The Holdout Guest Post by Laurel Osterkamp: Jury Duty

For the Holdout Tour hosted by Itching for Books, I sat down with Author Laurel Osterkamp to talk about her real life experiences which inspired her book. Check it out!

Release date: September 12th 2013

Publisher: PMI Books

Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Robin wanted to win The Holdout, a cutthroat reality TV show, so she gave it her all, challenge after challenge. Then she fell for Grant, with his irresistible eyes and heartbreaking life story.

But Grant was only using Robin as they competed for a million dollars. Once home, Robin wants to hide from the humiliation as episodes of The Holdout are aired, and she worries her family was right all along; she’s not a survivor.

Yet she could surprise everyone, and have the last laugh.

Besides, Robin now has jury duty. And as she forges ahead, confronting her demons about bravery, justice, and romance, Robin will come to decide which is more important: the courage to stand alone, or the strength to love again.

 

About the Author

Laurel Osterkamp’s award winning novels have been hailed as funny, intelligent, snarky and poignant. She is the author of four novels and two novellas, including the November Surprise series, which, like The Holdout, features the Bricker family. Laurel was recently on a federal jury, and she loves watching Survivor.

laurel.pmibooks.com | twitter.com/laurelosterkamp

 

Review Homecoming

I was lucky enough to get my hands on an Advanced Copy of Homecoming by Cecelia Robert so here is my review (yay):

Homecoming by Cecilia Robert
Release Date: October 25 2013


**Mature Content Warning** 17+ for language and sexual content.

Five years ago, twenty-three-year-old panther shifter Sera Czedar left her home and her newly mated groom in a humiliating position after a mating ceremony gone wrong. She built a new life for herself in Varselles, the City of Outcasts where shifters exiled from their clans in the Seven Kingdoms can go for sanctuary.

Five years ago, panther shifter Levian Grayson was abandoned on the bonding bed by his bride, Sera. After years of tracking her, he arrives in Varselles, intent on staking his claim on her once and for all, even if it means hauling her over his shoulder just to make sure that happens.

Sera has always known her homecoming would eventually catch up with her one day. The one thing she can’t bear to do is hurt Levian, which will happen as soon as he finds out the reason she left him. Is she ready to take that path? Most of all, will Levian still want her
when the truth comes out?

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Where I Check With You, My Victims

You guys don't mind being called my victim's right? There are worse ways to go...

How are you guys doing? I feel like it's been forever since we last spoke. I hate that my posts have been getting so impersonal lately and I'm thinking it may be time to step back a little.

At the end of summer I was going into my third year of University with no job, no other commitments except for a few here and there so I thought it would be okay to start making other plans thinking that only some of them would come through.

They all came through. And I have a hard time saying 'no' to people.

So now we're in the first week of October and I have a job (yay), I'm a full-time student, and I'm currently rehearsing two musicals with another one starting in November. It's all a bit overwhelming and I'm really bad at time management.

The thing that's suffering most is my writing: my blog, my stories, the voice in my head screaming at me for release. I've let my commitment - my dream - of writing lapse and I hate it.

I don't like that I can't seem to find the time to write just for fun.

I don't like that I still have no plan of attack for tackling this mountain of work.

I don't like that I didn't get to tell you that I'm a monthly guest blogger on The Peasant's Revolt which is so awesome.

I hate that I didn't get to tell you about #VTtoRT which is one of the most amazing things to come out of this insanity.

I didn't even get to tell you about the fact that I'm going to my first ever writer's convention in May and I'm terrified and excited and I have no idea what to expect but I'm making all these plans and getting ready for total independence even if it's just for a week.

It's weird to say that I miss you guys because we don't really talk but...you're my victims. We're about as close as people can get. And for that I am so grateful. I'm thankful for every single one of you.

As for the fate of this blog...

I'm going to be making some temporary changes until I can get back on my feet a little.

I'm going to continue with the Farewell series (even though I did miss this week's) but the Forensic series is going to take a hiatus for the next two months because October and November are just too crazy to deal with dead bodies.

I've got 5 Books in the coming months that I've agreed to read so I'll be posting those reviews:

• Heirs of War by Mara Valderran
• Garden of Eden by Kate Cowan
• Homecoming by Cecelia Robert
• Magic Weaved on a Samhain Eve by VJ Chisholm
• Dead Dreams by Emma Right

Along with a few guest posts and interviews dotted here and there. Into November there will be some weeks where I'll only post once or twice and it's not because I don't love you or have anything to say. It's because I love you too much and I have so much to say that I can't bring myself to slap anymore posts together at 2am when I work at 6am and I'm rehearsing until 10pm. You guys deserve way more than that.

So, in conclusion: I'm busy, I love you, and if you have any unusual or helpful schedule/time management/stress relief advice, please share them in the comments.

Thank you, darlings.

P.S. Donations for the #VTtoRT fund are never closed. We've officially passed Koomkey's goal but if you have some pocket change that you'd be will to donate I would be so grateful.

P.P.S. I'm also looking for any authors willing to donate ebooks or print copies (international shipping) for a giveaway as a thank you for everyone's help with the #VTtoRT fund. So if you or anyone you know is will to help out in that regard please email me at vicki.trask@gmail.com

Mara Valderran on POV

For the Heirs of War Blog Tour here is Mara Valderran, author of Heirs of War, on writing POV. I think I love her just for her Doctor Who reference...well more than just her DW reference...but it laid the ground work.

Seventeen-year-old Zelene doesn't believe in magic or prophecies. When she's told she is part of the prophecy foretelling five powerful girls bringing peace to the war-torn worlds, she scoffs. The idea of other dimensions layered on top of the world she lives in is almost as ludicrous as the idea that she might be able to save them. After she is attacked by magic-wielding assassins, she finds she can't argue with reality.

As their enemies strike, the girls are taken back to their world and discover the ties binding them together. Rhaya has always had an uncanny knack for reading people, but can’t seem to unravel the mystery tying her to Isauria, the new friend she bonded with instantly. For years, Isauria has been dreaming of Terrena, a girl living her life on the run in a magical world ripped apart by the tragedies of war, completely unaware that she is psychically linked to the world she was born in.

Zelene views them all with a distrustful eye, familial bonds or no, and can think of a place or two she’d like to shove the crown she supposedly inherited. When she learns that her long-lost twin Ariana has been captured by the rebels, Zelene’s attitude changes. She doesn’t know how she is supposed to go against an army of magic-wielding rebels when her own ability to manipulate the elements is still locked within her. But can she trust the elders to rescue Ariana when it seems their medieval politics are what brought about the war in the first place? With all that is at stake, the answer becomes clear to Zelene.

Screw the worlds. She’s getting her sister back

Mara Valderran has been coming up with stories pretty almost since she could talk, often commandeering her brother's G.I. Joes to play out her fictional tales alongside her Barbies. Once she hit adolescence and realized playing with dolls wasn't cool anymore, she started putting her ideas to paper. And she hasn’t stopped since.

Mara has worn many different artistic hats throughout her life. She has dabbled in screenwriting, plucked guitars and basses, toyed with singing, retired from acting, and drawn some pretty mean stick figures in her time. However, writing books seems to fit her best as she finds nothing more fulfilling than creating worlds and characters she can lose herself in.

Mara lives in the south with her husband and demanding cat. When she’s not writing, you can find her reading, playing video games, or spending time at her favorite local coffee shop.

http://www.maravalderran.com

MaraValderran    
 

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