UtopYA Countdown Day 3

Today I have Miss Tammy Blackwell on the blog!  Her characters are here to share some of their favorite Nashville hangouts!  Don't forget about the huge giveaway at the bottom of the page!

Destiny Binds by Tammy Blackwell

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

Scout Donovan is a girl who believes in rules, logic, and her lifelong love of Charlie Hagan. Alex Cole believes in destiny, magic, and Scout. When Alex introduces Scout to the world of Shifters, men who change into wolves or coyotes during the full moon and Seers, women who can see your most private thoughts and emotions with a mere touch, the knowledge changes everything and everyone Scout thought she knew.

Guest Post by Tammy Blackwell

Heading down to UtopYA and want the scoop on all the cool places to visit? The characters from Tammy Blackwell’s Timber Wolves trilogy are here to help! Take notes as Scout and the gang share their favorite spots in Music City, USA!

Scout

My favorite place in Nashville has to be the Vanderbilt University Hospital. How could you not love the too-small rooms with itchy sheets and windows that overlook brick walls? And don’t forget about the smell of sickness and despair that perfumes the hall where doctors who are way too young and way too hot to actually know anything about medicine dart around importantly. 

Wait. I was wrong. The Vanderbilt University Hospital is my least favorite place in Nashville. Sorry. I got confused for a moment.

My actual favorite spot in Nashville is the Opryland Hotel. It’s so big there is like a whole city inside of it. Jase got lost there one time and it took us an hour to find him. The best part is that they cover the whole thing with a million bazillion lights at Christmas. It’s enough to make even Scrooge McDuck quack with holiday cheer.

Jase

Noshville is THE best place in Nashville. It’s like an old diner that has a Statue of Liberty on the roof. You can’t miss it. And everything in there is covered in grease and tastes like magic. I may have eaten breakfast, lunch, and supper there all in one day before. (Don’t judge. It’s greasy magic. Greasy magic and cheesecake. If I could eat there every meal of every day, I would.)

Talley

My favorite part of Nashville is a little section of town just outside of the downtown area called Germantown. It’s one of those renovated old parts of the city where all the shops are in cutesy houses and everything is pretty and full of personality. Just don’t take Jase to the Germantown Café for brunch, unless you enjoy having your waiter look at you like you’re insane for getting six orders of pepper jack grits.

Charlie

Has anyone mentioned not the Vanderbilt Hospital yet? Because that place sucks. 

For a non-sucky time, try downtown on a weekend night in the summer. Street musicians, old cowboys, young hipsters roam while music and booze waft out of a dozen different honky tonks. It’s crazy, but in a good way. My brother got me into Tootsie’s once. I don’t even like country music, but that was awesome. It’s just a really cool vibe down there.

Liam

There is a big park, Centennial, down by Vanderbilt. It’s got a lake and all these paths and rolling green hills. And the Parthenon. Like a complete reconstruction of the one in Greece, and it’s just sitting in the middle of Tennessee like it belongs there or something. You can pay a few bucks to go inside. Downstairs they’ve got some art hanging around, but the real show is upstairs. Upstairs they have a 42-foot tall statue of Athena all decked out in gold. She’s painted up all tacky, but I can’t not look at her. I’ve only been to Nashville a handful of times, but I go to the Parthenon every single time I’m there.


Thank you Miss Tammy for Donating a signed copy of All We See and Seem to the giveaway! Followers enter in the rafflecopter below!

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*Follower Giveaway of Epicness* Flukes Guest Post

Click on the button to find the whole follower giveaway of epicness schedule.
Nichole Chase is in the house!!! I'm so excited today because I have one of my favorite Guest Posts ever and share the awesome sale that Nichole is running with you!
SALE ALERT! Flukes is on sale for $.99 until 11/26!  I grabbed my copy and I'm really excited about reading it!

Now I'm going to hand it over to Nichole for her to share some of her favorite mermaids and inspiration for Flukes!

Famous Mermaids

As the author of Flukes, I’m asked quite often where I got the inspiration for my novel. The truth is I got the idea while giving my daughter a bath. She was pretending to be a mermaid and I couldn’t help but wonder what a little mermaid would look like and decided it would be pretty darn cute! 

