Winter Solstice Event ~ Welcome!

I am very excited to finally be able to say today is the start of the Winter Solstice Event! Over the next two weeks we have 12 fantastic author interviews and some great giveaways ~ see below for the schedule :-) A huge thank you to all of the authors taking part!

We will be presenting authors from the genres we both blog about, paranormal romance and urban fantasy. Interviews give us a glimpse into the world of the author and give the opportunity to get to know them better - I always want to know more and I know lots of others do too! Some of them are quite well known and it's likely you have at least come across if not read their books others are newer self published but all of them have a fantastic story to tell and a great sounding book(s) to tell us all about!

Eternally Books is jointly hosting the event with Shera of Book Whispers. I am really looking forward to the presenting this event for everyone because I have taken part in so many tours & events and done loads of author interviews & giveaways that it feels excellent to finally be hosting my own event, especially with the excellent Shera as my co-host!

How it works

Just a few words so you know what to expect. Today we are both launching the Winter Solstice event on our blogs - check out Shera's launch post on Book Whispers - then for the next 12 days we will alternate hosting that days author interview & giveaway (Eternally Books starts tomorrow) and finally we have a winners day and finale day!

Look forward to having you join us and learning more about some fantastic authors!

Why the Winter Solstice?

Short answer? It makes a change to Christmas events ;-)

Alternative ~ The 21st December 2012 has long been noted as a day of great potential change. The last day in the ancient Mayan calendar  Some say it means the end of the world, others that it marks a great shift for humanity. Either way it's a powerful date!

Real answer? I wanted to host an event on my blog but was unsure about what or when. The answer came to me one night and relates to the renaissance my blog went through earlier this year. I decided to revive my blog and rename it to mark the start of a new era for Eternally Books. It seemed fitting to theme my event along the same lines! 

A very brief bit about the winter solstice, it is the shortest day and longest night of the year (in the northern hemisphere anyway!). It's passing marks the start of the cycle of renewal of nature. In some cultures the winter solstice is celebrated in many ways. Look out for more over the next few days :-) There are so many ways people in different cultures mark this day, check out the Wikki on Winter Solstice! 


The event schedule (links to author's Goodreads page):

Date:	Author:	Blog:	Giveaway link:
December 7th	n/a	BOTH	none
December 8th	Lia Davis	EB	Giveaway
December 9th	Andy Monk	BW	Giveaway
December 10th	A.C Warneke	EB	Giveaway
December 11th	P.T. Michelle	BW	Giveaway
December 12th	H.P. Mallory	EB	Giveaway
December 13th	Willow Rose	BW	Giveaway
December 14th	Suzanne McLeod	EB	Giveaway
December 15th	S.B. Rodgers	BW	Giveaway
December 16th	Celine Chatillon	EB	Giveaway
December 17th	Chelsea Fine	BW	Giveaway
December 18th	Liz Strange	EB	Giveaway
December 19th	Amy Joy	BW	Giveaway
December 20th	n/a	Both	Winners!
December 21th	n/a		Celebrations!

Feature & Follow Friday (23) & Winter Solstice Event launch!

What is Feature & follow?

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

This weeks blogs are Writer's Block
and Bookworm Brandee

This weeks question

Q: Activity! Who do you want to be? If you could choose any character from a book. What do you think that character looks like and what do you have in common?

A: There are so many! I am going to have to go for the one that seems to have been with me for years and develops fantastically through the series  That would be Hermione Granger!

Hermione is a great character who we see to grow into a wonderful woman. She gets to battle evil but still manages to get good grades. She gets the happy ending - well eventually! Oh and she get to use magic and a wand! Need I say more??? Who wouldn't want to join the wizarding world :-)

Winter Solstice Events ~ starts today!

The event I am co-hosting with Book Whispers starts today. We've got giveaways, interviews and more with some fantastic authors. Grab the event button on my sidebar or read more on the Winter Solstice page! 

