Blog Tour: Recalled by Cambria Hebert

Hiya!

Today I am super excited to have the lovely Cambria Hebert here on the blog as part of her Recalled Blog Tour brought to you by Xpresso Reads.  She's here to share with you an awesome recipe she has found (that is making me drool just putting this post together) and theres also an awesome giveaway to enter! But first, here is a little about the book:

Recalled
(Death Escorts #1)
by Cambria Hebert
published February 15, 2013

Love or Death? A simple question really. The choice seems obvious. But. What if you never knew love, what if your life was spent just trying to survive? What if you knew your fate before you were fully grown?

And then you died.

And you were given another chance. A better chance.

This new life depended upon one thing: your job. And so you agreed. You thought it would be simple. You thought it would be cut and dry.

It never is.

And now you are left holding the fate of someone else in the palm of your hand and you have to make the ultimate choice.

Love or Death?

Guest Post

Oreo Cupcakes

I think most people like cupcakes. In fact if you don’t this is not the post for you. I repeat. Step away from the computer because there is an explosion of yumminess about to come your way.

I happen to love cupcakes as well and it has just occurred to me that I have not made nearly enough of them. I will have to go on a mission to bake some asap.

Anyway, why are we talking about cupcakes you ask? Well for one, why not talk about cupcakes? And two, the girls Piper and Frankie in my new book Recalled love some cupcakes. In fact there is a cupcake shop in my book (called the Iced Princess) that makes the best cupcakes like ever.

So I thought why not share a tasty recipe with all of you for cupcakes.

I began looking around for a really good looking recipe and boy did I find like 50. But that would just be an insanely long blog post. So I chose one. Yes, I managed to choose just one (But I also pinned a bunch of recipes to Pinterest for later, lol).

I came across this recipe at Beantown Baker.

It is a recipe for Oreo Cupcakes. That’s right. This place went and combined cupcakes and oreos. Yes, I just swooned. I know you did too.

Just look at the goodness:


I bet you want to make cupcakes now too, don’t you??

So here is the recipe which I copied from Beantown Bakery site.
Oreo Cupcakes
YIELD: 24 CUPCAKES

ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour, plus 2 Tbsp for the Oreo chunks
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1 2/3 cup sugar

3 large egg whites, at room temperature

1 pkg Oreo Cookies (~45 cookies)

double batch of cream cheese frosting

directions:
For the Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350F. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.

Twist apart 24 Oreos. Place the wafer with filling on it, filling side up, in the bottom of each paper liner. Cut other wafers in half. Save 24 halves to place in the frosting. Crush the other wafer halves, also for garnishing.

Cut the remaining Oreo cookies into quarters with a sharp knife. Toss with 2 Tbsp flour and set aside.

In a large bowl cream the butter until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the milk and vanilla and mix to combine.

In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to butter mixture. Mix until integrated. Stir in sugar. With an electric mixer on low speed, beat for 30 seconds. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes. Add the egg whites. Beat for 2 more minutes. Stir in the quartered cookies.

Fill the cupcake lines three-quarters full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.

Assemble the cupcakes
Once cupcakes have cooled completely, frost with cream cheese frosting. Sprinkle with crushed Oreos and place 1/2 of an Oreo on the frosting of each cupcake.

*Recipe and images in this post from Beantown Baker

So do you like to bake? What is your favorite kind of cupcake to make?

-Cambria Hebert

OMG how good do those freaking cupcakes look? I will definitely be trying this recipe out because I am a cupcake fanatic and cupcakes + oreos = WIN!

Cambria's Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Author. Blogger. Latte Sipper.

Cambria Hebert is an author who wrote her first book at the age of fifteen. It was terrible. But the passion for writing never went away so years later when she opened her laptop and started typing she worked until she wrote a book that she hopes everyone will be as excited about as she is.

Cambria is obsessed with werewolves and is terrified of chickens (they are creepy!)She is an animal lover that would choose coffee over food and her favorite TV show is the Vampire Diaries (Hell-O Damon!)

 Giveaway

One lucky winner will win a Tazo tea set (because Piper drinks hot tea in the book) and a signed pack of RECALLED swag!

Giveaway is open to US addresses only

To enter fill out the Rafflecopter below

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Tour Wide Giveaway

As part of the tour you can also enter to win a Kindle Fire (Not HD)
This giveaway is open to US addresses only
Fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter

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This post is a part of the Recalled Blog Tour

Click the banner to see all of the stops on this tour

J.L. Bryan's Songs of Magic Boardgame

Today I am excited to have author J.L. Bryan stopping by the blog for a fun guest post.  I have read the first four books in his Songs of Magic series and I love them to bits.  They are full of awesome world building and characters that make you laugh on every page!  Read on to find out about some of the unique settings in the upcoming fifth instalment.

