Reading Road Trip - Nevada

Hey Everyone!

Who's enjoying all the stops on this trip? I am hosting the great state of Nevada and the book up for grabs on my stop is Skin Trade by L.K Hamilton. In Skin Trade we meet up once again with Vampire Hunter/Necromancer Anita Blake as she hunts down a vampire serial killer. This isn't the first time Anita has met up with Vittorio which is why he has taken a personal interest in her, enough that he sends her a severed head invitation to come catch him in Nevada. Aside from catching Vittorio Anita also has to contend with Olaf and his obsession along with a clan of white tigers, one of whom she claimed as her own.
While we all know Anita always makes it out of everything the real question is who will end up dead and how many more people will she tie herself to in the process?

For a full list of other stops on the Reading Road Trip you can visit www.ilikethesebooks.com & www.iceybooks.com.

To win Skin Trade just leave me a comment with your email and I will happily gift you the book in whichever e-format you choose:)

Daemon's in the Mist giveaway winner

Amanda was the winner of our Daemon's in the Mist blog tour giveaway:) Congrats!

Daemons in the Mist blog tour

Hello All, 

Today is my tour stop for Daemons in the Mist and I have a little mini interview with Alicia for you all:) Plus a giveaway of course.

 

 

1. It's obvious you are a talented artist, I have seen some of your work. So what made you decide to write too?

I get this question a lot, actually. First and foremost, I’m a storyteller. When I was little, I would create musicals for my parents. When I was older and in theater and dance, I told stories with my body and voice. In art school, I told stories with sequential images and narrative illustration.

But I’ve never been just a performer, or just an artist, or just a writer; I’m a storyteller, through and through, down to my core. I tell stories and sometimes they are with words, and sometimes they are with my body and sometimes they are with my art. Because sometimes stories are better told in one medium instead of another.

2. What would you say is the biggest obstacle to getting your work out there?

Getting your work out there in the first place. Making a commitment to actually make an effort to find new ways to interact with and build a new audience for your work. I’m good with interacting with my fans and potential readers face to face and on social media. My real flaw is that I have that ‘Just one more’ complex when it comes to actually sending my work out to publishers and potential clients. For example, I’ve been intending to send my work into ImagineFX magazine’s reader feature FXPose for years; I finally send it in a few weeks ago.

3. As an artist and as a writer have you had to deal with a lot of rejection for your work and what is the best way you find to overcome it?

Lately my writing has gotten a rather warm and enthusiastic reception. I’m continually shocked when half the fans that show up to my events are male, really it’s something I never expected. So I’m not much help there I guess. But I do have to say I read every critique, review or comment on my work. I listen with an open mind and try to understand what they are trying to tell me. Sometime it’s just not their thing, but other times what they have to say is invaluable and will help me grow as a creator.

With rejection you have to remember that they are not rejecting you. It’s not personal in the slightest. You have to remember that while an image or text is an art, it is also a product that someone is investing resources in. They have to do what is the best for them and the growth of their company.

If everyone only told you how good you were all the time, how would you ever improve?

4. In art what are your main influences? Who would you say are your main writing influences?

I have a lot of artistic influences, I have two whole bookcases dedicated to art books and the art of books. But I’d have to say I’m currently influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites, the Impressionists, Greg Hildebrant, Dan Dos Santos, Julie Dillon and Miyazaki films.

With writing I can’t say I have any specific influences. I read a lot of books and watch a lot of stories. I’d like to say my writing is influenced by everything I’ve ever felt, ever seen, ever heard. I put it all into a big melting pot and from it the worlds I create spring forth.

5. Last question is just for fun. Who is one person in this world that would cause you to have a total fan girl moment? and why?

Probably J.K. Rowling. Why? Because she J.K. Freakin’ Rowling, who wouldn’t have a total fan girl moment? But more seriously, she’s the person who got me back into reading youth fiction when I was in college, and she’s awesome.

Also meeting Rick Riordan would be awesome; I adore his books.

 

 

About Alicia Kat Dillman
Indie author & illustrator Alicia Kat Dillman is a lifelong resident of the San Francisco Bay Area. Kat illustrates and designs book covers & computer game art by day and writes teen fiction by night. The owner of two very crazy studio cats and nine overfull bookcases, Kat can usually be found performing, watching anime or hanging out in twitter chats when not playing in the imaginary worlds within her head.

Daemons in the Mist
Seventeen year old Patrick Connolly has been hopelessly infatuated with Nualla for years but he is all but invisible to her. Until, that is, he rescues her from a confrontation with her ex. Little does Patrick know he’s just set off a dangerous chain reaction that will thrust him into a world of life altering secrets and things that shouldn’t exist, because the fog and mist of San Francisco is concealing more than just buildings.

Website Link: http://www.katgirlstudio.com/
Book Link: http://www.katgirlstudio.com/book/daemons-in-the-mist-book/





To enter my giveaway simply leave me a comment and I will draw for the winner of an ebook of Daemons in the Mist at the end of the tour. Anyone interested in entering for the Grand Prize can follow this link here: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MzgyZDc1MTZiYzJmZWUwODEwOTdhMjY1YjgwNDVlOjA=/  

Raised by Wolves 2 - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

In the exciting sequel to Raised by Wolves Bryn has her own pack now made up of all the wolves whom she had rescued when she killed the man who had tried to turn her but now she has to protect her pack. While she may be a great Alpha she is still at a disadvantage since she is human and all the other Alphas are weres. Still she is managing well and has established quite a family within her pack. So when a foreign wolf shows up wanting entry into the pack which would also be going against some of the pack laws the question is can she save this wolf while keeping her family safe?

