Welcome to the Crossroads!

The Crossroads Blog Tour for 2013!
Day SIX!

This year we have 23 authors that I'll be featuring over 7 days and each day you'll have a chance to enter to win! There's also a scavenger/trivia hunt going on, so be sure to check out The Crossroads Tour Post HERE to see what questions will be asked, what blog you'll be able to find the answer on and enter to win!

It's day SIX in the week long event and I have another set of amazing authors and their characters, another THREE authors who are dropping by. Take a look, and don't forget to enter to win the giveaway via the Rafflecopter below!

Title: Dominus (Requiem #3)
Author: Christine Fonseca
Publisher: 220 pages (October 10th 2013)
Add to: Goodreads
Order online here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository, Amazon UK

Synopsis: Sometimes death is the only way to save a life.

Nesy knows who she is now, knows what she's lost. Determined to save Aydan from his fate, she confronts the only one she blames for everything - Azza. But how can she fight the devil when she is nothing more than human.

The fate of Celestium, Infernum and humanity rests in Nesy's hands. Can she find the strength to confront demons she's never imagined, face fears she's never voiced, and release the one things that has held her world together - her love for Aydan. Some sacrifices should never be made...even for love.

Christine, a HUGE welcome to the blog and thanks for passing my questions along to your characters! 

Would you ever want to spend the night in a haunted location? If so, why?

I thought Ien, the main character from Transcend, would be the best one to answer this. So, from Ien Montgomery:

I would never want to spend the night in a haunted place. I live in one every day. My mind. There is nothing more terrifying than the tricks my mind can play on me.  I can never tell what’s real and what isn’t. And the worse thing, some of the most horrific images from my mind turn out to be real. Very real.

3 or more of your characters – please discuss various candies and why they love it. (Kind of like arguing what candy is the best?)

This is definitely a question for the angels of Celestium in the Requiem Series:

Nesy – Yes, candy. One of the few things I love from humanity. What kind? Dark chocolate with mint. So good.

Zane – Mint? Are you crazy? Mint is never good. Peanut butter - now that’s good. Like in a peanut butter cup. Delicious.

Nesy – You’re nuts. Literally Zane. Mint trumps Peanut Butter all the way.

Zane – Absolutely not. I think you’ve been spending too much time vanquishing dark creatures, you’ve lost any sense of what’s good.

Nesy – At least I’m working against evil and not sitting on the sidelines, eating peanut butter.

Cas – You both need to shut it! Everyone knows Twizlers are better than any chocolate candy on Earth.

Mikayel – Can you believe this, Gabriel? They actually think they know about human candies. Clearly they never tasted Turkish Delight. If they had, they would never bother with these more modern choices.

Gabriel – You really think Turkish Delight is the best sweet treat humanity has to offer over the centuries? I’m with Zane – you Sentinals are clueless! I think caramel is the very best humanity has to offer.

Nesy – There you go...I guess there is no way we will ever be able to agree on candies!

About the Author: 

Critically acclaimed nonfiction and YA author Christine Fonseca is dedicated to helping children of all ages find their voice in the world. Drawing on her expertise as an educational psychologist, her nonfiction titles address issues of emotional intensity, resiliency and giftedness. In fiction, she explores the darker aspects of humanity and delivers gothic thrillers that take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. In life, she teaches her own children to embrace their unique talents and find their voice by being a force of positive change in the world.

When she’s not writing or developing programs to support children with exceptional needs, she can be found spending time with her family, sipping too many skinny vanilla lattes at her favorite coffee house or playing around on Facebook and Twitter. For more information about Christine Fonseca or her books, visit her website – http://christinefonseca.com or her blog http://christinefonseca.blogspot.com.

Find  Online:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Title: Killer's Instinct
Author: Dawn Dalton, Judith Graves
Publisher: Leap Books
Add to: Goodreads
No order links at the time of posting

Synopsis: Where there is NO life – there's Hope...

Hope has always been a bit of a freak. But when her mother crawls from her grave and her undead corpse goes MIA, Hope's last thread of normal snaps with a vengeance.

Enrolling in a militia-style school for monster slayers seems the only course of action. And the best bet at tracking her mother down.

Dawn! Welcome back! It's been way too long since you've visited. Happy Halloween to you and your characters!

Would you ever want to spend the night in a haunted location? If so, why?

HOPE: I have this kind of sixth sense, which means pretty much everywhere I go is haunted. Yeah, I see dead people.  Sometimes it sucks.

KAIN: I am fascinated with spirits and would enjoy the opportunity to investigate such a location.

HYDE: Hellz ya. Bring it on. I ain’t afraid of no ghost.

CADDOC: *glances away* Yeah, I mean, what Le Manoir recruit wouldn’t, right?