Guest Post

One of my favorite things about writing the Songs of Magic series is the freedom to create all kinds of fun, magical, silly, and often pun-based settings and creatures. To celebrate the release of Fairyvision, the fifth book in the Songs of Magic series, I’ve dreamed up elements of a Songs of Magic board game (which does not actually exist in any form...) and asked some bloggers to share them as guest posts. I’m so happy that Jenni agreed to post one here on Alluring Reads!

Following is the section of the game board that represents the third book, Fairystruck. I hope you enjoy!


Fairy Ring: Mysterious circles of mushrooms crop up here and there in man-world, deep in the wilderness or on moonlit hillsides. Enchanted music lures young people in to dance all night with the fairies, leaving them drained in the morning, with few memories of what actually happened.


Big Friendly Prairie: West of the Hauntlands, things get much nicer. The Big Friendly Prairie has friendly horses, flowers, and squirrels. It’s so cheerful and friendly that some eventually want to stab their eyes out because they can’t handle so much cuteness.




Caomhánach Village: This fairy village is nestled high in the limbs of a grove of ancient willows, hidden from the world by thick curtains of willow leaves. It’s a neat place.






Dullahan's Mansion: A crumbling Victorian mansion in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, with a backyard full of trees with fairy doors. The Queen’s appointed guardian, the wicked and sometimes headless dullahan, blocks anyone from traveling back and forth between Faerie and man-world, unless she’s busy.








Enchanted Dollhouse: Six-year-old Katie Becker can’t stop playing with the magical dollhouse given to her by creepy old Mrs. Dullahan.










Queen’s Labyrinth: Queen Mab’s palace is surrounded on all sides by a deep labyrinth full of monsters. It also serves as her dungeon, home to criminals and those who displease the cruel fairy queen.









Awesome Tree: Lying on its side in the very last patch of the old Enchanted Forest, this tree once stood as tall as a mountain, full of fairy doors. A few still remain among the roots of the fallen tree.

J.L.'s Website | Twitter | Blog

J. L. Bryan is the author of the Paranormals series (Jenny Pox, Tommy Nightmare, Alexander Death, and Jenny Plague-Bringer) and the Songs of Magic series (Fairy Metal Thunder, Fairy Blues, Fairystruck, Fairyland, and the new book, Fairyvision). Fairy Metal Thunder is free on Kindle, Nook, Apple, Smashwords, Sony, and Kobo. Jenny Pox is also free on Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, Apple, Sony, and Kobo.

Enter the fairy game giveaway! One winner will receive an autographed set of the five fairy books, including the newest, Fairyvision. Follow J. L. Bryan’s blog for more Songs of Magic game posts and more chances to enter!

Don't miss the cover reveal for the fifth book in the series, Fairyvision, on February 18 here on the blog!

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Swell Blog Tour Stop (Review, Guest Post & Giveaway)

TITLE Swell
AUTHOR Julie Rieman Duck
PUBLICATION September 1st 2012 by Createspace
READ November 19, 2012
SOURCE CBB Book Promotions for blog tour

When Christian Rusch plucks Beck Ionesco from the freshman ranks for himself, she’s tempted with parties, popularity, and love. But as the free-flowing booze that soaks his world seeps into her own, Beck begins using liquid courage as a way to ignore Christian’s dark moods… and cover her anxiety about his flirtatious friend Hillman.

However, when Christian breaks up with Beck, and Hillman makes a dangerous move, no amount of alcohol can stop the pain or keep her out of trouble. And just when it seems like she’s lost everything, Beck is partnered with Jesse Leary for an art project. After spending time with him, Beck realizes it’s more than a study date… and Christian’s not happy about it. Then again, Beck’s not sure she’s happy with him, either.

But only after plowing through a bottle of wine, a wild fight, and one guardrail that becomes Christian’s last call, does Beck admit to her problem and ask for help from the one whose life secretly parallels her own.

After reading, and thoroughly enjoying Julie's The Joy and Torture of Joshua James, I was quick to jump on the opportunity to take part in the tour for her latest full length novel, Swell. Once again I was drawn in by her incredibly raw storytelling, and unflinching honesty in the most dire of situations. Swell is the story of Rebecca who longs to be with the most popular boy in school, Christian Rusch. She's taken by surprise when at her high school's year end toga dance Christian chooses to dance with her all night. As their relationship grows she goes on a rather quick downward spiral into alcohol dependency.

One thing I wished I as a reader would have gotten out of Swell was a little more time to get to know Rebecca as she was prior to Christian and drinking. We are introduced to her as a very intelligent girl who thrives in the arts and has a strong support system in her closest friend Jenna and her parents. But all too quickly she is with Christian and pimping for booze outside the local liquor store. That's a minor complaint of mine because I do feel that we get to know Beck very well once she starts to take the decline. I did end up connecting with her and I really wanted to reach into the novel and shake her through much of it. So I guess what I am saying is that I wish I got a better grasp on how this addiction and dependency was a big stray from who she was before it all happened. Once she starts drinking she became someone that I was angry with often and also felt a strong sense of pity for. She got herself into some terrible situations and she kept pining for Christian, who was a complete ass, if I may say so myself. I didn't like him at all, and the relationship between the two of them made me uncomfortable in most scenes. But I think that was the point of it, there was just so much wrong with them but neither could see it because they were always wearing their wine goggles.

