7 Tips for Surviving ComicCon

ComicConAnyone excited for SLC’s FanX? These ComicCon conventions are over the top. Celebrities and fans are able to come together to get their geek on, and it’s quite the spectacle! People spend months putting their costumes together. They dress up from their favorite shows and movies, and they really go all out! If you’ve never been to one of these conventions, you’re seriously missing out. Look for one in your area, it’s worth it!
Since SLC’s FanX is coming up, my mind is on preparing for that long weekend. Here’s a list of must-haves that I’ve learned to take with me to survive the experience. I realize some of these tips are very basic, but you’d be surprised at how many people forget them or had so many other things on their minds – like meeting celebrities and their costumes – that they just didn’t think of them. So, check out this list and I hope it helps you prepare for the con near you.

1- Backpack or rolling suitcase

Rollingsuitecase
First things first: If you are going to take this stuff I’ve suggested below, you’ll need a practical means of taking it with you. Once you get into a con, you won’t want to go back to your car until you’re leaving for the day. You will also be buying all kinds of merchandise at a con like this, and you’ll want something to carry all of your purchases in.
There’s pros and cons to both a backpack or a rolling suitcase. A backpack is easier to get through a big crowd and it won’t trip others when you try to circumvent everyone around you. The downside is that it will hurt your back and shoulders after a while.
The rolling suitcase doesn’t need to be very large. It’s nice to have something to pull along with you so your back and shoulders aren’t dying by the end of your awesome con weekend. This is my favorite option for rolling suitcase to bring to a con.
You can purchase a hybrid – one that you can carry as a backpack or switch to roll on the floor. Best of both worlds. This is my preferred method.
*Note that most cons reserve the right to search your bags when you enter, for security purposes.
2- Snacks and water bottles

WaterbottleThink Thin
Yes, cons will have lots of food vendors around, but you don’t want to have to be stuck in long lines when you’re starving. Plus, with all the walking you’ll be doing, you’ll likely be hungry for snacks in between meals. You want something that isn’t too heavy and doesn’t need to be refrigerated. You also need something that will satisfy your hunger for a good while. The following are my recommendations.
*Note: these are gluten free~

Think Thin Bars
Healthy Bars

Water is a huge deal. You’re going to be inside all day with thousands of other bodies breathing in the same recycled air. You’ll need lots of water to sustain you through the whole weekend. Bring a big water bottle. You can refill it at drinking fountains throughout the day. This is the one thing that will seriously weigh down your pack, but it’s necessary. Here’s a link to a great quality one.

If you want something extra to keep you hydrated, I suggest getting Eco drink packets. These are filled with nutrients and vitamins that will keep you extra hydrated and will even help prevent headaches. I take them to any con I make an author appearance at.

Gum or mints are highly recommended since you’ll be meeting celebrities and don’t want to have bad breath when you’re getting your picture taken with them!

3- Protective covers for pics or signatures with celebrities

PhotoProtecter
Speaking of meeting celebrities, if you have purchased a photo op with them, you’ll have to pay extra for any photo covering to protect it. And even then, the photo could still bend! Not something you want when you just payed $100+ for a once-in-a-lifetime picture. The following links to the perfect photo covers that will keep those pictures from bending or scratching while you’re enjoying the rest of your day.
Presentation Book 
Presentation Case

 

 

 

4- Tylenol, Advil, or essential oils

Headache Gel
I don’t know if it’s raising your voice over the noise all day, being around a bunch of people, or the recycled air, but headaches are very common for people attending a con – especially if it’s your first one. Whatever your preference for pain killers, make sure you bring it with you! Here are my favorite brands for staving off those unwanted headaches:
Headache Relief Gel
ibuprofen

 

 

 

 

5- Good walking shoes

Dr Scholls
Yes, I know you’re dressing up in your favorite cosplay, or you want to look fabulous/sexy when you meet that one celebrity you’ve been a fan of since Jr. High. But seriously, wear comfy shoes. No dressy heels, no amazing boots that complete your costume. Wear walking shoes that have good arch support and that won’t make your feet sweat. You’ll be standing and walking for a very long time. Take care of those feet so that you’re not hating life by the time you get to the last day of your con.
If you insist on wearing your “pretty shoes”, try these inserts or arch supports.

 

 

 

6- Set amount of cash (plan a budget before going)

Wallet
Whether you’re going for one day or three, plan how much you’ll be spending each of those days. While most vendors take cards, you’ll stick to your budget better if you only use cash. Also, with so many people on the same wi-fi, their swipers may not be the most reliable. Keep your money on your person at all times and don’t make yourself an easy target by tucking it into your back pocket for thieves. Also be aware that in a crowded place like these cons, RFID often occurs. Here’s something you can use to store your cash and keep your credit cards protected from identity theft.

