Sunday, October 30, 2011

Review Of Open Minds In Prep For Launch Party

Time to pour the champagne and pull out the noise makers because the virtual launch party for Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn is almost here! In celebration we've brought you a fantastic review by our very own Heather McCorkle.

Heather's Review: Wow. It seems woefully inadequate, but that is the first word that comes to mind when I think of this book. I was blown away. This is one of those books readers devour and authors wish they had written.

Imagine a world where everyone can read each others minds. Being able to read minds and send thoughts is the norm. Gives you the shivers doesn't it? Kira is what is called a zero. She can't read minds or send thoughts which makes her an outcast, someone with no future. But it turns out Kira is something entirely different, and unexpected.

I inhaled this book. The writing is compelling and the world building is done so natural and seamless that I was immersed from the very first page. And the characters, both wonderful and flawed, drew me in the moment I met them. I can hardly wait for a sequel! This is on my list of best books of 2011. I hope you'll join us in celebration with Susan during the launch party which starts November 1st.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

The Secret of Spruce Knoll Giveaways

There are two giveaways of signed copies of The Secret of Spruce Knoll by Heather McCorkle going on right now. The first is with Jen at the blog I Read Banned Books. But hurry, you only have until November 4th for this one!

The second giveaway is on Goodreads where two winners will receive a signed paperback copy. This one closes November 15th.

About The Secret of Spruce Knoll:


Following the tragic death of her parents, Eren Donovan moves to Spruce Knoll to live with an aunt she’s never met. Little does Eren know the entire town of Spruce Knoll is filled with “channelers”—a magical group of people who immigrated to the small Colorado town when they were driven out of their own lands. 


Channelers are tied to the fate of the world. As the world slowly dies, so do they—and they alone have the power to stop the destruction of Earth. Soon, Eren learns she not only lives among them, but she is one. When she meets local boy Aiden, his charm convinces her that being a channeler may not be all bad though.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Genesis Release Tour With Kristie Cook


The Indie Elite is honored to be a stop along the tour celebrating the release of Kristie Cook's new novella, Genesis. She's also giving Indie Elite readers a chance to win some great swag! First, Kristie is here to tell us a bit about the novel and share how she came up with her characters' names:

Kristie: Genesis: A Soul Savers Novella is a bit different from the other Soul Savers books. Although the fantasy world I created is the same, the real world is not. After all, it takes place over 2,000 years ago, around 200 B.C. So it required a lot of research to understand life in Greece during that era. For each stop along the release tour, I’m sharing something I learned and how it ties into the story.

How authors name their characters is always an interesting topic. In this case, there’s not much information available about how Ancient Greeks were named. A couple tidbits: Because newborn mortality was quite high, babies weren’t named for seven to ten days after birth. Slaves, which were very common (there may have been more slaves than free men), weren’t allowed to use their names but were given new ones by their masters.

The lack of information didn’t matter, though, because I already had names chosen for the characters in Genesis. As with most of my characters, their names were carefully selected based on meaning, personality and certain story elements. The name is about the only part of a character that doesn’t come to me clearly and directly on its own. Rather, the character’s personality, purpose for the story and other things lead me to find the name that fits just right.

What are the characters’ names in Genesis and what do they mean? You might be able to find some foreshadowing by these…

Andrew – Andrew comes from the Greek name Andreas, but my Andrew wasn’t born Greek, which is why I didn’t name him Andreas. The Angels gave him this name that means “man.”

Cassandra – An Ancient Greek name that means “shine upon man.” In Greek mythology, she was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo but when she turned him down, he made it so no one would believe her prophecies.

Jordan – It’s a Biblical name, which is important, but it’s also a Macedonian name and by the time Jordan was born, Macedon (as it was known then) had a heavy presence in Greece. I was glad to see it was feasible for his parents to name him this, because I liked it for reasons they would never have known. Particularly that in Hebrew it means to “descend” or “flow down,” and that the name comes from the River Jordan, which flows down into the Dead Sea.
Niko – The short form of Nikolaus which means “victory of the people” or of Andronikos which means “victory of a man.”

Eris – Means “strife” in Greek.

Andronika – Named after her father and grandfather, Niko and Andrew.

Deimos – Means “terror” in Greek and in Greek mythology, Deimos was the son of the bloodthirsty god of war Ares whose name means “ruin.”

Take from this what you will…and then read Genesis to see if you’re right. It’s available in ebook form right now.

To win a Soul Savers Swag Pack, all you have to do is comment below. This also earns you entries into the Grand Prize drawing at the end of the Genesis Release Tour. Good luck!