The part of this story that I loved the most was that Beck took the shape of girls that I actually knew in high school. I can remember so vividly girls who were trying too hard to fit in, going to ridiculous lengths to do so and changing themselves (most often for the worse.) I was pretty shocked to see how far she would go, in the end, to get a fix and that just furthered the sadness I had in my heart for her. Once Jesse comes into the picture and she starts seeing how much she has changed, and how much she misses her art the story got really touching. I loved Jesse! He was such a sweet guy and he wasn't the perfect jock, or the hottest guy in school but he wanted Beck for who she was and that's always the best. I also really enjoyed how the truth of his life was kept as a bit of a mystery that unfolded slowly and the reveal was so touching that I was reaching for the box of tissues on my nightstand.

This story is by no means happy, but it's real. It's filled with the crap that went on in my high school and I am sure many others as well. To me, that's the best kind of story and I really think Duck was the perfect author to write a raw tale like this. Swell makes you uncomfortable, it makes you angry and it makes you hopeful that a person who has lost their way can once again find who they were and come out smiling on the other side.

Julie's Webstie | Twitter | Goodreads

Born in Los Angeles and raised in San Clemente, California, Julie Rieman Duck wrote her way through school on an old-fashioned typewriter. Somewhere along the line, she was sidetracked by careers in magazine publishing and copywriting. While Julie honed her skills at writing print ads and articles, the stories that moved her heart and soul were bubbling underneath, waiting to escape.

It took a medical scare and the loss of her job — on the same day and within 30 minutes of each other — to finally allow her stories to free themselves and be put to paper.

Julie looks forward to writing more stories that hit where the heart beats fastest, and the soul reaches out for more.

Giveaway

This is a tour wide giveaway that ends December 18, 2012

One person (Open to US only) will win:

• Paperback of Swell by Julie Rieman Duck
• Paperback of A Place in This Life by Julie Rieman Duck

One other winner (Open Worldwide) will win:

• 1 ebook of Swell by Julie Rieman Duck
• 1 ebook of A Place in This Life by Julie Rieman Duck
• 1 ebook of The Joy and Torture of Joshua James
• 1 ebook of Earrings of Ixtumea by Kim Baccellia
• 1 ebook of Cornerstone by Misty Provencher
• 1 ebook (kindle) of There Comes a Prophet by David Litwack

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This Is Not A Drill Tour Stop (Review & Guest Post)

TITLE This Is Not A Drill
AUTHOR Beck McDowell
PUBLICATION October 25th 2012 by Nancy Paulsen Books
READ October 29 to 30, 2012
SOURCE From Beck McDowell for the blog tour

Two teens try to save a class of first-graders from a gun-wielding soldier suffering from PTSD

When high school seniors Emery and Jake are taken hostage in the classroom where they tutor, they must work together to calm both the terrified children and the gunman threatening them--a task made even more difficult by their recent break-up. Brian Stutts, a soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq, uses deadly force when he's denied access to his son because of a custody battle. The children's fate is in the hands of the two teens, each recovering from great loss, who now must reestablish trust in a relationship damaged by betrayal. Told through Emery and Jake's alternating viewpoints, this gripping novel features characters teens will identify with and explores the often-hidden damages of war.

I always get nervous going into a short novel about whether or not there will be enough substance packed in for me to come to care about the characters and the events of the story. Beck McDowell proved that worry completely unfounded; in 224 pages she created a bond that I cared about and got me all misty multiple times.

This is Not A Drill is the story of two high school students, Emery and Jake, who are French tutors to a first grade class. The day starts out like any other but that all changes when one of the students father, Brian Stutts, comes to pick him up and the class quickly finds themselves in a hostage situation. This story starts off with a bang, McDowell wasted no time to get the story moving which at first had me a bit disjointed. But as the story goes on and we are fed Stutt's history on his tours in Iraq as well as the romantic history between Emery and Jake. I enjoyed both aspects of the story so much and found myself feeling terrible for Brian which was not an emotion I thought I would have for him going into the novel. The horrors that he saw overseas and how the effects of that touched everything in his life when he came back was haunting. The author created this gray area where you knew that what Brian was doing was terribly wrong but once we delved more into his life it was almost as if he had his back against a wall and was just so desperate to have his son in his life. Now, that doesn't make what he did OK but it definitely made me understand his motivations perfectly.

Brian's story is not the only one we are treated to here, we also get glimpses into Emery and Jake's history and see what they have gone through together. I really liked Emery she was incredibly smart and she was fantastic with the children. I loved how much she had absorbed from the teacher in her few months tutoring and watching her step into Mrs. Campbells role once she was gone was great. Jake's history was another aspect of the story that really pulled at my heartstrings. Seeing how lost he was after the loss of his mother was so sad and so was the resulting rebellion when his father started dating "The Christine."