But that’s not really the whole of it. Truthfully, I’ve always loved the idea of mermaids. They are beautiful and have this great connection with nature that we humans sometimes ignore. My first real mermaid obsession began with Disney’s Little Mermaid. It’s true. I’d seen them before and been intrigued, but Disney really fanned the flames. I was curious what mermaids my readers knew about, which ones had really stuck in their minds, so I asked. Here are some of the responses I received in my unofficial poll and my own answers. 

Splash

Daryl Hannah is an amazing mermaid. She captures the sweet innocence, while maintaining the sexy allure of a mermaid.

Ariel from the Little Mermaid

You’d be hard pressed to find someone that doesn’t know the Disney version of the Little Mermaid!

Lady in the Water

I loved this movie. Intrigue, mythology, beauty.

The Secret of Roan Inish

This is about selkies, not exactly mermaids, but it did foster my love of mythical sea creatures. 

Aquamarine

I admit that when this movie came around I was in my teens and not as interested. Now I’m thinking that I should go back and watch it. When asking my readers about mermaids, it was brought up repeatedly!

Pirates of the Caribbean 4

A different take on mermaids—more along the lines of a siren. They know what they want, and they plan on getting it. (They have fangs!)

H20: Just Add Water

I hadn’t heard of this show until I was scouring the internet for pictures of mermaids. I’m thinking that I might take a sick day and watch it on Netflix one day. ;)

Oh, that middle mermaid? With a little photo shopping, she looks a lot like Meena from Flukes! 

(What do you think?)

There are so many mermaids out there to enjoy. What’s your favorite? Which one will you always remember?

If you’d like to see some “real” mermaids, check out Mermaid Kariel and Mermaid Hannah!

Flukes

By Nichole Chase

Meena has a secret guarded closely by her family—a secret as dangerous as the sea, and buried just as deep. When court appointed community service workers are assigned to Flukes, the family-owned animal sanctuary, everyone is on high alert. It doesn’t help that Meena finds herself attracted to sexy-as-sin Blake Weathering, one of the new workers. If he wasn’t so distracting, she might be able to land Flukes a much-needed cruise line contract.

Blake Weathering, the first in his family to attend public school, has developed a tough image. Unfortunately it lands him in trouble. Now banned from his high school graduation ceremony, getting his diploma is dependent upon a community service gig cleaning fish crap. No diploma, no trust fund fortune—and no way to escape his overbearing father. The last thing he needs is the distraction of a mysterious girl with teal eyes who pulls at his heart strings.

When Blake discovers Meena’s secret, they are both thrown into a desperate search for information about her past. Two worlds pull them in opposite directions, and they will have to fight to hold onto all that really matters.

If you’d like to find out more about Nichole and her books, please check out her websites and sign up for her newsletter.

www.NicholeChase.com

http://www.nicholechase.blogspot.com

@NicholeChase

What did you think? Make sure you comment for today's entry into the giveaway!

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Don't forget to check out Brittni's post today! 

My Favorite Mistake Blog Tour:Guest Post & Giveaway

My Favorite Mistake by Chelsea Cameron
Add it on Goodreads | Buy it on Amazon | Buy it on B&N

Taylor Caldwell can't decide if she wants to kiss her new college roommate or punch him.

On the one hand, Hunter Zaccadelli is a handsome, blue-eyed bundle of charm. On the other, he's a tattooed, guitar-playing bundle of bad boy. Maybe that's why Taylor's afraid of falling in love with him, or anyone else. She doesn't want to get burned, and even though her other roommates adore him, she wants him gone before it's too late.

Hunter himself has been been burned before, but the fact that Taylor calls him out on his crap and has the sexiest laugh ever make him decide maybe love isn't a lost cause. They make a bet: if she can convince him she truly loves or hates him, he'll leave the apartment--and leave her alone. The problem is, the more time they spend together, the less she hates him, and the more she moves toward love.

But when the man who holds the key to Taylor's fear of giving up her heart resurfaces and threatens to wreck everything, she has to decide: trust Hunter with her greatest secret, or do everything in her power to win that bet and drive him away forever.

