Sunshine Blogger Award

 

sunshineblogger

Hello lovelies! I’ve been working on this for a while now and finally finished it last week. In case you don’t know, I’m currently in New York on a mini vacation. I didn’t want to my blog to be lonely while I’m away, so this has been scheduled to post in advance. Anyway, I want to say a huge thanks to Taylor @NerdNationBlog for nominating me for The Sunshine Blogger Award!!! Taylor has a really lovely blog full of amazing content and great reviews! Not to mention, she’s also a sweetheart and I absolutely love reading her posts. Be sure to check out her page and show her some love!


What is the Sunshine Blogger Award?

The Sunshine Blogger Award is given to those who are creative, positive, and inspiring while spreading sunshine to the blogging community.

sunshine

The Rules for the Sunshine Blogger Award:

  1. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their fabulous blog

  2. Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you

  3. Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions to answer

  4. List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in the post


Questions from Taylor at Nerd Nation:

1) What has been your favorite read so far this year? This is toughie and totally not fair… I’ve read so many great books this year and it pains me to have to pick just one. I’ll name a few in no particular order.

A Messy, Beautiful Life by Sara Jade Alan – This will have you laughing and crying and laughing some more. I love the writing, the quirky characters, the humor, and the FEELS… Sooo achingly beautiful!

Doon Series by Lorie Langdon and Carey Corp – I binged this series and absolutely LOVED IT!  Oh and it’s going to be turned into a T.V. Series!!!

No Vain Loss by M.C. Frank – This series is absolutely enthralling! Loved the writing, the themes and the message. YOU NEED TO READ THIS SERIES!!!

Vicarious and Ferocious duology by Paula Stokes – I LOVE this duology so much! It’s thrilling, suspenseful and filled with so many twists and turns.

Alienation by S.E. Anderson – The Starstruck series is quirky, outrageous and so much fun! Alienation is the second book and Anderson definitely amps up the fun, suspense, humor and adventure!

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon – This books is so adorable and cute and swoony!

It’s really difficult to pick just one or even 10… There are so many amazing books and they’re all so different.

2) It’s Thursday, and thus almost the weekend. What song would you recommend to get us pumped for the weekend? There are three songs that I’ve been obsessed with lately, so any of them would do. Ready for It by Taylor Swift, Let Me Go by Hailee Steinfeld and Galway Girl by Ed Sheeran.

3) If you were going to get a tattoo based off a book what would you get and why? This is another toughie… I mean I’ll have that for the rest of my life, so it has to be something meaningful… I’ve always loved this quote from The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye. I’ll get it in some fancy handwriting and have it done somewhere on my arm.

“Imagine, and it shall be. There are no limits.” 

4) What’s a secret talent you only bring out on rare occasions? I don’t have any secret talents haha. I can’t sing or dance… But I guess I can be funny sometimes. When I’m around people I’m comfortable with my funny side tends to come out. Or maybe it’s all in my head…

5) What are your favorite kind of posts to read? Probably Get to Know You or Book Tag Posts. Those are always fun to read!

6) Follow up: Do you actually read them or are you a skimmer? I actually do read them.

7) Who’s your fictional crush and who would you cast IRL to play them? There’s way too many to pick just one, but I’ll go with Dean from Hopeless by Colleen Hoover and pick Scott Eastwood.

8) If I came over for a junk food/movie night — what are we watching and what are we eating? Gosh… I love all kinds of junk food and I’m a mood junk mood eater. If I’m craving salty, then different kinds of potato chips – Regular, Salt and Vinegar, and Sour Cream and Cheddar. If I’m craving sweet, then Orange/Chocolate Milano Cookies (those are my favorites). As for the movie, I’m going to have to say Harry Potter movies or Lord of the Rings. Then we can turn movie night into movie marathon night and a fun sleepover!

9) What is your go-to guilty pleasure book? I don’t really have one in particular, but I do love reading New Adult romances a lot.

10) Who was the first artist/band you saw live in concert? I rarely ever go to concerts, but the first artist/band I saw live was BBMAK. Not sure if anyone remembers them, but I loved them back in Junior High.

11) What’s one of your favorite book quotes? “Break my heart. Break it a thousand times if you like. It was only ever yours to break anyway.” Prince Maxon from the Selection Series. That quote just gives me all the FEELS.


My Nominations

1) Candyce & Isabell @theBookDutchesses

2) Mellanie @noshelfcontroll

3) Des @desrandomthoughts

4) Macy @cantstopwontstopbooks

5) Kathryn @nosestuckinabookblog

6) Jenn @boundtowriting

7) Kelsey @criticuncriticalbookwormblog

8) Michelle @firstbooklove

9) Alexandra @thehufflepuffnerdette

10) Mandy @bookprincessreviews

11) Kathy @booksandmunches


My Questions

1) What’s your favorite childhood memory?

2) If you could be any character in one of your favorite books, who would you be and why?