Don't be fooled by the small number of pages of This Is Not A Drill, this story packs a punch and is full of characters that you will come to care immensely about. This is a tough subject and it truly frightened me, it probably wasn't the best book to read on a day when my 5 year old daughter was at school. Beck has created a frighteningly real story that will make you think and will definitely have you grabbing for a box of tissues.

Guest Post

Path to Publication

People often ask how I got a contract with Penguin for THIS IS NOT A DRILL. On the surface it sounds like an overnight success story. When I submitted the manuscript to 7 agents on July 7 (my lucky 7-7-7 strategy), Jill Corcoran offered representation within 24 hours, we had our first offer within two days and we finalized a book deal within 2 weeks – crazy fast in a publishing world that sometimes moves at a glacial pace. But there’s certainly more to the story . . .

I started writing seriously in 2005. My first novel about a boy whose brother has committed suicide garnered a long string of rejections. I knew many authors don’t sell their first book, and my teacher-self reminded me how much I’d learned in the process of writing it – but it was tough to realize it wasn’t going anywhere.

Then I heard about a boy who stole a school bus and drove stranded neighbors out of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. I contacted him, and – over a period of two years wrote the non-fiction work LAST BUS OUT. In my first round of submissions, the book was picked up by a respected agent with a top NYC firm. I was ecstatic! My work was finally going to reach a wide readership.

My new agent and I worked together on revisions, then he sent it out on Dec. 2, 2008. If you google “Black Wednesday” and “Publishing,” you’ll learn that Dec. 3 is now known as Black Wednesday in the publishing industry, due to massive lay-offs because of the economy and the uncertainty facing publishing at that time. Could there be any worse timing? We got great feedback from editors (I still have the emails), that ended with, “We’re not buying much right now.” The short version of the long story that followed: I decided to turn the book into an enhanced e-book with photos and video links, and eventually a paperback. This process just wasn’t something my agent did, we parted company amicably.

So I’d been down that road twice before when I finished THIS IS NOT A DRILL. I knew I’d always write (it gets in your blood) but I wasn’t sure I wanted to go through the angst of the submission process again. When I pressed “send” on July 7, I had very little self-confidence as a writer. I can’t say what made me keep going – determination, stubbornness, a deep-rooted tendency toward optimism – but I’m really glad I did. Think what I’d have missed out on if I’d given up – an amazing editor at the premiere publishing house in the country and a fabulous team of publicists, sales reps, book designers, and artists.

I hope my story will inspire someone else who’s struggling with self-doubt. Don’t let the bumps in the road deter you. Any success worth having is worth working hard for. Do everything you can to prepare yourself by studying, practicing, and steeling yourself for the rejection that is part of any creative endeavor. Trust your instincts and go for it! It only takes one “yes” to make it happen!

-Beck McDowell

Such a great post, Beck! It's awesome to see that persistence can get you to exactly where you want to be, don't let the bumps get you down!

Beck's Website / Twitter / Goodreads

Beck lives in Huntsville, Alabama with her lawyer husband, David; her two adult children, Emily and Drew, also live there. She's not a fan of routine so she writes anywhere from two hours a day to fourteen hours, sometimes in pajamas (but occasionally in pearls,) usually in the morning, but now and then all night. Beck loves being allowed to "pay it forward" in honor of favorite writers who hooked her on reading at a young age. She values the process of writing above any product; time spent learning to do something well is never wasted.

This post has been a part of the This Is Not A Drill blog tour.

To see all of the stops on the tour Click Here!

Blind Spot Tour Stop (Review, Guest Post & Giveaway)

Today the Blind Spot tour is stopping by the blog! My tour stop features my review, a fantastic guest post and a fun swag giveaway! Make sure you check it all out.

TITLE Blind Spot
AUTHOR Laura Ellen
PUBLICATION October 23rd 2012 by Harcourt Children's Books
READ October 21, 2012
SOURCE Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for review

There’s none so blind as they that won’t see.

Seventeen-year-old Tricia Farni’s body floated to the surface of Alaska’s Birch River six months after the night she disappeared. The night Roz Hart had a fight with her. The night Roz can’t remember. Roz, who struggles with macular degeneration, is used to assembling fragments to make sense of the world around her. But this time it’s her memory that needs piecing together—to clear her name . . . to find a murderer.

This unflinchingly emotional novel is written in the powerful first-person voice of a legally blind teen who just wants to be like everyone else.

I feel the need to start off this review by saying that Laura Ellen's Blind Spot was a strange beast for me. I sat down on a Sunday morning and was thrown into this world that I had quite a few issues with. I couldn't find one redeeming character in the bunch & as I look back their actions are just baffling, as well, the pacing was all over the place. That being said, I couldn't put it down. I read it in a single sitting and I was very engrossed in the mystery and all of the WTF moments that occurred.

