Book Tour: Power by Theresa M. Jones

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Today I'm very pleased to host author and friend of the blog, Theresa M. Jones. She offers up amazing reviews on her book blog, Keepin' Up With the Joneses. Now, other bloggers will be reviewing her debut novel Power. My blog is an official stop on her book tour, so stop! Keep reading to learn more about the book and find out how to get your copy. Don't miss the amazing giveaway opportunity at the end -- you could win a signed copy of the book and a $15 Amazon gift card!

Thousands of years after the battle between the angels, when Lucifer was defeated by Michael in the Heavens, the war is still being fought on Earth by the humans who have their Power, the Angel’s Power. 

Allison Stevens is a 21 year old single mother who gets thrown into the middle of this battle when Damien, the Leader of the Rising, decides to hunt her down and kill her because he fears she is the descendant prophesied to save the world. 

David, a member of the Order, takes Allison under his wing in order to show her the ropes, and hopefully groom her into being the one they have been waiting for. The only problem is that they start to grow more attached than a teacher/student relationship should allow.

But that isn’t all. Damien wants to open the Seven Seals and bring about the apocalypse and it’s up to Allison to not only save herself and her family, but save the world, all while trying to keep her heart from breaking.

No problem… right?

POWER is the first book in a New Adult (Mature YA) Paranormal Romance Trilogy and is the debut novel for author Theresa M Jones.

Keep reading for an excerpt from the book...

Part of Chapter 15

I stepped outside into the fresh air. The sky was cloudless, and I could see all the stars. I walked to the pond and thought about putting my feet inside. It was summer, but we were high up in the mountains and the wind was chilly; so I decided against taking my shoes off and dipping my feet in the cold water. I snuggled my robe closer around me as I felt a small breeze. Being surrounded by massively tall cliffs, one would rarely feel a breeze out here, but when you did, boy was it cold. I sat leaning against a tree and looked out over the pond.

I didn’t hear him come up behind me, but I could sense him. I turned around as he greeted me the same as he always did, “Good morning, Allison.”

I chuckled, “I guess it is morning already.” He offered his hand and helped me stand. I took it eagerly, and went straight into his arms. He didn’t pull away. If anything, he held me closer.  It reminded me of the morning when I thought he would kiss me. After that morning he had distanced himself. But over the last few days he had gotten back to normal. He had even kissed my head and my cheek on a few occasions. Tonight I wanted more, though I was a little afraid to risk it. What if he started acting all weird again?

I breathed in deeply, allowing his scent to fill my nose and my lungs. He nestled his head into the crook of my neck and I could feel the scruff from his beard scratch my cheek as he started to breathe deeply as well. I could feel his breath tickle my neck and it sent shivers down my spine. It made me pull him closer still. I could feel his muscles touching mine, and I could feel the heat emanating from him, warming my skin through my clothes.

My heart started beating faster, and I felt my face flush with anticipation. He pulled away, just enough to look me in the eyes. I stared back into his, allowing him access to my soul, hoping he could see how desperately I needed him. I didn’t hold back at all.

Before I could even react his lips were on mine. The heat that I had felt when he kissed my cheek, was like a lit match compared to the forest fire I felt now. Every inch of my body was deliciously ignited.

This kiss started very slow. Tentative. Wary. Unsure.

But as my lips parted, allowing him full access to me, things changed. He deepened the kiss. His arms pulled me closer to him, wrapped around my back, and held me firm.

He tasted like heaven on earth. My arms were all over the place. On his face, on his neck, then down to his back. I couldn’t get enough of him. I couldn’t touch him enough, or smell him enough. Or… taste him enough.

This felt right. Like the ultimate goodness. My body tried to inch closer, but it appeared we couldn’t get any closer. His chest was warm and hard against mine, and fit perfectly, as if we were two pieces to a puzzle.

About the Author...

Theresa M Jones is just a regular small town, Texas girl. When she isn't at work at a local Medical Equipment provider,you can find her at home with her husband and two beautiful (and rambunctious) kiddos.

In her spare time- as if there ever was such a thing as "spare time" - she reads and reviews books on her book blog, and writes paranormal romance novels.

POWER (The Descendent Trilogy #1) is her debut New Adult (Mature YA) Paranormal Romance novel.

Twitter- @MrsTheresaJones

Goodreads: Author Theresa Jones

Blog: Keepin Up with the Joneses In the Book World

And Facebook: TheresaMJones

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Blog Tour Stop: Why Twitter Matters, from Annalisa Crawford

It's been a year since my novella Cat and The Dreamer was published! There have been lots of changes in my own life in that time, and I started to wonder what else had changed...

Thank you Jade for inviting me over today!

Today's topic: Twitter!

When Cat and The Dreamer was published I didn't have a Twitter account - everyone else in the world did, everyone else used their accounts to tell each other about their new book releases... I relied on a solitary tweet by Hubby. I was on Facebook, I had a blog - why did I need Twitter too?

