Be Part of the Bookish Snob Team!

Are you a blogger who LOVES reading romance, urban fantasy and all things paranormal? Someone who loves showcasing the amazing authors who write them? Are you looking for a way to help promote through your blogs?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, I’d like to invite you to become a team member of The Bookish Snob Promotions. This is a hot new book promotional business that focuses on providing fun blog tours and bringing readers and authors together. 




Why should I sign up?



Good question. I'm a fellow blogger who has a complete addiction to books. If you're like me, you have a real passion for what you read and want to do what you can to spotlight the authors you love. You're also on the lookout for new talent and being part of a blog tour team can help you do that. This is a way for you give back and also connect with other readers who love the same genres. This is a great addition to your blogs and can also ease the nerves of contacting authors for reviews/interviews/guest posts. By being a member, I help with that.



What does being a TEAM MEMBER mean?



It means you’re part of an amazing group of bloggers that have agreed to host authors on their sites. It means that as authors approach with their books and purchase tour packages, you'll be contacted by me and invited to sign up. For each tour you participate in, you commit to:

• Reading and reviewing the author's book
• Posting the review on your blog and other sites
• Hosting the author for either an interview/guest post/excerpt/giveaway

I work with you each step of the way, answering questions and making sure you're successful. The Bookish Snob Promotions is 100% friendly and I want this to be an exciting experience for you.



Ok, I'm in. How do I sign up?



Signing up is really easy. Just fill in the below form and I'll get in contact with you.
Team Member Sign Up

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at thebookishsnob(AT)hotmail(DOT)com.
I can’t wait to get to meet you and thanks for stopping by. Happy reading!!

Bels aka The Bookish Snob

The Vampire's Warden Book Tour! Interview with S.J. Wright

Welcome to the next stop on The Vampire's Warden book tour!! 

Today I am happy to get a chance to ask author S.J. Wright some questions. I'm so excited she took the time to answer my questions. :)

1.) What inspired you to write the book?

Twilight resonated with me on a certain level.  But I'm forty.  I wanted to put together a vampire story for a slightly older group. I also didn't want to make another version of Twilight.  Putting my main character into the position of a protector seemed like an interesting angle.

2.) What was the most fun part of writing The Vampire's Warden?

I had the best time developing Sarah's tough side.  I'm the kind of person who absolutely hates confrontations.  So letting Sarah show her angry side was a great release for me.  Michael was really fun to write about too.  He's one sexy beast.

3.) What was the hardest part?

The hardest part of writing Warden was dealing with the issue surrounding Sarah's Mom and how Sarah reacts to her discovery about Selena leaving.

4.) How do you juggle being a mom and wife -and all that goes along with that- and your writing?

I can't juggle!  When things get too tough, the writing comes to a stop.  My youngest son, Cameron, has spina bifida.  I am his primary care giver and will be for many years to come.  It's difficult, but I find that laughter makes things so much easier to bear.  Both of my sons have amazing personalities and are complete goofballs.  They make me giggle every single day.  

5.) Would you recommend self-publishing to aspiring writers?

Absolutely.  I didn't have the guts to even finish a novel until I read about Amanda Hocking and what she had started.  I have never sent a manuscript or query into an agent or publisher.  I love the idea of cutting out the middleman.  However, there are a lot of things to keep in mind when you decide to do this on your own.  Do you know how to format your novel?  Are you able to design the cover?  Do you have some money for up-front advertising costs?  Think about how much time you will have to devote to promotion.  And above all, do not put anything out there until you've had lots of beta readers check it over for problems.

6.) What has been the best moment of your writing journey?

Explaining to my four-year-old that Mommy wrote a book and that people are buying it.  He was sort of impressed.  For about five minutes.

7.) Sum up the book in one sentence. :)

This is not your typical glittery-vampire story.

Thanks so much for taking the time to spend with us. Happy Mothers' Day to Ms. Wright, and all the other mothers today!! 

 

I am a stay-at-home Mom with two growing boys, an overworked husband and a very devoted Jack Russell terrier named Shelby.  I grew up in small city called Mishawaka, Indiana and the majority of my family live in the Indianapolis area.  I now live with my wonderful boys, my husband and sort-of-annoying dog in Little Elm, Texas.  The Vampire's Warden is the first book I have ever put up for sale.

Find the author:

Website

Buy the book:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Check out the next stop on the tour!

