~The Devil You Know~ New Release & Giveaway from Shawna Romkey

Posted on February 22, 2016 by jodyakessler

Welcome back, Ms. Romkey. The 3rd book in the Speak of the Devil series is here at last! Books 1 & 2 were fabulous and fun YA novels! I really enjoyed both of them and I’m sure book 3 will be fantastic.

The Devil You Know ~ Speak of the Devil – Book 3

Holy Hell!

After battling her way back from Hell only to discover Luc didn’t make it out, Lily must rally the angels to descend back into the Devil’s domain. Now she has thirty days to rescue her angelic warrior boyfriend and break the curse to free God before Lucifer and his demon army destroy all of humanity on Earth. Forget passing the eleventh grade. Lily must face the ultimate final exam to give the Devil his due and save the world before the reapers catch up and deliver the death she cheated from them a year ago.

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon US ~ http://amzn.to/1QNK0uI

Amazon CA ~ http://goo.gl/qLDVA5

Kobo ~ https://goo.gl/PDt97i

BN ~ http://goo.gl/0uyZmk

iBooks ~ https://goo.gl/coFJJs

Goodreads ~ https://goo.gl/WDo1f9

Read an Excerpt

“I can’t see a thing,” Belle said, leaning forward in her seat as if that would help. But I knew how this played out because I’d been here before. I was going to hit the water again, drown again, die again. My heart raced and though I wasn’t in the water yet, I already had trouble breathing.

“Mike!” I yelled, and he reached for me as the car skidded to the edge of the bridge. Belle overcorrected and the car hit the side, bending the rail down, and over we went.

A brief instant passed. The silver sliver of the skinny moon’s reflection glinted in the black water below as we headed straight for it.

“I got ya.” Mike gripped my hand tightly. I closed my eyes and braced for impact.

All I could think was “unbelievable.” Sarcasm. My last thought before dying was sarcastic. Perfect.

Then…impact. Painful, cold, breathtaking impact. This time Mike was ready. He opened the doors easily and pulled me from the car before it filled up and dragged us down to the dredges of the Missouri River. I blacked out.

I woke up lying in the mud on the side of the river. Belle and Mike glowed green as they healed me. I didn’t see Heaven this time. I saw them hovering over me, while I coughed and choked back to consciousness.

“What the hell?” I managed to blurt out before another coughing fit took hold of me.

“We can’t walk to the church,” Belle said. “She’s freezing now.”

“We could try to take her with,” Mike said and gave her a knowing glance.

She looked at me for a second, then shrugged. “We can try.”

Mike helped me into a sitting position. “I’m going to try to take you with me the rest of the way to the church.”

“Wait. What just happened?” I asked as I became more aware.

“I don’t know. We had an accident,” he said.

“Yeah, an accident just like the one that killed us before.”

About the Author:

Shawna Romkey

Shawna grew up around farms in the heart of Missouri but went to the University of Kansas, was raised in the US but now lives on the ocean in Nova Scotia with her husband, two sons, an Irish wolfhound and a rescue mutt she loves to death. She’s a non-conformist who follows her heart.

She has her BA in creative writing from the University of Kansas where one of her plays was chosen by her creative writing professor to be produced locally, and two of her short stories were published in a university creative arts handbook. She earned her MA in English from Central Missouri State University where she wrote a novel as her thesis.

She’s taught English at the university and secondary levels for close to twenty years and can’t quite fathom how all of her students have grown up, yet she’s managed to stay the same. She’s a huge geek and fan of Xena, Buffy and all kick ass women, and loves to write stories that have strong female characters.

Website: http://www.shawnaromkey.com/

Twitter: @sromkey

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Shawna-Romkey-Author-137998326331706/?ref=hl

Pintrest: https://www.pinterest.com/shawnarp/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawna_romkey/

Goodreads: https://goo.gl/cJIoxH

To celebrate her newest release, Shawna is giving away a $25 amazon gift card to one lucky person.