We would love you to get involved, check out my launch post and make sure you follow Eternally books & Book Whispers for news & to make sure you don't miss any of the giveaways!!

Waiting on Wednesday ~ Gameboard of the Gods

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine which spotlight eagerly anticipated upcoming releases. I've recently stared this series and like the look of the most recent release.

Title: Gameboard of the Gods
Author: Richelle Mead
Series: Age of X #1
Publication date: 4 June 2013

In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills.

When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.

Gameboard of the Gods, the first installment of Richelle Mead’s Age of X series, will have all the elements that have made her YA Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series such megasuccesses: sexy, irresistible characters; romantic and mythological intrigue; and relentless action and suspense.

Winter Solstice Event - Look out for the start of our Interview and giveaway event tomorrow (7th Dec). Hope you can join us :-)

Stacking the Shelves (13) & Showcase Sunday (12)

Stacking The Shelves is a brand new meme for us all to showcase our book haul for the week. The lovely Tynga at Tyngas Reviews.

Showcase Sunday is another fantastic new meme where we can showcase our books, this is hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits & Tea

I can't choose which of these memes to participate in so I'm going to take part in both!!

It's been a couple of weeks since I did a Sunday Books post so today I am featuring two books I have recently received for review.

Renhala by Amy Joy Lutchen

Prophecy Girl by Faith McKay

Guest Post: Dead Heart by R.L. King

Today I am very pleased to be hosting a guest post by R.L. King. You can find out a bit more about him and his books and enter a giveaway below the guest post! Over to Mr King then:

First I would like to thank you for having me on Eternally Books for my very first international guest post!

Haley Mathers: The Ghost Interview

By R. L. King

In Dead Heart, the main character, Doctor Paul Vieyra is haunted by three ghosts who died on his operating table. When I started writing this story, I had all the ghosts I needed and no plans for any more, but early into the first draft the ghost of a seven year old girl named Haley Mathers came out. Soon after, she began making things happen in both my world and hers. Everything has been moving so fast since I published this novel, and I have been waiting to do a character interview with her because I want answers to a few questions of my own.

R.L.: Hello Haley, it’s very nice to meet you finally.

Haley: Thank you, Mr. King. You talk funny.

R.L.: Well, that’s because I live in Oklahoma, and I have a little bit of an accent.

Haley: You sound like a cowboy in the movies. If you want, I can draw a picture of you on a horse, because I like to draw horses.

R.L.: Not right now, but I do want to talk to you about your pictures. It seems that you are able to draw some very unusual pictures, and then make them do special things; do you want to tell me how you can do that?

Haley: Well, I used to draw all the time when I was alive. My big brother taught me how to draw horses, and we spent a lot of time in the hospital drawing and reading books. Now when I get bored I just draw a line with my finger and watch it change colors. Then I can make the pictures move by wiggling my finger.

R.L.: That’s it? Can you tell me how you make it move?

Haley: I don’t know. It’s like I am pulling it with invisible strings.

R.L.: Okay, let me ask you this. How is it that you can kick the other ghosts and make things happen in the real world?

Haley: I kicked the other ghost in the leg because he was being a mean potty-mouth. But he said he was sorry and we are best friends now.

R.L.: And what about making things happen in the real world, how do you do those things? I always wanted to know, is it magic or something?

Haley: I only do those things to help my friends. I don’t want my friends to get hurt. It is not magic, not like the witches on Halloween; it is like a real kind of magic.

R.L.: You are very brave for a little girl, is there anything you are still afraid of now that you are a ghost?

Haley: Spiders. They are icky and they bite.

R.L.: Since you came along so unexpectedly, you and I never really got to sit down and talk. You have so many unique abilities, is there anything you can do that we don’t know about yet?

Haley: Yes. The other ghosts said it would be funny to move people’s keys and then put them back somewhere they have already looked.

R.L.: I agree, that is funny, but is there anything you can do that you think is strange?

