Finish Him--The Games of Love book 3 Release Blast

Today I'm participating in a release blast for the book Finish Him (The Games of Love book 3), by Deanna Dee. This book looks like so much fun and I can't wait to read it. Even better, it's on sale for only .99 for the first week! Here are the details:

Title: Finish Him (The Games of Love, #3)
Author: Deanna Dee
Genre: new adult romance
Release Date: November 17, 2015

Blurb
Round One, FLIRT

Sonya Black never expected a petty sibling quarrel could lead to her sister being drugged. Overcome with guilt, Sonya vows to bring the jerk to justice. When she dives into her own investigation, she lands belly up in the company of Jaxon Nyles, the security guard who may have all the answers.

But being a detective isn’t as easy as Sonya thinks. On top of that, Jaxon always seems to be in the right place at the right time. Is he a suspect, or is he falling for her? More important, is she falling for him?

The round has begun. Who will flirt? Who will win? Will hearts break in the process?



Buy links
Amazon

Goodreads

Scroll down for some excerpts!

Excerpt 1 

With a complex pressing of buttons, the screen goes dim, and my opponent explodes into a fountain of blood and innards. Take that, pixels. The familiar zing of a victory glides through my blood, and it’s all I can do to keep the smirk off my lips. I haven’t been on Thanksgiving break for three hours, and already I’m kicking ass at video games and racking up the bragging points.
Dawn mutters a string of unintelligible syllables. It’s too bad not everyone’s having as good a time as me. “I will defeat you, Dwarf.”
I hit X on my controller to bring us back to the character selection screen. Dawn is the GM, Game Master, of the Marshalls and Magics campaign our group has going, and I play a dwarf. Possibly, she thinks calling me by my race will unhinge me enough for her to win a round. Not likely. “Yeah, yeah. Pick a character.”
Dawn sighs and selects Kerdwin, a random character who appeared in one of the side stories ten years ago. His combos are weak, and his powers are weaker. I keep all this to myself. Dawn pulls no punches during M and M. It’s not my fault if she’s bad at selecting characters in Bloodrage Anarchy: Silver Edition…or any other edition, really.
“Good choice,” I say instead and, with automatic movements, navigate three down and two over to Dalara, warrior princess of the outer realm of Simenia. The screen goes dark for the loading process, and our characters appear on the top of a narrow mountain. Lightning arcs overhead, and drums pound a war beat.
Round One, the game’s automated voice, which sounds like a constipated ogre, says. Kerdwin stands in a pathetic pose Dawn probably knows a name for. Dalara also stands in a pose she would know, but hers looks kick-ass and involves balancing on the balls of her feet and swaying. FIGHT! The constipated ogre bellows his call to arms.
Constipation or not, the call is all I need. I send Dalara into a flying kick and knock Kerdwin backwards. Next, I close the distance to execute Dalara’s strongest combo, a series of kicks and punches that will result in Kerdwin flying across the screen.
“Damn you.” Dawn blocks, breaking my combo. She jumps back until there’s an entire screen of distance between us.
Unfortunately for her, the reprieve will be slight. I regain my feet and go into attack mode, pressing forward twice and then the A button to activate a special attack. Dalara says something understandable only by the people of some tiny country in Asia, and dark flames erupt from her hands. I do this twice more, and Dawn’s life bar drops to a quarter remaining. She ducks my fourth attempt, leaps my fifth, and comes at me, getting through my defenses and landing a punch. The tip of my health bar turns red.
Oh hell no. That shitake will not fly. “Nice.” I send a high kick into Kerdwin’s face and follow with a punching combo. Kerdwin sways on his feet, and I shoot more black flame. “But not nice enough.” Dalara shifts to her ready stance. Kerdwin falls, and the game constipatedly announces my victory. Vacation has never been sweeter.
“Rah!” Parker screams. He’s sitting across the room on my bed, and somehow, he still almost makes me go deaf. “Excellent! Continue! Piff the Eviscerator desires more bloodshed!”
Dawn’s character staggers to his feet, and Dawn and I exchange the kind of sideways glance gamers use when they don’t want to take their attention from the screen. Parker plays an illusionist mage in M and M and, because he’s Parker, has named his illusionist mage Piff the Eviscerator.
“Silence, Gnome,” Dawn says in her intimidate-everyone-but-Parker voice. She’s probably hoping the boy will one day have enough sense to fear her and be quiet.
“Eviscerate!” Parker punches the air. “Blood!” However, that day is not today.



