Unnatural Deeds by Cyn Balog: Promo and Giveaway!

Unnatural Deeds

By Cyn Balog

November 1, 2016; Hardcover, ISBN 9781492635796

Book info:

Title: Unnatural Deeds

Author: Cyn Balog

Release Date: November 1, 2016

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Praise for Unnatural Deeds

“Vic’s psychological struggle culminates in an unpredictable, shocking ending that most readers will not see coming. This thriller will stay with readers long after the last page."

– School Library Journal

“Like a PG-13 version of Gone Girl, Balog's latest tells the tense and tragic story of three teens mixed up in a world of murder, obsession, and mental illness… A page-turner that will keep readers riveted, this is a treat for mystery fans and will keep readers guessing right up until the end.”

– Kirkus

“Unnatural Deeds is a compelling, dark confessional with pages that keeps you guessing and an ending that will blow you sideways.”

– Natalie D. Richards, author of Six Months Later and One Was Lost

Summary:

Secrets. Obsession. Murder. Victoria is about to discover just how dangerous it can be to lose yourself.

Victoria Zell doesn’t fit in, but she’s okay with that. All she needs is the company of her equally oddball boyfriend, Andrew, who is a musical prodigy, homeschooled, and agoraphobic. They’ve been neighbors and inseparable all their lives, and Vic doesn’t care what anyone else thinks. 

Until the day Zachary Zimmerman sits beside her in homeroom. Z, as he likes to be called, is magnetic, charming, and mysterious, and Vic is drawn to him in ways she doesn’t understand.   

Despite Vic’s loyalty to Andrew, she finds her life entwining with Z’s. He’s an enigma wrapped in a mystery, and she becomes obsessed with figuring him out. Soon, she’s lying to everyone she knows—even Andrew—in an effort to unravel his secrets.

But Z’s not the only one with a past. Vic’s hiding secrets. Dark, horrible secrets. Secrets that will come back to haunt her…and destroy everything in her path.

Goodreads Link: 

http://ow.ly/GjrS305yyoM

Buy Links:

Amazon:

http://ow.ly/ZSNA305x6bo

Barnes & Noble: 

http://ow.ly/c9VO305x6iU

IndieBound:

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About the Author:

Cyn Balog is the author of a number of young adult paranormal novels. She lives outside Allentown, Pennsylvania with her husband and daughters. Visit her online at www.cynbalog.com.

Social Media Links:

Author Website: http://cynbalog.blogspot.com/

Facebook: http://ow.ly/nqUK305yAEp

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cynbalog

Foul whisp’rings are abroad. Unnatural deeds

Do breed unnatural troubles. Infected minds

To their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets.

Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Act V, Scene 1

CHAPTER 1

Duchess—­Police are investigating an apparent homicide after a body was found in a wooded area early Tuesday morning. Authorities have not yet released the name of the victim or the person(s) they are questioning in connection with the investigation.

—­Central Maine Express Times

I

s this thing on?

Ha--ha, I’m a laugh a minute.

Anyway, Andrew. It’s me. Vic. I wanted to say I’m sorry. Sorry for… Well, where do I begin? I—-

Cough, cough, cough.

Sorry. I’m losing my voice. Something bitter is stuck in my throat, and the air is so cold it’s hard to breathe. This place reeks of decaying leaves, of the musty, damp rot of dead things returning to the earth.

There’s something soft and wet under my head. I hope it’s not brain matter. I can’t raise my arms to check because of the way I’m twisted here. I think my leg is broken. Or maybe my back? Damned if I can twitch a muscle without pain screaming its way up my spine.

Somehow I managed to pry my phone out of my jacket pocket and prop it on my chest, but you know how spotty service is around Duchess. All charged up with zero bars—-not that I’d be calling anyone but you. I wish I could see the background photo of you and me. It’d keep me company. You know the one. It’s the picture of us at the Renaissance Faire when we were fourteen. We’re both grinning like mad and you have your arm around me, claiming me as your own. It’s probably the only time you were ever comfortable with yourself. With us. I miss that.