*Sources:


The Soul Savers novels: 

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Live Chats Coming Soon

The Indie Elite are excited to announce a new feature, live chats! You may have noticed the button on the bar just below the header. Soon we'll be hosting live chats with various (and sometimes even all) the Indie Elite authors. Chats will be held for different events, celebrations, launches, giveaways, and more.

This new feature will allow us to interact with you far better and won't have the lag time and glitches of Twitter. It is easy to use and doesn't require you to be a follower (though we hope you'll stay a while and follow :) or to have an account with anything or anyone. All you have to do is log in when the chat starts using whatever name you would like to be displayed. It's really that easy!

To celebrate it we're planning a big bash and giveaway, date and time to be announced soon! Check the live chat button whenever you stop by because upcoming chats will be displayed there.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Fantastic Review of Open Minds

Mandyll over at TwiMom101 Book Blog has posted an excellent review of Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn. Here is an excerpt of the review:

Mandyll: Wow oh Wow! I just inhaled this book. Quinn is an amazing author with an even more amazing imagination. In some ways Kira reminds me a lot of Katniss from the Hunger Games series. She is forced out of her comfort zone in order to protect herself and her loved ones from those that only want to use her and her ability. Kira is a strong, well developed character that many will relate to. I am sure there has been a time in everyone's life where you felt like an outcast only wanting to fit in. And sometimes...

For the rest check out Mandy's fantastic book blog, TwiMom101 Book blog

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Honest In-Depth Review of The Secret of Spruce Knoll

Jessica Torres over at the book review blog Hopelessly devoted Bibliophile, just released an honest in-depth review of The Secret of Spruce Knoll. Here is a small snippet of it:

Jessica: When Heather McCorkle first contacted me to read The Secret of Spurce Knoll, I was enamored with the synopsis. Any book that deals with magic in a real world setting takes my heart instantly. Why? Well perhaps I'm a dreamer, but I like to think it's really out there somewhere. Who knows. People like Eren could be living somewhere and we'd never even know it! I digress though. Let's get on to the review!

Let's start with what I really liked about this book. Eren's character was fascinating to me from the beginning. Partially because of her new found abilities, but also because of her dual heritage. See, Heather McCorkle has created a character that has both Mayan and Irish background. Of course this causes all sorts of problems for her in the long run. The society in which Eren has found herself has very clear lines drawn between the four heritages that occupy it. What is a girl to do who doesn't really fall on either side? Cue dramatic tension, and some fantastic world building.



To read the remainder of the review and discover what else Jessica enjoyed (and what she didn't) click here

Monday, October 10, 2011

The Secret of Spruce Knoll Giveaway

Writer and book blogger Portia Stewart offers up a stunning review of The Secret of Spruce Knoll, follows it up with a unique interview with the author, and celebrates with a giveaway of a signed copy. To learn everything from what parts of the story kept Heather up at night to the toughest choice she made when writing this story, be sure to check out Portia's interview. And don't forget to enter to win a signed copy!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Author Interview And Giveaway

Melissa Luznicky Garrett is over at Natalie Allen's blog today doing an in-depth interview about her novel, Turning Point. Natalie didn't miss a thing with this one so it's your chance to learn all about the novel and Melissa. To add to the fun Melissa will be giving away a digital copy of her book! You can check out the interview and enter to win here

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Press Release and Giveaway for Turning Point

Here is the press release for Turning Point by Melissa Luznicky Garrett:

She recalled her mother’s warning: Bad things always happen to nice girls like you. Convinced a fresh start is all she needs to escape the problems at home, seventeenyear-old Jenna Lyons runs away in the middle of the night. But when her car breaks down on the outskirts of La Grange, Missouri, population less than a thousand, she gets sucked into the small town, and one family in particular. Jenna discovers there’s a liar in La Grange, and he’s deceived everyone. Now she must decide whether to run away from the truth, or blow his secret wide open.

“The tornado isn't the only thing that twists in this story--if you love dark characters with even darker secrets, TURNING POINT is for you!” ~Anne Riley, author of The Clearing.

“TURNING POINT is a YA thriller that will rock your socks, young or old. You should add it to your wish list immediately. I recommend it to anyone who loves stories that expose hidden secrets.” ~Tegan Allen, review on Goodreads.

Published by Create Space
ISBN 1461149703 (ISBN13: 9781461149705)
Available In Print and Online:
Create Space
Amazon
Smashwords
Barnes & Noble
Watch the TURNING POINT book trailer on YouTube

And stop by Melissa's site to enter to win one of five copies of Turning Point!