Guest Post

As a writer, it's my job to make sure that my readers feel like they're inside my story. This includes making it easy for the reader to visualize exactly how things look. I have a confession: I'm terrible at writing settings. It's pretty much the last thing I think of. I tend to go with dialogue first, and then the visual of the characters and then setting last. I have to make a concerted effort to remember to describe it. 

When it came to My Favorite Mistake, it was actually easy to describe the setting, since I've lived it. It's so easy to take myself back to college, to the endless pizza nights, the laundry, the mis-matched furniture. But for greater visual stimulation, I went to the internet. You can find the Pinterest board I created for My Favorite Mistake here: http://pinterest.com/authorchelcam/my-favorite-mistake/

From the first chapter, I knew Taylor was into peacocks. I didn't know why until I figured out her big secret, but, I knew she was nuts about anything with peacock feathers or colors. I found this bed set from Bed Bath & Beyond, and it's perfect for Taylor. She also has a peacock dreamcatcher that hangs on the side of her bed; a gift from her older sister, Tawny. For those of you who have read the book, you understand the significance of the peacock feathers.

For Hunter, I knew that he'd be into dark colors. Red, blue, black, gray. His guitar is black, and he seemed like a black sheet kind of guy, so I'd pair black sheets with this basic blue comforter from Target. He's also not into spending a lot of money on things, so he would definitely go for the low-priced route.

For those who have read the book, this is the infamous recliner from Chapter Sixteen. I wanted it to be squishy and ugly, like something you'd find on someone's lawn and throw in the back of your buddies truck. It's pretty ugly, isn't it? I'm pretty sure Paul (Renee, one of Taylor and Hunter's roommate's ex ) was the one who found it. I'm also pretty sure Darah (their other roommate) disinfected it thoroughly before she would let him bring it inside.

Hunter comes equipped with an Xbox and Kinect, but Renee, is the gaming junkie. When not studying her nursing textbooks, or trying to make her ex-boyfriend jealous, she's playing Skyrim. Hunter also has gaming nights with his buddies, his cousin Mase, and his friends, Dev and Sean.

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Final Life Blog Tour: Guest Post & Giveaway

You can find the whole Tour schedule here!

Book Blurb:

A Young Adult Paranormal Romance
Book one in the Transhuman Chronicles

Eight lives. You'd think Dominique would get it right, but she's failed every time. Now on her final life, Dominique must discover the secrets of her past before confronting the Transhuman hunter who wants to kill her for the last time. Farrell, a mysterious Transhuman protector, and Trent, a hot guy from school, want to help. But it's up to her to get it right.

Now for the Guest Post! So I'm going to go ahead and give Rose Garcia the stage!  She wrote about where she likes to write!

Working from home is challenging because there are waaay too many distractions! My kids, my dogs, the fridge, my neighbors…You get the picture! To help me focus, it’s SUPER IMPORTANT that I have a nice and cozy workspace. Luckily, I have two spaces that I rotate through. Check it out…

Just off the kitchen is the study. There are two workspaces in there—a long built-in desk with a glass top, and a small wood desk that faces a wall. My preferred workspace is the built-in desk with the glass top. (See below.)

I like this space because it’s roomy and I can turn to the right and look out the window. The one downside, however, is that it has a glass top and gets dirty easily. When I have the time and energy, I give the desk a good cleaning. When I’m not in the mood to clean, which is kinda always, I rotate to workspace number two. (See below.)

I love this space because the desk and lamp came from my beautiful mother-in-law who lost her battle with cancer a few years ago. I also like it because the wood desk is small and easy to keep clean. But then, sometimes, I get sick of the study altogether. That’s when I plant myself on the couch or on my bed with my laptop. But usually I’m at one of these two desks. Oh, and did I mention that my dogs are always at my feet?! lol

So that’s it! My two workspaces. I hope you guys can find a workspace, or two, that work for you! 