Anyway, you know how glass half--empty I am, Andrew. I wanted to record a note for you on my phone. You know, in case I don’t get out of here.

Of course I’ll get out of here. I wouldn’t be lucky enough to die here. But maybe this’ll be easier than telling you in person.

Cough, cough.

Where should I start?

It’s so quiet. You must have left me, Andrew. But you’ll come back. You always come back. You were scared, maybe, when you saw what you’d done. And now I’m all alone here.

I don’t really know where “here” is. I think it’s a drainage ditch on the side of Route 11. The last thing I remember is rushing down the road near the Kissing Woods, feeling powerful. Immortal. Like everything I wanted could be mine. For an instant, I felt like he could be mine.

But that’s not possible now.

I know what people have said behind my back in hushed whispers. They call me delusional. But I’m not. I know what is real and what isn’t.

No, wait. The last thing I remember is you with that fierce look in your eyes. You sure surprised me. Who knew that my boyfriend, quiet, unassuming Andrew Quinn, had that in him?

I thought I knew you inside and out, but…I was wrong.

I guess I should explain. After all, I have no other pressing engagements. And you’re overdue an explanation, aren’t you? The tall pines can be my witnesses. They can pass judgment as they see fit.

I’m not sure when it all began, but Lady M said it best. Hell is goddamn murky.

Whoops. Blasphemy. Yet another sin to add to my act--of--contrition list.

Looking back, you knew when I started to change, didn’t you, Andrew? You know everything about me. It was that very first day of school, the day my life began and the day it began to unravel.

So here are the gory details. It won’t be enough, but I’ll try. You can’t know it all until you’ve smelled that intoxicating cinnamon--and--cloves scent, read those texts that elevated even the blandest words to poetry, and seen those heart--stoppingly blue eyes.

His eyes. Even now, I can see them with perfect clarity. I’ve seen them in my dreams, in the sky when the sun hits the clouds just right, and in my morning breakfast cereal. It all goes back to him. Every single thought always winds right back to him. Always. Always. Always.

It’s no use. I want him out of my head. I wish I could scrape him out of my memory. I don’t want to live with him etched in the deepest part of me. I don’t want to die thinking of him.

But I know I will.

Rafflecopter Giveaway Link for 2 Copies of Unnatural Deeds Runs November 6-November 18 (US & Canada only) a Rafflecopter giveaway

This product or book may have been distributed for review, this in no way affects my opinions or reviews. COPYRIGHT © 2014 LIVE TO READ

Spin the Sky by Jill MacKenzie: Guest Post and Giveaway!

Welcome to Day #4 of the Spin The Sky Blog Tour!

To celebrate the release of Spin the Sky by Jill MacKenzie (11/1/16), blogs across the web are featuring exclusive content from Jill and 5 chances to win a copy of Spin the Sky, as well as a chance to win a Live 2 Dance Prize Pack in the Grand Prize Giveaway!

Judges Panel by Jill MacKenzie

Three real people (past or present, living or dead) on your ideal Live to Dance judges panel. 

You know what I love about this question? It’s something I’ve never really considered before. Sure, I’ve thought about actors playing my judges in the same way I’ve imagined who’d play my main characters like Magnolia and George.

 But have you considered who would be Elliot, Astrid and Gia if we were to put all actors aside here? It’s a lot harder to imagine, isn’t it? But, in a way, it’s more fun, too.

 So, it’s almost election time here in the USA. Spin the Sky debuts only a little over a week before America decides whom the next President will be. At the moment, it seems as though we can’t turn on the television or radio without hearing something about the pending debates and future of this country, am I right? Doesn’t it feel a little consuming, almost in the way Mags becomes consumed with the constant media attention, the cameras following her every move?

 The way Mags and Olivia describe the competition as a “life and death” situation got me thinking a little bit about the election and how it feels, at the moment, as if it were a life and death situation, too. At the end of my book, most of the characters realize that the competition isn’t everything, but rather a mere moment, a blip in time that they’ll remember later—maybe even remember forever—but won’t remember like this.

