The Walking Dead Recap & Giveaways

My Walking Dead peeps - what did you think of the mid-season premiere? Were you both as pleased and frustrated as I was? Allow me to go on my own little rant. There are SPOILERS in my recap, so if you haven't seen last night's episode, please skip ahead!

First of all, I teared up when Maggie made the first shot at Crazyville. So refreshing to have a female hero for once! But why didn't someone shoot Merle, if even "by accident"? How many chances do they have to give that dirt-bag a-hole before they realize he will kill them the second the opportunity arises? If I were Glen, I would've shot him on first sight. Daryl would've gotten over it. Instead, Rick knocked Merle out and Daryl smirked in response. Did everyone catch that?

As a huge Daryl/Norman Reedus fan, I was ticked to see him choose his idiot brother over the gang. But I was pleased with the fact that Daryl somewhat acknowledged that he feels something for Carol by telling Rick that she'd understand. When Rick broke the news to Carol, however, I may have shed a tear or two. I'm really digging the love story between the two and I hold on to hope that they will again be reunited when Daryl realizes what an idiot he is. As someone on Twitter mentioned, maybe Daryl will find an old school boom box and hold it over his head when he comes back for her. One can only hope...

Courtesy of AMC

In other Walking Dead drama, the Governor has obviously snapped after being humiliated in front of his followers while Andrea has seemingly stepped up to take charge. What I want to know is what was the Governor doing in his apartment, anyway? We've seen the kind of sick things he's capable of, so it made me a wee bit nervous to know he's angry and keeping out of sight.

Glen and Maggie are feeling awkward around each other. My guess is that Glen is having a hard time dealing with his very first real anger rant, knowing the Governor almost raped his girlfriend. After watching the marathons yesterday and seeing the two of them get it on in the watch tower, it occurred to me - what if Maggie gets pregnant now? Even worse, what if Andrea became pregnant with the Governor's baby? Taking care of a baby without the whole apocalypse thing is hard enough - how will this gang ever handle the one they already have? They can't even keep the adults safe. If these people were smart, they would practice abstinence as a rule of thumb.

Aaaaand, last but not least by any means, we see the Ricktatorship taking a fatal dive into insanity when the man envisions his wife standing watch over them and he starts yelling at her. Wherever Season 3 takes us, we know there isn't hope for Rick's mental health any time soon. Becoming that crazy doesn't just go away overnight - at least not without some Lithium or shock therapy. And somehow I don't think Herschel's veterinarian skills will be of any help this time.

It's certainly going to be interesting to see the Gov take on the Rickster when both of them seem to have completely gone off the deep end. I just hope the others are smart enough to get the hell out of Dodge before it happens. Regardless, I think the second half of the third season is going to be mind-blowing.

On to other news...

There are two separate giveaways going on right now to win a digital copy Shymers! Swing by my hilarious friend London Cole's blog to learn a little more about me and see what the fabulous Daniela at YA Book Season has to say in her review of my dystopian adventure.

YA Book Season

Author London Cole

Breaking Waves Blog Tour/Giveaway!

**My apologizes to the author and her hop host - I was scheduled to post yesterday, but I had it on my calendar for today! Life is just too crazy sometimes.**

From the moment they met, Jenna knew Reece would break her heart, but she never dreamed it would happen like this. Jenna is left shattered and broken. When life becomes too painful to deal with and she feels completely alone, there’s only one person to help her pick up the pieces and move on. The one person she doesn’t want to turn to. The one person she promised to stay away from. Tyler. Can Jenna put aside everything she knows about him and let Tyler help heal her broken heart?

I recently interviewed the talented and always fun Danielle Sibarium and asked her about her new release, Heart Waves (you can find the interview here). In honor of her sequel to Breaking Waves, she's hosting a giveaway! So enter to win and check out Danielle through the links below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Where to Buy:

Amazon Kindle

B&N Nook

Connect with Danielle:

Website

Twitter

Goodreads

Heart Waves Facebook

Follow her blog hop here.

Danielle Sibarium grew up as an only child of divorced parents in Brooklyn, New York. Her imagination was developed at an early age. Surrounded by stuffed animals and imaginary friends, she transported herself into a fantasy world full of magic and wonder. Books were the gateway between her play world and reality. On any given summer afternoon she became Snow White sweeping and cooking for the dwarfs, or Cinderella waiting for the prince. Danielle always loved dialogue and in elementary school began writing plays and short stories. This is when she began to understand she could not only bring her fantastical world to life for herself, but she could enchant others as well. And so she wrote. She wrote and wrote and wrote.

Sadly the first piece she ever sent out for publication of any sort was a letter to the editor of The Home News Tribune. It was a piece thanking the first responders for their bravery and selflessness on Sept 11th. It was chosen as letter of the week.

In 2007 Danielle collaborated with Charlotte Doreen Small to write songs for her CD More. Danielle wrote the lyrics for Take My Hand, and Goodbye, while Charlotte contributed the melody.  In October 2011 Danielle’s debut novel For Always was released. She has since released Heart Waves and the second book in the Heart Waves series, Breaking Waves.  Danielle graduated from Farleigh Dickinson University with honors, and currently lives in New Jersey with her husband and three children.

BIG NEWS!

I'm giving everyone the chance to read my zombie book for FREE!