3 or more of your characters – please discuss various candies and why they love it.

Hope dumps the box of Smarties on their usual table at the junior ranks. Round pieces of candy-coated chocolate roll across the surface, spin to a stop. “Take what you want. Except the red ones. They’re mine.”

Caddoc raises an eyebrow. “Because you're a blood-thirsty monster hunter?”

Hope snorts. “No, because they’re awesome, you tool. I’m definitely a red Smarties girl. It’s the best of all worlds – candy and chocolate and my favorite colour.”

“Huh.” Hyde pops a blue Smartie into his mouth. “I’m more of an M&M guy. Same concept, but they melt in your mouth, not in your hands. Besides, I figured Kain would be the one all over the smarts.”

Kain frowns. “Actually, I prefer the Caramilk chocolate bar. The mystery of how they get the caramel in the center fascinates me.”

Hope leans back in her chair. “Yeah, we should have seen that one coming. How about you, Caddoc.” She snickers. “Big Turk?”

Caddoc flexes, ignoring the slight. “Mr. Big, baby. All the way.”

The rest of the unit groans and fires their uneaten candy at Caddoc’s grinning face.

About the Author: 

Dawn Dalton wrote her first monster book at the age of eight when she discovered writing about them was way less scary than looking for the beasties under her bed. Since then, she's still leery of things that go bump in the night, but she'd like to think her creepy storytelling skills have improved. After earning a degree in Journalism, Dawn ventured into communications, marketing, and public relations. But her heart has always belonged to fiction.

Though she'll always be a BC, girl, Dawn now lives in Edmonton, Alberta with her husband, teenage stepdaughter and three bullmastiff hounds. You know, just skulking around.

Dawn also writes adult thriller and paranormal fiction under the last name IUS.

Find Online:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Title: Demonosity
Author: Amanda Ashby
Publisher: Puffin, 250 Pages (August 15th, 2013)
Add to: Goodreads
Pre-order here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository, Amazon UK

Synopsis: An ancient myth + a mean girl + a reluctant warrior = a lively take on good vs. evil

The Black Rose--a powerful ancient force--has been let loose and has taken up residence in Celeste Gibson, popular girl at Cassidy Carter-Lewis' high school. Thomas Delacroix is the spirit of a fourteenth-century knight who is devoted to protecting the Black Rose, but he needs a contemporary living being to take on the challenge. That's where Cassidy comes in. She's a quirky high school junior who just wants to dress in her vintage clothes, hang out with her best friend, and take care of her father, who is recovering from surgery. She's the last person who would ever volunteer for such a task, but no one actually asked her. Now, like it or not, she finds herself training before dawn and battling demons at parties, the mall, and even at school. But hey, no one ever said high school was going to be easy. . .

Amanda, welcome back! I have a could of questions for you, so how about we get started?

You write about many different supernatural/horror creatures, do you have any in particular that are your favourite?

I have a real fondness for djinns because they aren’t necessarily good or evil (though in my little word they are annoying. Very, very annoying). The thing I like most about them is that they aren’t bound by any earthly rules so they can use whatever kind of magic they want. Plus, there is the whole flying carpet thing, which is too cool for words!

What supernatural being would you want to be, or hate to be?

I would love to be a ninja, which I know isn’t strictly a supernatural being but in head they are. In fact I see them kind of like Buffy but with roomier clothing and I would definitely ensure that I could jump from roof top to roof top. As for what I would hate to be—basically anything that isn’t a ninja! Though top of the list would be a vampire or werewolf.

About the Author: 

I was born in Australia but after spending sixteen years living between England and New Zealand I've finally settled on the Sunshine Coast. When I'm not moving country I like to write books (okay, I also like to watch television and eat chocolate but let's keep that between ourselves!!)

Find  Online:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

GIVEAWAY!!!

Totally awesome giveaway going throughout the WHOLE WEEK of the tour! Enter to win and be sure to check back again tomorrow for another spooky post!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Title: Wake Unto Me
Author: Lisa Cach
Publisher: Speak, 304 Pages (March 31st 2011)
From: the Author & Publisher, Thank You!

Synopsis: A haunted castle, a handsome young man dead for four hundred years, one heck of a scary portrait of a witch, and a treasure hunt -- not to mention a princess for a roommate! -- all await 15 year old American girl Caitlyn Monahan when she earns a scholarship to a French boarding school.

There are secrets behind the stone walls of Chateau de la Fortune, buried for centuries along with the mystery of who killed Raphael, the charming ghost who visits Caitlyn at night. But as Caitlyn unearths the history of the castle, nothing scares her as badly as the secret she learns about herself, and the reason she was chosen to come to the Fortune School.

