Blog Tour: Seriously Wicked by Tina Connolly | Author Interview + Giveaway!

Hello everyone! 

Welcome to the SERIOUSLY WICKED by Tina Connolly blog tour!

Today is my post day and I will be sharing with you all an author interview I've done with Tina and there is a giveaway below. Enjoy!

Title: SERIOUSLY WICKED
Author: Tina Connolly
Pub. Date: May 5, 2015
Publisher: Tor Teen
Pages: 384
Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Genre: YA - Paranormal, Fantasy

The only thing worse than being a witch is living with one.

Camellia’s adopted mother wants Cam to grow up to be just like her. Problem is, Mom’s a seriously wicked witch.

Cam’s used to stopping the witch’s crazy schemes for world domination. But when the witch summons a demon, he gets loose—and into Devon, the cute new boy at school.

Now Cam’s suddenly got bigger problems than passing Algebra. Her friends are getting zombiefied. Their dragon is tired of hiding in the RV garage. For being a shy boy-band boy, Devon is sure kissing a bunch of girls. And a phoenix hidden in the school is going to explode on the night of the Halloween Dance.

To stop the demon before he destroys Devon’s soul, Cam might have to try a spell of her own. But if she’s willing to work spells like the witch...will that mean she’s wicked too? 

Purchase @ Amazon | Barnes & Noble

1. Tell us a little about yourself?

Sure! I live with my family in Portland Oregon, but I’m originally from Lawrence, Kansas, which is a lovely little college town. I used to do a lot of theatre, and I still occasionally work as a face painter (a really fun job!) but mostly these days I focus on writing and podcasting and small children-wrangling.

2. When and how did the idea for Seriously Wicked come about?

I started this book pre-children, at a time when I had a goal to write 500 words every day. Ideally the words would be on a current project, but they could also be on some random new project. One day I sat down and this Rapunzel-ish story about a girl who lives with a *seriously wicked* witch just jumped onto the page.

3. What was your favorite part about writing the book and is there a character you had the most fun with?

I loved getting to write a book that was just flat-out fun. So my favorite parts all had to do with that. I loved thinking up the funny-horrible stories about terrible things the witch does to Cam (like turn her fingers into noodles) and I loved writing all the side characters. One of my favorite side characters is Kelvin, my sweet, clueless 4-H boy who tries to tutor Cam in math.

4. Personally I love books about teen witches, are there any you enjoyed reading and what ones are they?

I also love teen witches! One of my all-time favorite books is probably technically about pre-teen witches – Diana Wynne Jones’ Witch Week is so lovely and hilarious. Also I have to give props here to the movie Teen Witch, which my friend and I watched obsessively one summer (dancing around to all the songs.)

5. Will Seriously Wicked become a series or is it a stand-alone book? If a series, can you tell us more about it and what plans you may have for them?

It is both a stand-alone and the first in a series! I really loved these characters and wanted to tell more stories about them, so I was pretty excited when my editor felt the same way. Wicked witch Sarmine always has a new clever plan to take over the world, and my heroine Cam has to stop her. So each story is a complete stand-alone story, and so much fun to write. I’m working on the second story right now and I can’t say much about it because I’m still in the middle of it, but I will say I’m having a lot of fun writing it and cackling gleefully. Oh, and I’m working on a Seriously short story as well, about a disastrous pool party full of witches. Hopefully we’ll see that later this year. :)

6. How long did it take to write the book and tell us a little about your writing process?

This book wrote itself very quickly! I think I wrote the first few chapters in a couple weeks, and then it was summer and I had a busy face painting season that year, so the book got put down for a bit. I came back to it in fall and finished it up in a month. So the first draft was really very fast, during the times I was working on it. It was really my first full-length finished novel. But then, it went through a LOT of drafts. And in between those drafts I wrote what would be my first published novel, Ironskin, and sold that trilogy to my publisher...and then did some more drafts on this book... So the answer is both very quickly, and a very long time.

And now I have two small children, so my current writing process is: think very hard about my next scene while pushing the baby in the stroller or making dinner or whatnot...and then, as soon as the kids are asleep, write like mad.