Let me start by talking about the characters. I don't think we were supposed to like them, I mean Roswell (Roz) our MC was about as unlikeable as they come. She starts off the novel on the first day of a new school year and as she follows the map she had made for herself to her first class, she realizes that she is headed into a class in the Special Education wing of her high school. Well, needless to say Roz is not very happy about being in a SPED class and as we experience the ordeal in her judgmental brain I was nervous I was going to get very offended. But luckily I wasn't and as I sit back I can understand where her emotions at the time and really throughout the story came from. Roz grew up being on sports teams, and in with the in-crowd at school only to find out that she suffers from Macular Degeneration and is legally blind. Her world fell apart when she got the diagnosis and she became very bitter. She refused the help that she needed because she had grown up being independent and self sufficient and that is probably about the hardest thing someone can have to give up. Now, even though I understood a lot of her motivation for how she was, that doesn't mean that I liked her. She made a lot of terrible decisions in this novel; lying to cops, constantly going back to a complete and utter douchebag, and using her friends to name a few. Roz's friends in this story weren't exactly people I was rooting for either, possibly Greg but he came across as pretty judgmental at times.

The character that baffled me the most in this twisted tale was Rodney Dellian, Roz's Life Skills and AP History teacher. He came across as someone who was over the top cruel and sitting back and thinking about it I really can't place his actions and understand where he was coming from at all. I mean he was the Special Education teacher trying to enforce Roz's IEP on her and when she started to embrace one of the recommendations on the list he constantly penalized her for it to the point of suspension. The only thing that kept me reading about him was the fact that there was clearly something very fishy going on in his life and I am a super nosy person so I wanted to know.

Now at this point you may be thinking "But Jenni, Blind Spot is a murder mystery, is it not? Why haven't you talked about it?" Well yes, and no. Through most of the story the murder mystery of it all took a back seat to the drama going on with Roz and her friends in this year of high school but that's not to say it wasn't always there. The seed is planted at the beginning and it's constantly growing throughout though it doesn't become the main focus of the novel until about the last quarter. Being pre-warned by previous reviews I was expecting it and definitely found myself getting lost in the drama of it all and I can safely say that I actually preferred the parts of the story that were not focusing on solving Tricia's murder. I enjoyed seeing the tangled web of sex & drugs at this high school and also enjoyed being inside Roz's head as she struggled to come to terms with her impairment.

Going into Blind Spot looking for a riveting murder mystery will leave you sorely disappointed.  However, if you go into it looking for an interesting look at a twisted group of kids you will definitely be entertained. This novel is chalk full of intensity and it definitely gets you lost within the pages.

Guest Post

Blind Spot Dream Cast: Part Two

This or That with Jeff Strand - Guest Post

Today I am happy to have Jeff Strand stop by the blog for a great Halloween themed This or That post.  I can't wait to read A Bad Day for Voodoo, I have heard it is the perfect blend of paranormal and comedy, which is always a welcome blend for me.  Here's a bit more about Jeff's book:

A Bad Day For Voodoo
by Jeff Strand
published June 5th 2012 by Sourcebooks

When your best friend is just a tiny bit psychotic, you should never actually believe him when he says, "Trust me. This is gonna be awesome."

Of course, you probably wouldn't believe a voodoo doll could work either. Or that it could cause someone's leg to blow clean off with one quick prick. But I've seen it. It can happen.

And when there's suddenly a doll of YOU floating around out there—a doll that could be snatched by a Rottweiler and torn to shreds, or a gang of thugs ready to torch it, or any random family of cannibals (really, do you need the danger here spelled out for you?)—well, you know that's just gonna be a really bad day ...

Guest Post

This or That (Supernatural Edition)

Find out Jeff’s preferences of all things that go against the laws of nature.

1. Who would win in a fight: a vampire or a werewolf?

Neither. I truly believe that if they just talked out their issues, they could resolve everything without having to resort to violence. Everybody's a winner!

2. Which would you rather have explode, your ear or your toe?

Every time one of my toes explodes it puts me in a crabby mood for at least a couple of days, so I'm going to say my ear.

3. DC or Marvel Comics?

Are DC and Marvel Comics supernatural? Wow. That explains everything!

4. Who would you rather fight in a battle, a magical gypsy or a zombie?

A zombie. One good poke in the head with a pitchfork and they’re no longer a problem. Whereas a magical gypsy...well, that’s where you find yourself clucking like a chicken for the rest of your life.

5. Casper or Bloody Mary?

Well, Casper the Friendly Ghost has "friendly" right there in his name, so I'd much rather fight him in a battle because he'd probably be all nice and stuff while you were beating him up.

6. Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde?

Is the question still who I would rather fight in a battle? Would anybody pick Mr. Hyde? I mean, that's like asking if I'd rather fight Bruce Banner or The Hulk. Of course I'd pick Dr. Jekyll--he's a total wuss. If that's not what you were asking then I might have to revise my Casper answer above.

7. Would you rather have the power transfiguration or invisibility?

Transfiguration, because not only could I change into something really cool, like a hippopotamus, but I could find a loophole in this question and transform myself into an invisible man! Ha!