Author Info:

Rose Garcia is a lawyer turned writer who’s always been fascinated by science fiction and fantasy. From a very young age, she often had her nose buried in books about otherworlds, fantastical creatures, and life and death situations. More recently, she’s been intrigued by a blend of science fiction and reality, and the idea that some supernatural events are, indeed, very real. Fueled by her imagination, she created The Transhuman Chronicles—a series of books about people who have overcome human limitations. The first in this series is Final Life. Between juggling family life with her husband and two kids, Rose is working on the companion to Final Life. So stay tuned!

Links :

My Website

My Facebook

My Twitter

My Goodreads

Giveaway

2 Bookmarks/ 2 Postcards

to enter just leave a comment and a way for me to contact you! :) Good Luck

Guest Post: Women at Work During WWII

Today I have for you a Guest Post by Christopher Geoffery McPherson so I'm going to go ahead and hand it over to him! Enjoy and don't forget to enter the giveaway :) 

Women at Work During War World Two

When I began working on the story that would eventually become my novel "News on the Home Front," I thought it important that it include two specific elements: how women at home dealt with the changes that came during the war years -- rationing, divided families, death of loved ones, etc.; and the role of women in the workforce. For my main characters, I chose women of means rather than middle-class women because it would allow my story a little more flexibility. So, while the characters Carole and Irene are neither middle class nor poor, the war still affected them -- just like it did every other person in America at the time.

Emerging from the crippling economic depression of the 1930s, America during the war saw many changes, perhaps none so dramatic as the entry of more than six million additional women into the workforce to replace men needed in the fighting overseas. Women in the workplace were nothing new: many women worked outside the home prior to the war. What changed was the necessity for women to work.  No longer was it a choice made by a specific woman or her family; now, there were jobs that needed to be done with no men available to do them. The only option, then, was women.

In doing my extensive research for "News on the Home Front," I was struck by just how much women contributed to the war effort. There were the obvious examples of women working in the aircraft factories building planes (as Irene does), but also women who organized neighbors to knit socks for soldiers, to work with the Red Cross to roll bandages to be used overseas, and to organize not only the many scrap drives that occurred during the war (metal, rubber, paper) but also drives to collect books and games that were shipped to soldiers so they would have additional recreational activities. I don't think it any exaggeration to say that many mountains were moved by the force of women working separately and together during the war.

Keep in mind that there was a price to be paid for women being in the workplace. Among others, this price included families breaking apart because neither parent was home (father overseas, mother in the aircraft factory) leaving juvenile delinquency to become a problem in many cities. In addition, there was the problem of women being forced to quit their jobs once men came back home -- an issue also addressed in my novel.

Clearly, though, the work women provided was a vital part of America winning the war and it is to them that "News on the Home Front" is dedicated.

In my research, I came across three radio episodes that illustrate some of the affects of women at war:

The first is an episode of "An American in England" from 1942 called "Women of Britain." Although this looks at the role of women in England rather than America, the situation there was identical to here in the states. 

The second and third, from 1942 and 1943, are from the top-rated radio comedy "Fibber McGee and Molly" and look at the swift replacement of men by women workers and how unexpected that was for so many people. 

You can hear "An American in England" here

You can hear "Fibber McGee and Molly" here and here.

If you have any stories of women in the workplace during World War Two, I would love to hear from you.  Please email me at NewsOnTheHomeFront  (at) Yahoo.com

Giveaway

an e-copy of News on the Home Front

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Guest Post: Suzanne Lilly

Whatever Happened to Your Very First Car?

Guest post by Suzanne Lilly

I never had a car until after high school. Writers blog about their first cars all the time, and almost always there’s a comment about how they tricked it out and gave their friends rides to and from school. I wasn’t so lucky. I was already married and living in an apartment that was walking distance from most everything we needed. But we were having our first baby, so my husband decided we needed a car.

He decided this without talking to me about it.

He decided to buy a big car. Again, without talking to me about it. I despise big cars.

He thought, “The bigger the better. It’s safer for my family.” So he drove home a huge, ugly green Chrysler Newport, like the one in this picture.

Horrified? I was too. I almost cried when I saw it. Driving it was akin to steering a yacht down the city streets.