7- Hand Sanitizer
With so many people walking around, germs will be all over the place. Lots of people come home from a con and get sick soon after. You should use hand sanitizer all throughout the day. After using the restroom (Yes, even though you washed your hands), before eating, and after you’ve socialized and shook lots of hands.

Cover Reveal for Numbers Ignite!

Numbers Ignite
Rebecca Rode
(Numbers Game, #2)
Publication date: January 26th 2016
Genres: Dystopia, Young Adult

Treena and Vance think they’ve pulled out of the numbers game forever. They’re wrong.

After Treena’s disastrous attempt to unite the nation, she has the deaths of hundreds haunting her dreams. Now, with hatred and accusations following her past the border, she’s determined to leave that horrible day behind and find a peaceful, uneventful life with Vance and the settlers. But when she starts seeing mysterious figures hiding in the abandoned cities at night and uncovers a strange desert population, she realizes there’s a danger much greater than NORA to worry about—and she just abandoned her people to their fate.

Vance is a prisoner. Being rejected by the girl he loves and put on trial for betraying his clan are bad enough, but now he’s been framed for a crime he never committed. Their less-than-perfect refuge has become the political game of a madman, and Vance is the only one who can stop it—if he can keep from being executed first.

Treena and Vance are still very much in the game, and this time it will take everything they have to save those they love.

*Numbers Ignite is the sequel to the runaway Amazon #1 Bestseller, Numbers Game.

Sequel to:
25131711

Add to Goodreads


Author Bio:

REBECCA RODE is an award-winning author, journalist, and mother of four. She is the author of the YA dystopian novel, NUMBERS GAME, and the inspirational book, HOW TO HAVE PEACE WHEN YOU’RE FALLING TO PIECES. She also writes for Deseret News, KSL.com, FamilyShare, and Provo Daily Herald. However, her true love is writing for teenagers. She enjoys traveling, reading, and martial arts, and she has a ridiculous addiction to chocolate-banana shakes. Visit her at www.AuthorRebeccaRode.com.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

 

Hosted by:
XBT250

Over 20 Books FREE or on Sale!

It’s time for another HUGE multi-author promotion! We’ve gathered a robust collection of books for you to choose from, all of which are rated PG13 and below (Including Dissension). There’s something here for everyone–we even have some non-fiction! Listed alphabetically by the author’s first name.

AND… Since I’m in sale mode, Defiance is also on sale for 2.99 (usually 8.99)! So many great deals, now you’re going to have to find the time to read them. 😉 Enjoy!

Discern

Andrea Pearson

Original Price: $3.99
Sale Price: FREE
Movie Rating: PG – PG13 for fantasy violence
Genre: YA Paranormal/Urban Fantasy

Available on Kindle, iTunes, Kobo, Nook

As an FYI: Praxis, Perceive, and Observe, books two-four of this series, are available for $0.99 for the week of this promotion only (down from $4.99).

Nicole Williams is an Arete—a fourth child with magical abilities—yet no matter how hard she tries, she can’t Channel her power. In fact, she seems to be the only student at Katon University who fails at magic.

This doesn’t stop her from competing to be included on a university-led expedition to Arches National Park. She is determined to show everyone, but mostly herself, that she does belong. Yet, to qualify for the trip, she must produce at least a speck of Wind magic, and that appears to be impossible.

Nicole turns to her best friend, Lizzie, for help, along with fellow student Austin Young, who is considered by all a magical rarity. He also happens to be the hottest guy on campus and just might be interested in her.

As the competition progresses, Nicole wonders if she’s making the right choice—especially when she learns that the strange fossils they’ll be studying in Arches might not be as dead as everyone thinks.

Dissension

Adrienne Monson

Original Price: $8.99
Sale Price: $1.99
Movie Rating: PG13 for violence, two swear words, and sexual innuendo
Genre: Paranormal Romance

Available on KindleNook

Leisha used to be a loving mother with a perfect family, but that was more than 2,000 years ago. Though she holds the memory of that time dear to her heart, she must now focus on trying to escape the eternal and bloody war between her kind—the Vampires—and the Immortals, an undying race sworn to destroy her people. Leisha soon finds herself captured by the government, only to be saved by a young and mysterious human girl. What follows is the beginning of a long and tortuous journey as Leisha and her newfound friend run for their lives while searching for the one thing that can bring an end to the conflict—the prophecy child.