8. What’s harder to find, a working pay phone or ten thousand dollars?

Though my characters are desperately searching for a pay phone at one point in the book, in real life I have a nice shiny iPhone. Not the latest model, but nice and shiny nevertheless. So it’s been several years since I’ve used a pay phone, and for all I know every pay phone in the country is covered with slime and infested by bloodthirsty wasps. But I’ve also never just found ten thousand dollars lying around. This question is too hard!!! I have to skip it!!!

9. What would make a better getaway car, a minivan or a taxi cab?

Let’s be honest—they’re both awful getaway cars. What you want is a helicopter that swoops down and picks you up. One that's just like in the movies where it doesn't make any sound until it pops up in the frame. That would be awesome.

10. Who is more dangerous, a Rottweiler or a family of cannibals?

A family of cannibals, DUR!!!

11. What’s a better weapon, a suitcase or a voodoo doll?

A suitcase filled with voodoo dolls.

12. In 137 years when robots that have taken over the earth would you hide in a junkyard or the sewers?

I feel that when robots have taken over the earth, it's not such a great idea to hide in a place that is littered with the corpses of their fallen friends. That just makes them mad. Sewers have a bad reputation, but you meet lots of interesting people down there. I'd go there even if robots hadn't taken over the earth. That's where I'm answering these questions now.

Well Jeff, I am happy you could take a minute out of your sewer exploration that you are so fond of to whip up this post. Thanks!

Do you agree with Jeff's choices? Disagree? Let me know in the comments!

Butterfly Kisses Tour Stop

Today I am so excited to take part in the blog tour for Mia Castile's Butterfly Kisses.  I read Becoming A Butterfly earlier this year and was a huge fan.  My tour stop will feature a guest post from Mia as well as the chance to win an ebook of Butterfly Kisses for yourself!

Guest Post

Fact Vs Fiction

Jenni, thank you for having me on your blog, today I was asked if I ever based scenes on my life. I do. I think there has to be some fact in fiction for it to work. It has to be believable and relatable. Life is going on all around us, sometimes we just have to pause and pay attention to the here and now, because sooner or later they may just be fond memories. Here are five instances where the art imitated life.

Fiction: Chase enjoys embarrassing Lacey with sexual innuendos through both Becoming A Butterfly and Butterfly Kisses.
Fact: Every boy I knew in high school enjoyed making me blush with sexual innuendos.

Fiction: Britt and Lana hang out at the quicky mart where Britt’s boyfriend works.
Fact: My friends and I would hang out at the 7eleven were a boy worked who I was talking to at the time. He’d give us free frosty drinks.

Fiction: Lacey and Chase have a secret spot where they sit and talk after a night of cruising.
Fact: I used to drive around with a guy friend and we’d talk for hours, about everything and nothing.

Fiction: Lana hangs out often on the front porch roof just outside her bedroom window to escape.
Fact: My cousin used to escape to her rooftop from her bedroom window. Growing up, I always wished I had a 2nd story bedroom to escape to the roof.

Fiction: Chase comforts Lacey by skipping class and hanging out with her in the hallway during her free class.
Fact: I once hung out in the hallway at school with a guy friend. It wasn’t the most ideal place to skip class, but we did and it was fun.

-Mia Castile

Thinking back, I used to skip and hang out in the hallway too. Definitely not the best place to cut class.  Thanks for the great post Mia!

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Mia's Website / Twitter / Facebook

Mia grew up in a suburb of a medium sized city. There were cold winters, and hot sticky summers. Mia’s favorite seasons were spring and fall. She enjoyed the mild seasons, but also loved the vibrant colors each possessed.

Mia loved music. She didn’t just love it, she sat on the floor in front of her Casio stereo for hours at a time, recording songs off the radio. Then she would listen to those songs absorbing the words as she sat in her room and wrote her poetry.

Defiance Blog Tour Stop (Guest Post)

Today I am very exciting to be hosting a stop on the blog tour for Defiance by C.J. Redwine.  Here you will find a great guest post C.J. wrote on what makes a strong female character.  I love to read about strong women and appreciate any author who does so.  Just looking at the cover for Defiance you can tell you are going to get one kick-ass girl within it's pages. First here's a little bit about the book:

Defiance (Defiance #1)
by C.J. Redwine
published August 28, 2012 by Balzer + Bray

Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city's brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father's apprentice, Logan--the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same one who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but a fierce belief in her father's survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her.

At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. As apprentice to the city's top courier, Logan is focused on learning his trade so he can escape the tyranny of Baalboden. But his plan never included being responsible for his mentor's impulsive daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, but when his escape plan goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared.

As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can't be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making.

It’s tempting to say that what makes a heroine strong are her kickbutt fighting skills—even better if she knows how to use a lethal weapon! But the truth is there are many kinds of strength, and having awesome fighting skills isn’t even one of them.

And yes, my heroine has awesome fighting skills and knows how to use a lethal weapon. But that isn’t what makes her strong. It’s just part of what she can DO with her strength.

