Thursday, July 28, 2016

SIGN OF THE GREEN DRAGON, by C.Lee McKenzie


A Book Blast Tour hosted by Goddess Fish Promotions,
a new, MG fantasy 
Sign of the Green Dragon
by C. Lee McKenzie
Some of you may recall this author from an in-depth interview
we did back in May 2015, for the addition of her AMAZING 
short story, in an anthology celebrating Alice in Wonderland, 
called Beware the Little White Rabbit..check out 
that terrific interview here (C. Lee is under day five).  
In the meantime she pulled together her dream of 
writing about a dragon and here it is. 
 C. Lee will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC 
to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. 
The more you follow along with the tour, the better your chances
of winning...enjoy the rest of the tour...leave us a comment to
let us know you were here...thx for participating!

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BLURB:

When a wall of their cave hideout crumbles, three boys discover a skeleton, clutching a treasure map. They set off to trace the story of an old murder, but stumble into a modern crime, and confront ancient Chinese dragons.

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Excerpt: 

Sam inched forward and aimed the flashlight inside. “Uh oh.” 

“What?” Joey gasped.

“It’s a ... well, kind of a ... skeleton.”

“Awww,” Roger screamed, ran, tripped, and sprawled on his stomach.

“It can’t hurt you, Roger,” Sam said. “Come on. 

Take a look.” One thing about being in a family of paleontologists, you got used to bones.

Roger quick-shook his head. “No. No. No.” 

Joey took three slow steps and stood next to Sam. “Sweet. A dead guy. Man, let’s get out of here.” 

“Hold this.” Sam handed Joey the flashlight. “Keep the light on him, okay?” 

The skeleton was partly covered by a tattered shirt and pants. Bony fingers clutched a wooden box with a piece of thin metal about two inches long on its top. 

Reaching inside, Sam tried to pry the box from the skeleton’s grasp, but the finger bones fell through the rib cage and clattered to the bottom of the chest. The box lodged between the ribs. 
The light jiggled in Joey’s hand. “Come on Sam, enough already.” 

Sam picked up the thin metal piece from the top of the box, and held it under the light. One end of it was bent at a right angle. A faded red tassel looped through the other end. 

“Here, take this.” Sam handed Joey the strange object, then reached inside the chest and gripped the box. He lifted it slow and easy. It could be a trap. It could be dangerous. His hands twitched and the edge of the box caught on a rod that held the chest lid open. He barely snatched the box free before the lid crashed down. 

What sounded like an angry dragon exploded around the cave. 

The walls trembled, and the floor heaved under foot.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

C. Lee McKenzie has a background in Linguistics and Inter-Cultural Communication. Her greatest passion is writing for young readers. Sign of the Green Dragon is her third Middle Grade novel. Alligators Overhead and the sequel, The Great Time Lock Disaster were her first two. She has traditionally published four young adult novels: Sliding on the Edge, The Princess of Las Pulgas, Double Negative and Sudden Secrets.

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

I'd like to highlight the fact that I always have a free ebook (a different one every few months) available on my website for visitors. http://cleemckenziebooks.com 





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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

THE LAST OF THE FIREDRAKES by, Farah Oomerbhoy


 

From Goddess Fish Promotions, a new ya fantasy tour,
THE LAST OF THE FIREDRAKES
from award winning author
 Farah Oomerbhoy.
The Author will be hosting a $10. gift card so be sure to
add your name to the copter below...and please
enjoy jumping around the blast today!
Please leave us a comment so that we know you were here...
thx, from TBSP.

GENRE: Young Adult Fantasy
BLURB:

16-year-old Aurora Darlington is an orphan. Mistreated by her adopted family and bullied at school, she dreams of running away and being free. But when she is kidnapped and dragged through a portal into a magical world, suddenly her old life doesn't seem so bad.