Excerpt 2
I check the clock on my phone for the tenth time in the last five minutes. Jaxon must really want to apologize for what happened at Fantasmic’s. There’s no other reason for him to choose Kransten’s, an actual sit-down restaurant, for this lunch. I’m not complaining. This is an ideal atmosphere for the informal interrogation I spent the better part of yesterday preparing. I suffered for my obsession by having homework to do until almost midnight, but it was worth it. As a bonus, I got to hide in my room and avoid my family.
A black car pulls into the lot. It parks facing me one spot over, and Jaxon gets out. He’s wearing a black jacket, black jeans, and black boots.
My brain raises the red warning flag, and my insides dance a little. The all-black get-up is understandable in his line of work, but he’s wearing it outside the club. He’s a bad boy. I shouldn’t be here alone with him. I plug my key back into the ignition but can’t bring myself to turn it. Dawn dresses in all black, and she’s one of my best friends. Clothing choice is no reason to blow Jaxon off. Besides, his outfit doesn’t change how much I need information. I put my keys away and get out of my car. The late fall air hits my skin and works its calming magic. I’m in a public place. If Jaxon tries anything, there are security cameras and restaurant employees. Everything will be fine.
“Hey.” Jaxon stops beside me and meets my gaze with sparkling eyes.
My internal stone shield cracks the tiniest bit. Bad people’s eyes don’t glitter with the joy of life. “Hey.” I scuff my sneaker against the blacktop. Maybe he’s not a dangerous psychopath. Never mind he’s given no signs of such. “Nice eating choice.”
“Thanks.” He gestures to the restaurant. “Shall we? I’m starved.”
I nod, and we meander toward the building with an arm’s length between us. Jaxon doesn’t try to get close to me or act in any way threatening. He maintains his distance, and the sparkle stays in his eyes. In other words, he’s a gentleman.
At the restaurant, he holds the door. So more than the clothes follow him from the workplace. I thank him and get the next door. Jaxon doesn’t object with some lame chauvinistic argument. He goes in and stops beside the host desk.
I follow. The place hasn’t changed since my last visit a few months ago. Kransten’s is American. There is no other word for it. The décor is of either sports teams or rock bands. The tables are simple wood. There’s a bar with a TV, and the floor is tile. The lighting is recessed, giving the place a dark feel despite all the windows. As I noted earlier, it’s an ideal place for an informal interrogation.
A hostess comes over and asks if we want a booth or table. Jaxon defers to me, and my snap bad-boy judgement sinks farther into the corner of my mind. He’s not controlling or dominating. I opt for a booth, and the hostess leads us to one, sets down menus, and tells us our server will be right over.




About the Author
Deanna Dee is strictly human and does not, to her knowledge, own a hyena. She lives by the sea, which she takes full advantage of in the summer time. People, reading, and pop culture make up the shameless downtime of her life. The rest of it is writing, and she’s okay with that.

Website: http://ddgeekwriter.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ddgeekwriter
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ddgeekwriter
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13466746.Deanna_Dee?from_search=true&search_version=service

Emerald Bound Blog Tour Day 4

Day 4 of the tour was hosted by Bitten, Shifted ... the not so Normal. It's a character interview with one of my main characters, Lindy, and it's one of my favorite posts.

Hi everyone! I’ve talked a lot this week about my main character, Maggie, but Emerald Bound has two leading ladies. So today we’re sitting down with Lindy, the girl who inspired Hans Christian Andersen to write the tale The Princess and the Pea in the first place.

*

Me: Hi Lindy, thanks for being with us today.

Lindy: You’re welcome. Sorry we have to meet out here under this water tower. In the dark.

Me: *yawning because it’s 2am and glancing around at our unusual surroundings* It’s okay. Whatever I have to do for the interview.

Lindy: I don’t have much time before they notice I’m gone—what would you like to know?

Me: Well, I heard you opened up to Maggie and told her about your past. What inspired you to tell the truth after all these years?

Lindy: I’m not really sure. I guess seeing Maggie escape the curse that destroyed my life gave me hope. Hope that one day I might also be free. That by helping Maggie I’d also be helping myself. *fidgets and looks down at her hands.*

Me: Well, that sounds like a good reason. But … is there something more?

Lindy: *leans closer to me, even though there’s no one around to overhear us* It was my fault.

Me: Excuse me? What was your fault?

Lindy: Maggie’s friend getting trapped. And the girl before her. And the girl before her and so on and so on for the past four centuries. It all started with me and I was supposed to stop it. I just … didn’t know how.

Me: Wait, what do you mean you were supposed to stop it? Who told you that?