7. Who inspires you to write? Do you have a favorite author you look up to?

Oh yeah, let me mention Diana Wynne Jones again, as she’s one of my all-time favorite authors. And for some reason, I also always want to write directly after reading her books. Perhaps it’s because she’s one of those rare writers whose books you can enjoy at any age, and I discovered her young enough that her books are somehow inextricably tied up in my conception of what a book is.

(TL;DR: Diana Wynne Jones is marvelous and everyone should read her!)

8. Describe your book in 6 words.

In 5 words, I’ll give you the title the book had during the 2nd draft: Witch Girl Hearts Demon Boy.

Thanks for being here today on Bittersweet Enchantment. Is there any final thoughts you'd like to leave my readers?

Thanks so much for having me on the blog!

About The Author: Tina Connolly

Website  | Twitter | Tumblr | Pinterest LibraryThing | GoodReads | Facebook

Tina Connolly is the author of the Ironskin trilogy from Tor Books, and the Seriously Wicked series, from Tor Teen. Ironskin, her first fantasy novel, was a Nebula finalist. Her stories have appeared in Women Destroy SF, Lightspeed, Tor.com, Strange Horizons, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and many more. Her narrations have appeared in audiobooks and podcasts including Podcastle, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, John Joseph Adams' The End is Nigh series, and more. She runs the Parsec-winning flash fiction podcast Toasted Cake.

She is originally from Lawrence, Kansas, but she now lives with her family in Portland, Oregon, where it is nice and green and wet. Photo credit Caroline M. Yoachim.

Giveaway Details:

5 winners will receive a finished copy of SERIOUSLY WICKED! US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour hosted by: Rockstar Book Tours

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

4/27/2015- Pandora's Books- Interview

4/28/2015- Bookfever- Review

4/29/2015- On Starships and Dragonwings- Guest Post

4/30/2015- GenGen's Book Blog - Review

5/1/2015- Bookhounds ya- Interview

Week Two:

5/4/2015- The Midnight Society- Review

5/5/2015- Alice Marvels - Guest Post

5/6/2015- Book Briefs- Review

5/7/2015- Bittersweet Enchantment- Interview

5/8/2015- Stories & Sweeties- Review

Review by Hillary: Laila and the Witches of Kalazar by Salimah Dhanani

Title: Laila and the Witches of Kalazar

Author: Salimah Dhanani

Published: June 5th 2014 by author

Paperback, 201 pages

Genre: YA & NA > Romantic Fantasy

Source: Author/Paperback

Laila has a secret. She is the granddaughter of one of the most powerful witches of Pakistan, Shakil Kalazar. Ever since she was ten years old and the Kalazars killed her mother, Laila vowed to resist her own supernatural powers and lead a life devoid of witchcraft. She is now nineteen. Everything changes the day that her father is shot, when she realizes that her powers have become stronger and darker, now that she is able to transfer life energy using transkinesis. That is also the day that Laila meets Mark Mousakes, the young American surgeon who operates on her father. Mark is witty, thoughtful and painfully handsome. As much as Laila tries to avoid Mark, she finds their paths crossing and their mutual attraction impossible to deny. With her mother's killer in pursuit, Laila becomes embroiled in a plot of kidnapping and child trafficking, and a maelstrom of dark and dangerous witchcraft. Laila must now embrace her unique abilities as she sets off for a remote part of Pakistan to face the Kalazars in this gripping tale of magic, sacrifice, family secrets and the power of love.

Purchase @ Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Smashwords

When Laila and the Witches of Kalazar by Salimah Dhanani first came to my attention, I wasn’t sure whether I’d be able to dive into a new book with a new setting, new people, and basically a new and different culture. At the same time I realized that I needed to change my habits of sticking with stories that are always based on and/or similar to each other in characters, country, and setting. For once, I would be able to travel—story-wise—to Asia and learn the habits of a different culture. Diversity was calling me to this book and as soon as I turned the last page, I was not disappointed.