Haley: Yes, I can make flowers grow when I try to smell them. They get taller and happier. And babies giggle when I make funny faces.

R.L: I know that right now there is not a sequel planned for Dead Heart, but if the readers ever demand one, would you like to come back and visit with us at Eternally Books?

Haley: Yes, I would like to come back.

R.L: One last thing before we go. What do you want for Christmas?

Haley: Well, I guess I would like a puppy. I know I can’t have one because I am a ghost, but if I could, I would like a ghost-puppy.  

Dead Heart

Print Length: 259 page

Publisher: 48fourteen (August 30, 2012)

ASIN: B0094GZ3W6

Publication Date: August 30, 2012

Would you give someone your own beating heart so they may live?

That is the question Doctor Paul Vieyra will have to ask himself as his world comes crashing down around him, and the ghost of those who died on his operating table haunt his mind.

When Dr. Vieyra sister’s heart begins to fail and her life fade away, a new heart or surgery are her only chances for survival—a chance no doctor is willing to take. Dr. Vieyra will risk everything he has and more for his sister. He will need the help of both old and new friends along with his mental ghosts if he is going to overcome the incredible obstacles that stand in his way.

The clock is ticking. Will he be able to save his sister’s dead heart? What is he willing to risk?

About R.L. King

R.L. King was born in Grants Pass, Oregon, in 1978. King grew up in a poor mountain town. He and his family lived in an old school bus and shared an outhouse. They did not have a television until Reagan was re-elected.

King is the author of Two Bad Men (2005), Parallel You (2006), and Dead Heart (2007). These novels were created at the request of his friend who needed something good to read. King also published two short stories in 2010, for publishing credentials: The Tell-Tale Soul and The Water-Grave Redemption.

R.L. King currently resides in Oklahoma City, and works in the precious metals industry. He continues to write as late as he can most nights.

Find him across the web: Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Blog

Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Feature & Follow Friday (22) & Upcoming event on Eternally Books

What is Feature & follow?

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

This weeks blogs are Novel Reveries
and Oh! Paper Pages

This weeks question

Q: : Activity! Who is your to-die-for book crush? What do you think they look like? Add an image to make us all happy.

A: Oh you just want one? Okay then I'll cut down my list then. The Black Dagger Brotherhood! There that's just one book crush right :-) I don't have any pictures for you, if I go looking I won't get anything done for ages and I have an event to finish organising!

Coming up on Eternally Books.........

Drum roll please! Announcing.....

The Winter Solstice Event!

I am co-hosting a new event which will run 7th to 21st December along with Book Whispers. We've got giveaways, interviews and more with some fantastic authors. Grab the event button on my sidebar or read more on the Winter Solstice page! (I'm finishing the page today, full details there really soon!!)

We would love you to get involved! Look out for more on the event really soon, make sure you follow Eternally books for news & to make sure you don't miss any of the giveaways!!

UK v US Cover ~ Night Life

How important is the cover of a book to you?

I'm sure I notice them more because I often see a book I like and go off to buy it, only to find the version I get had a totally different cover. I'm in the UK just in case the blog post title didn't give it away! So I thought I'd start up a feature on comparing UK and US covers (might bring in ones from elsewhere too if it takes my fancy!) (Quick disclaimer, I know this is not original but I can't remember where I've seen it so can't credit!)

This week I am taking a look at Night Life the first book in the Nocturne City series by Caitlin Kittredge.



Which cover of Night Life do you prefer?? 














And Me?

Okay my first comment to make is that the UK cover looks a funny shape for some reason! It's not really that wide!

These two covers look much more similar than the ones I've been featuring recently,  but they are far from identical! 

I like the inclusion of the wolf on the UK cover and the model looks like she could handle herself. It's a good cover but very much in the theme of how UK urban fantasy covers tend. 

The US cover I like, the model still looks like she can handle herself and the cover is purple!!!! I like the background too.

My choice this week then. Well I like both covers equally but the US one will have to win because it's purple :-)