Blood Crown

Ali Cross

Original Price: $4.99
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: PG13 for violence and sensuality
Genre: Science Fiction

Available on Kindle, iTunes, Nook

Androids have claimed power over what remains of the human race. They rule without remorse. They are the Mind and humans exist only to serve them. But it wasn’t always so. Before the android uprising, select droids, called Servants, were pivotal in engineering a new human race with nanotechnology enhanced DNA. The Blood Crown theorem was to be humanity’s crowning glory and the key to their survival in deep space. But Serantha, Daughter of the West, was the last female to receive Gifts from her Servant and when the Mind mutinied, she was hidden away, and presumed dead. Without Serantha there is no hope of the Blood Crown being realized so Nicolai, Son of the East, abandons his crown to join the rebel forces. He might not provide the future for his people he had once dreamed of, but he will not go down without a fight. When Nicolai discovers Sera among a small compliment of kitchen staff, everything changes–but Sera’s Gifts were never completed and she is ill-equipped to face a legion of androids determined to wipe her, and every other human, out of existence. Their only hope is the Blood Crown–but even if Serantha and Nicolai can realize their potential it may be too late to save mankind.

What If It’s Love?

Alix Nichols

Original Price: $3.99
Sale Price: FREE
Movie Rating: PG13 for sensuality
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Available on Kindle, Kindle UK

What If It’s Love? is Book One in the Bistro La Bohème series. Book Two, Falling for Emma, is on sale on Kindle for $0.99 (regularly priced $3.99) October 14-20.When the hottest man in Paris – Rob Dumont – shows interest in geeky, introverted heiress Lena, she suspects something fishy.
And so she should.

A New Beginning

Amelia C. Adams

Original Price: $2.99
Sale Price: FREE
Movie Rating: PG for light kissing and mild violence
Genre: Western Romance

Available on Kindle, iTunes

Handsome young heir Adam Brody sees nothing but possibilities in the sprawling old building he’s just purchased. With a little hard work, he will transform it into a hotel to meet the needs of those traveling by railroad. Aunt Caroline believes he’s lost his mind, but she agrees to help him give it a try.
Left a widow with a small daughter, Elizabeth Caldwell must find work. When she sees an advertisement in the newspaper inquiring about cheerful young women to work in a hotel, she decides to apply. However, the hotel owner specifically requested single ladies, so she must hide her former marital status, and her child, if she wishes to get the job.
With cloudy pasts to overcome, both Adam and Elizabeth want to believe in a bright future. Will they find the strength they need in each other, or will their differences keep them apart?

Return to Moon Lake

Amy Gamet

Original Price: $2.99
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: PG13 for behind closed doors sex
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Available on Kindle, Nook

Lisa Addario is struggling to make peace with her family and her own bad decisions, while ex-soldier Greg Mora is desperate to carve a new life for himself after war. Can two broken people heal the wounds from their past, or will their demons destroy their chance at happiness forever?
Books in the Love on the Lake series (each can be read as a stand-alone story):
Treasure on Moon Lake (Tori and Jed)
Fortune on Moon Lake (Melanie and Rafael)
Return to Moon Lake (Lisa and Greg)

The Superstitious Romance

Anastasia Alexander

Original Price: $3.99
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: PG
Genre: Sweet Romance

Available on Kindle, Nook

Friday the 13th has always been unlucky for history professor Camille Britain, and this one doesn’t seem any different. In an effort to escape her failed marriage, Camille is renting a cabin in beautiful Island Park, Idaho, where she meets wildlife photographer Jackson Armstrong, who scoffs at her superstitious ways and infuriates her with his offers of help.
Camille doesn’t need another man—not even one as compelling and attractive as Jackson. Especially when he seems hung up on another woman. And yet Camille can’t deny the passion between them or the way Jackson makes her feel.
This Friday the 13th upsets both their worlds by forcing Camille and Jackson to see things about themselves, their families, and each other that might—with a little help—change them forever. Maybe this time superstition is on their side.
The Superstitious Romance is a “sweet romance” about a strong woman who feels weak, a man who doubts himself, and a powerful love that changes everything.

Exodus

Andreas Christensen

Original Price: $3.99
Sale Price: FREE
Movie Rating: PG13 for mild profanity and violence. No sex
Genre: Science Fiction

Available on Kindle, iTunes, Kobo, Nook

When mankind faces extinction, how can anyone survive?

In 2072, Earth faces the ultimate extinction event. In an America turned authoritarian, a race against time begins. To send a starship to a distant planet, where the remains of humanity can survive. Only a small number will be chosen for this final endeavor to save mankind from extinction, and among the contenders only the most resourceful will have a chance.