May 9 – The Wyld Hollow http://thewyld-hollow.blogspot.com/

And follow the tour for a chance to win the great giveaway!

 

 

Review - The Vampire's Warden by S.J. Wright

 

From Goodreads:

I couldn't seem to contain the inferno burning inside me, being that close to him. Even knowing the danger he posed and the gruesome scenes that must have been caused by him, I still felt a burning inside me every time I heard his voice or felt his hot gaze on me.

But I was the Warden. He was one of the damned. We were destined to be at odds. Enemies.

Sarah Brightman, having just lost her father to cancer, is stunned to discover that the mother she thought was dead is actually still alive. She also finds out that the legacy her father left her is a lot more than just an Inn on the outskirts of Nashville, Indiana. She has a frightening new responsibility.

What I thought... 

 I really thought the premise of this book was unique. Humans being set to be caretakers of bad vampires, the wardens of vamps who misbehave- love it!
    

Overall, this book was enjoyable and left me salivating for more. I will definitely be checking out the next installment. I really liked Sarah. She was a tough, no-nonsense woman. She was always honest, never beat around the bush, and took no crap from anyone. I really enjoyed that about her. Unlike, her over-emotional sister, who I think went a little overboard… The characters were overall well-developed, though there are a lot of questions still unanswered about where some of them come from, how much they each knew of the past, and who can be trusted. I liked the backstory, how it was brought into the plot through the journal, that’s so much better than paragraphs of description.
   

As for the plot, at times it felt like the characters knew things that had not been revealed to the reader, like the author knew the details and just kind of forgot to write them in. The relationship between Alex and Sarah’s mother is not quite fully explained. The relationship between Michael and Sarah, which I feel has great potential, felt rushed. I felt like they needed more scenes before her confusing feeling started. But they do have a couple awesome, tense scenes that I’m looking forward to seeing more of. And do we ever find out why Alex was found unconscious and bleeding on the side of the road in the beginning of the book? How did the rogue group know that Sarah knew? And who was the mastermind of the rogue group? Victoria? A couple things in the climax scene confused me and I hope they will get answered better in the next book. And I want to know what Michael is eating while he’s being held captive… :)
   

At times, the author’s writing is great. Her descriptions draw you right into the story and by the middle, I felt like I was there. I had trouble in the beginning, however, because I felt like the plot was sluggish and I was instead focusing on grammatical errors and choppy sentences. By the middle - I was no longer noticing these things, instead focusing on the story.
 

   I don’t want to be overly picky, and the average reader may not even notice these things, but I used to be an English teacher, so it was my job, and errors in grammar and choppy writing catch my attention. I assume these would be taken care of with the help of a professional editor.
   

In summary, I liked the idea of this book and it was a fun read. In my humble opinion- and really I feel horrible - I’m not trying to be mean, I just feel like a good going over would help this book go from good to awesome. I would rate this 3 stars, it has a lot of potential and I’ll be reading the following books in the series. 

New Feature - A Writer's Blog Hop :)

I decided to give this blog hop a go this week. I've been lurking for weeks. :) I write, I'm not published, but I write, and I've been scared to admit to anyone that for years, my dream, like my #1 dream, is to be a published author... So, I've got to start somewhere. :)
Here are the rules:

The rules

1. Follow this blog.
2. Follow Elizabeth Sharp, the originator of this hop
3. Follow the featured author of the week, VK Tremain.
4. Go to Sharp words and copy the image code found there and paste it in your blog. Add your name to the link at the bottom of the post while you are there.
5. Copy and paste the rules in your blog, as well as this week’s question.
6. Answer the question
7. Follow, follow, follow. This is about networking, people, making connections with people in your community. So talk to us. We don't bite!
8. If someone stops by, says hi and follows you, the polite thing to do is follow back. 
9. Comment here and introduce yourself and you just might find a new follower or two.

And the question:
What moment has validated you and made you feel like a writer? If it hasn't happened yet, what do you think it will be?
Yikes... I think I finally felt like this was achievable, like I was really a writer, when I posted some of my work on inkpop.com, a site for teen authors and those who write YA fiction. I discovered that a lot of people liked what I wrote, and I need to get my butt in gear and get it finished. :) Oh, and shameless plug- if you want to take a gander, here's the link. :)Wanted
Happy Friday!! :)

Follow Friday #10 & 18 & Over Book Blogger Tag Along #2

Happy Friday!! It's time again for blog hopping... :) Enjoy and thanks for stopping by!