As safe as the car probably would be in an accident, it wasn’t reliable. It started having problems and stalling at inconvenient times and places. One night it stalled as we were driving to his parents’ house for dinner. We didn’t have phones with us, so we ended up walking a couple of miles to their house. With the baby. His dad drove us back to our car and got it running again.

One day, I took my daughter to a well-baby appointment, and afterwards, the car wouldn’t start. I was stranded for a couple of hours with a tired and cranky baby on a hot summer afternoon. My relationship with Mr. Chrysler was quickly heading downhill.

Later that month, the car stalled in the middle of a busy intersection. Thank goodness the baby wasn’t with me that time. I had to push the car to the side of the road while angry drivers honked their horns at me. That was the day I decided to break up with Ugly Green Chrysler.

I got it running somehow and drove it home. The minute I walked into the apartment, I called a local junk car dealer and asked him to pick up the car. For free. “Just take it away,” I told him. He arrived about an hour later and towed the car. He must have felt sorry for me, because he paid me $50 for that hiedeous hunk of steel.

It was the best impulse decision I ever made.

That ugly old car probably got parted out to many different people restoring their classic Chryslers. Maybe pieces of it ended up in this beauty.

My personal horror story prompted me to give the heroine in my book a cute car. A Volkswagen Jetta. The local car mechanic is a friend of hers, and he helps her trick it out. Here’s how I picture Mariah’s car.

Cute, right? I won’t tell you what happens to it, because that would spoil my story, Shades of the Future. You can download a sample of the book at my Amazon Author Page. During the month of July to celebrate the book launch, I’m giving away a pair of designer sunglasses to one commenter on one of my blog posts.

In the meantime, do you want to share? Whatever happened to your first car?

About Suzanne Lilly

Suzanne Lilly is a writer at night and a teacher by day, which is why she’s known online as the TeacherWriter. Her articles and stories have appeared in numerous places online and in print. She writes contemporary young adult romance and middle grade novels. When not busy with words, she enjoys swimming, hiking, reading, fine arts, and cooking. She lives in California with her family and furry friends and has yet to feel an earthquake. You can follow her on Twitter as @suzannelilly, visit her TeacherWriter blog, at her Suzanne Lilly Author website, or friend her on Goodreads, and on Facebook.

Her debut novel, Shades of the Future, published by Turquoise Morning Press, is available July 2012. What would you do if you could see your future? What you think is “the gift” may actually be a curse.

Guest Post & Giveaway: Storm of Arranon

Today I have a special Guest Post to share with you from R.E. Sheahan!  She talks about the mystical animals in her book-Storm of Arranon!  You still have a few more days to enter the giveaway at the bottom of the post! AND now I'm going to shut up and let her take over!

Guest Post from R.E. Sheahan:

First, I want to thank you Tess for giving me the opportunity to submit a guest author post, an excerpt from my book, and an interview!

I anxiously await your review of Storm of Arranon!

I considered writing this guest post about the book itself. The adventures of Erynn, a young woman stranded on a strange and dangerous world, Arranon. Repetitive. This information is available on my website, Goodreads, and everywhere the book is listed for sale.

Or maybe I could tell a little about Erynn herself and the secret that separates her from everyone else at Academy on Korin. Kinda already been done, too.

Then there’s Jaer, the Anbas Warrior of Arranon, sworn to defend Erynn, whether she wants him to protect her or not. Again, a previous  post on a website.

Faylen was also a possibility for a post. The alien soldier, shaped from childhood into a physically powerful killing machine. Sent to find and capture Erynn and force her to use her abilities to advance the enemy’s invasion of her worlds. A new idea, but the possibility to spoil some surprises kept me from writing about Faylen.

These thoughts led me to a group of characters that often go overlooked. 

The animals.

I love animals. Dogs, horses, cats, all animals, domestic and wild. That’s why in writing Storm of Arranon I felt it was important to have animals play a significant part in the story. Even if they are from another world. They gave me the occasion to expand my protagonist’s-Erynn’s gifts. For her to grow as a person, and as a heroine. 

I was also able to conceive of and create some very cool creatures! 

So, without any spoilers, let me introduce the feathered, winged, or furry and four legged cast.

Aleuns, basically, they’re birds.