3) Where’s your favorite place to read?

4) If you could choose a book that describes you, which one would you pick?

5) Which book universe would you want to live in and why?

6) If you were going to bury a time capsule, which books would you include in it?

7) If you can be a superhero, what would your name be and what kind of power would you have?

8) What’s some of your most anticipated reads for 2018?

9) Name a book that will always have a special place in your heart.

10) If you can go on a date with one author (dead or a live), who would you choose and why?

11) If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?


Really hope you enjoyed reading and getting to know me more. I had so much fun doing this so thank you Taylor! I know it took me a while to finish it, but I did it!!

I can’t wait to read all your posts, but totally no rush. I know how busy life can be sometimes.

Have a wonderful day!

Sincerely Karen Jo

 

 

Marked Beauty – Excerpt and Giveaway

Marked Beauty by S.A. Larsen

Marked Beauty Cover

Publisher: Ellysian Press

Release Date: October 2017

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Uncovering hidden secrets can sometimes kill you . . . or worse, steal your soul.
Anastasia Tate has a secret. She can feel the emotions of others through their life energy auras. Not a welcome gift for a teenager. Especially when a sinister presence begins stalking her.
Viktor Castle also has a secret. He’s tasked with protecting humanity yet cursed by an ancient evil to destroy it.
After Viktor saves Ana’s life, her abilities grow stronger. Drawn together, she senses Viktor has answers to lifelong questions. Only he shuns her at every turn, knowing he has saved her only to put her in more danger.
As Ana struggles with her attraction to Viktor, he tries everything to bury his unexpected feelings for her. But they must find a middle ground. For only together can they combat the dark forces threatening both their lives . . . and their souls.

MB_Teaser_1


Excerpt #2 

The seatbelt jolted Ana back into her seat as the car plunged into the water, the hood crinkling like a weak soda can. Glass shards peppered her skin. The first sensation of cool water sprayed over her.

Ana moaned. She rolled her head to the side. Katee’s hair lay in strings across her crumpled seat; she wasn’t moving. God, why wasn’t she moving?

Pain screeched up Ana’s thigh as she yanked on her leg to move closer to Katee; it wouldn’t budge, wedged between two sheets of metal. It stung so badly that her stomach rumbled. She felt faint.

“Katee,” Ana rasped, the seatbelt pressing against her throat. “I’ll get you out of here.”

She didn’t respond. Blood trickled from her forehead, and her arm flared out in a direction it shouldn’t; it was definitely broken.

Ana fumbled to reach the clasp of her seatbelt, but the mangled console was in the way. Her fingers wouldn’t fit in the space.

Tears threatened to leak from her eyes, but she held them back, hiccupping instead. She always hiccupped when things went wrong. And that was as wrong as it had ever been.

The car shifted. Metal creaked and grunted. The lake poured into their glass and steel coffin. Ana wrenched her seatbelt, trying to loosen it and loop it over her head, hoping to shimmy free. There was too much tension. It wouldn’t let go. And like the rest of her pathetic life, she had no control.

Stupidly, Ana screeched for help and gulped a mouthful of lake. Why should she bother? No one would hear her. She rested her head back to float in the water, waiting for the inevitable. She thought of her father. She could never leave him like her mother had.

She spit water from her mouth and gasped for air. Her chest burned. The strain of expanding her ribcage was too much. Her vision blurred. Dizziness taunted her head. A soft buzz was all she could hear. She thought about praying, like Mem said.

MB_Teaser_2


S.A. Larsen Author image 1About the Author

S.A. LARSEN is the author of the award-winning novel Motley Education, the first book in a fantasy-adventure series for middle grade readers. Her work has appeared in numerous local publications and young adult anthologies Gears of Brass and Under A Brass Moon by Curiosity Quills Press. Marked Beauty is her debut young adult novel. Find her in the land of snowy winters and the occasional Eh’ya with her husband of over twenty-five years, four children, a playful pooch, and three kittens. Visit her cyber home anytime at www.salarsenbooks.com.

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Giveaways

Blog Tour Giveaway:
One (1) winner will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card (INT)

Join the Rafflecopter Giveaway

Release Party Giveaway:
What better way to celebrate a book birthday then by a giveaway! There are many ways to enter, which you’ll find below. You can win an iTunes, Amazon, or Starbucks gift card, an authentic Vera Bradley Little Crossbody in Cobalt Tile, an assortment of bookish swag, and even a KINDLE Fire HD 7″! The giveaway runs from release day, October 17, 2017 to December 5, 2017. Winners will be announced via social media December 7, 2017.

*No purchase necessary to win*
However, if you have read Marked Beauty or purchase it and read you can earn extra entries by posting a review on any major online retail bookstore and Goodreads! All the information you’ll need is in the form below.
BUT there’s more…
FOR WRITERS!

Writers who enter can WIN a first five pages critique!

Join the Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day lovelies.

Sincerely Karen Jo