Purchase a copy of any of the Speak of the Devil books to be entered to win a $25 Giftcard (Open US & Internationally). Just enter the information in the link and a winner will be contacted on February 28th, 2016.

http://goo.gl/forms/UihuUfFQKA

Thank you for stopping by & happy reading,

Jody

Book Review – Ghosts Don’t Lie – by Katie O’Sullivan

Posted on November 11, 2015 by jodyakessler

New release from Katie O’Sullivan ~ Ghosts Don’t Lie

Genre: Romantic Suspense …with ghosts — but not the spooky kind 🙂

Approx. 250 pages

Release date: 11/11/2015

I am a big fan of Ms. O’Sullivan’s novels so I jumped at the chance of receiving an ARC copy of Ghosts Don’t Lie. Here are my thoughts:

A captivating new novel.

Ghosts Don’t Lie is a mixture of drama, psychic phenomena, romance and suspense.

Jillian is the mother of three young children and married to a disreputable lawyer. From the beginning of the novel, it’s clear Jillian is in a unhappy marriage. Then Jillian finds out her great aunt has been in a car accident and is in a coma. Jillian leaves the children with her husband and rushes to New Jersey to be with her dying aunt.

Shortly thereafter, we begin to get a sense of who Jillian really is and we find out she can speak with ghosts, but hasn’t been using her psychic gifts since she was a young teenager. Jillian’s deceased grandmother acts as her spirit guide throughout the novel and helps Jillian when she needs her–and boy does she need her.

As the story unfolds, Jillian discovers how deceitful and dishonest her husband has been in the past, she’s reacquainted with her old best friend, meets a possible new love interest, and has a mother that’s hard to wrap your mind around. With so much going on in her life, she decides she can no longer hide her ability to communicate with the dead and begins speaking openly with ghosts. She starts using her gifts to resolve multiple family issues and help her friends.

Ghosts Don’t Lie is layered with haunting deceptions and intriguing twists and turns. Some scenes tug at your heart strings while others make your pulse race. It’s a remarkable and well written novel with a fresh perspective and a cast of memorable characters. I highly recommend this one.

*~*~*

If this sounds like a novel you’d be interested in reading, here is a link to amazon

Happy reading,

Jody

“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

Happy Veteran’s Day

★•**•.★ Haunting Me Sale & ‪‎Giveaway‬ ★•**•.★

Posted on October 14, 2015 by jodyakessler

★••.★ Book Blitz & ‪Giveaway‬ ★••.★
Haunting Me
An Angel Falls #3
Genre: ‪NewAdult‬ ‪Paranormal‬ ‪‎Romance‬

I hope you fall in love with the newest book in the series! So much happens in Haunting Me. The 3rd installment of An Angel Falls is an emotional roller coaster ride – my editor was in tears – and my beta reader was laughing her butt off. Those are always good signs! 🙂 Keep reading to find out more.

On the Back Cover:
Angel of Death, Nathaniel Evans’, newest case sends him on a perilous and magical journey to the Irish countryside in search of one unattainable answer: How does an Angel of Death fall from grace and return to life?

Back in Colorado, Juliana’s mishaps with a book of spells and her well-meaning attempts to save her brother’s life could cost her more than a ghostly haunting and a deadly virus. It could cost her everything she loves – her family, her home and her relationship with Nathaniel.

While on the hunt for answers, Nathaniel finds himself imprisoned with fairies and fighting a battle of strength, skill, wit and sorcery to win his freedom back from a ruthless fallen angel. Nathaniel must survive the duel if he wants to change his destiny and fulfill his desire for mortality and a chance to be with Juliana forever.

Enter the Giveaway for a $10 Amazon Gift Card below.

Add the book to your Goodreads Shelf

Haunting Me is on sale for a limited time ~ ‪.99 cents‬
On Amazon (paperback available soon)

If you would like to start with book 1, Death Lies Between Us, it’s also .99 cents for a limited time: Amazon

Read an Excerpt from the Novel

“What happened? What’s going on with Jared?”