 Sort of like all this election business. More than ever, this election feels like the most dire, most incredible, most important election we’ve ever faced. Yet every election in the history of time has been meaningful. Perhaps we’ll realize at the end of this cycle that our feelings here, currently so impassioned and strong no matter which political party you favor, are just that: momentary. Fleeting. Here today and lessened tomorrow.

 So wouldn’t it be fun if, just for the duration of the 300 pages of my book, those same presidential candidates could instead be the judges for Live to Dance? Wouldn’t it be slightly awesome to see Clinton and Trump duke it out in the dance arena instead of the political one? If so, who would act as the third judge? Anderson Cooper? Michael Moore? Ken Bone? I sort of like the idea of both Trump and Clinton weighing in on George’s slip. Think of how Trump would react. Think of how Clinton would counter act. Think of how a third judge—non partisan of course—would attempt to diffuse the heated debate between them.

 Moving away from current politics, what would it be like if other prominent historical figures played Gia, Elliot, Astrid and Camilla? I can totally see Mother Theresa replacing Astrid, her want to make all the contestants feel worthy and cherished. And what about Nelson Mandela? Can’t you picture him as Elliot Townsend? Can’t you just see every person in the room hanging on his words because you just know that, no matter what he says, it’s going to be prolific and awesome? Or how about Madonna as Camilla Skye? I know I said no actors, but Madonna doesn’t really count as an actor, does she? Or how about Malala Yousafazi? How would the story change if someone like Malala—with her background in feminist activism—were Camilla Skye instead of Camilla?

 Of course, I made each character who they are to fit the purpose of the story, but it is fun to imagine the direction this story might have taken if each judge were a little more—or even less—scrupulous. I’d love to hear from you on it! Who would you have play my host and judges if you could re-design them?

*****

Stop by Crossroad Reviews tomorrow for the last day of the tour!

Blog Tour Schedule:

October 31st – A Dream Within a Dream November 1st – Positively Book Crazy November 2nd – Tales of the Ravenous Reader November 3rd – Live to Read November 4th – Crossroad Reviews

Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound

Add on Goodreads

Follow Jill: Website | Twitter

Magnolia Woodson wants nothing more than to get her and her sister, Rose, out of the pitifully small, clamming-obsessed Oregon town that hates them—she just doesn’t know how. Forced to put up with the snide comments and hateful looks the townspeople throw at them, Mags thinks she’s destined to pay for the horrible, awful thing her mom did—and that she’s left her and Rose to deal with—until the day she dies. But when a nationwide televised dance competition posts tryouts in nearby Portland, Mags’s best friend, George, says they have to go and audition. Not only have they spent the past fourteen years of their lives dancing side-by-side, dreaming of a day just like this, but also it could be Mags’s chance of a lifetime—a chance to win the grand-prize money and get her and Rose out of Summerland, a chance to do the thing she loves most with everyone watching, a chance to show the town that she’s not—and has never been—a “no-good Woodson girl,” like her mother. But will the competition prove too steep? And will Mags be able to retain her friendship with George as they go head-to-head in tryouts? Mags will have to learn that following her dreams may mean changing her life forever.

About the Author: Jill Mackenzie, a Vancouver native, is an ex-ballerina and contemporary dancer. Now working toward her MFA in creative writing at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Jill chasses between roles as part-time student, full-time mom, and always-writer. Though Jill no longer studies dance, she still tries to dance herself clean whenever she can. Currently she lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she spends her free time beach-bound with her husband and two beautiful daughters.

GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY

• One (1) winner will receive a Live 2 Dance Prize Pack featuring a Live 2 Dance necklace, signed copy of Spin the Sky, and Spin the Sky swag!
• Enter via the rafflecopter below
• US Only
• Ends 11/6 at midnight ET

a Rafflecopter giveaway This product or book may have been distributed for review, this in no way affects my opinions or reviews. COPYRIGHT © 2014 LIVE TO READ

We Are Still Tornadoes by Michael Kun: Q&A and Promo!

Growing up across the street from each other, Scott and Cath have been best friends their entire lives. Cath would help Scott with his English homework, he would make her mix tapes (it's the 80's after all), and any fight they had would be forgotten over TV and cookies. But now they've graduated high school and Cath is off to college while Scott is at home pursuing his musical dreams.