Lindy: Calista. Right after it happened. She said I had the power to break the curse, but of course she never said how. I tried to do it anyway, really I did. But I never figured out how. And now so many people have died because of me. Not only the girls, but the citizens of my country when Calista waged war on them.

Me: You can’t blame yourself for what Calista did. That’s on her, not you.

Lindy: *sniffles* Maybe. But I still do. That’s why I’m helping Maggie. In four centuries, she’s the only one who escaped Calista’s curse and that gives me hope.

Me: Well, good luck to you both.

Lindy: Thanks, we’re going to need it. *glancing around at the shrubbery, as if she’s afraid someone is going to pop out at any moment and yell Boo!* Was there anything else?

Me: Oh, yeah, I had one other question. Where does Hans Christian Andersen fit into all this? What inspired him to write your tale and how did he get it so wrong?

Lindy: Mr. Andersen’s great-great-great grandfather was unfortunate enough to stay a few nights in our inn, back in Scandinavia. He was one of many that passed through without knowing what was really going on. The ones who came to give up their daughters, well, they knew a portion, but had they known the whole truth I have to believe they would have never agreed to Calista’s terms. Anyhow, Calista insisted we refer to the gemstones we collected each night as “peas” so that anyone who overheard us would believe we were speaking of supper arrangements and nothing more. Mr. Anderson must have overheard one such conversation and told his family. Over time, I presume the story grew and changed until little Hans heard it from his grandfather and wrote it down. Calista’s son was certainly charming—back then, anyway—perhaps that’s where the prince part came from. And patrons of the inn would come and leave their daughters in Calista’s care in exchange for a royal sum—perhaps that’s where the idea of princesses came from? Certainly Mr. Andersen’s tale is much more charming than the truth.

Me: Well, that’s an understatement. The truth is horrifying.

Lindy: *nodding and gazing into the night sky* That it is.

(At this moment in our interview, Lindy gasped, clutching her stomach as if she was in pain.)

Lindy: I must go. *rising and taking a shaky step toward the mansion where she lived*

Me: Wait, are you okay? What’s happening?

Lindy: *calling back to me over her shoulder as she stumbled away* I’m fine, I just … have to go.

*

I attempted to contact Lindy again the next day, but she hasn’t responded to my calls. I suspect we’ll have to read the rest of her story in Emerald Bound.

Lindy, if you’re reading this, I sincerely hope things work out for you. 

Emerald Bound Blog Tour Day 3

Day 3 of the blog tour was hosted by Kit 'N Kabookle. It was an author interview.

-What inspired you to become a writer? 

I started writing as a creative outlet in middle school. I always thought it would be fun to write a book, but it wasn’t until my youngest son turned 1 and my husband was in grad school that I really started taking the itch seriously. My husband was working full time and when he came home from work, he had to spend hours doing homework and I got bored of watching movies by myself. So I sat down one night after the kids were in bed and started writing. Things just snowballed from there, and soon I had a first novel. I started researching publishing, querying agents, attended a writers’ conference and joined a writers group. Soon I had my second novel, this one done much better than the first.

-What draws you to your genre(s) of choice?

I write YA because that’s what I love to read. There’s just something so special about that time—when you’re learning about life and love and what makes you special. I wish I had enjoyed that time of my life more without worrying about what the future would bring or dwelling on the things that made me different from others. Writing and reading YA is my way of revisiting those special years. I hope I can inspire teens to enjoy being young. Don’t worry about the things you can’t change. Just enjoy the things that are awesome.

-Give us a fun or interesting fact you learned researching this book.

Part of my book takes place in Scandinavia in the 1600’s. At one point I was researching what eating utensils people used at that time. I learned that forks weren’t invented until the early 1600’s, and that “early fork users were looked upon by others with mistrust.” I laughed out loud when I read that. To think that the first people who used forks were considered untrustworthy oddballs and the masses who ate with their hands were considered normal.

-Which of your characters would you go out for drinks and/or pizza with?

I would just love to hang out with Maggie and her friends, Piper and Kate. They’re such an odd, mismatched group of friends, I think hanging out with them would be a blast. Especially Piper. She is one-of-a-kind.

-For aspiring writers, any tips?

Everyone says this, but here it is again—keep going, keep trying, keep improving. It’s not over until you give up. And don’t you dare let your desire to publish suck all the joy out of writing.

Also, find a writers’ group that focuses on real critique—not just feel-good compliments. My writers’ group is the reason my book is being published. Because my initial drafts were definitely not good enough. Not by a long shot.

-Is there a genre you could never write? Which and why?