Asador are elk like animals, with wide antlers, but overall, they are bigger than an average elk by a couple hundred pounds.

Caporas are horses. Large, muscular horses with thick hair, long manes and tails. The draft horse would be a good fit.

Centinents. A generality for insects, winged or crawly. 

Katjaramuud. Hmmm. Picture a bobcat, only as big as a bear, and carnivorous, top of the food chain, including humans.

Maejen. Wolves, intelligent, cunning, and deadly. Again, much larger than earthly wolves.

(A by-the-way note here. Everything on Arranon is super-sized!)

Meerats. Easy, think rat and all that goes with that thought.

Meervorines, they are a little less straightforward. More a combination of a mole and a wolverine, but again, bigger, the size of a pig. Lots of teeth, beady yellow eyes, and razor sharp, clawed paws. But like moles and wolverines, they live underground and are not at all friendly.

Mwirr, an octopus like creature that only receives a brief mention. 

Well, there you have the animal characters.

A little something that is not widely known and has never been discussed, except in the book is . . . Erynn communicates with the animals of Arranon. Only she doesn’t always know how to go about this, often complicating an already challenging situation. Shhhh!

Giveaway

1 lucky person will win a signed copy of Storm of Arranon and a signed poster!

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being a follower is not mandatory but it is appreciated

US only

must be 13 or older to enter

please reply to winning email in 48 hours or I will pick a new winner

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The Mayfair Moon Blog Tour: Guest Post & Giveaway

Top 10 with Jessica Guest Post

1. Favorite movie/actor/actress? The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett

2. Favorite song/singer? Honestly, I don’t have favorites! My head kind of spins when I actually try to choose.

3. Favorite place you would love to visit? Italy, primarily Rome and Sorrento

4. One item you cannot live without? A good book my bug-out bag!

5. Who would you like to meet? (dead or alive) I would love to meet J.R.R. Tolkien and any one of the Caesars. Alive? Hmmm…probably Ralph Fiennes.

6. Favorite hobby? Writing, of course! Aside from that, reading and anything outdoors.

7. Guilty pleasure? Starbucks Venti Vanilla Iced Latte

8. Favorite author and/book? Anne Rice/THE VAMPIRE ARMAND 

9. Do you collect anything? Books, books, books

10. Favorite color? I love earthy colors: brown, green, tan, etc.

Giveaway

All you have to do to enter to win an eBook copy of The Mayfair Moon is comment!  Make sure you leave me a way to contact you and what format you want the ebook in and that is it! Good Luck!


*Winner* Darling Nikki

Tour Schedule

Monday, March 19, 2012:

The Fairytale Nerd ~ Excerpt #2 and eBook Giveaway

        

Young Adult Book Reviews ~ Review, The Writer’s Cave Guest Post, and eBook

Giveaway    

Good Choice Reading ~ Excerpt #1

         

Reader Girls ~ Review and eBook Giveaway

        

Tuesday, March 20, 2012:

Chapter by Chapter ~ Review and eBook Giveaway

         

Pen to Paper ~ Review and eBook Giveaway

         

Fictional Distraction ~ Review

        

We Fancy Books ~ Review

         

Bookworm Lisa ~ Review

         

Splash Of Our Worlds ~ Review and eBook Giveaway

        

Wednesday, March 21, 2012:

BookSpark ~ Excerpt #3 and eBook Giveaway

        

Dreaming Dreams ~ Review and Author Interview

        

Refracted Light | YA Book Reviews ~ Dream Cast Guest Post

Some Reading Required ~ Review

         

My Pathway to Books ~ Top 10 with Jessica Guest Post and eBook Giveaway

        

Thursday, March 22, 2012:

The Autumn Review ~ Review and eBook Giveaway

         

JJ iReads ~ Review and Excerpt #4

         

The Life of Fiction ~ Review and eBook Giveaway

         

One Minute Books ~ Review

         

Friday, March 23, 2012:

Endlessly Bookish ~ Review, Deleted Scene Guest Post, eBook Giveaway

         

Hazel the Witch ~ Review

        

A Tale of Many Reviews ~ Final stop and Grand Prize