BLOG TOUR + GIVEAWAY: WHERE SILENCE GATHERS BY KELSEY SUTTON

WHERE SILENCE GATHERS
BY KELSEY SUTTON
Series: Some Quiet Place #2
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Published July 8th 2014 by Flux
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository

In this companion novel to the critically acclaimed Some Quiet Place, Alex must choose between Revenge and Forgiveness.

For as long as she can remember, Alexandra Tate has been able to see personified Emotions, and she's found a best friend in Revenge. He's her constant companion as she waits outside Nate Foster's house, clutching a gun. Every night since Nate's release from prison, Alex has tried to work up the courage to exact her own justice on him for the drunk driving accident that killed her family.

But there's one problem: Forgiveness. When he appears, Alex is faced with a choice—moving on or getting even. It's impossible to decide with Forgiveness whispering in one ear . . . and Revenge whispering in the other.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelsey Sutton

Kelsey Sutton has done everything from training dogs and making cheeseburgers to selling yellow page ads and cleaning hotel rooms. She lives in northern Minnesota and received a BA in English from Bemidji State University. When Kelsey is not writing or trying out a new career, she can be found in the park with her dogs, ordering a coconut mocha at the local coffee shop, or browsing a bookstore.

Author Links: Website | Twitter | Goodreads

GIVEAWAY

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EXCERPT AND GIVEAWAY: THE BOYFRIEND BACKTRACK BY DAWN LANUZA

The Boyfriend Backtrack
by Dawn Lanuza
Genre: Chick Lit
Published October 3rd 2014
Purchase Link: Amazon

If they say that life flashes right before your eyes when you die, do you also get a flashback of your exes when your perfect boyfriend is proposing to you? At least that's the case for Regina Cortez. There's her dramatic high school boyfriend, her first college crush, the irresistible heart breaker, and the ever elusive one. By backtracking to her past, will Regina make it to 'I Do'? Or will she just keep running away?

EXCERPT

I watched Dirk for days when he came in. Not that I was waiting for him to notice me; it’s just that the more he tries to blend with the background, the more I see him in the foreground. He would always sulk under the bleachers and light a cigarette even if smoking wasn’t allowed on school grounds. At night, he would be hanging out in the parking lot of a convenience store, waiting for his older friends to get him packs of cigarettes and beer. He still doesn’t smile even if he was already with his friends.

So after following him for two weeks – from a distance of course – I had a breakthrough. We were having lunch by the kiosk while he was sulking under the bleachers, smoking, when he caught my eye. This happened a couple of times before, but I always manage to look away or pretend that I was looking at Amy, my friend who is usually talking about her hair. But that day, I didn’t look away and neither did he. So we stared at each other for a whole minute. Maybe less, but that felt like eternity in teenage years.

I didn’t come near him, not for another month or so, but since that day, Dirk and I would have a staring competition during lunch. I always lose, because my eyes would get watery and sometimes, Amy shoves her hair right in front of my face so I can check if she has split ends.

Then one day, while we were in the middle of our staring match, he and his deep intense stare turned into something more than I’ve bargained for.

Dirk smiled.

Generally, when you meet someone for the first time, they give you a smile, as if they’re welcoming you into their lives. His smile wasn’t just an invitation. 

It cracked his whole world open.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dawn Lanuza

Dawn Lanuza has been imagining and writing love stories since she was a kid. She works for the music industry by day, and writes about meet cutes and snappy comebacks by night. She writes short stories, chick lit and young-adult fiction. She has a degree in Development Communication from the University of the Philippines.

Author Links:
Blog / Twitter / Instagram / Goodreads

GIVEAWAY

Dawn is giving away five (5) e-copies of THE BOYFRIEND BACKTRACK!

Open internationally

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RECAP: LANG LEAV IN MANILA

Last Sunday was probably one of the greatest moments in my bookish life. National Book Store brought one of my writing inspirations here in Manila - Lang Leav. 

I met Lang last year and she said she'll be back and well, she really did! She is such a lovely and sweet lady. I love writing poems so this event made the tongue-tied poet withing me very happy. Her writing skills is amazing and for me, it's probably one of the best poetry writing styles I've read in my entire life.

