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sâmbătă, 11 mai 2013

May Kindle Fire Giveaway



This is a joint AUTHOR & BLOGGER SPONSORED GIVEAWAY!

Kindle Fire HD 7″ Giveaway
The winner will have the option of receiving a 7″ Kindle Fire HD (US Only)

Or $199 Amazon.com Gift Card (International)

Or $199 in Paypal Cash (International)


Sponsoring Bloggers & Authors
  1. I Am A Reader, Not A Writer
  2. Feed Your Reader
  3. Girls with Books
  4. Just Bookin’ Around
  5. The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl
  6. Books, Beauty and Bodacious Deals
  7. Author Emma Michaels
  8. Page Flipperz YA
  9. Lori’s Reading Corner
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  11. Author Josh Baker
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  13. Eve’s Fan Garden
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  15. Chapter Break
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  17. Molly & Mel’s Obsessions Book Blog
  18. Author Jennifer Laurens
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  21. Step Into Fiction
  22. Author Lena Sledge
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  24. Leisure Reads
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  27. Ramblings of a Diva Book Nerd
  28. Suspense Author Kim Cresswell
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  39. Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf
  40. Marissa’s Space

Giveaway Details
1 winner will receive their choice of a Kindle Fire 7″ HD (US Only), $199 Amazon Gift Card or $199 in Paypal Cash (International).

Ends 5/31/13.

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the participating authors & bloggers. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Interview with author Ioana Vișan

  Bună dragilor. A trecut ceva timp de la ultimul interviu, prea mult din punctul meu de vedere, asa ca sper să vă facă plăcere. Eu una le ador pentru că este un mod minunat să aflu mai multe despre scriitorii preferați și cărțile lor. Am rugat-o de data aceasta pe Ioana Vișan să îmi ofere un interviu pentru blog și vreau să îi mulțumesc că a fost atât de drăguță să îmi răspundă la întrebări. Am obiceiul să traduc interviurile, de aceea o să revin cu varianta în limba română. Enjoy!   

Dreams*Link: Ioana, can you please share with us a little about yourself?
Ioana Vișan: Hi, I’m a writer, and I live in Iasi. I prefer to let my stories speak for me, and there are quite a few available for you to try. Since my debut in 2008, I published short stories in several on-line magazines and Romanian anthologies, as well as my short story collection “Efectul de nautil” published by Millennium Books this spring.
In English, I have three titles available: an apocalyptic novella “Human Instincts”, a paranormal short story collection “Blue Moon Café Series: Where Shifter Meet for Drinks”, and a vampire novella “The Impaler’s Revenge”. The Romanian edition of “Human Instincts” will be published by Millennium Books and launched at Bookfest at the end of May.

DL: Can you please tell us about your latest book, The Impaler’s Revenge?
IV: Like the title suggests, The Impaler’s Revenge is a vampire story, a novella actually, the first in The Impaler Legacy series. The action takes place in Romania, sometime in the current century, and the heroine is also Romanian. As a member of the Little Council, Liana Cantacuzino’s job, and some might say main purpose in life, is to keep all vampires out of Romania.
Enter Maximilien Hess, a thousand year old vampire who doesn’t care about their rules and is brought in by presidential invitation. To make things worse, Liana is appointed to supervise his staying in Bucharest so from killing vampires she has to switch to babysitting one.
Beyond the fantasy label, this is a story about trust, how our upbringing shapes our beliefs, what makes us humans, how we can be hurt without using stakes and blades, and how we evolve and survive in a world that we can’t control.

DL: How did you come with the idea for this story?
IV: The vampire myth has been associated with Romania, and Transylvania in particular, for way too long. It was time to get a new spin on the story. I wanted to write something different from all the vampire stories out there, not one of the ‘girl meets vampire and falls madly in love’ typical scenarios. And I wanted us to be the good guys for a change.

DL: Can you share with us your current work(s) in progress?
IV: I’m in the process of writing the final draft of The Impaler’s Revenge sequel. Hopefully, it will be available on-line this summer.

DL: What do you find the most difficult about writing?
IV: Writing is not the most difficult part, waiting to hear back from the editors can be worse. That and deciding what to write next when there are no deadlines. And sometimes, badly wanting to write a story, but having to finish another one first.

DL: Do you have a special routine you like to do before you write?
IV: No, nothing like that. I just sit down in front of the computer and write. It usually works better if it’s quiet and sunny outside, but I’m not picky.

DL: Who is the one author that you would love to meet someday and why?
IV: This will sound weird. There are several authors I admire, and I’ll happily read their books, interviews, and everything they want to share with the world, but I don’t think I would go as far as meeting them. At the end of the day, they’re just people, and it would feel too much like sticking my nose in their business.

