Launch Blitz - The Blink Tour, meet the authors ON TOUR!! #Zondervan

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Email PrismBookTours@gmail.com for details!

Zondervan's YA Imprint Blink launches...

The Blink Tour!

Each stop on the five-city tour will feature a combination of seven prolific YA authors, including Golden Heart finalist Carey Corp and HonestlyYA blogger Lorie Langdon (DOON); Christy Award finalist Lisa T. Bergren (REMNANTS); co-founder of readergirlz Lorie Ann Grover (FIRSTBORN); Robert Treskillard (THE MERLIN SPIRAL series); Christy Award winner Jill Williamson (THE SAFE LANDS series); and Jonathan Friesen (AQUIFER), whose first YA novel Jerk, California received the ALA Schneider Award.

Events will feature a reading and Q&A, tons of swag up for grabs, and even bigger prizes to win in the grand prize giveaway at every stop.

Can't make it in person?  

Meet the authors on the virtual Prism Tour!

Enter to win copies of each featured book...

Sunday, May 11 - Tour Launch Blitz

Contact PrismBookTours@gmail.com to share this post!

Monday, May 12

 – Tressa @ Tressa's Wishful Endings: Lorie Langdon & Carey Corp: Doon (Doon #1)

   

Tuesday, May 13

- Meet the authors in person at School Events in the Atlanta Area

- Kathy @ I Am A Reader:  Lisa Tawn Bergren: Season of Wonder (Remnants #1)

    

Wednesday, May 14 

- 6:00 pm at THE BOOKSELLERS AT LAURELWOOD, 387 Perkins Road Extended, Memphis, TN 38117. Robert Treskillard,  Lorie Anne Grover ,  Jonathan Freisen

- Amber @ The Wonderings of One Person: Robert Treskillard The Merlin Spiral Series: Merlin’s Blade, Merlin’s Shadow, Merlin’s Nightmare

  

Thursday, May 15 

- 7:00 – 9:00 pm at SALT LAKE CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY, 210 East 400 South, Conference Room A, Salt Lake City, UT 84111.  Lorie Ann Grover,  Jill Williamson,  Jonathan Freisen,  Lisa T. Bergren

– Bonnie @ A Backwards Story: Lorie Ann Grover: Firstborn

   

Friday, May 16 

- School Events in the Phoenix Area
– Laura @ Colorimetry: Jill Williamson: The Safe Lands Series: Captives & Outcasts

  

Saturday, May 17

- 4:00 pm at CHANGING HANDS, 6428 S McClintock Drive, Tempe, AZ 85283. Lorie Ann Grover, Jill Williamson, Jonathan Freisen,  Lisa T. Bergren.

Sunday, May 18 

– Lisa @ Bookworm Lisa: Jonathan Friesen: Aquifer

 

About Blink: Blink brings true stories and fiction to YA readers. The literature published by Blink is a positive reflection of what is inspiring and heartening while maintaining a tradition of imaginative and exciting storytelling that will bring readers to the edge of their seats, immerse them in a heartrending love story, or engross them in a story of a life well-lived. Readers will see themselves in all facets of Blink’s literature and will find new levels of entertainment that enrich and uplift. For more information please visit http://blinkyabooks.com/ or visit us on facebook and Twitter.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/blinkyabooks

Tumblr: http://blinkyabooks.tumblr.com/

Tour-Wide Giveaway

May 11 - 27, 2014
Must be old enough to enter (see Rafflecopter). USA/Canada only. 6 Winners!!

Merlin’s Blade, Merlin’s Shadow, and Merlin’s Nightmare (Paperbacks)
Captives & Outcasts (Paperbacks)
Doon (Hardcover)
Firstborn (Hardcover)
Aquifer (Hardcover)
Season of Wonder (Hardcover)

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Are you an author or publisher and would like to have us organize a tour event? Go HERE.

BLINK Tour... coming near you?!

This May, Zondervan’s YA imprint Blink launches THE BLINK TOUR, a cross-country book tour featuring a wide array of speculative fiction with unique perspectives on magical fantasy worlds and bleak dystopian futures. Each stop on the five-city tour will feature a combination of seven prolific YA authors, including Golden Heart finalist Carey Corp and HonestlyYA blogger Lorie Langdon (DOON); Christy Award finalist Lisa T. Bergren (REMNANTS); co-founder of readergirlz Lorie Ann Grover (FIRSTBORN); Robert Treskillard (THE MERLIN SPIRAL series); Christy Award winner Jill Williamson (THE SAFE LANDS series); and Jonathan Friesen (AQUIFER), whose first YA novel Jerk, California received the ALA Schneider Award.