She writes from her instincts because it offers a lot more compact to the readers. And most of the time, it all comes naturally from her. It's something that she has always done way before. Like most of us, writing is her own way of getting her feelings out. Especially during the rough and tough times of her life, it's when she can write the most. She told us this story about when her best friend's mother who passed away. This drove her into deep sadness since she considered her best friend's mother as her second mother.

We asked her where her inspirations come from, she told us that aside from personal experiences, her interaction with her readers is one of her inspirations. Some of her poems are derived from the stories her readers tell her.

She told us that the writing process for her second book, Lullabies, was easier because of Love and Misadventure's success, as well as she already had a publisher by then.

Pinoy Book Tours bloggers with Lang Leav

My fangirling moment!

After the forum, we headed to Powerbooks, Greenbelt 5 for the poetry reading and public signing. The venue was full of people, all excited to meet our poetry queen.

Here's a photo dump of the poetry reading and book signing event:

Sorry for the bright light!

Lang Leav's fans reading her books while waiting for her

And also, great news for you, guys! Lang has a new upcoming book coming this 2015! Hooray!

Recap: Marie Lu Blogger Forum and Book Signing Tour

Last Sunday, I met the pretty and talented Marie Lu! She's not only good in writing heroes and villains, but she's soooooo good at drawing. We were able to see her draw her characters in action!

To sum up everything that we talked about, here are some tidbits of the blogger forum with Marie Lu:

• She didn't actually know she's writing a book for young adults until she gave her first draft of Legend to her agent. In fact, she never even heard of young adult before.
• She'd love to produce a picture book someday.
• Her inspiration when it comes to her characters' names:
• Day - optimistic side, always positive, thief with a heart of gold (Hans Solo, Robin Hood)
• June - named after the month of June, generous, intelligent, ambitious, a female Sherlock Holmes
• Legend was inspired by the real-life world dystopia (North Korea, etc.)
• When it comes to her writing process, she likes to draw her characters first to figure out who they are or what their personality is.
• From writing a dystopian novel to fantasy: she grew up reading fantasy books so fantasy will always be there
• When it comes to the process of writing the next two books on her Legend trilogy, there were no fan-reaction-inspired parts because she already sort of finished the books on her mind so she just watch their reactions hopelessly.
• The hardest book to write for her was Champion. Regarding its ending, she told us she loves bittersweet endings. Besides, there's no other way to end it and it's the ending she always wanted to write and she's satisfied about it.
• I asked her if she has an odd ritual that she do before or during writing. She told us that she cannot write without listening to music. But she doesn't listen to music with lyrics because it sort of distract her writing. So instead, she listens mostly to soundtracks and ambient sounds or to songs with a different language because she cannot understand them and it cannot distract her.
• She loves writing while inside the train. She said there's something about the sound of the moving train that is conducive.
• When asked who's the bigger rebel: Day or June, she answered: She said maybe Day because of what he does. But still, she went for June because she had to absolutely change herself for like, a 180 degrees.
• We asked her is she herself is a Day or June, she told us Day because he's emotionally driven and kind of paranoid, but then she said she's more like June because they were alike when it comes to panic, grief, romance, etc.
• Another thing about her writing process, the switching of points of view, she said it's not actually that hard for her because it has been her writing style for almost 10 years.
• On her latest novel, The Young Elites, she chose the villains as her protagonists. Of course, we asked her about that. She told us that she used them as her main characters because they are manipulative, cunning and doesn't care about what other people say. Plus, they're interesting to explore.
• We also asked her how does she manage to write in a very cinematic way. She said it's because she's a visual person and it has something to do with her background with arts. She loves to draw what she thinks about and write what she see.

Aside from meeting a wonderful author, I was also glad to see my fellow bloggers and pretty ladies of Pinoy Book Tours!

Kai of Amaterasu Reads, Hazel of Stay Bookish, me, and Kate of The Bookaholic Blurbs!

Kai of Amaterasu Reads, Hazel of Stay Bookish, me, and Kate of The Bookaholic Blurbs!

Kate of The Bookaholic Blurbs and I!

Pinoy Book Tours and Marie Lu PH with Marie Lu group shot

After the forum, we all took our lunches, made sure that we were able to catch up with each other's lives LOL talked about books we've read, and books we're waiting for. Then off we go to the public signing!

The crowd was H U G E. People started lining up 9am the day before! Here's a glimpse of the crowd:

There were also awesome readers who cosplayed the characters in Marie Lu's books! Lookie!

