And the Winner is...

Thanks for joining us on the book tour. For the winners of my portion of the contest, visit my regular blog: Eye Feathers!

Contests and Blog Tour: Perilous

Click to see the book's trailer.

Did you catch the s on the end of contest? That's right. We're celebrating Tamara Hart Heiner's book release for Perilous with contests (one of which includes a Kindle, so keep reading). 


Book Blurb:


Jaci Rivera has plans for her sophomore year: Go to regionals with the track team, make the honor roll, and eat too much pizza with her best friends, Callie and Sara. Her biggest concern is Amanda, the pushy girl who moved in a few months ago.

What Jaci doesn't plan for is catching a robber red-handed or being kidnapped. The desperate thief drags the friends 2,000 miles away from home, across the Canadian border. Can this group of friends survive a harrowing international escape? And if they can, will home even be safe?

My Take

 
After reading the story I wanted more. And that's always a good thing. Thankfully, Tamara will be writing a sequel to the story, so I get exactly what I wanted. The most striking thing about Perilous is that actions have consequences. Too often, YA books take a scary situation and turn it into an event without major consequences. Sure, the characters change, but the plot is one big adventure that could almost seem a vacation. Tamara doesn't shy away from making consequences as ghastly as the situations leading up to them.

Book Information


The book is out! Hooray. 


Buy the e-book at Amazon.


Get the paperback from Amazon.


Shop at Tamara's website.






And Now for the Contests


Tamara is running two contests during her book tour. (Keep in mind these are hosted by the author, so you'll want to follow her blog.) Here are the details from Tamara.

• Book giveaway: The winner of this contest will be randomly chosen. Every person who comments on any post during the blog tour will be entered into a random drawing for a book. Which I can autograph, if they want. The contest begins on Nov. 16 and ends on Dec. 15.

• Kindle giveaway: This contest is point-based and begins Oct. 15 and ends Dec. 15. Whoever has the most points wins the Kindle. There will only be one Kindle given away. Here are the points:
• 1 point: blog comment (can comment on all the blogs, multiple times, onthe tour)
• 1 point: follow my blog (http://tamarahartheiner.blogspot.com)1 point: retweet
• 2 points: blog about the blog tour
• 5 points: purchase the book (ebook or paperback, must email me the confirmation email) if they actually buy the book in the store they can mail me a copy of the receipt.
• Add up your points, as well as proof (links, etc) and email it to me at the end of the blog tour (tamara at tamarahartheiner dot com).
• People can earn an infinite number of points! 

But wait. There's more! Remember how I told you the other day about the power of a crowd? Well here's your chance to experience the fun. I'm giving away 25-page critiques. That's right. I've edited for e-publishers and national organizations. As a writer, my work has appeared at USAToday.com, LIVESTRONG, Work.com, and scores of other print and online sources. Here's how it's going to work: The more comments this gets, the more critiques there will be. (Winners must be followers of my blog to win this contest.) 

• 1 - 5 comments = 1 critique
• 5 - 7 comments = 2 critiques
• 7 - 9 comments = 3 critiques
• 9 - 11 comments = 4 critiques
• And so on. 

Legal Beagal Mo-mo Jumbo


I did get a free copy of Perilous. I am an endorser, not a reviewer. Critique winners will have three months to redeem their critiques. Winners may transfer their critiques, provided I am notified of the transfer. The three-month deadline begins the day this contest ends. All comments count, so if you want to stalk me, enter more than once go ahead. 


All right. That's it. Now come on and post a comment and help us celebrate Tamara.  

The Gathering Storm, Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson

As any author knows, it's easy to get attached to your characters. You can begin to feel a certain responsibility to them. Once you gain readers, you're vested in the project. So, can anything be more difficult than not being able to see your work through to the end?

For my first book endorsement, I'd like to suggest Book 12 in the Wheel of Time series, The Gathering Storm. The Wheel of Time series has spanned two decades! The first book, Eye of the World, came out in 1990. And fans have been devoted to the series ever sense. Unfortunately, Robert Jordan passed away before he could finish the series himself. However, Brandon Sanderson was selected to finish the work, and The Gathering Storm is his first contribution to the effort.

The main endorsement I can give this book is that Sanderson did an amazing job staying true to the characters and the plot. He successfully meshes his writing style in such as way that it doesn't jar one to pick up this book in the series and read it.

Of course, Sanderson has much to build on that I love, as well. Let's start with the characters. I actually know several people who remind me of the characters, and I often wonder whether Jordan knew kindred spirits to these people who inspired his characters. For me, that means the characters are real--they are not cardboard cutouts. 

The other thing I love about this book is its complexity. In a publishing world where secondary characters tend to get paired down and subplots minimized, Jordan's series is complex enough to require a dictionary at the back of each book, a map at the front, and a chart to keep track of which characters are where.

Over all, the entire series is worth reading, with special attention to this book that celebrates the creative genius of two men. 

Need more endorsements? Check out the sites dedicated to the series. Here are just a few:

Dragonmount.com

Encyclopaedia-WOT.org

WheelofTime.org

Have you read the series or this book? What did you think?

Welcome to the Book Endorser

This is my blog where I promote books. That's right. This is not the place where you will find an "honest" review, because I don't want to judge whether a book is good or not. I want to tell you what I enjoyed about a story. I want to celebrate the success an author has had in making the trek from idea to published book. This is my attempt to bring a bit of optimism to an industry where criticism reigns.

I like to read a variety of books, so don't be surprised if you see everything from Science Fiction to Self Help to Women's Inspiration. I'm also up for endorsing new or upcoming books, including e-books. If you're interested in an endorsement, please feel free to contact me.

Thanks for dropping by and visiting. I hope you'll check back often. When do, leave me a comment. It's just another way to celebrate and pass around warm fuzzies. Oh, and if you want to know more about my writing journey, check out my main blog, Eye Feathers.