I could never write horror. Never, ever. I can’t even read it. I get scared enough just by my empty, dark basement at night. If I spent my days imaging all the horrifying things that could come out of that basement then it would be all over for me. I’d never be able to go down there, ever again. And forget walking to my car in a parking lot at night. Or taking my trash out to the curb in the dark. Or going camping. Or star gazing. Or … well, you get the point. No horror writing for me.

Emerald Bound Blog Tour Day 2

Day 2 of the tour was hosted by Harlie's Books. It was a top 10/fav 5 feature in which I was asked to list my top 10 and favorite 5 in two categories of my choosing.

Top 10 Favorite Songs to Blast in the Car

10. It’s Raining Men by The Weather Girls—My college roomies introduced me to this song and of course it became one of my all-time favs. I mean come on, how awesome would it be if it really rained men?

9. Bright Lights and the Big City by the Treblemakers (their final number from Pitch Perfect)—I can’t figure out why I love this song so much, I just do. It *might* have something to do with the cute guys in their adorable blazers and converse shoes. Plus, they’re singing, which is doubly adorable.

8. Without You by David Guetta & Usher—When this song reaches its apex, and the sound completely surrounds you, it’s just unbelievable. Go listen to it in your car. Now.

7. Shots by Imagine Dragons—So many of their songs are great, but I especially love this one. If you listen to the lyrics, this whole album is really soulful even though the sound is edgier and grittier than their previous stuff. 

6. Laura Palmer by Bastille—Okay, this is the song I like to end my workouts to. For some reason, listening to this song just makes we want to run faster, push harder, and be better. “This is your heart, can you feel it?” Feeling the breadth of emotions in this song reminds me that I’m alive and that it’s awesome!

5. Superheroes by The Script—Oh man, I love this song! Just so empowering. My preschooler loves it too, which is super convenient for me.

4. Great Big Storm by Nate Ruess—This is one of my newer favs but I love it because it’s so empowering. “We’re holding our own in a great big storm, it’s a great big storm and we’re holding our own.” Just such a powerful reminder that even when life is stormy you can hold your head up and fight.

3. Shut up and Dance by Walk the Moon—this may sound cliché because now everybody loves this song, but I can’t stop loving it just because everyone else does too. I first heard this song on an alternative radio station that prided themselves on being the first to play new music. I went home and played it for my family and made them all dance with me in the middle of our kitchen. It truly is a fantastic song and I can never get enough! Actually, all songs by Walk the Moon are great for blasting in the car.

2. Light & Day/Reach for the Sun by The Polyphonic Spree—You may remember this song from the movie trailer for the animated movie The Lorax. I looked it up as soon as saw the trailer because I loved the song so much. This was one that inspired me while I was working on my first manuscript. (You know, the one that never sees the light of day, but gets you excited enough to get better and then try again?) If you listen to this song, it sounds exactly as I was feeling while I worked on that first book. Just happy and carefree—giddy, even. I felt almost magical, like I could do anything and that anything could happen

1. A Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay—I love, love, love this song. It’s so hauntingly beautiful. It came on once when I was driving home from meeting with my writing group. It was really late at night and the host’s house was pretty far away from mine so I had almost an hour drive ahead of me. It was the beginning of winter and on the drive home, snow began to fall. It wasn’t cold enough out for the snow to really stick or turn into big flakes. It was just slushy snow, but it was so beautiful. I stopped my car on the dark country road and just watched it fall. Illuminated by a streetlamp, it looked like falling stars, and the soundtrack of this song in the background was just breathtaking. Now this song reminds me of The Fairfield Scribes every time I hear it and even in the middle of summer, I can still picture the snow falling that winter night.

Favorite 5 Books worth staying up way too late for

It was so hard to whittle this list down to only five, but here it goes:

5. The Night Circus by Erin Morgentern—this is a hauntingly beautiful book and the way the author ties everything together is just masterful.

4. This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales—this book combined two of my favorite things, music and reading, into one. What’s not to love?

3. The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater—This author has such a unique, breathtaking style of writing, anything of hers is good. But I really enjoyed this book, and all the subsequent books in the Raven Boys series.

2. I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella—ever since the Confessions of a Shopaholic series, this author has been one of my favorites. But this is the first standalone book of hers that I absolutely fell in love with. I’ve read this book several times and it’s just like a mini-vacation every time.

1. Splintered by AG Howard—Oh my goodness, if I could crawl inside of this book and just live there, I totally would. I love the world Miss Howard creates and her characters are just stunning. This was one of those books that I lived and breathed and just drank in from start to finish. And when it was over, I went through serious withdrawal. Love, love, love this book.