Yeah that's right, I said it, FREE! Now that the juggernaut that is Apple has finally released it (which only took forever and ever), The Day Zombies Ruined My Perfectly Boring Life is available to Amazon Prime members to loan from the lending library at no cost. And even better - you don't even have to own a kindle! You can download the kindle app for your Mac, PC, iPad, phone, or just about any other digital device here.

Finding an excuse to use my favorite comedian jumping for joy totally just made my day.

So pick up this amusing adventure here, and then review it here. I thank you, dear readers, for all your support and hope that you'll give this fun book a chance. Happy reading!

Cover Reveal: The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard

Title: The Forgotten Ones

Author: Laura Howard

Genre: NA Paranormal Fantasy Romance

Expected release date: May 15, 2013

Age Group: New Adult

Cover Designer: Stephanie Mooney 

Book Description:

Allison O'Malley just graduated from college. Her life's plan is to get a job and take care of her schizophrenic mother. She doesn't have room for friends or even Ethan, who clearly wants more.

When Allison's long-lost father shows up, he claims he can bring her mother back from the dark place her mind has sent her. He reveals legends of a race of people long forgotten, the Tuatha de Danaan, along with the truth about why he abandoned her mother.

Laura Howard | Facebook | Twitter

Share on Facebook and/or Twitter and you could win a $50 Amazon (or B&N) Gift card!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Writer Wednesday: London Cole

So this week I felt compelled to introduce all of you to one of my favorite Twitter friends. He's witty, charming and a big fan of rum. Plus he's really good at telling paranormal stories that involve ghosts, sexual tension and a dystopian world unlike any other. His book Whisper Walker just underwent a major redo, getting a new title (Splinter), cover (see below) and some scene rewrites.

In honor of London's new release, he's giving away one digital copy (ePub or Mobi) of Splinter! Enter on Rafflecopter giveaway below. Winner will be announced on January 30th.

Tell us about your new release, Splinter.

Ahh, straight to the point. I like that. Ok, that’s not entirely true, I don’t mind a little beating around the bush on occasion. Splinter is a New Adult Post-Apocalyptic novel with elements of romance and paranormal set around eighty years after WWIII. It's a story told from two points of view of two best friends, Kelsie and Drake, as they stumble onto a paranormal mystery and threat that will impact their entire existence.

What's your favorite scene in this book?

That’s a hard one. That’s like asking a Star Wars fanatic to pick their favorite Han Solo action figure. I’d have to say (even though it’s a few scenes) that the second chapter is my favorite. It’s the introduction to Kelsie and some of her dirty little secrets.

Were any aspects of the story brought on by either personal experience or inspiration?

Whoa. The answer to this question is quite extensive. I’ll try to keep it brief. I grew up on a large island in Washington State. Every inch of that island was fodder for how my imagination works. There are many haunted locations on the island, including two seriously creepy and awesome old concrete forts left over from the World Wars, as well as some heavy woods where some completely inexplicable things have happened to me over the years. The very first scene is quite similar to something that happened to me while I was playing night games with some friends in high school at one of the forts. I fell into a pit at the bottom of an ammunitions lift without a flashlight and scene one was more or less born. There are many more scenes inspired by actual locations on Whidbey Island, but I don’t want to spoil the book.

What are some of your personal favorite books?

The whole Harry Potter series. The Iron Druid Chronicles, The King Killer Chronicles, Poison Study, The Emperor’s Edge series, dude, I could keep going. I love reading.

What music do you listen to while writing?

I normally opt for silence or a really loud room full of people, such as a pub. But sometimes I listen to A Day to Remember or Four Year Strong when I’m writing action scenes. Yellowcard is a good all around one for me, too.

What's the most satisfying thing about writing?

Having a reader come up to you and shake your hand, saying how much they loved your book, how much they could relate to one of your characters. It’s surreal.

Hardest thing?

Editing and revisions. Revisions always make my head get turned inside out! If I could write the first two drafts and then let someone else do all the intensive revisions, I would totally do that.

What are you working on next?

I’m working feverishly hard on another NA book that’s paranormal. I also have the outline for the coolest Santa Claus book ever.

What’s your favorite scary movie?

Cabin in the Woods was pretty awesome. Other than that, I’m not really into scary movies. I have been to the house that’s in The Ring though, which was totally cool.

If you could shake the hand of anyone you wanted, who would that be?

That’s tough. Maybe J.K. Rowling. She has done so much to help bring the younger generations into reading and I have the utmost respect for her.

Ways to follow London: Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook, his website

Where to find his books: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

London Cole is the author of Paranormal Young-Adult novels and novellas. He resides in the large and highly over-heated state of Texas, though he's not originally from there. He was born in the Pacific Northwest, growing up on an Island very near Canada. That means that he slips up and occasionally uses words like “ehh” and pronounces “about” like “abooot”. He's also told that he unknowingly slips into a light accent on occasion and says “dude” in an odd fashion.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Giveaway!

In just over a week I've had 600 views of my new website! YAY! I'm crazy excited!

To celebrate the thousandth page view, I'm giving away one of my three books (winner's choice) to one person who is following my blog. Winner will be notified via registered Google account as soon as the counter reads 1,000. Winner can choose between paperback or digital.

So follow my blog ("join this site" link on lower right side of page) and spread the word! 

Good luck, and thanks for following!