Avalonia is a dangerous land ruled by powerful mages and a cruel, selfish queen who will do anything to control all seven kingdoms--including killing anyone who stands in her way. Thrust headlong into this new, magical world, Aurora's arrival sets plans in motion that threaten to destroy all she holds dear.

With the help of a young fae, a magical pegasus, and a handsome mage, Aurora journeys across Avalonia to learn the truth about her past and unleash the power within herself. Kingdoms collide as a complicated web of political intrigue and ancient magic lead Aurora to unravel a shocking secret that will change her life forever.
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Excerpt:

Later that night, after I had eaten well and rested, we set out for the midnight market. I followed Kalen along the small path, from Pixie Bush into the very heart of Goldleaf Forest.

>>>><<<<

It seemed to me that we had been walking for quite a while when I could suddenly hear voices and noises quite clearly in the quiet forest. We came to a large clearing, and the delightful sight left me spellbound. The forest was alive, radiant and subtly lit by pretty, different-colored lanterns hanging from the towering trees. Beautifully decorated stalls and multicolored tents had sprung up all over the place. Some were nestled between the tall trees, and some were haphazardly placed around the edge of the clearing, forming a slightly wonky circle. Fae of all sizes, shapes and colors wandered around, having a marvelous time. There were dryads, naiads, brownies, and little pixies with wings who flitted about the place in groups, laughing and eating at the food stalls.

We came to a stall, which was manned by a small, funny-looking fae with a pointy nose and long ears. Kalen identified him as a gnome. He was selling some strangely colored liquid in glass bottles and was haggling unashamedly about prices with two old ladies, whom I thought were very sweet.

As we walked through the market, Kalen chattered on.

“Although some of the larger towns have shops that sell magical ingredients for potions,” Kalen was saying, “this is the only place you can find some of the really rare items.”

I followed Kalen, who was entering a green tent, where the sign outside read: “Buy a plant for your home and garden.” That sounded quite interesting. Maybe I could buy a plant for Kalen’s mom—she had really helped me, after all—but I remembered I didn’t have any money.

The tent was not what I expected at all. The inside was bewitched to look like a large green house; like the forest, it was much larger inside than it appeared from the outside. The moonlight shone through the glass ceiling, and rows of plants and flowers lined the sides of the tent. We decided to explore.

I walked through the rows of plants, looking at the labels that were written next to them. There were strawberry plants in a small tray, growing wonderful, juicy strawberries, each one of which had a dollop of cream on the top. The sign near it said: “Grow your own strawberries and cream.”

“Try one,” said Kalen. “No one is watching.”

I couldn’t resist; I loved strawberries and cream. I popped the whole strawberry into my mouth. It was delicious and the cream was thick, fresh, and sweet. It was wonderful.

“Lovely, yes?” said Kalen.

“I nodded, since my mouth was full.

“Ms. Herbchild is wonderful at growing things. These strawberry plants with cream are one of her new inventions, but you can only grow them on trays inside the house, or the gnomes lick off all the cream.”

I made a face at the thought of eating a strawberry that had been licked by a gnome.”


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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Farah Oomerbhoy is a young adult writer with a master’s degree in English literature from the University of Mumbai. Farah loves the fantastical and magical and often dreams of living in Narnia, Neverland, or the Enchanted Forest. Her debut novel, The Last of the Firedrakes, Book 1 of The Avalonia Chronicles started on Wattpad where it received a Watty Award in 2015 and over 1.5 million reads. Since publication, The Last of the Firedrakes has gone on to win a silver medal in IBPA’s Benjamin Franklin Awards, become a finalist in the USA Best Book Awards and become an international bestseller. Farah lives with her family in Mumbai, India where she can be found checking for magical portals in every closet.

Connect with Farah:

Purchase The Last of the Firedrakes:
 B&N:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-last-of-the-firedrakes-farah-oomerbhoy/1122237810?ean=2940152166156
 Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-last-of-the-firedrakes


a Rafflecopter giveaway