Book tour! Book tour! My Sister's Reaper by Dorothy Dreyer

I am thrilled to support fellow Month9Books authoress, Dorothy Dreyer, and her EPIC YA, My Sister's Reaper, which will be released into the wild in print on June 18th.

I don't know about you, but I can't wait for this baby to hit the shelves! I want it now! Right now! Like you, though, I have to wait.

Cover! LOVE!!!!

About My Sister's Reaper....

Sixteen-year-old Zadie’s first mistake was telling the boy she liked she could bring her dead sister back to life. Her second mistake was actually doing it.

When Zadie accidentally messes with the Reaper’s Rite that should have claimed her sister Mara, things go horribly wrong. Mara isn’t the same anymore—Zadie isn’t even sure she’s completely human, and to top it off, a Reaper is determined to collect Mara’s soul no matter what. Now Zadie must figure out how to defeat her sister’s Reaper, or let Mara die … this time for good.

And an excerpt to tease and tempt you!!!

I opened my eyes to the darkness of my room. I wiped sweat from my brow and reached for my bedside light, but I froze before I could turn it on. In the darkness, Mara’s silhouette looked down on me. I swallowed back dryness as I stared into her face. I blinked, unable to tell if I was still dreaming or not. But when I focused, there she was, standing beside my bed in the dark. She stared at me with eyes that seemed to penetrate me, moonlight falling in white shards across her face.

“Mara?” I whispered.

She didn’t say a word. Why wasn’t she moving?

“Mara?” I slowly pushed down my covers. Mara only stared. Was she even breathing?

My heart pounded as I slid out of bed. Mara was only inches from the frame. God, Mara, why are you doing this? I maneuvered around her, afraid to make contact. I stood, keeping my eyes on her until we were face-to-face. Silence screamed in my ears.

Talk about AWESOME! Here's where you can purchase Dorothy's book. Also, be sure to add My Sister's Reaper to your GoodReads list! Spread the word, peeps, spread the word!!!!!

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

The Book Depository

Goodreads

Just call me Scuba Sam

Don't let this idyllic scene fool you.

When we loaded up the car and headed to Cap d'Agde in the south of France this past weekend, I was expecting calm waters, warm weather, and an underwater adventure.

I didn't realize my level one certification for scuba diving would be more like a Navy Seal exercise.

The sea was rough and cold — around 59 degrees. The wind was strong. They almost canceled the weekend due to less than desirable conditions. Um, that didn't happen. But chickening out wasn't an option. My husband is one of the dive instructors, both of the kids were certified two years ago, and I've been taking hour long classes with my husband's work's scuba club every Thursday for the past nine months.

The smartest decision I made: Instead of my husband*, I opted to dive with another instructor— the less stress, the better.

*The last time I went diving with him he kept pushing me towards an octopus--as if I couldn't see the freaky thing with its bulbous and very yellow eyes

On the first dive, swimming fifteen feet to the buoy took great effort. I was completely winded, thanks to the twenty-pound lead baby strapped to my back, otherwise known as the tank. I was thrown and tossed around in the waves, trying to swim and grip a rope at the side of the boat, thinking, "I can't breathe. I'm going to die. What am I doing? This is supposed to be fun; it isn't. It's torture! Kill me now!"

But, rather than letting fear get the best of me, I took slow, purposeful breaths before the descent, and once we were a few feet under, the water was calm. Unfortunately, due to the weather, visibility was poor, and I could only see about three, maybe four feet, in all directions. Thankfully, my instructor wore fluorescent green flippers or I would have been flipping out. Regardless of the conditions, we were able to view some sea life.

Note: Birds do it. Bees do it. And, apparently, crabs do it too.

We performed all level one tasks — removing our masks, motioning for a loss of air and supplying another diver with the "octopus" (spare regulator), checking air levels, and stability exercises, the most important being the ascent. The first dive lasted about twenty-five minutes. I didn't have gloves; my hands were blocks of ice.

Once we surfaced, though, the water was rough. And we had to swim back to the boat. Under water, everything is weightless. Yeah, not so much anymore. That twenty-pound lead baby strapped to my back was a heifer. Add the belt around my waist, another ten pounds, the way my wet suit strangled my neck, the fact the boat was about thirty feet away, and once again, my mantra of "I can't breathe. I'm going to die. What am I doing? This is supposed to be fun; it isn't. It's torture! Kill me now!" returned. Climbing the ladder was hard. But I made it. Back on board, I was looking forward to catching my breath.

You know that show "Deadliest Catch," when the waves crash down on the fishermen's heads? The boat ride back to the harbor was kind of like that.

Now, repeat the above scenario three more times.

Apparently, I'm a masochist. But I'm a masochist who is now level one certified. And I'm looking forward to diving in better conditions — warm waters, a calm sea, and my family by my side.

Friendship Friday: Love With a Chance of Drowning by Torre DeRoche

To help celebrate her recent book launch, today I'm pleased to pimp out Torre DeRoche's fantastic memoir, Love with a Chance of Drowning.

Without further ado, here's the overview:

 
Love can make a person do crazy things . . .

A city girl with a morbid fear of deep water, Torre DeRoche is not someone you would ordinarily find adrift in the middle of the stormy Pacific aboard a leaky sailboat – total crew of two – struggling to keep an old boat, a new relationship and her floundering sanity afloat.

But when she meets Ivan, a handsome Argentinean man with a humble sailboat and a dream to set off exploring the world, Torre has to face a hard decision: watch the man she's in love with sail away forever, or head off on the watery journey with him. Suddenly the choice seems simple. She gives up her sophisticated city life, faces her fear of water (and tendency towards seasickness) and joins her lover on a year-long voyage across the Pacific.

Set against a backdrop of the world's most beautiful and remote destinations, Love with a Chance of Drowning is a sometimes hilarious, often moving and always brave memoir that proves there are some risks worth taking.




My thoughts? Oh boy, glad you asked...

Love With a Chance of Drowning is breezy and breathtaking, heart racing and humorous. The perfect narrator to guide us on her love adventure at sea, Torre’s prose is charming, witty, and funny. The story flows from one page, one chapter, to another— descriptive in detail where needed, never weighted down. Honestly, I wish I’d been lounged out in a hammock on a tropical island, able to glance at the sea while reading, Torre’s book in one hand (and maybe an umbrella drink in the other).

Torre experienced an adventure most of us only dream about doing, myself included. The second I put it down, wanderlust set in. I want to hop on a plane right now and make my way to what I’m calling Liza’s island, maybe swim with the rays! One day, I swear, I will do it.

In the end, Torre’s memoir carries a wonderful message: don’t let fear hold you back— get out there and live.

But before you set off on your own adventure, watch Torre's book trailer...

 



be sure to connect with Torre...


WEB SITE

TWITTER

FACEBOOK

GOODREADS






and maybe win a $1000 round trip ticket to ANYWHERE!

As part of the promotion for Love with a Chance of Drowning, Torre is running a competition on her site, FearfulAdventurer.com inviting bloggers to share stories of their own fearful adventures. Stop by and find out how to enter.

Finally, get swept away on Torre's love adventure. You can buy your very own copy of Love with a Chance of Drowning here:

AMAZON

BOOK DEPOSITORY (FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE)

Comments for this post have been disabled. Get off my blog, connect with Torre, and then get out there and live your dreams! What are you waiting for? 

Have a great weekend!

Bisous!