First up is Follow Friday - hosted by Parajunkee and the featured this week is 

Al @ Magnet 4 Books

Q. Circle time! Time to share. What character in a book would you most like to be, what character in a book would you most like to date?

A: Seriously? I would want to be Anita Blake. She is Bad. Ass. She has awesome powers, and she gets to sleep with a lot of hot men. :)

Date? I am kind of in love with Qhuinn (from BDB), but I don't want to take away his HEA with Blay... So, I'll have to go with a recent read and Ryan Travers from Mari Carr's Sugar and Spice, since he's fresh in my mind. He's hot, dominant, and loyal. :)

 

Question of the week: List 3 books off the top of your head that you read this year and really enjoyed.

Lover Unleashed - J.R. Ward

 

Sugar and Spice - Mari Carr 

 

Club Shadowlands - Cherise Sinclair 

 

Thanks for stopping! Make sure you say hi, and then hop by the other blogs and give them some love. :) 

 

Big Month of May

Big doings coming up in May here at Reality Bites!! We will be participating in 4 book tours!! So stay tuned for excerpts, author interviews, and giveaways! First up will be The Vampire's Warden by S.J. Wright on May 8th.

I will have an interview with S.J. Wright - you won't want to miss it! And there is a great giveaway at the end of the tour!

On May 21st, I will have an exclusive excerpt of Daughter of Deception by Kara Thorpe!

 

 And I will be giving away a copy of the book to one lucky follower! Don't miss the awesome giveaway at the end of this blog tour!

 The excitement continues on May 22nd with the Hard Day's Knight tour!

I'll have author John Harness here for an interview you won't want to miss!

And the tour fun continues on May 25th, when Lacey Weatherford stops by for an interview on The Demon Kiss tour. This is book 2 in her Of Witches and Warlocks series. 

 

Busy May for me, and I'm loving it! I will also be doing some guest reviews over at one of my favorite places, 

The Forbidden Bookshelf.

I'm very excited about that!

Also - looks like I'm almost to 50 followers!! Very exciting for me! I wonder how fast I can get to 100? :) I think I'll have a giveaway when I get close to the 100 mark. 

Stay tuned this May for all the excitement! 

Mandy :)

Top 5 Sundays #6

Happy May!! Summer is almost here! :) Time for Top 5 Sundays - hosted by Larissa...



(I still am unsure as to how to get her image here without the code being right there... Yes, I kinda suck at this... but I'm learning... )

The theme for today is:

Most Jaw Dropping Bookish "Plot Twists"!

  *thanks Amanda P for the theme!

But first, a little bit about this feature and the rules to join in…

Every Sunday I will post a TOP 5 list on the blog. It can be about anything and every week I'll have a new theme {You can vote on next week’s theme on my left sidebar!} and I will ad the Mr.Linky bellow the post so you can do a list with the theme and add you link to it.

Rules:

1. Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme I chose (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.
2. Mention this Blog on the post and link back to it.
3. Fell free to use the Feature's image (there is a smaller size version of it bellow)
4. After you've finished your post, add you link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.
5. If you don’t have a blog to post, just leave your list in the comments =)
    
   This was hard!! I stood in front of my bookcase and mentally went through the books... not a lot of plot twisting going on in my library... :) These are not in any particular order - just as I thought of them.
    
   1. The Lords of the Underworld Series - Gena Showalter
     
   There are some plot twisties throughout the books and they add much to the plot and subplots. 
   
   
   2. The Private Series - Kate Brian
   
   This has got to be my favorite non-paranormal in any way (until recently) series. The plot twists throughout this series are mind-blowing!!
   
   
   3. The Secret Circle Trilogy - L.J. Smith
    
   Not a huge plot twist - but it's so juicy.... :)
   
   
   4. The Sweep Series - Cate Tiernan
    
   Again - small plot twists throughout the series keep it fresh and interesting and keep the reader on her toes. :)
   
   
   5. Taken by Midnight - Lara Adrian
    
   So I love the Midnight Breed series - and what happened in this book is like "WHAT? What is going on?" And we STILL don't know the whole of it... So I am desperately waiting for the next one - whose release kept getting pushed back and now I have to wait until June!
   
   
   
   So there's my list... I guess I used more series because I could think of individual twists - but not necessarily the exact books they came from in the series. And sometimes those twists evolve over a few books. Stop by the other blogs and check out their lists, too. Let me know what you think- about mine... and what would be on your list??