But while the government wants to choose loyal subjects in order to create another version of the society they have engineered, there are those who secretly conspire to let the starfarers choose their own destiny, free from the bonds of their mother world.

As mankind on Earth faces its final blow, the selected few set course for Aurora, more than 40 light years away!

Follow Tina Hammer, scramjet pilot and officer, Kenneth Taylor, Harvard professor and alienated by the nation he once held so dear, Maria Solis, daughter to one of the richest men in the world, a girl who would never have been chosen, except for her dad’s money, on their various paths toward the greatest adventure in human history.

The Captain of Her Heart, Vol I of the Buchanan Saga

Anita Stansfield

Original Price: $6.99
Sale Price: FREE
Movie Rating: PG13 for mature content, mild language, and mild sexual implications
Genre: Historical Romance

Available on KindleNook

The year is 1777. As the brooding mists of war settle over a stark American battlefield, Captain Ritcherd Buchanan yearns for his native England—and for Kyrah Payne, the woman he loves. Wounded and disheartened, he eventually returns home, only to have Kyrah torn cruelly away from him and deported for a crime she didn’t commit. Desperate to bring her home, he joins a band of privateers and finds himself embracing the American patriot cause—a cause he’d once sworn to defeat.
All alone in a country at war, Kyrah becomes a victim of the breach between her own impoverished circumstances and the aristocratic upbringing of the man she loves. They had been best friends and confidants for more than half her life, but now she wonders if Ritcherd will ever be able to find her—or if he’ll even try. And she fears that the chasm between their worlds can never be bridged.
A powerful and deeply moving saga, its intricate plot expertly woven and guaranteed to keep any reader turning its pages. The only disappointment is that the book ends!

Moonlight

Ann Hunter

Original Price: $2.99
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: PG13 for mild violence and romance
Genre: YA Fantasy

Available on Kindle

“My most beloved brothers, and father,
I feel as though I have failed you. With Mother’s death and the threat of Ciatlllait’s dark powers looming, I am not sure I am strong enough to save you. But I will try.
War is coming. I am just one girl. I feel so small, but I will draw strength from Mother’s final words: You are never alone.”
–Aowyn
One vow. One curse. One thousand moons.
While Princess Aowyn’s six brothers are favored by their father, Aowyn is the jewel in her mother’s crown. When the Queen dies, Aowyn takes a vow to protect her brothers and father from the hungry eyes of the queen’s handmaiden, Ciatlllait – who is more than she seems.
In order to save her family, Aowyn risks a dangerous deal with the dark creature Sylas Mortas. But magic comes with a price: and Aowyn soon realizes the one she has paid is too steep.
Only true love can reverse the spell…but it will take one thousand moons. Can she keep to her word with war and romance on the horizon?
Set in a Celtic world, “Moonlight” is the story of faith and true love woven through a breathtaking coming of age retelling of the classic fairy tale “The Swan Princess”

Dead Running

Cami Checketts

Original Price: $4.49
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: PG for mild violence
Genre: Clean Romantic Suspense

Available on Kindle

Cassidy Christensen is running.
Running from the mercenaries who killed her parents.
Running from a scheming redhead intent on making her life miserable.
Running from painful memories that sabotage her dreams of happiness.
With two very tempting men competing for her attention, she hopes she’ll finally have someone to run to, but can she trust either of them?
A light-hearted and clean romantic suspense, by #1 Bestselling Christian author, Cami Checketts, Dead Running will have you lacing up your running shoes and racing for the sequel, Dying to Run.

ConQuest

Dhayaa Anbajagane

Original Price: $3.99
Sale Price: FREE
Movie Rating: G
Genre: Science Fiction

Available on Kindle

An ordinary man would fear the realm of the unknown.
An extraordinary boy would conquer it.
Enemies can come from a different country, different continent or even a different planet, but what if they came from a different Universe? When a freak space phenomenon threatens to tear open the ancient seals of the Universe, teenage rookie Q and his crew are told to head out and gather vital data on the situation.
What they weren’t told is they wouldn’t be coming back.
Thrilling, adventurous and action-packed, ConQuest promises to be a page turning read that’ll always keep you guessing.