It’s the eerie silence. It makes me want to turn around and call for help. Instead, I squeeze my eyes closed as I enter the bookshop. When I open them again, my body freezes. (PROOF 2)

From the start, Laila and the Witches of Kalazar had an easy flow that made it a quick and effortless read. From the moment MC Laila Khan found her father wounded with a gunshot at his bookstore, to her first meeting with Mark Mousakes, to hanging out with her best friend Lubna and finding themselves in a dangerous situation, to learning the secrets of the Kalazars and what it has to do with her deceased mother, to meeting her grandfather for the first time, and to meeting Bakhtiar—the antagonist of the story and the man Laila must defeat with her inherited powers—were all interconnected in some way and became a whirlwind of events. It all led up to Laila either accepting herself for who she was born to be or giving it all up.

My powers frighten me sometimes. So I have tried to make myself numb against any strong-emotion—like my mother, I know what is at stake. (PROOF 12)

The story naturally had different words that pertained to the MC’s culture, so every once in a while there were a few foreign words. Thankfully, with quick notes it became easy for me to decipher the meaning of those words when I reencountered it in the text. Besides that, Salimah did an absolutely amazing job of showing, telling, and occasionally distributing feeling from Laila. The entire time I read Laila and the Witches of Kalazar, it was easy to see the events that took place like a movie in my head.

I walk into the dark house and go to the living room window to watch Mark drive away. Just before I turn away, I think that I see a movement in the bushes outside my house. I squint to get a better look. But there’s no one. (55)

As much as Laila was important to the story as a whole, the secondary characters Salimah created were also important. Characters such as Mark and Lubna helped Laila keep herself grounded and not lose herself to the darkness that lurked because of her special powers. Mark was also Laila’s love interest and seeing how their relationship developed and progressed led to a lot of cute moments. Salimah also managed to balance a lot of elements in the story. Laila’s school, home, social, and paranormal life were mostly divided, so it didn’t interfere or cross paths with each other all the time—naturally making it a lot easier to understand those different parts of Laila’s life. What I liked most about Laila and the Witches of Kalazar was the cultural difference. It’s easy to think you know about a certain place because of what you read, hear, and see but reading this story changed all of that. When I finished reading this book, I felt a certain deep respect for every place I thought I knew, but in fact didn’t. I was glad I could learn new phrases and write down what they meant or look up the styles of clothing these characters wore. It was all very humbling. I could only hope other readers would feel the same while reading this story.

 It is not how much practice I’ve had, but the amount of control that I’ve been able to exert over my abilities that makes me strong. (PROOF 105)

Laila and the Witches of Kalazar by Salimah Dhanani was overall an entertaining and unique romantic-fantasy story. Until the moment I finished turning the last page, did the story grab my interest and keep me awake into the late hours of night. From page one I was fully on Laila’s side and admired her growth as the main character of the story. Instead of writing about perfect characters with no fears or flaws, Salimah wrote exactly that; characters with fears and flaws. The cultural difference and language only helped enhance this story into what it is now—an amazing first debut. I would like to see what more there is for Laila and Mark to face together and see their relationship develop even more. Although it felt like the last few scenes of action could have been developed much more, the story left a lot open for readers to wonder about for book two. I can only hope Salimah will bring a lot more of this concept into the next book. I definitely recommend this unique story and hope other readers enjoy it as I did.

4.5 - Totally Awesome! I loved it, would read again.

Review by Hillary: The Line (Witching Savannah, #1) by J.D. Horn

Title: The Line
Series: Witching Savannah #1
Author: J.D. Horn
Publishing Company: 47North
Pages: 305
Released: February 1st 2014
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal/Mystery

Mercy Taylor, the youngest member of Savannah’s preeminent witching family, was born without the gift of magic. She is accustomed to coming in a distant second to the minutes older, exquisite and gifted twin she adores. Hopelessly in love with her sister’s boyfriend, she goes to a Hoodoo root doctor for a love spell. A spell that will turn her heart to another man, the best friend who has loved her since childhood. 

Aunt Ginny, the family’s matriarch, would not approve. But Mercy has more to worry about than a love triangle when Aunt Ginny is brutally murdered. Ginny was the Taylor family’s high commander in the defense of the bewitched line that separates humankind from the demons who once ruled our realm.

