New Release: SEAWEED by @Elle_Strauss

Don't forget about the blog tour and plethora of prizes I'm giving away for the launch of Never Enough. It's going on through July 15th, and I'll start awarding prizes after that, so there's still lots of time to follow along and comment at all the tour stops or highlight Never Enough on your own blog.

But today I'm excited about another new release from my good friend, Elle Strauss! And here's the great part... You can read it for FREE! Read on to find out how...

 A teen swim athlete discovers a merfolk world that threatens to keep her out of the ocean forever.
 

Dori Seward can’t wait to get out of Eastcove, a sleepy fishing village on the border of New Brunswick and Maine. She bides her time by hanging out with friends, attending swim club, and holding her biggest competition, Colby–who wants more than just friendship, at arm’s length. Then Tor Riley comes to town and he has everything Dori dreams of in a boyfriend–looks, athleticism and mystery. But Tor also has a tantalizing secret and Dori is determined to find out what it is. The truth is crazier than her wildest imaginations and more dangerous, too. Dori has new fantastical enemies , and they will do anything to get to her. Her life, her dreams and her love for Tor are all weighing in the balance. Will Dori risk it all in order to have it all?

 SEAWEED is FREE for a limited time on Amazon! It's also free on itunes and smashwords.



Elle Strauss writes time travel and merfolk chic-lit, light SF and historical YA fiction. To ward off writer's butt she does a bit of hiking, biking and yoga. Elle is married with four children and divides her time between British Columbia, Canada, and Germany.

Spotlight on VIRTUOSITY by Jessica Martinez!

While away at the Surrey International Writers' Conference, you may think I was hanging in the bar, partying my nights away. But no. My wonderful editor had just sent me a couple of books the week before, and there was one in particular that I Could. Not. Put. Down. So, yes, I was the girl who sat in her hotel room reading every chance she got!

This book captivated me from the first page. I loved being taken into the world of a teen professional performer, as I was one of those (to a lesser degree than Carmen) myself. Did I mention there's a hot British boy in it too?


Here's the synopsis from the back of the book:

Now is not the time for Carmen to fall in love.

Two weeks before the most important violin competition of her career, she has bigger things to worry about—like growing out of that suffocating "child prodigy" label, and not disappointing her mother.

But it isn't just the wrong time. It's the wrong guy. Jeremy is Carmen's most talented rival, and according to her mother, he's only interested in one thing: winning.

He isn't the only one.

Carmen is so desperate to win she takes anti-anxiety drugs to control performance nerves. But what started a year ago as an easy fix is now a hungry addiction. Carmen is too terrified to quit, but sick of not feeling anything on stage, sick of doing what she's told.

Sometimes, being on top just means you have a long way to fall....

About Jessica (a fellow Canadian, I might add): Jessica was born and raised in Calgary, Canada. As a child she  played the violin, read books and climbed trees incessantly. She went on to study English and music at Brigham Young University, and since then has been a high school English teacher, symphony violinist, elementary school teacher, violin teacher, and mother. She currently lives in Orlando, Florida with her husband and two children.

I don't generally review books on the blog, but when I find a book I love, I want to share it. I hope you'll pick up a copy of VIRTUOSITY and because Jessica is also pretty hilarious, you should follow her on Twitter.