fey is the author of Hurricane Crimes, Book One in the Disaster Crimes series, as well as these releases from The Wild Rose Press: 30 Seconds, Ghost of Death, and Witch of Death. She is an administrator for the Insecure Writer's Support Group and has participated in the Blogging from April A to Z Challenge.

When Fey was six years old, she realized she wanted to be a writer by watching her mother pursue publication. At the age of twelve, she started writing her first novel, which flourished into a series she later rewrote at seventeen.

Fey lives in Florida and is always on the lookout for hurricanes. She has four adopted cats who keep her entertained with their antics, and three nephews who keep her entertained with their antics. You can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and through her blog, Write with Fey. She loves to get to know her readers!

AUTHOR LINKS:

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Thanks for stopping by! Have you ordered Seismic Crimes yet? :)

IWSG May: LDStorymakers Here I Come!

Tomorrow morning I fly to Utah for the LDStorymakers Conference, and other than the waking-up-early-to-catch-my-flight part, I'm super excited! There are so many wonderful people I'm looking forward to meeting in person. Tiana Smith, Emily R. King, Cortney Pearson, Kimberley Griffiths Little, David Powers King, Rosalyn Eves, Sara B. Larson, Kathryn Purdie, Jennifer Neilson, James Dashner, Brandon Sanderson... The list goes on! (If you're going to the conference and I didn't name you, please let me know!)

The past few days have been a whirlwind of packing, getting together Teacher Appreciation gifts because that's going on this week, organizing playdates for my kids, doing laundry, etc. etc. I'm really looking forward to the moment I sit down on that plane, pull out a book, and have four hours (YES, you heard that right! FOUR HOURS!) of uninterrupted "me" time. I can't wait! It's just getting to that point where I'm sitting on the plane all alone that is a bit stressful. :)

I also have some dear friends who live in Utah, so I'm looking forward to spending time with them. Thankfully, the hubby was 100% okay with me taking a couple extra days to see my friends. Only sad thing is that I will miss Mother's Day. The hubby and kids usually make it such a special day for me, so I hope I'm not feeling homesick by the time Sunday rolls around. Okay, now I'm rambling...

Well, wish me luck! Here's to a wonderful conference and new friendships!

This post has been brought to you by the IWSG Blog Hop. A big thank you to Alex Cavanaugh for organizing this awesomely supportive group. And thank you to all the co-hosts for this month. It's never too late to join us! You can find more info HERE.

Cover Reveal: Trouble By Any Other Name by Lori MacLaughlin

Today I'm super excited to share the cover reveal for Lori MacLaughlin's book, Trouble By Any Other Name. Are you ready for this? You sure?

Here it comes................

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Trouble BY ANY OTHER NAME

Tara Triannon is no stranger to trouble. She's yet to find an enemy her skill with a sword couldn't dispatch. But how can she fight one that attacks through her dreams?

With her nightmares worsening, Tara seeks answers but finds only more questions. Then her sister, Laraina, reveals a stunning secret that forces Tara to go to the one place Tara's sworn never to return to. Her troubles multiply when Jovan Trevillion, the secretive soldier of fortune who stole her heart, is mentally tortured by an ancient Being intent on bending him to its will. And worst of all, the Butcher — the terrifying wolf-like assassin she thought she'd killed — survived their duel and is hunting her again.

Hounded by enemies, Tara sets out on a harrowing quest to discover the true nature of who she is, to come to grips with the new volatility of her magic, and to defeat the evil locked in a centuries-old trap that will stop at nothing to control her magic and escape through her nightmares.

About the Author:

Lori L. MacLaughlin traces her love of fantasy adventure to Tolkien and Terry Brooks, finding The Lord of the Rings and The Sword of Shannara particularly inspirational. She's been writing stories in her head since she was old enough to run wild through the forests on the farm on which she grew up.

She has been many things over the years – tree climber, dairy farmer, clothing salesperson, kids' shoe fitter, retail manager, medical transcriptionist, journalist, private pilot, traveler, wife and mother, Red Sox and New York Giants fan, muscle car enthusiast and NASCAR fan, and a lover of all things Scottish and Irish.

When she's not writing (or working), she can be found curled up somewhere dreaming up more story ideas, taking long walks in the countryside, or spending time with her kids. She lives with her family in northern Vermont.

Congrats to Lori!!