During their first year apart, Scott and Cath's letters help them understand heartache, annoying roommates, family drama and the pressure to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives. And through it all, they realize that the only person they want to turn to is each other. But does that mean they should be more than friends? The only thing that's clear is that change is an inescapable part of growing up. And the friends who help us navigate it share an unshakable bond.

This funny yet deeply moving book--set to an awesome 80's soundtrack--captures all the beautiful confusion and emotional intensity we find on the verge of adulthood...and first love.

Goodreads Summary

1.     When and how did you guys decide to work on this book together? What inspired We Are Still Tornadoes?

Michael: Well, I’ve written a couple epistolary novels over the years – The Locklear Letters and Everybody Says Hello. In both of them, the readers only saw one side of the correspondence and had to use their own imaginations to fill in the other side, which I hope was fun for them. I had the idea of writing an epistolary novel where the reader would see both correspondents’ letters, and specifically the idea of having two friends write to each other when one goes off to high school and the other stays home. I wanted one of the friends to be a boy and one to be a girl, but I was worried about the authenticity of the girl’s letters. I’ve read a few novels by male writers where they have tried to write in a woman’s voice, and they didn’t ring true to me. So I just kept that in the back of my mind while I worked on other projects.

Susan:  Mike called me a few years back and we ended up talking about writing and potential projects.  Mike mentioned his idea about the high school friends exchanging letters, and he asked me to write this book with him.  Given that Mike already had 8 or 9 books published, I thought he was a bit crazy to take such a big risk on me. We agreed to give it a shot and if it wasn’t going well, we’d be honest with each other and go our separate ways.  Luckily, it went very well.

Michael: The book is made up entirely of the exchange of correspondence between two high school friends in the early 1980s when one goes off to college while the other stays home. So, for me, the inspiration came from my own experience writing letters to friends and family when I went to college.

Susan: The same here. I also wrote letters to friends and family when I went off to college.  My inspiration came from many different friendships and relationships throughout my life, from memories of my high school and college friends to thoughts of my husband and my daughters.  It was really an emotional hodge podge for me.

Michael: What’s interesting to me is how different that world might seem to younger readers today. There were no cellphones. There were no emails. There were no text messages, Twitter or Snapchat. So if you wanted to communicate with someone, you did it through letters or through horrifyingly expensive long-distance telephone calls. I didn’t even have a telephone my first year of college. There was just the pay phone out in the hallway.

Susan: It’s funny to think that some young readers might not even know what a pay phone is.

Michael: True. If you didn’t want to stand in the hallway having a very personal conversation that anyone could hear, using a telephone receiver that had been used by God knows how many people before you, there was really only one other option.

Susan:  Letters.

Michael:  Exactly. 

2.     We Are Still Tornadoes is written in letters between the two main characters, could you share what it was like writing these letters as co-authors and how did you guys go about it? Did you guys take on the role of each of the characters?

Susan: It was great writing this book together. We got along very well. We would talk through where we were going, what the major plot points were, then I would write Cath’s letters and Mike would write Scott’s. We would swap them back and forth, commenting on them, making proposed revisions. It was collaborative in that we could give each other immediate feedback on the most recent letter, but usually we liked what the other had written and we’d just say “I loved that!” and then move on to the next letter.

Michael: I would agree that it was a great experience, but an unusual one. When I write on my own, it’s not uncommon for me to write 5 or 10 pages in a sitting without even getting up from my chair. Here, the most I could do would be to write one of Scott’s letters, then wait for Susan to send me back the draft of Cath’s response. So there might be days or even weeks when I didn’t write a word because I was waiting for Susan’s contribution. And there were days or weeks when she was waiting for mine.

Susan: Yeah, I forget about that sometimes. I’d sometimes worry that if I didn’t hear back from Michael right away, that meant he must have hated something I’d written. There were times when one of us felt strongly about something the other had written. As a first time writer, I appreciated getting feedback on what I was writing, and I’ve known Michael long enough to respect his opinion and trust it. But at the same time, we did have a few conversations about things that one of us really didn’t like.