My mom’s lip quivers as she shakes her head. “His blood pressure is so low. And he has fluid in his lungs. They think it’s hantavirus, sweetie. It came on so fast. I didn’t know he was this sick. His heart… It’s not…. It’s struggling.”

She can’t say it aloud. I don’t blame her and I’m not even sure I want to know the details. I’ve never seen my mom like this. Being shaken to your core is a wake-up call like no other.

Letting go of Mom, I move around the side of the bed and take Jared’s hand in mine. Mom takes his other one.

I give the Angel of Death, Marcus, a death glare. Only for a second. Just long enough for him to see that I know he delayed me on purpose. I’d like to drill him with a few questions about our little adventure, then slap him halfway to Pluto, but I won’t let him distract me from Jared any longer than he already has.

“Hantavirus?” I say. “Can’t you get that from mouse droppings?”

“Yes, you can,” Mom whispers.

I close my eyes and sigh, feeling defeated. Even at home, being extra super-duper careful, Jared still couldn’t escape the grip of death. “He was searching inside the garden shed. He said it was disgusting inside.”

“That was probably it,” she says. Tears leak down her face and she looks up at the doctor to see if he’s listening.

I can’t stand to see my mom crying so I stare down at my brother in the bed. “Jared?” I whisper. He doesn’t respond. He’s unconscious. I lean over and kiss his forehead. “You can wake up now, baby brother. You have too much to do, remember?” I stroke the side of his hair and give it a little tug like I used to do when I was really little and wanted his attention. “You’re not done, and I’m not done being your sister.”

The doctor murmurs to my mom, “If he doesn’t start to respond soon, we’ll try what we discussed earlier.”

Mom gives the faintest of nods and the doctor slips out of the room. The nurse moves a chair from over by the corner and places it behind me. I give her a weak smile and sit down.

Before leaving, she hugs my mom and says, “He’ll wake up, Diane. He’s young and strong.”

Jared is young, but he’s just not as strong as he used to be after his last near-death experience. I take a deep breath and close my eyes against the heaviness in the room.

“Mom,” I say as I look over at her.

She tears her gaze away from Jared’s face. Her fear is the most frightening thing I have ever seen in my life. I dig deep, pulling every ounce of determination and faith I didn’t know I had from somewhere bottomless and profound. There must be a well of strength buried inside this body. It’s a place no one ever wants to unearth and tap into. Yet, people reach this unbearable level of pain and drink from the sacred hidden depths within themselves somehow managing to accomplish all that needs to be done. Nineteen years old happens to be my time for this bitter drink of reality.

“Take my hand,” I whisper as I reach across the cotton blanket covering Jared’s body.

The three of us form a circle. There’s still no response from Jared. The hum and beep of his monitors fill the room with the eerie reminder Jared may not make it through this one.

“Jules, his life was short, but not unacknowledged.”

I ignore Marcus and center my focus only on Jared.

“There is great value in the quality of life, not the quantity.”

I release my mom and Jared’s hands and get up from the chair. Mom hardly seems to notice what I’m doing. I walk over to Marcus and stomp on his foot. Of course, I only stamp the floor, but it helps me feel better.

“I was stuck in a ditch for who knows how long while my brother was dying,” I say as calmly as I can, but it still comes out like icy needles. Needles I hope are making their points felt in Marcus’s guilty conscious.

***~***~***

I have a new novella coming out in November. Unwrapping Treasure is the first story in my Granite Lake Romance series – a new adult contemporary romance – What?! You may be asking, no paranormal? That’s correct, but this lovely little story will hopefully capture your heart with a couple of new and intriguing characters. I’ll be sharing the full description and cover art soon! So be on the lookout.

As always, thanks for stopping by and good luck in the giveaway!

Enter the giveaway for a $10 Amazon Gift Card:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

click to head straight over to amazon

Zombies & Puppies?! Oh My! Apocalypta Z by Maer Wilson

Posted on October 13, 2015 by jodyakessler

Welcome back, Maer Wilson. Apocalypta Z looks fascinating! Let’s find out more about this new release ~

First – meteors. Now – zombies. Ninety-nine percent of humans and animals have become zombified, leaving the rest scrambling to survive. Maddie Worthing and Nick Stanton are among the few not infected. They’re gathering survivors and doing what they can to preserve life in their isolated desert town. Joined by the remaining townspeople and a few scientists, they search for a way to make it through the apocalypse.