I succumbed in June, and it wasn't even with professional reasons in mind. I'm not sure what swayed me, but I've been having a blast ever since. I can now tell the world all those witty things I think during the day that would be otherwise lost. I can (and did) share my thoughts about the Olympic opening ceremony, along with the rest of the world. In fact, it was that was the evening I unfollowed my first person, because he insisted on tweeting about his book release while everyone else was talking Olympics.

Best of all was watching TOTP2 over Christmas. I was alone, but I took to Twitter and shared my thoughts about Wizzard, The Pogues and Kirsty McColl, and some rather strange dancing snowmen #TOTP2, yeah! And it was fantastic. Lots of people all thinking the same as me, how great is that!

It was because of a Twitter conversation that I took part in NaNoWriMo this year, and now have a great new project to work on.

It was because of Twitter that I've met some great new people, and have a heavy metal guitarist following me. (I wish Blogger would support cheesy-grin smileys because I really want to put one here!)

It's also very useful for those silly little research questions you have and can't find the answer to on Google. For one story recently, my character was being poisoned and I'd already written his symptoms when I realised I didn't know what would cause them. I got my answer via Twitter because the question was retweeted until I found the expert I needed. I think it was an expert, it might just have been someone who'd poisoned people!

Are you on Twitter? Has it changed your life?

Please follow me, using the link below!

About Cat and The Dreamer

As a teenager, Julia survived a suicide pact, while her best friend Rachel died. Julia’s only escape from her guilt, and her mother’s over-protection, is her imagination. When Adam arrives in the office, Julia’s world takes a startling turn as she realises reality can be much more fun than fantasy. Finally she has someone who can help her make the most of her life. But can she allow herself to be truly happy?

Cat and The Dreamer is available on Kindle UK, Kindle US, Kobo, Nook, iTunes/iBooks, and via Vagabondage Press.

Annalisa Crawford lives and writes in Cornwall with a good supply of beaches and moorland to keep her inspired. She finds endless possibilities in the relationships between people. Several new projects are on the cards for 2013.

Find her on her blog, Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads.

Guest Post: The 5 Decades of a Writer's Life

Author Lisa Fantino dropped by today to share her unique insights after 5 decades of being a writer. Stay tuned for a future review of her popular book Amalfi Blue, coming soon to the blog. In the meantime, see what Lisa had to say about her 50 years of writing...

The 5 Decades of a Writer's Life

Some people are born opera stars.  Some folks are natural athletes. I am a lifer when it comes to writing.  I received the all important tools of the trade, a typewriter and a tape recorder, for my third Christmas and so it began. Now, with the release of my memoir, “Amalfi Blue, lost & found in the south of Italy,” it puts this long passion for writing in perspective.

With the success of the book, come the requests for advice from aspiring writers, people who have not yet earned a penny from their hobby.  I call it a hobby because that is all it will be for most people because there is a true difference between just writing words or creating a world with words that others want to enter.

So, I will try to highlight the five decades of a writer’s journey, realizing full well that not everyone’s path to literary immortality will be the same.

• The teens – everything stirs her curiosity.  While young girls fill diaries with pointless drivel about morning acne and silly boys, teen writers fill books with prose & poetry.  They are spurred by emotion and fueled by hormones to send letters everywhere.  The budding Lois Lane will not be swayed from getting her voice to the masses and is published in a national magazine by her Sweet 16.  You will most likely find her at the editor’s desk of the H.S. paper.

•  The 20s – The true writer is likely to be a dual major of Literature and Journalism.  She will study the classics because they stir her soul and inspire her to dream of writing the great American novel.  She will study the practicalities of journalism because that is where she can hone her skills.  If she’s lucky enough, she’ll be introduced to the writing bibles of “Strunk and White” and almost any style book written by Merv Block.  You will most likely find her in a corner of the campus library, shutting out the world, doing re-writes for the only creative writing class the college offers.

• The 30s – The true writer has resigned herself to a life of poverty since most print publications barely cover gas money for 2,000 words, while blogs and websites barely offer enough to buy a burger.  Thanks, freelance writing sites, for dumbing down the writers’ market even further when it comes to compensation.  You will most likely find the 30-something writer working 60+ hours, during ungodly overnight shifts, at any newspaper, radio or TV station which will hire her…..and unless she’s in a major market (NY, LA or Chi-town), she is earning a fraction of what her IT alums are making.  BTW, the first draft of that novel now sits with the 2^nd and 3^rd re-writes on her dead laptop, along with the junk file of agent and publisher rejection letters.  She keeps those for when her first book is a best-seller and she can say “I told you so!”

•  The 40s – The true writer is laughing and crying inside as she sees her colleagues give up true journalism for a life in P.R., knowing full well they will also earn more than she is doing chasing down news stories.  They write press releases and she still dreams of writing the great American novel, while realizing there is no money in the retirement fund.  You will most likely find her at the bar, which sits across from the TV station, with the old-timers who can’t imagine a life outside of news.

• The 50s – The true writer says “F^*^ it all, I’m doing it my way.”  She understands that life is too short to wait for others to realize her dream.  She is realistic enough, hopefully not delusional, to know whether she has what it takes to draw in readers.  She’s honed this skill after many, many years working with seasoned editors, taking the ego hits and learning how to improve her craft.  You will likely find her chasing her dream to all corners of the world, confident in her ability to make it happen.