Michael: Absolutely, and we worked through them.  I do recall there was one of Scott’s letters that Susan felt had painted her in a corner such that it was difficult for Cath to even respond. I reworked it to give her the room she needed. And there were a few things in some of the letters that I thought made Cath less sympathetic than we needed her to be. I suggested revisions to a couple of them as we worked through the book, and we worked on a complete edit of the book at the end.

3.     Did you plot out the book before writing it, or did you discover the plot as you wrote it?

Susan:  Both. We mapped out where we wanted the book to go at the beginning, and were open to changing things as the book progressed.

Michael:  One of the nice things about setting the book during the year that the two characters were separated was that there were certain points in time when we knew it would be natural to bring the two characters back together, even if briefly, and we could use them to set the plot – Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring break.

Susan: Some subplots we developed along the way. And the ending was very different than we had originally mapped out.

Michael: That’s a bit of an understatement. It’s impossible to discuss what the original ending was supposed to be without giving away the ending of the book, so there’s nothing more we can really say on that.

Susan: Are you going to answer if someone emails you after they’ve read the book to ask you what the original ending was supposed to be?

Michael: Nope. It wouldn’t help anyone’s enjoyment of the book to know that.

Susan: Agreed.

4.     What is your favorite 80s movie? (If you want to cheat and list a few, I won't hold it against you xD)

Susan: The Breakfast Club and Bull Durham.  Perhaps I just revealed my own coming-of-age story right there.

Michael: I wish I’d answered first because it’s going to look like I’m copying you, but it’s Bull Durham by a country mile. I will never get tired of it.

5.     Did you both know that you wanted to be authors? How long have you been writing? 

Susan:  I enjoy writing but I previously lacked the confidence to undertake a project of this magnitude.  I owe Mike quite a debt of gratitude for asking me to write this book with him, and for creating a format which only required me to write one letter at a time.  It worked extremely well for a first time writer, and for a working mom, as well.

Michael: I can’t say I even thought about being a writer until college, when I started studying writing with Stephen Dixon. He’s a great writer and a better person. I had been writing a humor column for our college newspaper, and he tracked me down and invited me to take some of his classes. I owe him quite a debt. Actually, though, I stopped writing when I went to law school.  I’d tried to get some of my stories published after college and had failed, so I decided to give up. Fortunately, I made a friend in law school who read my short stories, liked them, and persuaded me to start writing again. Shortly after that, I got on a hot streak and sold a few short stories, then was offered a contract to write my first novel.

Susan: I’m curious, who was that friend?

Michael: You know it was you, Susan.

Susan: Yeah, I just wanted to make you say it.

Michael: I tell everyone how much I owe my writing career to you and to Stephen Dixon. Thanks.

Susan: You’re welcome.  And thank you for asking me to work on this with you.

Michael: You’re welcome. 

Susan: Do you think that came across as cheesy?

Michael:  Probably.  Do you care?

Susan: Nope.

6.     What authors would you say have influenced each of your writing styles the most? 

Susan:  Honestly, I didn’t have any particular author’s style in mind while I was writing.  I tried to make Cath an authentic character, and for me it was more about trying to create Cath’s voice.

Michael: I’m not sure you would necessarily see it in this book, but I suspect I’ve been influenced most by Kurt Vonnegut and Truman Capote. How’s that for a mismatched pair of authors?

7.     What's next for both of you?

Susan: I’m headed off to my very first book signing!  My youngest daughter goes to Bucknell University, and this weekend is Homecoming Weekend.  I’m doing a signing at the campus bookstore in Lewisburg, PA. Then I have a few signings coming up in Northern Virginia, Atlanta, and Chicago, and I’m doing a signing with Michael in Baltimore, his hometown.

Michael: Have a great time at Bucknell. I hope I’m not mixing them up, but that’s the daughter who recommended that we remove something very small from one of the most important letters in the book, isn’t it?

Susan: Yes, it is.

Michael: Well, please tell her that she was absolutely right, and thank her for me.

Susan: Will do.  You are so sweet to remember that.  You haven’t said what you’re working on.