New World Orders

Edward G. Talbot

Original Price: $3.99
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: PG13 for action violence and some profanity
Genre: Political (Action) Thriller

Available on Kindle

Killing Kennedy was only the beginning. . .
In the nineteen-sixties, a group of wealthy men concludes that it’s already too late to stop global warming from destroying the planet. But they have a plan to save themselves.
Twenty years later, Jack Crowley and Jim Patterson stumble onto the conspiracy, and every answer they find is accompanied by more questions – and more deaths.
Jack is a former idealist, turned cynical by his years working as a New York tabloid editor. But his enthusiasm returns as he looks into the work of a NASA scientist who tells Jack about cover-ups at the space agency. Jim is a detective with little patience for conspiracy nuts. But he hates loose ends, and is unable to let go of the inconsistencies in another suspicious NASA death. Soon, his investigation leads him to Jack, and they join forces.
As Jack and Jim dig deeper, they are targeted by the type of killers that don’t usually miss. From Washington to Las Vegas to the Middle East, they manage to stay one step ahead of their pursuers in a race to expose the truth, and maybe, just maybe, save the world.

With No Regrets

Julie N. Ford

Original Price: $4.99
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: PG13 for mature themes, mild innuendo, farmer swearing, and a couple of passionate kisses
Genre: Women’s Fiction/Romance

Available on Kindle, iTunesNook

Living With No Regrets Is Harder Than It Seems
Finley isn’t exactly sure when her life began to feel unfamiliar. She suspects the transformation started long before she caught her husband and fellow garden club member doing the white-trash-two-step on her new Bernhardt sofa. Now free from the shackles of a loveless marriage, and with her children off to college, she’s finally able to go searching for the missing pieces of her heart.
Finley’s best friend, Cathyanne, is already working hard to ensure that Finley finds true love this time around. But when Finley is unwittingly tossed into the arms of two men—their sexy trainer and her neighbor, a popular country star—Cathyanne fears finding the right guy will be more complicated than she ever could have imagined.
For Finley, building a new life feels as impossible as flying a paper airplane to the moon. But maybe, just maybe, with the right help, she will find her whole heart—even if it’s in the very last place she thinks to look.

To Swallow the Earth

Karl Beckstrand and Ransom Wilcox

Original Price: $3.75
Sale Price: FREE
Movie Rating: PG for violence
Genre: Western Suspense

Available on KindleNook

108 years in the making! What if you came home after a journey and your family was no longer there? What if someone else was living in your house, running what you used to manage—and trying to kill you?
Wade Forester must stay in the shadows because, it seems, everyone has reason to shoot him. His father has disappeared, and his sister won’t speak a word to anyone. Beautiful Patricia Laughlin is searching for her family as well. Few people gain her trust or approval, though powerful landowner Bridger Calhoun just might be the man to do it.
After a clash throws them to opposite sides, Wade must decide if risking his life to help Patricia is worth the trouble. Bridger must win Patricia’s heart, and Patricia must learn which killer to trust with her life.
Set in Nevada’s historic silver rush, and reminiscent of Crichton, Grey, and L’Amour, the writing comes from intimate knowledge of the era and area. Having lived off the land, Wilcox depended on his wit, grit, and strength—and that of his animals—for survival, just as these characters do. Wilcox and Beckstrand weave authentic detail and care for the terrain and its creatures into a mystery that will make your heart pound and fill your lungs with the “rarefied air” of the old Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Comes with additional short story.

Cold River

Liz Adair

Original Price: $2.99
Sale Price: FREE until the 17th, then $0.99
Movie Rating: PG for some mild adult themes
Genre: Romantic Suspense

Available on Kindle

Mandy Steenburg thinks her doctorate in education has prepared her to run any school district – until she tangles with the moonshine-making, coon-dog-owning denizens of a tiny district in Pacific Northwest timber country. She’s determined to make a difference, but the local populace still looks to the former superintendent for leadership. When Mandy lands in the middle of an old feud and someone keeps trying to kill her, instinct tells her to run. And though she has to literally swim through perilous waters, she finds a reason to stay and chance the odds.

Finding Success in Failure

Lucas Carlson

Original Price: $6.49
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: G
Genre: Non-fiction Business Advice

Available on Kindle, iTunes, Kobo, Nook

Want to make millions (or even billions) as an entrepreneur in just 18 months?
So did I. And I used to read anything that promised it.
It was a constant disappointment. Time after time I would read these books feeling like I couldn’t apply or reproduce their efforts.
But after 10 years of struggling, something finally clicked. I signed up over 100,000 users for what started out as just a side project, raised almost $10 million, and ended up having my company acquired.
So what did I do differently?
The real question you should be asking is what I DIDN’T do to find success in failure.
In every field, from chess to gymnastics, we can make bigger gains by reducing mistakes than by making winning moves. This is especially true in business. We study the greats, trying to extract valuable lessons, when avoiding a few key blunders would be more valuable.
Fortunately, advice on what not to do is universally applicable. The ways to fall down the mountain are shared by all climbers, no matter which path they’ve chosen.
This book is here to teach you how NOT to fall down the mountain.
How can you be an entrepreneur that beats the odds? How do you build a successful business that not only changes the world for the better, but creates generational wealth for you and your family? You simply need to avoid mistakes — and this book will show you how.