The key to humanity’s continued existence may lie within the mystery surrounding Maddie’s puppy. But they need to survive the roving gangs, crazy scientists and troublemakers within their own ranks in order to discover it.

“Not since World War Z have zombies been presented in such a unique light. Give Wilson some props, and her little dog too.” Danielle DeVor, Author of Sorrow’s Point

Read an Excerpt:

An eerie keening shattered the morning air: the apocalypse had begun.

Of course Maddie Worthing didn’t know that. She just thought her dogs had to pee.

She slowed the car and darted glances at the empty desert to see what else could have set her dogs off. She saw exactly what she’d seen for the last two hours along the two-lane highway – nothing. She didn’t see the white raven fly ahead of her to the east.

“Damn it girls, settle down,” she yelled over their ear-splitting howls. “You scared the hell out of me. Inside voices!” She rolled the windows down a little, hoping the wind would settle them.

They were ten miles from the rest stop. She hated stopping only thirty minutes from home, but the dogs continued to whine, although much softer than before.

Minutes later, Maddie pulled into the rest stop. She flexed her fingers as she released them from the wheel. The arthritis and long drive were making them uncooperative. One car was parked nearby, but no one was around. Holding Cienna’s leash, she unfastened the small poodle from her car seat and crawled into the back to do the same for Chloe.

But Cienna pulled her leash from Maddie’s cramped fingers and shot out of the car.

Maddie moved fast, shutting the car door with Chloe inside. She ran after the puppy as fast as being slightly overweight and no longer young would allow. The fear for Cienna triggered adrenalin which helped.

Exasperated with Cienna for running off and with herself for her hands that didn’t work as well as when she was younger, she called Cienna as she headed toward the bushes behind the restrooms. There was an odd smell in the air, but Maddie wrote it off; it was a rest stop after all.

“Cienna, you better get your butt back here right now or you will live in the corner for the next year!” Maddie’s voice reflected her fear that the puppy would run toward the highway. She continued toward the bushes where the puppy had disappeared. Finding a long stick, she used it to prod into the underbrush, calling for Cienna all the while.

The pup had a habit of running under bushes. She’d done the same thing at home on their large lot. So Cienna went into in a pen when she was outside. That stopped the dog from disappearing into the low hanging branches of the mesquite trees for hours. Cienna had not mastered “Come here” very well.

Maddie heard a sound behind her and turned to see three figures lurching from the restroom. She peered over her sunglasses in disbelief. They were dressed nicely enough, but their clothes had been ripped as if they had been in a horrible accident. One had blood dripping down the side of her face. Another had his head caved in on one side with strange growths, almost like small antlers, on the other. Maddie looked around for cameras. Had she stumbled onto one of those prank shows, maybe? Or a zombie movie set?

If so, it must have been a B movie. The makeup on these people was not very realistic. The blood looked rather thin as it trickled down their faces, but there was certainly enough gore. A man appeared to drag his intestines behind him. Maddie shook her head as she looked around again, forgetting to call for Cienna for a few seconds.

“Sorry if I stumbled onto your set,” she called to the figures approaching her. “I didn’t see any signs or anything.”

There was no answer as the figures came closer. Once they were only yards away, Maddie’s heart dropped into her stomach. That wasn’t makeup. Makeup didn’t have that god-awful smell. She made a few strangled mewling sounds before letting loose with a long scream. She threw the stick at the nearest figure and ran for the car, screaming for Cienna.

Available now on Amazon

About the Author

After a successful career being other people, and later teaching others the many tricks of that trade, Maer Wilson has decided to be herself for a while. Turns out she’s a writer. She’s always loved stories, especially fantasy, mystery and sci fi. Maer was born in the Year of the Dragon and has a dragon-themed room in her home, but sadly no dragons in the back yard. When she’s not writing, Maer plays online video games, teaches college and reads. Maer is a partner in Ellysian Press, a small publishing house. She also co-hosts the literary podcast MythBehaving. Maer lives in the high desert of Southern Nevada with her three dogs, a chihuahua and two poodles.