Michael: I’m pretty far along in a new novel called The Allergic Boy Versus The Left-Handed Girl. I know that sounds like a book about superheroes with questionable powers, but it’s the story of a man who is trying to prove to the world that another writer stole a book he’d written and published it to great acclaim. And the only way he can prove it is to track down a girl he’d known when he was younger, who seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth, and may never have existed in the first place.

  

He’s a struggling musician. She’s an academic golden girl. They’re best friends. But over the course of one year, could they become more?

EARLY PRAISE:

“Readers aching for a combination of the ’80s and a romance like Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park (2013) will be stoked to find this novel.” — BOOKLIST

“Sweet and heartfelt, this is one contemporary YA fans won’t want to miss.” – BUZZFEED, 23 YA Books You Need to Read This Fall

"A love story to best friends everywhere. Smart, charming, and delightful." – KIRKUS

"Playful banter, private jokes, dark family secrets, and major life changes are all explored in intimate exchanges… Kun and newcomer Mullen craft separate and authentic voices for their protagonists, [and] the correspondence allows for a deep understanding of Scott and Cath’s thoughts, feelings, and ruminations on the events changing their lives." – PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Author Bio:

MICHAEL KUN lives in Los Angeles, California, with his wife Amy and their daughter Paige. He is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University and the University Of Virginia School Of Law. He is a partner in Epstein Becker & Green, P.C., specializing in labor and employment law. He is the author of The Locklear Letters and You Poor Monster, among other works of fiction and non-fiction.

We Are Still Tornadoes is SUSAN MULLEN’S first novel and first collaboration with Michael.  She is a graduate of Duke University, where she studied English literature, and the University Of Virginia School Of Law.  She practices law and lives in Northern Virginia.  Sue has been married to her law school classmate Kevin Mullen for 25 years, and they have two daughters.

This product or book may have been distributed for review, this in no way affects my opinions or reviews. COPYRIGHT © 2014 LIVE TO READ

Dogs and Their People Giveaway!

From the humans at BarkPost comes the first official BarkBook, DOGS AND THEIR PEOPLE: Photos and Stories of Life with a Four-Legged Love, which Putnam is excited to publish on October 18, 2016. We are SO excited about this title and hope that you will be, too! Please let me know if you’d be interested in featuring this book and partnering for a giveaway around the holiday season.

 

A collection of community-sourced and never-before-told anecdotes, stories, photos, and intimate insights, DOGS AND THEIR PEOPLE captures the depth, spirit, and power of the extraordinary bond between humans and their pups and spotlights more than two hundred unique and remarkable dogs. Some are celebri-dogs (oh hello, Tuna Melts My Heart and Crusoe the Celebrity Dachshund) while others are just making their debut (like Putnam publicist Katie’s Newfoundland, Hank, on page 228!); some will make your heart ache while others will make it soar; and others simply look dapper in color.

 

But this book isn’t just about the dogs; it’s about celebrating the crazy, consuming, unconditional love we feel for them. It’s about the songs you’ve made up for them, the hugs you’ve given them on bad days, and all the outfits that—let’s be honest—you forced them into. It’s about the lightness they’ve brought to our lives just by being there—and having smushy faces. We hear you, dog people; this one is for you.

 

BarkPost is the mastiff-sized media outlet for all things dog. By creating original (and heart-warming, and goofy) content for dog people, BarkPost helps dogs share their stories with the world using the power of humans. BarkPost is part of Bark & Co, the New York-based startup dedicated to making dogs and their people happy. Since launching in 2012 with BarkBox, a monthly box of funny toys, treats and chews that you can’t find together anywhere else, the dog-obsessed humans at Bark & Co have shipped more than 25 million products to date. The company has since expanded in recent years with a goal of getting the backs of dog parents for everything - creating its own products, experiences and entertainment with BarkShop, BarkLive, and BarkPost.

This would be the perfect book to give a dog lover for the upcoming Holidays! Please leave a comment with your name and email for a chance to win this wonderfully barky book! (USA)



This product or book may have been distributed for review, this in no way affects my opinions or reviews. COPYRIGHT © 2014 LIVE TO READ