You Belong with Me

Melissa Storm

Original Price: $2.99
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: PG13
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Available on Kindle

Would you let your dog choose your boyfriend?
Maybe Charlie Rockwell should have thought a little harder before adopting the large, out-of-control rescue dog she saw featured on the local news—but, then again, her life has always been best with no waiting, no attachments, nobody to hold her back.
Will Porter lives a life of order and routine, so, of course, he’s miffed when a savage Rottweiler picks a fight with his golden retriever at the dog park. His anger quickly vanishes when he looks into the tearful eyes of the dog’s owner—eyes that look strikingly similar to his ex’s. Even though he’d like nothing more than to run in the other direction, he’s unable to ignore the beautiful stranger’s request for help in taming her new dog.
Can Will get past her resemblance to his ex and finally learn to love—and trust—again? And can Charlie find the fun in a simpler existence? Who knows, maybe opposites really do attract.

Paladin: Pawn

Michael Young

Original Price: $3.99
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: PG for some scary elements
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Available on Kindle

When nerdy eighth-grader Rich Witz unwittingly becomes a paladin, a white knight in training, he is thrust into a world where flunking a test can change the course of history, and a mysterious bully is playing for keeps with his life.
Rich’s grandmother leaves him one thing before disappearing for good—a white chess pawn with his initials engraved on it. The pawn marks him as the next in an ancient line of white knights. He must prove himself in a life-or-death contest against his nemesis, a dark knight in training. With the ghost of an ancestor for his guide, he has seven days to complete four tasks of valor before his nemesis does, or join his guide in the realm of the dead.

Paradise Lot

R.E. Vance

Original Price: $2.99
Sale Price: FREE Oct 12th and 13th, then $0.99 until the 17th
Movie Rating: PG13
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Available on Kindle

The gods are gone. All of them.
Their last message to humanity was: “Thank you for believing in us, but it is not enough. We’re leaving. Good luck.” At first no one took them seriously. Until, that is, all the denizens of all the heavens and hells started showing up on people’s doorsteps.
Creatures that were once thought of as myth are now refugees striving to adapt to life on earth. Trouble is, after eons of living forever, they’re not very good at being mortal.
Caught in the middle is Jean-Luc, a struggling hotelier who (reluctantly) promised to help these wayward ‘Others’ live in this new GoneGod world. But taking care of his guests, keeping his hotel afloat and dealing with the constant drama of the Others’ lives is figuratively killing him. And now that an unusually strange Other is in town, his figurative demise might soon become more literal.
Paradise Lot is a new urban fantasy series by R.E. Vance that chronicles the adventures of the humans and ‘Others’ alike, as they struggle to navigate this strange, new post apocalyptic godless world.

The January Cove Series: Books 1-5

Rachel Hanna

Original Price: $6.99
Sale Price: $2.99
Movie Rating: PG13 for fade-to-black sex scenes
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Available on Kindle, iTunesNook

The first 5 books of the January Cove series!
Welcome to January Cove, a quaint beach town on the coast of Georgia where true love always wins and happy endings are the catch of the day.
In the first 5 books of the January Cove series, you’ll meet the Parker family. There are 4 brothers (Kyle, Aaron, Jackson and Brad) and one sister (Addison). Books 1-5 follow each of the siblings through the trials of falling in love, and you’ll also meet their mother, Adele, who raised her five children alone after becoming a widow at a young age.
These books will make you swoon and leave you wanting more. Don’t start reading them before bed or you may not get a wink of sleep!
The January Cove series books are the perfect beach reads. If you love small town romance set in a beach town with rich characters and amazing love stories, this series will be a new favorite!

Numbers Game

Rebecca Rode

Original Price: $2.99
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: PG13 for some violence and heavy themes
Genre: Dystopian (Science Fiction)

Available on Kindle

Treena isn’t sure she wants to be Rated anymore. Sure, she’s prepared for Rating Day her entire life. Sure, she’s one of the top contenders in Level Three school. But this number will brand her forever—a valuable citizen, or a pathetic waste of space. And then there’s the the issue of being within 100 points of her top-rated boyfriend if they’ll attend the academy together.
But Rating Day comes and her number is announced–and it shocks everyone.
To get her life and boyfriend back, Treena must go undercover and expose a military spy. Doesn’t sound too hard, except that someone wants her dead. And then there’s Vance, the mysterious soldier with a haunted past and gorgeous brown eyes. Together, they discover a dark numbers conspiracy, one that shatters the nation’s future. Treena must join up with Vance if she is to survive the dangerous game of numbers—and the terrible war that rages within her heart.

