Lies I Live By by Lauren Sabel - Book Tour and Giveaway

About the Book

These are the facts: My name is Callie Sinclair. I am seventeen years old. I live in San Francisco. I love my boyfriend, Charlie. I work for a secret governmental agency. I am a psychic spy. This romantic, action-packed twist on the classic spy novel is perfect for fans of Ally Carter’s Embassy Row series or for any reader who enjoys cinematic writing and stories of romance and intrigue.

At seventeen, Callie is the government’s youngest psychic spy, trained to track dangerous people and weapons in her visions. When another young—and handsome and witty—psychic joins the agency, Callie’s personal and professional lives get messy all at once. If she can’t find a way to change the events she’s seen in her visions, she could lose the people she loves most . . . and her mind. Literally.

Richly painted against the backdrop of San Francisco and Berkeley, Lauren Sabel’s enthralling novel captures the thrill of exploring a unique power in a dangerous world.

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Excerpt

When I focused on a metal light switch across the room, I felt this intense confidence, this feeling that my life was mine alone, and that I could go anywhere and do anything with it. As this feeling surged through me, I felt heat sliding down my arm into my fingertips.  

“Test your power,” Indigo said.

It was like the word “power” flipped some switch inside me. I lost focus, and my gaze slid a few inches over, to a small metal box. 

The fire alarm went off. 

Everyone screamed and ran for the exits, grabbing their kids along the way. Across the room, I saw Charlie and mom headed towards me, and when I looked over, Indigo was no longer by my side. As the sprinklers turned on, and ice-cold drops of water pelted my skin, I closed my fist, and where the spoon had been, there was now a card with a phone number on it. Right then, I knew that everything had changed.  

I would never be normal again.

Guest Post

What is your writing process?

Myth: I wake up feeling inspired every day, with a sentence rolling off the tip of my tongue.

Fact: Sometimes it happens, but it’s rare. Usually, by the time I stumble into my office with a coffee in my hand, I’ve decided two things: 1. Which project I am going to work on 2. Why I absolutely can’t give up in the first half-hour.  On good writing days, I’ve also decided which scene I am going to drop into, and I’ve thought about what that scene will look like or feel like on my way to work. On those days, writing feels like flying rather than falling.

Myth: I get my most of my inspiration from reading other YA books.

Fact: I LOVE reading YA books! And I do get a lot of inspiration from reading novels. However, if I’m reading about a plot or character in a published book, it means its already been done. Most of my inspiration actually comes from completely random places, like science or history museums, talk radio I tune into for 30 second increments while driving, or conversations that start with, “You wouldn’t believe this, but I swear it’s true…”

Myth: I spend all of my time talking about writing.

Fact: I spend all of my time daydreaming about writing. Since I have a close family and friend group who are not writers, I try not to bore them by talking about my career all the time. But they can’t blame me if my mind wanders to my characters and plotlines – day and night!

Myth: I outline every scene before I write it.

Fact: Usually I have no idea what’s going to happen in any scene before I write it. I often don’t know who will be in it, where it will take place, or how it will end up. Not the most time-effective way to write, but for me, the most fun.

Myth: I was always motivated to be a writer.

Fact: I always wanted to be a writer. Being motivated to sit down and write every day, even when the plot isn’t working or I don’t understand my characters, is a totally different thing. It’s like kicking the sludge out of the way before ever taking the first step in the right direction. Those are the times I repeat these words to myself: “Discipline is success.” That mantra reminds me that the act of discipline itself is what makes a person successful, not the end result, which is unpredictable and often messy.

Thanks...

About the Author

Lauren Sabel lives in the quirky dark spaces of her mind, and she tries to shed light on these spaces in her books. After publishing VIVIAN DIVINE IS DEAD in Summer 2014 with Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of Harper Collins, she confronted her lifelong fear of being psychic by writing LIES I LIVE BY (pub May 2016). Since in this YA thriller, teenage psychic spy Callie Sinclair works undercover for the government, forced to hide her real identity from everyone she loves, Lauren is now certain she’s on the CIA watch list.

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Giveaway
Lauren will be awarding $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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New York Night by Stephen Leather - Book Tour and Giveaway

About the Book



Teenagers are being possessed and turning into sadistic murderers. Priests can’t help, nor can psychiatrists. So who is behind the demonic possessions? Jack Nightingale is called in to investigate, and finds his own soul is on the line. New York Night is the seventh novel in the Jack Nightingale supernatural detective series.

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Excerpt

Sara could see that he was afraid so she smiled what she hoped was a comforting smile. ‘It’s a game,’ she said. ‘It’s just a game.’

‘If you want to play a game, let’s play Grand Theft Auto,’ said her brother. Luke was ten, six years younger than she was. They rarely played together but she needed another pair of hands for the Ouija board and Luke could be relied on to do as he was told.