Her books include Relics, Portals, and Magics in the Modern Magics series. There are four prequel novelettes in the series – “Ghost Memory,” “Unwanted Ghost,” “Ghost Dancer” and “Wedding Ghost.” A recently released box set includes all the novelettes plus a new story, “Lost Ghost.” You can find all books and novelettes in the Modern Magics series at Amazon and other online retailers.

For more info, you can visit Maer’s website at http://maerwilson.com/.

Thank you for stopping by.

Jody

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” ~ Albert Camus

The Devil Made Me Do It ~ By Shawna Romkey

Posted on June 2, 2015 by jodyakessler

Welcome back, Shawna Romkey.

Today we have book two in the Speak of the Devil series, The Devil Made Me Do It. I read book one, Speak of the Devil, in this series and loved it. Here is a look at the sequel. Enjoy!

The demons strike back!

Lily is working with the angels to stifle the last of the demon outbreaks and to figure out how to stop the Silence of God, so life can get back to boring normality. But all hell breaks loose when she’s stolen from school and brought face to face with the devil himself. Lily has to find her way back home to Luc, crack the prophecy that breaks the curse silencing God, and figure out how she and Luc can ever really be together; but Lucifer has other plans for her that don’t include her ever getting out of Hell intact.

Buy Links

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1EZAGuZ

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1KuMxcr

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1HjMKJ8

iTunes: http://apple.co/1IVcFwq

About Shawna Romkey

Shawna grew up around farms in the heart of Missouri but went to the University of Kansas, was raised in the US but now lives on the ocean in Nova Scotia with her husband, two sons, one rescue dog and one overgrown puppy from hell. She’s a non-conformist who follows her heart.

Links

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads

Updating to add my review: July 2, 2015

Fun Young Adult Novel!

Entertaining follow up to Speak of the Devil – Book 1. I was immediately drawn into the story and the book never slows down. That’s always a win in my opinion. (I think this book could also be a standalone if you haven’t read the first one.)

Ms. Romkey’s writing is excellent and her characters are unique. The imagery used to describe “Hell” is fabulously entertaining and Lucifer is quite the character. You hate him and love him, and can’t quite grasp exactly how insane he is. Parts of the story are hilarious while other parts had me frantically flipping pages to see what happens next. There’s plenty of great action scenes and some sweet romance between Lily and Luc. Many of the other characters, such as the angels, demons, and Lilith were quite intriguing.

The Devil Made Me Do It is well written, well edited, and an enjoyable quick read. I honestly couldn’t put it down! I definitely recommend this book to all YA paranormal lovers or anyone who likes an entertaining story.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jody

“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.”
~ Nicolas Chamfort

Jody A. Kessler

USA Today Bestselling Author

Tag Archives: new release

~The Devil You Know~ New Release & Giveaway from Shawna Romkey

Book Review – Ghosts Don’t Lie – by Katie O’Sullivan

★•**•.★ Haunting Me Sale & ‪‎Giveaway‬ ★•**•.★

★••.★ Book Blitz & ‪Giveaway‬ ★••.★
Haunting Me
An Angel Falls #3
Genre: ‪NewAdult‬ ‪Paranormal‬ ‪‎Romance‬

Zombies & Puppies?! Oh My! Apocalypta Z by Maer Wilson

The Devil Made Me Do It ~ By Shawna Romkey

★•**•.★ Book Blitz & ‪Giveaway‬ ★•**•.★ Haunting Me An Angel Falls #3 Genre: ‪NewAdult‬ ‪Paranormal‬ ‪‎Romance‬

★••.★ Book Blitz & ‪Giveaway‬ ★••.★
Haunting Me
An Angel Falls #3
Genre: ‪NewAdult‬ ‪Paranormal‬ ‪‎Romance‬