Blink brings true stories and fiction to YA readers. The literature published by Blink is a positive reflection of what is inspiring and heartening while maintaining a tradition of imaginative and exciting storytelling that will bring readers to the edge of their seats, immerse them in a heartrending love story, or engross them in a story of a life well-lived. Readers will see themselves in all facets of Blink’s literature and will find new levels of entertainment that enrich and uplift. For more information please visit http://blinkyabooks.com/ or visit us on Facebook.

BLINK TOUR

MAY 12 – 17, 2014

May 12, 2014   5:00 – 6:30 pm

LEMURIA BOOKS

4465 N Hwy 55 #202

Jackson, MS 39206

Robert Treskillard *  

Lorie Langdon  *  

Carey Corp

May 13, 2014

School Events in the Atlanta Area

May 14, 2014   6:00 pm

THE BOOKSELLERS AT LAURELWOOD

387 Perkins Road Extended

Memphis, TN 38117

Robert Treskillard  *  

Lorie Anne Grover  *  

Jonathan Freisen

May 15, 2014    7:00 – 9:00 pm

SALT LAKE CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY

210 East 400 South

Conference Room A

Salt Lake City, UT 84111 

Lorie Ann Grover  *  Jill Williamson  *  Jonathan Freisen  *  Lisa T. Bergren

May 16, 2014

School Events in the Phoenix Area

May 17, 2014    4:00 pm

CHANGING HANDS

6428 S McClintock Drive

Tempe, AZ 85283

Lorie Ann Grover  *  Jill Williamson  *  Jonathan Freisen  *  Lisa T. Bergren

On Review Tour: Captives by Jill Williamson! WIN a copy (USA only)

Captives

by Jill Williamson

Paperback, 400 pages
Published February 19th, 2013 by Zondervan

One choice could destroy them all.

When eighteen-year-old Levi returned from Denver City with his latest scavenged finds, he never imagined he’d find his village of Glenrock decimated, loved ones killed, and many—including his fiancée, Jem–taken captive. Levi is determined to rescue what remains of his people, even if it means entering the Safe Lands, a walled city that seems anything but safe.

Omar knows he betrayed his brother by sending him away, but helping the enforcers was necessary. Living off the land and clinging to an outdated religion holds his village back. The Safe Land has protected people since the plague decimated the world generations ago … and its rulers have promised power and wealth beyond Omar’s dreams.

Meanwhile, their brother Mason has been granted a position inside the Safe Lands, and may be able to use his captivity to save not only his people, but also find a cure for the virus that threatens everyone inside the Safe Lands.

Can Mason uncover the truth hidden behind the Safe Land’s façade before it’s too late?

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * ChristianBook.com * Kobo * Goodreads * Shelfari

Jill Williamson is an author of all things weird. She grew up in Alaska with no electricity, an outhouse, and a lot of mosquitoes. Her Blood of Kings trilogy won two Christy Awards, and she recently released Captives, a dystopian teen novel from Zonderkidz. Jill lives in Oregon with her husband and two children and a whole lot of deer.

Website * The Safe Lands * Facebook

The Team Novel Teen Review Tour:
Want more chances to win the book?  :-)  Visit some reviews!

ADD Librarian • Blooming with Books • Bookworm Reading • Chris Kolmorgen • Christian Book Review Blog • Christian Bookshelf Reviews • CTF Devourer • Emily Rachelle Writes • Heavenward Reviews • Jessica Laurie • Labor Not in Vain • The Life of a Teenage Writer • The Maniacal Bookworm • Mrs. Southern Bride • Oh, Restless Bird • Pages from My Journal • The Pen and Parchment • Rachelle Rea • The Ramblings of a Young Author • Realm of Hearts • Shadow Writer World • A Simple Life, Really?! • Surrendering All of Me • Terri Harr • Verbosity Book Reviews •Who YA Reading? • Worthy2Read • The Writings of Rosie 


Some Enticingly Fun Stuff About Captives:

Welcome to The Safe Lands:

Prologue and First Chapter!  :-D

Giveaway:

5/27 - 6/17
Print copy of Captives by Jill Williamson to USA winner

Must be 13 to enter and have a valid address in the USA. All my rules under the About tab apply.

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Review - Halflings by Heather Burch

Halflings
by Heather Burch
Paperback, 228 pages
Published February 1st 2012 by Zondervan Publishing

Premise: Ganked from Goodreads:
After being inexplicably targeted by an evil intent on harming her at any cost, seventeen-year-old Nikki finds herself under the watchful guardianship of three mysterious young men who call themselves halflings. Sworn to defend her, misfits Mace, Raven, and Vine battle to keep Nikki safe while hiding their deepest secret—and the wings that come with. 

A growing attraction between Nikki and two of her protectors presents a whole other danger. While she risks a broken heart, Mace and Raven could lose everything, including their souls. As the mysteries behind the boys’ powers, as well as her role in a scientist’s dark plan, unfold, Nikki is faced with choices that will affect the future of an entire race of heavenly beings, as well as the precarious equilibrium of the earthly world. 