A demon invasion looms now that the line is compromised. Worse yet, some within the witching world stand to gain from a demon takeover. Mercy, entangled in the dark magic of her love spell, fighting for her sister’s trust, and hopelessly without magic, must tap the strength born from being an outcast to protect the line she doesn’t feel a part of... 

In this riveting contemporary fantasy, Horn delivers the full betrayal, blood, and familial discord of the best of Southern gothic.

Purchase @ Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | The Book Depository

When I first accepted to read The Line by J.D. Horn, I was determined to stick through the story and read the whole book no matter how long it took. In the end, I was pleasantly surprised when I found myself turning to the last page much sooner than I thought I would and feeling rather desperate to find out more. 

From the moment I first opened up the book and turned to page one I just couldn’t find myself losing interest. Rarely does this happen with other books, but in this case I was hooked from the start. I liked how the author managed to capture my interest from the beginning by introducing his new and main character, Mercy Taylor, to the end where I got to see just how much growth she was forced upon depending on the events.

Mercy was definitely one of those characters I could relate to most of the time and I also found myself connecting to her in ways that hardly happens in other books with other characters I've read before. I found myself laughing and smiling whenever her spunky personality shined through and I liked how she showed her true colors. One thing that did make me mentally cringe a few times was how she could forgive easily towards those who had done wrong to her. This actually happened more than once and I just wanted to shake her and make her see reason. I wished she would have given those moments a little more thought. On the other hand Maisie Taylor, Mercy’s twin sister, almost had me thinking she was just as kind and noble as Mercy until a turn of events happened about halfway through. That was the moment I knew that Mercy was most likely the only rational character in the story. There were so many other characters contributing to the story as well, including Mercy’s aunts, uncles, and possibly two love interests that made this feel truly real.

The pacing was also very well thought out. I found it amazing how the book started out subtle and slow enough to get to learn Mercy and her family a little more, to the start of mysterious events that make you wonder if the antagonist is someone in the family or someone out of it, to ultimately finding out the truths with a quicker pacing and holding your breath from being utterly surprised by turn of events coming at you from left and right. All of these qualities in the story managed to make it that much more distinct, but also very riveting.

The Line by J.D. Horn was an awesome, well-written, and impressively thought out book all wrapped in one. I feel that the connection I had with Mercy made me feel desperate to read the sequel ASAP. I seriously am so glad to know that The Source will be out in a matter of months and hopefully I’ll be just as wowed and amazed as I became with The Line. I cannot wait to continue Mercy’s story and see just how much more growth she will go through as hopefully more obstacles are thrown her way. I also hope that readers take notice of this book as soon as it’s released because it’s definitely not disappointing! It definitely held the two components I love in a story and some; a little bit of romance, action, and paranormal. I definitely recommend this one!

4.5 - Totally Awesome! I loved it, would read again.

Thank you Hillary for the lovely review! 

Be sure to check the author's website & facebook page. 

Special Guest: Book Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Hey everyone! Today Author Ron D. Voigts (my Father) has written a book review for the book, Beautiful Creatures to share with my readers. I hope everyone will enjoy reading it. :)

 
Title: Beautiful Creatures
Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Series: Caster Chronicles #1
Published: December 1st 2009 by Little, Brown and Company
Hardcover, 563 pages
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Reading Level: Young Adult

There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Beautiful Creatures, Beautiful Story...

I can tell whether I’ll like a book from the first few pages and this one grabbed me in the first paragraph. Set in the town of Gatlin, South Carolina, Ethan Lawson Wate tells his story. Like most small towns in the South, the place is filled with curious characters, lavish settings and history, mostly Civil War.  But Ethan sees the place as the “epicenter in the middle of nowhere.”

Entering his life is the new girl at school, Lena Duchannes. While the other girls at school are cookie cutter versions of southern belles, Lena projects an air of mystery and darkness. Ethan sets out to become her friend despite her objections. Soon they discover an electricity between them (literally). Their lives are inexplicably linked in so many ways. Same dreams. Family history. Even their thoughts intertwine.

Everyone wants to break them up.  Amma, who takes care of Ethan after his mother’s death, warns him to keep away from Lena. Macon Ravenwood, her uncle, says their relationship will never work. The town, school, friends and family find ways to drive the two apart.