Strength looks like self-awareness. Like the willingness to go deep inside herself, find her purpose, and then live it boldly. Strength looks like love. Like the choice to open her heart to others even when her heart has been broken in the past. Strength looks like intelligence. Like her brain is the most frequently used muscle in her body, and she isn’t about to sit back and let others figure out life while she sips a smoothie and paints her nails. Strength looks like courage in the face of fear. Like doing the one thing she’s terrified to do. Like giving someone a second chance. Like facing the world and lifting her voice to say “This … THIS … is the right thing to do, and I’m going to do it even if no one else does.”

Sometimes I think we get confused by all of the awesome fighter girls populating the YA landscape right now. We have girls in dystopians and fantasies and paranormals who can punch a man and make him cry. We have girls who can wield swords or kick like a ninja. Girls who can spy. Who can sneak. Who can take on the Establishment and win. We see these girls (and my heroine is one of them!) and we point to the flashy things they do and call it strength, but it isn’t.

Strength is internal. Without the will to fight, fighting skills mean nothing. Without the courage to stand up for what is right, knowing how to use a lethal weapon is as useful as knowing how to feed the cat. The girl who chooses to walk away from alcohol so she won’t become like her mother is strong. The girl who chooses to see past rumors, lies, and pain and love the person others despise is strong. The girl who picks herself up after tragedy rips apart her personal life is strong. The girl who chooses forgiveness over bitterness, who chooses to speak up when she’d rather be silent, who walks away from a toxic relationship even though it takes every ounce of will she has … all of them are just as strong as the girl taking on President Snow with a quiver of arrows on her back.

The real determining factor is choice. What a heroine chooses to do with what she’s got. Whether she chooses to rise up, take risks, and do the right thing. Sometimes that right thing is a quiet action no one ever sees. Sometimes it’s leading an army against a corrupt government.

When we recognize that real strength comes from the inside out, we make our heroines far more relatable to our readers because the truth is every girl has the power to be STRONG. Being able to disarm a man twice her size and kick like a ninja is just a fancy bonus.

-C.J. Redwine

This is a great post.  I know as a reader I am always looking for not just a girl who can yield a weapon, but also a girl who stands up for what she believes in, to me that is much more important.  Thanks for the great post C.J.!

C.J.'s Website / Twitter / Facebook

C.J. Redwine loves stilettos, lemon bars, and any movie starring Johnny Depp. She lives in Nashville with her husband, four kids, two cats, and one long-suffering dog. To learn more about C.J., visit her website at http://cjredwine.blogspot.com/

Send Blog Tour Stop

Today I have the It Only Takes One Click blog tour stopping by and I am featuring a review of Send by Patty Blount as well as a fantastic guest post and a giveaway! This tour is brought to you by Sourcebooks.

TITLE Send
AUTHOR Patty Blount
PUBLICATION August 1, 2012
READ August 7 - 9, 2012

To keep his secrets, all he has to do is listen to the voice in his head and just walk away...
On his first day at his new high school, Dan stops a bully from beating up a kid half his size. He didn't want to get involved. All he wants out of his senior year is to fly under the radar. But Dan knows what it's like to be terrorized by a bully-he used to be one. Now the whole school thinks he's some kind of hero, except Julie Murphy, the prettiest girl on campus. She looks at him like she knows he has a secret. Like she knows his name isn't really Daniel.

A copy was provided by the publisher as part of the It Only Takes One Click blog tour.

I was so excited to take part in this tour, as soon as I read the blurb for Send I knew it was one that I had to read as soon as possible.  As a girl who has cyber bullying as a very prevalent memory from her high school years, I knew it was a story that I would be able to connect to on a very personal level.  In Send we meet Dan who has relocated with his family and changed his name to escape his past in which he was a bully who has served his time.  We follow him as he plants roots in a new city with a brand new, made up name and tries to forget who he was and finally escape the consequences of his actions.

Dan, our fantastic male protagonist, is a shell of a boy.  He has been through so much and one bad choice has changed his life drastically.  I really wanted to give him a hug throughout.  He had come to hate who he was and he was so determined that he needed to suffer at every possible opportunity.  Dan becomes a hero of sorts for a boy being bullied at his school, Brandon, and does everything he can to help him through a tough time.  The fluidity with which the growth of Dan is written and the fall into darkness that Brandon goes on is amazing.  I felt both of the progressions were conveyed in a very realistic way and the events that lead to them well thought out.

There is, of course, a love story here but it takes a back seat and it is also well paced and has its own hint of mystery.  Julie was a character that I had a really hard time reading throughout, at times I thought she was a fun, outgoing character but she would turn off at the snap of a finger.  All of these elements and the realistic approach Blount takes to an issue that is at the forefront of our society makes this an important story.

There is so much going on in this tale and it all weaves together in an intricate way to make a truly memorable read.  Send tackles a tough issue in a touching way and I definitely recommend giving it a read.