Lucas had been tortured by Shay the asshat alpha of the Snake Bend Pack and showed up literally broken on Bryns front step. Not many in Bryns pack are willing to trust him or even want him around but he is getting close to Maddy and for Maddy, Lucas going back to Shay isnt an option. Plus Shay isnt the only one who is after Lucas, it seems there are some humans who want a piece of him too and these humans may be more threatening than any other pack.

Can Bryn save Lucas, her pack, and keep Maddy's faith in her all at the same time? Find out when you read this freaking awesome and amazing book Raised by Wolves Trial by Fire.

I am in LOVE with series and it is one of the ones I will now be addicted to. I scored book one for free and book two was already out. I was lucky because book 3 was due out in a couple days so I didnt have long to wait to see what happened following this one and you wont have a wait for book 3 either. Its waiting for book 4 that will kill you!!!

Rasied by Wolves 1 - by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I was lucky enough to get the first book in this series for free while it was on sale and I do mean lucky. I cannot begin to tell you how much I LOVE this series and am freaking out waiting for book 4. Book 3 just came out so you can imagine how long my wait will be...

Bryn wasnt your average teenager she hadnt been average since the frightening night she had been rescued by Callum. From that day on her life was all about surviving in a pack of werewolves when she herself was human. Bryn wasn't like normal humans who were in the pack in that she wasnt a mate to any of the wolves, she was a child the alpha had marked as his own which caused some issue within the pack. Being under the Alphas protection nobody from within the pack and not even other packs could touch her without fear of reprisal unless it was done under pack law.

In her entire existance she would have never believed Callum capable of allowing harm to come to her but when she goes against pack law she seemingly forces his hand but not without Ali, Bryn's human caregiver within the pack, coming to a decision that would change everything. At her new location with Lake, her best friend and female wolf, things weren't exactly getting any better and there was going to be a lot that would be up to Bryn to deal with.

Facing down your worst fears is hard especially when it really is every nightmare youve ever had come alive but when it means saving a bunch of kids you really have no choice and neither does Bryn.

You will love this story just as much as I did. It has everything...Love, friendship, betrayal, and so many wonderful twist and turns that will leave you just oh so happy to keep reading. Lucky for anyone just starting this series there is already 3 books out but like I stated earlier Im going to be in serious wait for book 4. Hope you all get the chance to pick up this great book in the start to a wonderful series.

Hippocampus - by Tom Tancin

Star swimmer and hopeful for the regionals, Trey was just your everyday heartthrob at his school. Girls waited their turn for dates but there wasn’t anyone serious and all of Trey’s real energy went to swimming. When he starts hearing a woman screaming in the water Trey believes he has lost it and with the increase in visions his chance at regionals disappears as well. But now he has no choice but to explore his visions and discover what they mean. As it turns out Grandpa is just the one who can help, but will he leave more answers than questions?

With unbelievable things happening around him and his sudden relocation it’s up to Trey to learn as much as he can about himself and his new surroundings so that he can save everyone he cares about. With a little help and some cool self-discoveries there is a chance that Trey may just be able to learn everything he needs to. But the people around him are in constant danger from execution and even helping him means death and for Trey it just cannot be allowed to continue this way. But will all of his training and lessons pay off or will he end up losing anyways?

What a GREAT book I absolutely LOVED it!!! The title is just perfect for the book and fits on so many levels. I cant decide if the end was left at a good place or bad place as all I know is how much I cannot wait to read the next book. Apparently I, along with you have to wait till next year for that which is highly disappointing as this story is definitely addicting. I will be eagerly awaiting the sequel.  

Pretty Amy - by Lisa Burstein

Any book that can provoke feeling and emotion is a book that you know has you hooked because you have already taken the time to care...this is that kind of book. Pretty Amy, annoying mother. I have to tell you all that throughout the entire book I wanted to punch Amy's mom in the face. She simply annoyed the crap out of me and I often found myself thinking that had she been my mother I would have run far away. 

I think everyone popular or not, in some ways want to be different or at the very least understand the feeling. So what if you could make your life different and everything about you? Well thats what Amy did, she went from being the generally good kid to the one who hung out with the "slutty" girls hanging out under the bleachers smoking or off somewhere drinking. The acquaintance she had previously had with her mother was now reduced to yelling matches and she rarely spent time with her father.

With the arrest after prom and the resulting charges her mother was all but insane and her father just didnt have the stones to stand up to her mom and be the father that Amy truly needed. The truth was that neither one of them was there for Amy and in Amy's mind neither was anyone of the people they tried to shove into her life and force her to deal with. But even though all she wished for was her friends the truth was she was dealing with everything in her own way on her own time. The real question was who were her friends and who could she really count on?

I have to say that as much as the mom annoyed me I really loved this book. I mean finally someone writing a story like this from the perspective of the teen and they actually get it!!! I think a lot of the  time there is either adult or parental inflection that influences the writing and character of the teen in a book like this. In this case I think it was addressed as though an actual teen going through this particular problem would be. I dont know if what drove me crazy about the mom is that I knew parents like that or the fact that she acted all woe is me when she shouldve stopped her daughter on that path earlier. It was like it wasn't about her daughter but more about her. I guess again it was written wonderfully because really if the intent was that she seem overbearing and possibly a root of the entire problem it was perfect! I think it will be fun to see if anyone takes the mom side or thinks the way I do. It isnt like I think Amy was being intelligent but just....well you have to read it to know what Im talking about. While Amy isnt right, the mom is just wrong!