The Change

Teyla Branton

Original Price: $4.99
Sale Price: FREE
Movie Rating: PG13 for violence
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Available on Kindle, iTunes, Nook

Death, Life, or Love—Unbounded Always Play for Keeps
There are only two ways to kill Unbounded, and fire isn’t one of them—as law school dropout Erin Radkey learns the hard way. By fluke of a recessive gene, she has become Unbounded, a nearly immortal being with paranormal abilities.
Erin’s Change separates her from her loved ones and alters everything she believes to be true. A week earlier she was considering a marriage proposal; now she contemplates the best way to stay alive. Caught in a battle between two Unbounded groups, the Emporium and the Renegades, she is also hunted by a secret mortal society sworn to eradicate the Unbounded gene.
As Erin plunges into this dangerous new life, she must carve out her own place in the madness, protect her mortal family, and decide which group she should join. Her unique ability is vital to both groups in the race to secure an identification software that spells death for all Unbounded—or enslavement for the entire mortal world. Some will stop at nothing to use Erin as one more pawn in a battle that has spanned centuries. Erin’s undeniable attraction to Ritter Langton, whose family was massacred by opposing Unbounded two hundred and forty years ago, complicates her choices. There are no second chances. Death, life, or love—Unbounded always play for keeps.
Non-stop action, terrifying consequences, and powerful romance make The Change an exciting addition to the world of romantic urban fantasy.

 

Cover Reveal: Copper Reign

Copper Reign Final 1The tale of Sinauf was a secret nineteen-year-old Nina Douglas’ ancestors kept hidden for generations. But after six-hundred years of concealment, their protection has failed, bringing Nina’s fate into light, and revealing an inescapable truth.

The dark god of legend is real.

Caught in an ancient war still raging in the modern world, Nina is confronted with Sinauf—the embodiment of all she fears and desires. Like a moth drawn to a deadly flame, she must resist the seductive charm of an alluring monster, or prepare for the destruction of an entire universe.

Temptation is known by many names, and he is coming for her.

Shards Giveaway and Interview

shards-blog-bannerThere is a Shards giveaway from June 3rd-July 3rd! This is one you definitely want to enter! And if you haven’t read the first book of this series, you must check it out! (Links are at the bottom)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

1: Describe your book in one sentence.

Fiona: The shapeshifting Splinters that infest Prospero answer Ben and Mina’s resistance with some particularly horrible new tricks.

Matt: Shapeshifters, serial killers, urban legends and the vicious cycle of being a teenager surrounded by lies: this book has it all.

2: What’s your favorite music to listen to while you write?

Fiona: It depends on what I’m writing, Matt and I have a pretty weird, long playlist for The Prospero Chronicles, but mostly I listen to alternative rock along the lines of Rise Against to get me in an epic kind of mood, and emo pop like A Day to Remember to get me to open up with my characters. Plus a few of Mina’s major anthems in my head are P!nk’s “Please Don’t Leave Me,” Kelly Clarkson’s “Behind These Hazel Eyes,” and Adam Lambert’s “Whataya Want From Me?” Oh, and the bad guy of Shards is all “Enter Sandman.”

Matt: Again, as with Fi, it depends on what I’m writing. My last few projects, both with Fiona and on my own have had me listening to an odd mix of disco, one hit wonders, 80’s hair metal, pop from the last 30 years and Marilyn Manson. Eclectic tastes for eclectic stories.

3: Do you like writing heroes or villains more?

Fiona: This is strange to say, considering how much I love reading and watching a good villain, but so far my favorites to write have been the heroes. One of my favorite parts of the process in fact is really getting into the head of the POV character, figuring out what they want, what their limits are, what makes them different. Shards does have my favorite villain I’ve worked on so far, though. I can’t give away his name yet, but he’s uniquely suited to test those heroes’ limits, and the rules for writing him were basically, once he hits the page, he doesn’t leave until he can make me uncomfortable. That was fun.

Matt: I’m going to go with an obvious answer for a less obvious reason and say I enjoy writing villains more. I don’t particularly like writing them because I think evil is just more fun and uninhibited, rather, I enjoy the challenge that villains offer. I can never just write someone who is evil for the sake of evil. I have to get in their head and understand why they’re doing what they’re doing and write them as if they are the heroes of their own story that we’re just not seeing (though, going by my own recent yet-to-be-published projects, you actually will see them). I enjoy the challenge of making the readers uncomfortable, even sympathetic toward following a villainous character, where at the end of the day you may actually find yourself rooting for them if it weren’t for the fact that they kinda want to take over the world.