From left: Erielle,

Badass posters and bookmarks made by MarieLuPHIL. These were given during the public signing.

Marie Lu drawing one of her characters

I think all of us captured a photo of Marie Lu signing a shiny book. Here's while she's signing my shiny book! And of course, a photo with her!

Marie Lu's nails during the event. And look at those rings!

And here are the gorgeous nail arts by Nicole Lim of The Twins Read, based on the Legend trilogy and The Young Elites. You can check out Novel Nails Designs on Instagram and Tumblr for more photos!

Thanks National Book Store for yet another amazing event! Share your experience or recap on the comment section below. Check out the other recaps below:

The Bookaholic Blurbs

The Soul Sisters

Amaterasu Reads

The Lifelong Bookworm

{Blog Tour} ARC Review + Dream Cast + Giveaway: THE VINEYARD by Michael Hurley

THE VINEYARD
BY MICHAEL HURLEY

Genre: Fiction

Expected Publication November 25th 2014 by Ragbagger Press
Format Acquired: ARC
Source: Publisher

Purchase: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

From Michael Hurley, winner of the Chanticleer Reviews Grand Prize for his debut novel, THE PRODIGAL, comes a complex and ambitious tale of old money, young passion, and ancient mystery in a classic New England seaside town. 

Dory Delano, Charlotte Harris, and Turner Graham have been drifting through life since their days as roommates at Smith College, ten years ago. Dory is resisting taking the reins of her family’s legacy and fortune even as she relishes the fabulous lifestyle it affords her in the fashionable seaside resort of Martha’s Vineyard. She invites her old friends to join her for a summer on the Vineyard in hopes of rediscovering the innocence of old days and healing new wounds. But hidden in their midst and unknown to all but a few, a reclusive—some say dangerous—fisherman wanders alone, fueling wild speculation about his purpose and his past. None of these women can imagine the events their encounter with the fisherman will set in motion, the shadow he will cast over their destinies, or the transformation that awaits the world they know. 

MY REVIEW

First of all, I would like to give a huge thanks for sending me a physical ARC of the book! Please take note that this in no way affected my review and rating on the story.

I love reunions. It's the best part of life when friendship just drifted away years ago. It's good to hear about their stories, how they have been all this time, what's new and what's still the same, and most of all, rekindling the laughter you shared a long time ago.

The books I read mostly fall under fantasy and romance. But I knew that every now and then, I need a good book that talks about friendship and life. The one that talks about pain and how to overcome them, not just about love and romance. And this is what Michael Hurley brought us -- friendship, life, reunions.

Ten years after graduation, Dory, Turner and Charlotte reunited once again at Martha's Vineyard, catching up with their lives. Dory was being forced to marry someone she doesn't love; Charlotte lost her child and the pain wanted her to commit suicide; and Turner, now a famous blogger. Although so much has changed over the years, they never expected that meeting "the fisherman" will change their lives.

THE VINEYARD DREAM CAST

Of course, all of us have their dream casts on the books we love. So for the story behind Michael Hurley's work, here's what the survey said:

A M A N D A  S E Y F R I E D  as  D O R Y  D E L A N O

G E M M A  A R T E N T O N  as  T U R N E R  G R A H A M

S H A I L E N E  W O O D L E Y  as  C H A R L O T T E  H A R R I S

MY RATING

BOOK TRAILER

GIVEAWAY

Giveaway is open to International. | Must be 13+ to Enter

10 Winners will receive a Copy of The Vineyard by Michael Hurley.

20 Winners will receive a Signed Bookmark of The Vineyard by Michael Hurley.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Hurley

Michael Hurley and his wife Susan live near Charleston, South Carolina. Born and raised in Baltimore, Michael holds a degree in English from the University of Maryland and law from St. Louis University.

The Prodigal, Michael’s debut novel from Ragbagger Press, received the Somerset Prize for mainstream fiction and numerous accolades in the trade press, including Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, ForeWord Reviews, BookTrib, Chanticleer Reviews, and IndieReader. It is currently in development for a feature film by producer Diane Sillan Isaacs. Michael’s second novel, The Vineyard, is due to be released by Ragbagger Press in December 2014.