The Consequences of Technology

In 2004, my son had a growth spurt. He hit five foot nine, started shaving, endured some vicious acne and all the other curses of puberty and so, became the favorite target of a group of little boys who thought it was great fun to tear down the giant. This torment had gone on for months before I ever learned about it.

I didn’t learn about it until my son told me he no longer wanted to live.

He was in sixth grade. Today, he’s in college and doing well, but I will tell you he bears deep scars from his ordeal.

Let’s skip to 2009: a new executive at my day job directed us to start incorporating social media into our work. I knew nothing about networks like Facebook and Twitter and had a lot of homework to do before I could figure out how to meet his directive. The more work I did, the more grateful I became that none of these networks were around back in 2004.

If they had been, I’m sure I would have lost my son.

Social networks are great tools. They give a voice to anyone with an internet connection, they allow us to remain connected to folks we’d otherwise have lost touch with, and they expose us to news before the networks can report it. Here’s the irony: the things that make social networks so great are also the very things that make them so dangerous. The problem with everyone having a voice is that we can’t readily determine which voices are qualified to support the opinions being stated and which are just hot air. Remaining connected can easily become stalking. And, ‘news’ may be nothing more than rumor. (Bon Jovi did not die in December of 2011.)

I have two more bullet points for the Danger list: First, many of us are more likely to say something snarky online than directly to someone’s face. Psychologist John Suler calls this the Online Disinhibition Effect and what’s really scary is most of us aren’t even aware we’re caught up in it. According to Suler, the internet makes us all anonymous and invisible and because there’s no online authority, exaggerates our own sense of self.

In other words – it’s a power trip and power is pretty much the bully’s objective, isn’t it?

Second, there is the immediacy of it and I want to stress that this is NOT a trap limited only to teens. Adults are just as likely to lose their tempers and take inappropriate action based on anger as teens. This is actually why I chose SEND as the title of my book – because the Send key is RIGHT THERE at the top of the screen, just itching to be clicked before you’ve carefully crafted the message you want to express.

I think it’s important for all of us to remember two things: first, technology is not a toy and second, children are not short adults, which means that is exactly how they’ll treat technology. Social sites, smart phones and the internet have the potential for positive and negative results. I don’t know how children can distinguish the good from the bad without guidance from adults.

How old were your children when you bought them a cell phone? Are they on Facebook or Twitter? Do you know who they’re talking to? Better question – do you know who’s talking to them?

-Patty Blount

I'm so excited to be able to give away a copy of Send to one reader who is a resident of the United States or Canada.  Simply fill out the Rafflecopter below!
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Guest Review: Giselle from Xpresso Reads

Today I have Giselle stopping by the blog for a guest review of a book that she loved and I'm currently reading, this could end badly!

Hi everyone!

Giselle here from Xpresso Reads! I'm happy to be guest reviewing over at Alluring Reads today as Jenni is fabulous and her blog rocks! This post is all about one of my favorite books - Angelfall. I read this over a year ago and I'm still pushing for people to read it because it's just that great, and I've noticed it's finally starting to get the attention it deserves. I finally convinced Jenni to give it a try and since she's currently reading the book now, to hype her up even more, I decided to share my review with y'all. So that way if she hates it, we can all agree she's got bad taste… :D

Enjoy, lovelies! And Get this book, Stat! It's only 2.99$ on Kindle and completely and utterly worth it!

Giselle's Review

TITLE Angelfall (Penryn & The End of Days #1)
AUTHOR Susan Ee
PUBLICATION May 21, 2011 by Feral Dream
READ August 6 - 9, 2011

It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

I read an angel book once that I won't bother naming and it was terrible, and as it was my first, I was a bit uncertain as to whether or not Angelfall would be another failure, but nope, it is Full. Of. Awesome!!

In a post-apocalyptic world where Angels have taken over, Penryn is only trying to survive with her schizophrenic mother and crippled sister. These aren't angels to swoon over these ones, these are mean ass, I-will-kill-your-unborn-child, angels. I'm not sure if this is a debut novel, but if so props x1000 to the author. She swept me away into a world where no one is safe, no one can be trusted, and everyone is fighting for their lives, for the world they're losing. She balances death and destruction with a bit of comic relief, and the romance is slowly putting out roots instead of giving us a doe-eyed, naive love-struck character disregarding this apocalypse to fall in love with the enemy. The pacing was perfect; just the right amount of action to keep you wanting to turn the page, but not so much you want to pull your hair out. The plot surprises you with a few unpredictable events and often makes you want to cringe at the enormity of the situation. I was completely enthralled by the characters as well. Especially Penryn who is a great protagonist - kindhearted, strong, competent, courageous - everything that builds an easily likeable, badass character.

I did find the explanations about why the angels invaded earth, (and a few other details -- what's with the children? And the scorpions?) were somewhat missing; I thought that strange. I presume it will be explained in the following books, but I still expected to get at least an idea or a glimpse into the big picture. Regardless, I was blown away.

The ending, it was insufficient - I want more NOW!

Get this book…

Get it!!