4: Who is your favorite character in your book and why?

Fiona: Mina is probably my favorite thing I’ve ever created, period. She’s a hero, and she’s a long, long way from the standard heroine formula. She’s smart and tough and capable, and awkward and weird and paranoid and genuinely messed up in the head. She’s vicious and harsh and secretly incredibly vulnerable.

Matt: Mina’s a standout character, and while I enjoy writing for Ben, I found myself enjoying two of our supporting cast members even more than our two leads. Haley was a lot of fun to write for in this book, given her recovery from a pretty traumatic experience in the past book, where she tries to reconcile being the happy person she wants to be with the angrier, more bitter person she’s become given what the Splinters did to her. Another favorite, in a very weird way, is one of our new characters, Patrick Keamy. He’s everything I hated about a lot of the guys I knew

in high school, he’s loud, arrogant and violent, but in writing him and putting thought into him we wound up creating this character who’s weirdly principled for being as awful as he is, which made him a lot more fascinating to write.

5: Do you prefer salty or sweet snacks?

Fiona: I’m a sweet tooth type.

Matt: I love my sweets. Probably too much if my scale has anything to say about it.

5: What authors do you look up to and why?

Fiona: J.K. Rowling was my biggest inspiration as a kid, and she’s the standard I still look to for being able to pull readers head-over-heels into the world of the story and keep them there. Suzanne Collins changed the game and the standard for YA heroines and their quests, and a generation of women owes her a huge thanks. Lauren Oliver and John Green are my favorites for pure emotional resonance, and Scott Westerfeld for bringing the great potential for satire and social commentary in sci-fi into the YA realm.

Matt: I enjoy the works of Harry Turtledove and George R. R. Martin for their insane abilities to build worlds within reasonably realistic but still fantastical realms. Ditto Max Brooks, where although certain aspects of World War Z require more of a suspension of disbelief than I initially thought, it’s still a strong contender for my favorite book. That being said, I’m a horror geek who’s been alive these last 30 years, of course the writer I look up to most is Stephen King.

7: What’s your favorite food?

Fiona: Who can pick just one? Okay, I’m such a girl in that way, probably teriyaki steak and chocolate cookie dough ice cream.

Matt: Peanut butter and jelly on fresh sourdough.

8: What’s your favorite movie?

Fiona: I’ve never been able to settle on just one of these either. Chocolat was the reigning champion for a long time, but more recent movies are in competition now. Cabin in the Woods, the Tim Burton adaptation of Sweeney Todd, The Fault in our Stars movie adaptation, and this year alone has been crowding my list with Unfriended, It Follows, and Mad Max: Fury Road (brainless-sounding title, amazing movie).

Matt: I love movies so much that this is a nearly impossible spot to fill. That said, there’s a select list of movies that I can watch over and over without getting really tired of, so my favorite movie’s bound to be somewhere in there: Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, Jaws, The Room, True Lies, Star Wars, Cabin in the Woods. Like Fi, Mad Max: Fury Road is a strong contender to being added to that list, but for being so new I can’t quite pull the trigger on that yet.

9: If your book was turned into a movie, who would you cast for the main characters?

Fiona: Mina was basically written for Chloe Moretz. Ever since I first saw her in Kick-Ass, I wanted her to play one of my characters someday. The rest of the younger characters we never really matched to ideal actors, because we always hoped they’d be played by real teens, especially at first, since it’s a five book series that would take a long time to film in its entirety, so anyone who struck us as possible, we’d instantly think, “oh, but they’d be in their twenties by the time the first movie would start shooting under the best circumstances.” We’ve got favorites picked for a lot of the older generation, though. Michael Emmerson for Sam Todd, Kevin Klein for The Old Man, Sacha Baron Cohen for Alexei Smith, Bruce Campbell for Mr. Finn, and Elizabeth Mitchell for Ben’s Aunt Christine.

Carter and Titchenell head shotTITCHENELL & CARTER—Author Information and Useful Links

Below are the links to the Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads listings. If you’ve reviewed the book, we welcome you to post your review/rating there:

Amazon

B&N

Goodreads

You can find the authors online here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FjrTitchenell?fref=ts https://www.facebook.com/mattcarterauthor?fref=ts

Twitter:

@FJR_Titchenell

@MCarterAuthor

Blog:

mattcarterauthor.weebly.com

FJRTitchenell.weebly.com