And nothing breaks her heart as badly as falling in love with a dead guy.

Review: 3.5 Stars - Wake Unto Me by Young Adult debut author Lisa Cach was not only wonderfully written, but was interesting in the fact that it wasn’t at all what I was expecting. With characters far and wide and set over different places and different times it’s easy to see the love that Cach has for European history.

When outcast Caitlyn Monahan gets a chance to escape Oregon and head to a boarding school in France she jumps at the offer and heads off on what’ll be a life changing adventure. She’s lonely in both her family life and at school. I could understand the want to get away, start over and live out a dream in a school far, far away that just happens to be in a castle. I mean who wouldn’t want to do that? I liked how Caitlyn looked at the mysteries surrounding her and didn’t stop until she found answers.

She has nightmares and dreams that she has a hard time remembering, but writes and sketches the various things she has in her mind before they quickly fade away. When her dreams start to take place in the castles history she wants to learn more and find out what their true purpose is.

Raphael was interesting and I liked him from the first scene. I can honestly say that I felt he was the best part of the story, which is funny because I tend to not like anything historical very much. And I do have to say that not only was he interesting, but the time which he was from and that time in which he lived in the castle were what held my interest and were exciting and fascinating. I think this is further proof that I need to change my mind about historicals because I continue to surprise myself with liking them more and more.

Her two new friends were great. I was a bit upset at first with how her roommate Amalia treated her, but then she really grew on me with how she helped Caitlyn. And I was a fan of Naomi from the start. The two seemed to have a connection with how they each had trouble with sleeping and quickly to become friends over late nights and ghost stories.

The mystery was interesting and I felt that most of the questions I had were answered. There were a few things that I felt were left wide open, leaving me to question if this first book is set out to be a trilogy or series. Also, since I was reading an ARC copy I’m not sure if anything was changed much in the finished version.

All in all I was excited to read this title and I did in fact enjoy it. From the characters to the castle – which I think was a character in itself – to the mystery, writing and plot, Cach has taken a romantic ghost story and kicked it up a notch. It’s has so much to offer to fans of the YA paranormal genre and will quickly leave future readers looking for more from this author, just as I will be too.

FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.

Title: Jerk, California
Author: Jonathan Friesen
Publisher: Puffin/Speak, 352 Pages (September 4th 2008)
From: Crownbook Outlet

Synopsis: Twitch, Jerk, Freak, Sam Carrier has been called them all. Because of his Tourette's syndrome, Sam is in near constant motion with tics and twitches and verbal outbursts. So, of course, high school is nothing but torment. Forget friends; forget even hoping that beautiful, perfect Naomi will look his way. And home isn't much better with his domineering stepfather reminding him that the only person who was more useless than Sam was his dead father, Jack.

But then an unexpected turn of events unearths the truth about his father. And suddenly Sam doesn't know who he is, or even where he'll go next. What he does know is that the only girl in the world who can make him happy and nervous at the same time is everywhere he turns . . . and he'd give anything just to be still.

Review: 4 Stars - Jerk, California took us on a journey of Sam, a teenager with Tourett’s syndrome. The beginning of the book shows us just how hard Sam had things at home and just how misunderstood the condition was during the time. His step father is the worst of all. Treated Sam as badly as anyone could be treated, tourrets or not. Sam enjoys going on long runs because it’s one of the only things he can do and count on where he’s in full control of his body.

As soon as he graduates he’s left more or less to fend for himself and chooses to leave home. His mother is helpless and pretty scared of her new husband that she doesn’t do or say anything to help Sam out when it comes to his stepfather. He finds solace in the town hermit and takes a job and moves in with him. This hermit, who turns out to know more about Sam – or Jack then he can even believe. He also knows quiet a bit about his father and his death. It’s a great twist to the story as we see and follow Sam’s changes in and about life, as he learns more and finds out some truths that turn out to be exactly the opposite he’s been told growing up his whole life.

Sam does have a crush throughout the book, Naomi and with yet again another turn of events finds himself on a journey, with Naomi - which his father left for him to take. A trip that will take him to see his dad’s work in the windmills he’s built all over the country and the people who knew who his dad really was.

It was great to see how freeing the truth is and just how much all this was needed to fit the pieces of Sam’s, or rather Jack’s life together. At times the story was bitter sweet however it all worked perfectly with the flow of things. In the end it’s really all about the mental and emotional journey we see Sam/Jack go through. The ending fit perfectly. I could see how this ending would bother some people, but I really liked this - where you could see just how okay Sam/Jack was going to be, showing just how far he had come through everything. I would suggest just about anyone to read this… from mid to late teens on up. For me it had some great messages to it, I’m sure others would get as well.

FTC Disclaimer: I DID pay for this book and have NOT been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this review.