‘Because I want to play this,’ she said.

‘It’s stupid,’ he said. ‘I’ve never heard of a game like this before.’ He sat back on his heels. They were in her bedroom. He was rarely allowed into her room and had looked at her suspiciously when she had first suggested they play a game together.

‘You liked Charlie Charlie didn’t you? Well this is the same. You can ask it question and it’ll answer.’

‘Charlie Charlie is for fun,’ said the boy.

‘So is this. But with Charlie Charlie you can only pick one of four answers, right? This way the spirits can talk to us.’

‘Spirits? You mean ghosts?’

‘It’s all the same. Look, it’s a game. Just a game. Do you want to play or shall I tell mom you haven’t done your homework?’

Okay, okay,’ mumbled Luke. ‘Don’t give me a hard time.’

Interview

What should readers expect when they pick up your book?

Hopefully a fast-paced read that will grab them from page one. And some humour because Jack Nightingale has a very dry English sense of humour. I hope New York Night is scary, but not too much so. New York Night is the seventh book in a series about Jack Nightingale, supernatural detective. Teenagers are being possessed and turning into sadistic murderers. Priests can’t help, nor can psychiatrists. So who is behind the demonic possessions? Jack Nightingale is called in to investigate, and finds his own soul is on the line. The first five Nightingale books were set in the United Kingdom but last year I moved him to the United States and I’m having fun moving him from city to city. I’ve already published San Francisco Night and the next one will be Miami Night. I plan to set the books in American cities I like because it gives me an excuse to visit! If you want more information on Jack, he has his own website at www.jacknightingale.com

Tell us about the cover and the inspiration for it.

The wonderful Debbie at www.thecovercollection.com did the design for New York Night.  She also did San Francisco Night. She has done many covers for me over the years and is a joy to work with although  have never met her in person. We throw ideas back and forth and then she comes up with a great cover.  For New York Night we wanted the moon, and a flying bird, and a New York skyline. And that’s what we have! We tried several colours and settled on blue. For future books in the series I’ll be looking to continue the moon/bird/skyline theme and change the colour as I change the city, Miami Night will be next and I’m feeling yellow or gold!

How do you keep the ideas and characters fresh and interesting while writing a series?

With the Jack Nightingale books it’s fairly easy to keep them fresh because he moves from city to city – a bit like a supernatural Jack Reacher! That way he’s always a fish out of water and needs someone local to help him. That someone is usually a woman which makes his life more interesting! So in New York Night he meets a detective, Cheryl Perez, and she acts as his guide to the city. In return, he introduces her to the world of the supernatural.

Favorite place to read?

Planes!  I fly a lot because I live with my family in Bangkok, Thailand, but my agent and publisher are in London, so I fly back and forth every couple of months. I have long legs so I pay for Business Class on EVA Air and a Business Class seat is a great place to read. It’s so comfortable and there’s a perfectly placed reading light and a button I can press to get someone to bring me food or drink. If it’s a night flight there’s a comfy duvet. You couldn’t ask for a better reading environment!

Do you have any pets?

I have three cats living with me in Bangkok. Mousefur, Firefur, and Peanut Butter. Mousefur and Firefur are sister and brother and were born to a street cat who had been taken to a local vets. The person who paid for her medical treatment didn’t want the kittens so we took them in. My flat is large and has three big balconies and they are true indoor cats, they won’t go near the front door when it’s open. The third cat – Peanut Butter - was a street cat who lived near our block. She had several litters but all her kittens died, several from being poisoned. We figured it would only be a matter of time before she was poisoned too so we brought her inside. She was filthy and emaciated so we put her on a balcony with food and water. Over the next two weeks she ate and slept and cleaned herself. She put on weight and is now a lovely cat.  She has never really got on with the other two, but because she was the last to arrive she never fights them, even though she is street-hardened. She lets them win because she still thinks of herself as a guest. Whenever I am writing she comes and sits on the sofa next to me and she often sleeps next to me at night, giving me a soft bite on my arm just before she goes to sleep, which I always assume means ‘thank you’.

What’s something unusual or fun that most people don’t know about you?

I hate lifts, or elevators as Americans call them.  I mean I really really hate them and avoid them whenever I can. My publisher used to be based on the 22nd floor of a tower block in London. I used to walk up the stairs rather than use the lift! I have been stuck in lifts four times in my life so my fears are not groundless! Once I was stuck for more than an hour at the top of a building in Budapest.  I really thought I was going to die.

Generally I’m not comfortable with heights these days.  It’s strange because in my thirties I lived in Hong Kong and my apartment was on the 18th floor, overlooking the airport. I could watch planes landing beneath me. I never thought twice about lifts then, but then I guess I hadn’t been stuck in one!