DL: Can you choose one book everyone should read before they die?
IV: There’s no such thing. I think everyone should read what they like, and since we’re all different, it’s normal to enjoy different things. It wouldn’t be fair to make everyone read the same thing.

DL: What is your favorite time of year and why?
IV: Summer, summer vacation more exactly. I like it because it’s hot, and the days are long, perfect for long trips. The only good thing about winter is Christmas and the skating season.

DL: Tell us one thing you’d like to change at people from nowadays.
IV: I’d like them to be more kind and culturally inclined. 

DL: Is there a moment in your life you’d like to live again?
IV: There are several happy moments I wouldn’t mind reliving, but a certain vacation in South of France back in the mid 90s particularly comes to mind.

DL: Would you like to say something to your readers?
IV: Thank you all for accompanying me on this journey. I hope you’ll stick around because there are more surprises coming.

DL: Thank you for your time.
IV: Thanks for having me.

vineri, 10 mai 2013

Review "The Impaler's Revenge" by Ioana Vișan

Title: The Impaler's Revenge (The Impaler Legacy #1)
Author: Ioana Visan
Format: ebook
Release date: April 14, 2013
Age group: Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal
Synopsis:
In a world crawling with vampires, Romania is the safest place left on earth. Thanks to the Little Council, there hasn't been a vampire on Romanian ground in over five centuries. But one day, Liana Cantacuzino, also a member of the Little Council and a descendant of one of the old noble families, is ordered to bring one in, covertly. Enter Maximilien Hess, a thousand years old vampire determined to ruin the existing order of things.

Suddenly, Liana finds herself forced to protect Hess, instead of having the pandurs kill him. With the help from her trustful friends, Rodica Ghica and Ştefan Sturdza, and that of an innocent bystander, Dr. Jesse Carver, Liana has to find out what is going on and what the President is hiding from her. When all is revealed, Hess's secret changes everything.
The first novella in The Impaler Legacy series, a vampire saga like no other.
Buy Links: Amazon | Smashwords | Goodreads 

My review:

After reading “Blue Moon Café Series: Where Shifters Meet for Drinks” I knew that I won’t be disappointed by Ioana Visan’s new novella, The Impaler’s Revenge. The story is interesting and very different from what I was expecting when I first heard about it. The heroine, Liana Cantacuzino, is a tough, capable and intelligent woman, who can handle herself even in the presence of a powerful creature such as a vampire. She is open-minded and despite her own beliefs she can make necessary decisions so that her country can be saved from the coming danger. I would have liked to know more about her feelings and fears, but I’m sure I will find more about that in the next parts.

Our dear vampire, Maximilien Hess, was charming and quite funny sometimes, so except for his craving for blood he might have been a great guest and friend. The relationship between him and Liana was exciting to follow. I knew that Liana hated vampires because of her roots, but she can compromise that in behalf of everyone’s safety. This makes her a great character and someone we can understand and be friends with.

We also have Dr. Jesse Carter, who seems to be accustomed with vampires and helps Liana to find blood for Max. They share the antipathy for the bloodsuckers, so they easily connect. He is exactly what Liana needs when everything changes, someone to take care and support her. I can't wait to read more about them.     

I’m very proud of the author, because she wrote this story about vampires in such a personal manner. It was the time for a Romanian to tell our side of the story, because after all the myth about vampires is part of our culture and history and not many know about that. So I’m really glad she did it. 

What I also enjoyed were the similarities between Romania nowadays and the country I read about in “The Impaler’s Revenge”, which is awesome. The resembling is great and it gives an air of veracity, including the fantasy side. I would gladly live into a universe where we are the tough guys. Finally! :D

In the end, I want to say that I can’t wait for sequel and anything written by Ioana. If you haven't read this book yet, you should. You won't be disappointed. 

Note: I received a copy of the book from the author for an honest review.
 
My rate:

Great book! You need to read it.

About the Author:
Award-winning writer Ioana Visan has always dreamed about reaching the stars, but since she can't, she writes about it.

She made her debut in English with a short story published by Every Day Fiction, and also has one included in Evolved Publishing's "Evolution: Vol. 2" short story collection. After fighting the apocalypse aftermath in "Human Instincts", she played with shapeshifters in “Blue Moon Café Series: Where Shifters Meet for Drinks”, and then she dealt with vampires in “The Impaler’s Revenge”, before tackling longer works like a fantasy trilogy and a science fiction series. 


NEXT time - Interview with Ioana Vișan