My former journalism students either dropped out the first week of class or continued to take my writing courses as electives, understanding full well that rejection and editing make you better in spirit and talent.  Writers are writers because they cannot think of doing anything else but writing.  You won’t get rich.  Maybe you won’t be famous.  So, you write for yourself and if others jump on the crazy train with you, then oh, what a ride it will be!

About the Author

Lisa Fantino is a former network news reporter and anchor, turned attorney and now published author, who stepped off life’s merry-go-round just long enough to make her dream a reality.

Amalfi Blue on Amazon

Amalfi Blue on Twitter

Writing 101: The Terror of the Beta Read

by Margaret Yang

Asking someone to beta read a novel is terrifying. We ask—beg—people to take the work of our hearts and attack it with a machete. If done well, the pages come back with so much red ink on them it looks like someone mopped up after a goat sacrifice. And yet, we do it. We seek out new betas and bribe the ones we already have with coffee and chocolate. We know it’s going to hurt, but we need the lessons our beta readers will teach us. We beg for critiques because we know the only way to make a manuscript strong is to first let someone tear it apart.

As scary as receiving a critique is, it’s even scarier to give one. A beta reader never knows how a writer will take her suggestions. Will she find it helpful, or have I wasted my time? Will she understand my points, or have I made things worse? And most importantly, will she kill the messenger? I once lost a friendship over a critique. Every time I beta read, I’m afraid I will lose another one.

In a relationship so delicate and emotional, both sides need to be on their best behavior. A writer owes a beta reader her best work. It must be complete, polished, and formatted correctly. Never, never, never make your beta reader do your copy edits for you. Of course, your manuscript isn’t perfect—that’s why you’re getting a critique. But your beta knows the difference between a manuscript you’ve toiled over and sloppy work that you’ve rushed out because you couldn’t wait for feedback. Knowing you can do better, but not doing it, isn’t fair to your beta. I have returned manuscripts half-read for that reason, telling the writer that I will critique the next draft, but not this one.

A beta reader owes a writer complete honesty. But honesty comes in many flavors. A critique must be given in the gentlest of terms and only up to the edge of a writer’s vulnerability. The problem is, a beta reader never knows where that line is. I crossed that line once and it still haunts me to this day.

When I critique, I’m usually careful to point out what a writer does well along with suggestions for improvement. However, one time I was reading for an old friend. We’d been betas for each other for years and I thought we were both pros. She was in a hurry, so I rushed through the critique, pointing out the errors, skipping the flattery. After all, she knew what her strengths were, right? I didn’t need to keep spelling them out in each and every critique, did I?

Actually, I did. That writer was crushed by my negative critique, and our long history together only made it worse. She was used to me telling her all the good and bad things about her manuscripts. Pointing out only the bad must have meant it really, really stunk.

I lost a dear friend that day.

Since then, I err on the side of caution. I pour on the praise and sprinkle in the criticism. I don’t worry about being too gentle. Writers have special antennae for criticism of their work. They can zero in on the mildest comment and understand it full well.

Most of the time, my critiques are received with grace and bravery bordering on heroism. I feel closer to the friends I’ve beta read for. Like war heroes, we’ve gone through this terrifying experience together and emerged on the other side scarred, but whole. I learn from every critique I get, but I learn more—much more—from the ones I give.

About the Author

Margaret Yang is the co-author of The Caline Conspiracy and Fate's Mirror, written under the pen name M.H. Mead. Her newest novel, Taking the Highway, was just released December 1st. Margaret is a reader, writer, and parent whose true mission in life is to find the perfect slice of key lime pie.

Find the books at Amazon! 

Margaret Yang's Official Site 

Margaret's Blog

@Margaret_Yang

Guest Post: 5 Ways to Get Noticed and Earn a Full-Time Writing Job

by Brittany Behrman

Learning the basics of writing, Writing 101, is the first step in getting published. However, once you’ve established that you have the talent and knowhow to push forward toward making it big, how do you support yourself in the meantime?

You could find a job in an unrelated field, which may distract you from your writing and delay your success, or you can work towards refining the skills it takes to finish a great manuscript and make money doing so!
The first step in starting your writing career, whether you aim to work full-time or freelance, is building your experience and developing your portfolio to attract potential employers. I’ve put together a list of the five ways that I worked towards positioning myself above some of the steep competition in the industry and starting a career in writing to escape an in-the-meantime job.

I am excited for the opportunity to share my experience here with Jade Varden’s Official Blog’s readers! I hope that by following some of my suggestions, you’ll be able to grow as a writer and find employment doing what you love!

Read the five tips here.

About the author: Brittany Behrman began her writing career prior to college graduation reporting for her school’s newspaper and contributing to two sponsored blogs. Since earning her B.A. at Rutgers University in Journalism and Media Studies in 2009, she has spent the majority of her time freelancing and bouncing around the job market. In her tireless search for a writing position, she perfected these five tips and is now approaching her one year anniversary writing full-time for the Performance Marketing Agency, DMi Partners, and an education portal for online colleges, eCollegeFinder.org.