I always avoid visiting friends who live on high floors, and can’t take restaurants and bars that are high up. But I have no fear of flying. In fact I have a pilot’s licence and I learned how to paraglide (where you fly a parachute with a huge fan on your back).  I have jumped out of planes four times. The first three times were with the RAF’s display team which meant climbing out onto the wing of a biplane and jumping off. It was a long time ago! I think perhaps it’s a control issue. When I’m flying – or jumping – I’m in control, but in a lift you are in the care of a machine. I really don’t like relying on machines…

Any last words?

If you’re a reader, keep reading. And if you’re a writer, keep writing!  And wherever possible support your local library. Almost all my reading when I was a child came from the local library and it worries me how much pressure libraries are under these days. I understand that with eReaders and the internet, kids have access to the written word more than they ever did, but nothing can beat a librarian for introducing children to the wonderful world of books.

Thanks...

About the Author

Stephen Leather is one of the UK's most successful thriller writers, an eBook and Sunday Times bestseller and author of the critically acclaimed Dan "Spider' Shepherd series and the Jack Nightingale supernatural detective novels.

Before becoming a novelist he was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mirror, the Glasgow Herald, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. He is one of the country's most successful eBook authors and his eBooks have topped the Amazon Kindle charts in the UK and the US. In 2011 alone he sold more than 500,000 eBooks and was voted by The Bookseller magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the UK publishing world.

Born in Manchester, he began writing full time in 1992. His bestsellers have been translated into fifteen languages. He has also written for television shows such as London's Burning, The Knock and the BBC's Murder in Mind series and two of his books, The Stretch and The Bombmaker, were filmed for TV.

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Giveaway
Stephen Leather will be awarding a $50 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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In the Company of the Dead by Ciara Ballintyne - Book Blast and Giveaway

About the Book



Ellaeva’s obligations to the death goddess leave her no time to hunt down her parents’ murderer—until both duty and revenge lead her to the lonely castle where Lyram Aharris has been exiled for striking his prince. As the castle falls under siege, Ellaeva and Lyram must fight to save themselves from political machinations and clashing gods—but the greatest threat comes from an unexpected quarter.

Purchase

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Excerpt

His horse carried him past the girl. She was nothing but a flash of black dress and white face as he jumped. The enemy rider’s eyes opened wide an instant before Lyram caught him around the shoulders. In a tumble of legs and arms, they spilled over the horse’s rump. 

Lyram crashed to the ground, knocking the breath from him and grass whipping his face. Gasping, he forced himself to his knees, then wobbled to his feet. 

The woman stood observing the spectacle. Though the soldier had struck the ground mere feet from her and was already on his feet, moving towards her, her face reflected only a resigned calmness.

The man reached for her with his free hand. Time oozed with the slowness of poured honey. 

“No!” Lyram choked the word into a strangled gasp, and broke into an unsteady run. 

One step. 

The girl brought one long-fingered white hand up in a gesture of—what? Supplication? Forestalling? Defence even. 

Two steps. 

The soldier seized her by the wrist. With her other hand, she reached out and touched the boiled leather plate over his chest. 

Three steps. 

The sword dropped from the soldier’s fingers. In one fluid motion, he crumpled at the knees and fell face-first into the knee-high grass. 

Time snapped back to normal, and Lyram skidded to a stop over the motionless soldier.

The fallen man didn’t move a muscle. Dropping to one knee, Lyram reached for the man’s neck, seeking a pulse—but he stopped before touching him. The skin was blue with such intense cold that it chilled his fingers where they hovered several inches short of contact. He let his hand drop back to his side. 

A shadow darkened the dim, rainy haze of the morning and he glanced up. A colourless face loomed over him, alabaster skin, midnight hair made all the darker by contrast, and eyes so black the pupils could barely be distinguished. What he’d taken for a homespun peasant dress was instead the billowing black robes of a priestess of Ahura.

About the Author

Ciara Ballintyne grew up on a steady diet of adult epic fantasy from the age of nine, leaving her with a rather confused outlook on life – she believes the good guys should always win, but knows they often don’t. She is an oxymoron; an idealistic cynic.

She began her first attempts at the craft of writing in 1992, culminating in the publication of her debut work, Confronting the Demon, in 2013. Her first book to be published with Evolved Publishing is In the Company of the Dead.

She holds degrees in law and accounting, and is a practising financial services lawyer. In her spare time, she speculates about taking over the world – how hard can it really be? If she could be anything, she’d choose a dragon, but if she is honest she shares more in common with Dr. Gregory House of House M.D. – both the good and the bad. She is a browncoat, a saltgunner, a Whedonite, a Sherlockian, a Ringer and a Whovian… OK, most major geek fandoms. Her alignment is chaotic good. She is an INTJ.

Ciara lives in Sydney, Australia, with her husband, her two daughters, and a growing menagerie of animals that unfortunately includes no dragons.

Author Links:

   

Giveaway
Ciara will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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