Michael’s first book, Letters from the Woods, is a collection of wilderness-themed essays published by Ragbagger Press in 2005. It was shortlisted for Book of the Year by ForeWord magazine. In 2009, Michael embarked on a two-year, 2,200 mile solo sailing voyage that ended with the loss of his 32-foot sloop, the Gypsy Moon, in the Windward Passage between Cuba and Haiti in 2012. That voyage and the experiences that inspired him to set sail became the subject of his memoir, Once Upon A Gypsy Moon, published in 2013 by Hachette Book Group.

When he is not writing, Michael enjoys reading and relaxing with Susan on the porch of their rambling, one-hundred-year-old house. His fondest pastimes are ocean sailing, playing piano and classical guitar, cooking, and keeping up with an energetic Irish terrier, Frodo Baggins.

Author Links: Website / Goodreads / Facebook

Upcoming Event: Lang Leav Book Signing Tour

A moment of silence please, because my Queen of Poetry will be having a book signing event this December at National Book Store! I met Ms. Lang Leav last year and she was so nice! I'm excited to meet her again, and this time, I'll grab the opportunity to give her a compilation of poems by The Tongue-tied Poet!

(c) Source: National Book Store

Join contemporary author and artist Lang Leav, author of the bestselling Love & Misadventure and Lullabies, for book signing events on December 5 at 5 pm in The Gallery of Ayala Center Cebu (200 slots), on December 6 at 12 pm in the East Atrium of Shangri-La Plaza East Wing (500 slots), and on December 7 at 12 pm in Powerbooks, Greenbelt 4 (500 slots). Registration starts at 10 am for all events. The events are made possible in partnership with Raffles Makati, Metro magazine, Chalk magazine Sweep, Ayala Center Cebu and Shangri-La Plaza. Follow National Book Store on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@nbsalert) for more details. Tag #LangLeavinPH to join the discussion.

What: Lang Leav Book Signing Tour

When: December 5, 2014, 5 pm

Where: The Gallery, Ayala Center Cebu

(200 slots only)

When: December 6, 2014, 12 pm

Where: East Atrium, Shangri-La Plaza East Wing

(500 slots only)

When: December 7, 2014, 12 pm

Where: Powerbooks, Greenbelt 4

(500 slots only)

Registration starts at 10 am for all events.

ABOUT THE LULLABIES

A sequel to the hugely popular, best-selling Love & Misadventure, Lullabies continues to explore the intricacies of love and loss.

Set to a musical theme, love's poetic journey in this new, original collection begins with a Duet and travels through Interlude and Finale with an Encore popular piece from the best-selling Love & Misadventure. Lang Leav's evocative poetry speaks to the soul of anyone who is on this journey.

Leav has an unnerving ability to see inside the hearts and minds of her readers. Her talent for translating complex emotions with astonishing simplicity has won her a cult following of devoted fans from all over the world.

ABOUT LANG LEAV

The enchanting work of contemporary author and artist Lang Leav swings between the whimsical and woeful, expressing a complexity beneath its child-like facade.

Her imagination stretches across a variety of disciplines encompassing art, poetry and books. She is currently represented by New York literary agent Al Zuckerman from Writers House. 

Frequently invited to exhibit at high profile exhibitions locally and overseas, she has since built up a loyal following of international fans. Her handcrafted book, Charlie’s Widow, was presented to iconic film director Tim Burton at the opening of his Wonderland exhibition at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image.

Lang is a recipient of The Qantas Spirit of Youth Award and was later granted a coveted Churchill Fellowship. Her fashion label Akina has achieved critical and commercial success, stocked in key boutiques around Australia and later in cutting edge Harajuku, Japan.

Mechanics

1. There will be three (3) book signings each with a limited number of signing slots:

• December 5, 5 PM, The Gallery, Ayala Center Cebu (200 slots)

• December 6, 12 PM, East Atrium, Shangri-La Plaza East Wing (500 slots)

• December 7, 12 PM, Powerbooks, Greenbelt 4 (500 slots)

2. Registration will start at 10 AM for all events. FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED.

3. Lang Leav will only sign copies of her book LULLABIES. No other book or other item will be allowed.

4. Each registrant is only allowed to have one (1) book signed.

5. Only copies of LULLABIES bought at any National Book Store, NBS Express, and Powerbooks branches will be allowed. The book MUST have its official receipt or price tag.

Are you excited for another bookish event this December? Have you read poems by Lang Leav? Do you consider yourself as part of #TeamSawi? Join the discussion by using the official hashtag, #LangLeavinPH! :D