My Review:

This is a fun book.

We get to know Nikki, Nicole Youngblood, but we also get to know Mace & Raven, two of the halfling angels, or "lost boys". They are so different from each other, and we get peaks inside their thoughts and hopes and motivations, right along with Nikki's, so the questions raised are richly complicated. Delightful.

There's plenty of interesting supporting characters, too. The angel in charge, Will, is close to what I'd imagine an angel in the real world, huge and intimidating and slightly mysterious with a big heart. There are some smokin' hot halfling girls, which add a lot of fun tension. I think Zero is my favorite supporting character, he's tall & wiry & likes to eat TV dinners stuffed in his freezer. He's such a tech-type that if someone didn't restock his supply, he wouldn't eat, being so absorbed in his computer. He's so testy, I love him. Krissy, Nikki's best friend, has potential, but fades out of the story early on. I wouldn't be surprised if she returns with more. Damon... now here's a slick snake I loved to hate right from first appearance!!!

The background is interesting. I don't want to give too much away, but this story takes the idea that fallen angels hooking up with females is not good, but rather dangerously bad... and the children of those relationships, the Halflings, are working hard to revert the "bad" on their heavenly assignments, called Journeys, where they help someone in groups of three. Some of the conflict in this story arises from natural rules they can't change. :-)  Who doesn't wanna break a rule?!

What frustrated me most about this story is the emotional highs & lows. I felt tossed around with the drama. Since the highs and lows don't change the story or the characters, I felt yanked back and forth. There's a lot of inflicting emotional pain going around for reasons not resolved within this book. Which.... Grrrrrrrr... (Made me growl in irritation.)

Hmm... so what exactly IS resolved in this book?!  I'm so glad you asked!!!  *ahem* Not so much!!  There are lots of questions raised, which Heather Burch has committed to resolving: Why Nikki?! (Or is she just in the crossfire?!)  Can a halfling hook up with a human?!  I mean, I know what the rules say, but are there hidden loopholes?! (And if so... which one would Nikki fall for?!?!)  Can a Halfling redeem him-or-herself over time... for real?!  How much time?! And what is going on with smooth, rich, soooo helpful Damon?! He's hiding a mystery, I'm sure of it. Plus... what about that HUGE question asked near the end?!  I will remain in complete denial until I get my hands on Guardian in October. Period.

My Rating:  3.5 - Worth the Time to Read. This book might be worth a higher rating, but within these covers, it isn't for me. I need more resolution, for starters, plus purpose behind the drama.

Cover Commentary: This is one of those covers that improves in hard copy. I like the mysterious forest with the girl - she looks like she could take on danger. I've always thought the wings behind her head a little odd. I think they're meant as a sign of protection, always hovering?  The cool part about the cover in my hand is that the trees are glossy, making the mysterious leap out more AND there's some glossy red blood or gashes up from the bottom adding to the premonition of danger.

About the Author:
 Heather Burch

I write full time and love being involved with groups that promote books! Writing about the Halflings has been the funnest and most exciting writing journey of my life! Before novels, I wrote teen curriculum published in both the U.S. and Asia Pacific.

I spent eight years in the "spa world" as a licensed esthetician and won a trip to Europe for my commitment to the spa industry. With that knowledge, I developed the Writer's Ten Step Excercise: Save Your Neck, Shoulders, Back, and Wrists!

As an ordained minister and motivational speaker, I've taught in the U.S. and Mexico at women's and teen conferences. Teen conferences ... sooo fun!!!!

Find & Follow:

The Halflings Network

Heather Burch Books

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

Get your copy of Halflings!!!

Barnes & Noble
Christian Book (pre-quel available)
Shelfari
Goodreads
Amazon - Kindle only $3.99, illustrated pre-quel FREE:

Pre-order for October 9, 2012:

I reviewed this book in connection with a Team Novel Teen Tour... catch more reviews on these great blogs!!!!

The Book Fae • Bookworm Reading • Fiction Fire • My Story Shelf • Jill Williamson • Katie McCurdy • Oh, Restless Bird • Rachelle Rea • SLY Games • Terri Harr • Virtuous Girlhood





Thank you to Charleen at DJC Communications for my hardcopy from Zondervan!!!  And thank you for the head's up -


** There's a FREE HOT-OFF-THE-PRESS NEW mobile App - get it here!!! **


"the HALFLINGS Memory Match Challenge is a turbo-speed memory game in which players are asked to remember where symbols are hidden and unveil them in pairs or triplets. Successful competitors will get faster and faster as they make the right matches, learning that their fingers will soon obey their brains with Halfling-like speed and agility. The levels of play become more difficult as the players advance."


See the entire announcement HERE (w/ links) or share on Twitter:  http://bit.ly/wHW50K

Win my hardcopy of Halflings... to be announced later today!