And the biggest problem in their lives is a dark curse  that threatens to claim Lena on her sixteenth birthday and turn her to the dark side of witchcraft. Lena is a Caster coming into her power.  Drumming up a storms with wind and rain and lightning are her specialty. But she has other surprises to offer. The only thing she seems not able to do is escape her destiny.

The story pulled me in and kept me captivated. Beautiful Creatures combines the thrill of magic, a doomed love, and a fated future into a captivating paranormal experience.

Ethan sums it up in the first chapter:

There was a curse.

There was girl.

And in the end, there was a grave.

 Totally Awesome! I loved it, would read again.

Special Guest: Book Reviewer:

Ron D. Voigts

Find Ron D. Voigts @

| Website | Facebook | Twitter | 

| Goodreads | Amazon |

Ron D. Voigts lives in Raleigh, North Carolina and sometimes somewhere else. When back in Raleigh, he enjoys time with his family, watches old movies and shoots lots of pool. He has his own private writer's retreat in La Vale, MD where he spends lots of time working on his next novel while enjoying the mountains and eating ice cream.

Ron's NEWEST novel is called Claws of the Griffin - A Dark Mystery that will leave you guessing until the very last page!

Thank you Ron for sharing your review for Beautiful Creatures. (I SO need to read this book!) Sounds like the book was so much better than the movie? Of course aren't they always?!

I would love for my readers to leave Ron a comment about his review. :)

--> Book Review: Enchantment by Charlotte Abel <--

Title:  Enchantment
Author:   Charlotte Abel
Number of Pages: 364
Published:  August 17th 2011 by CreateSpace
URL: click here
Source: Given to read from Author

Buy this book below:
| Amazon | B&N| Smashwords |

Goodreads Info:

Sixteen year old Channie Kerns leads an idyllic life of seclusion and magic deep in the Ozark Mountains ... until her family is forced to flee for their lives. 

They leave everything and everyone behind to start over in Louisville, Colorado. Magic is forbidden while they are in hiding, but Channie can't resist the temptation to enchant a group of local boys. When her overbearing parents catch her flirting with these "sex-crazed, non-magical boys," they slap a chastity spell on her to protect her virtue. 

The spell is triggered by lust, so just navigating the halls at school is an ordeal. She can't even touch a boy she's attracted to without blasting him with a jolt of magical energy that feels like a taser attack. 

The situation becomes unbearable when Channie falls in love with Josh Abrim, a BMX racer with dangerous secrets of his own. She rebels against her parents and turns to dark and forbidden magic to break the chastity spell ... with disastrous results.

My Thoughts: ( I give this book 4 Stars )

I was given the book, Enchantment by the author Charlotte Abel a few months ago to review and I must say this book was better than I expected. It was beautiful written. The story-line was unique and interesting - holding me attention throughout the book. I loved the flair of magic and romance in the book. Both fit perfectly together. Enchantment is such a captivating book and I was not disappointed when it came to the content in the book and the character's as well. The romance was divine and I loved how Channie and Josh's relationship progressed so well in the book. It was fun to read about how Channie could cast spells and even a curse. 

Enchantment is about a young girl who is a witch and so are her family. She soon finds out her family and Channie must move away from there home to start a new life elsewhere because her Father is in huge trouble with a family of Royal dark witches. Her parents decide she should no longer be called by her Witch name, but a new name will be chosen to keep her safe - Chastity!  On the night she moved into her new home she later meets Josh and his friend at a nearby park. Channie decides to test her new magic in hopes that her Enchantment is still within her someplace. She cast a Come-Hither spell which makes Josh kiss her. From there on out her life will be changed  - as well as Josh's. 

I won't give any more away, but let me tell you if will be worth reading it to find out more. I found myself tearing up a bit during the book. You can just feel how much romance and love these two have found together. The ending was amazing and such a surprise of what is yet to come. I have really begun to love a lot of self-publishing authors. Just because the author is not published does not mean the book will bad. I have found a lot of wonderful book written by self-published authors - And Charlotte Abel is one of them. Her written style was stunning. Enchantment was such a joy for me to read and I would very much recommend the book to anyone who enjoys books about Witches as well as True Love!