Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: May 31st 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Synopsis:
Romance, intrigue, and action collide in this psychic twist on the classic spy novel.
Callie Sinclair is literally out of her mind; as the government’s youngest psychic spy, she finds valuable information for top-secret missions. Her work keeps her headaches at bay, but it means she must lie to everyone she loves, including her longtime boyfriend, Charlie.
When a new psychic arrives at the office, Callie can’t help but flirt; Jasper already knows her in a way Charlie never will.
But as her love life gets more complicated, so do her visions. People halfway around the world seem to be in danger...and people in her own backyard, too. If Callie can’t find a way to alter future events, she could lose the people she loves—and her mind. Literally.
Lauren Sabel’s enthralling, romantic novel captures the thrill of exploring a unique power in a dangerous world.
Follow the Lies I Live By by Lauren Sabel Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.
Originally from the Rocky Mountains, Lauren Sabel has returned to the cool mountain air of Boulder, Colorado after living in several wonderful cities that she will always love and continue to visit year after year.
Lauren loves her husband, her family, her friends, and stories that end happily. (Unfortunately, hers never do.) She also loves digging into her mind and revealing tiny gems she didn’t know were there.
Lauren learned to mind dig while getting her MFA in Creative Writing from Naropa, a Buddhist college in Boulder, Colorado. Before Naropa, Lauren studied film in Rome, where she developed her love of crypts and other beautiful creepy things. She also worked in the film industry in New York and San Francisco, focusing mainly on film festivals, as she can never pass up a good party. In San Francisco she worked for Chronicle Books, where she was inducted into the fascinating world of book publishing.
For the past eight years, Lauren has been teaching college students the joys of creative writing, whether they like it or not.
In 2008, Lauren was published in Undiscovered Voices, an anthology of the best new writers for children in the U.K., where she was living at the time. Then life got very exciting very quickly. She signed with Jodi Reamer Esq. at The Writer’s House Agency in New York, and they made magic happen, and that magic is named Katherine Tegen. (aka: Katherine Tegen Publishing, Harper Collins).
Lauren's first book, Vivian Divine is Dead was published June 3 2014. She's currently working on her next book, which she can't wait to tell you about (but has to wait just a little while anyway).
Lauren believes that being a teenager is an act of courage, and is proud of anyone who manages to stick through it, despite the pain. :)
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Secrets, Lies, & Scandals
by Amanda K. Morgan
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: July 5th 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Thriller, Mystery
Synopsis:
In the tradition of I Know What You Did Last Summer and How to Get Away with Murder, five teens must overcome their paranoia in order to keep their teacher’s death a secret in this fast-paced suspense thriller.
Nothing ruins summer vacation like a secret…especially when it involves a dead teacher.
Ivy used to be on top of the social ladder, until her ex made that all go away. She has a chance to be Queen Bee again, but only if the rest of the group can keep quiet.
Tyler has always been a bad boy, but lately he’s been running low on second chances. There’s no way he’s going to lose everything because someone couldn’t keep their mouth shut.
Kinley wouldn’t describe herself as perfect, though everyone else would. But perfection comes at a price, and there is nothing she wouldn’t do to keep her perfect record—one that doesn’t include murder charges.
Mattie is only in town for the summer. He wasn’t looking to make friends, and he definitely wasn’t looking to be involved in a murder. He’s also not looking to be riddled with guilt for the rest of his life…but to prevent that he’ll have to turn them all in.
Cade couldn’t care less about the body, or about the pact to keep the secret. The only way to be innocent is for someone else to be found guilty. Now he just has to decide who that someone will be.
With the police hot on the case, they don’t have much time to figure out how to trust each other. But in order to take the lead, you have to be first in line…and that’s the quickest way to get stabbed in the back.
Hello Amanda! We are super excited to have you back in our FFBC tours.
Could you tell our Book Addicts a little bit about Secrets, Lies & Scandals?
Secrets, Lies, and Scandals is a kind of a How to Get Away With Murder Lois Duncan throwback. It’s fast-paced, intense, and features a cast of main characters that get in a lot of trouble and have to figure out how, exactly, to trust each other and keep from getting caught.
What can you tell us about all the main characters in this novel? Which one would you say is your favorite and why?
They’re all my favorite! I love these characters! That’s really difficult. Cade is great. He’s so tough on the outside but he’s so protective and strong and loves his sister more than anything. Then you have Tyler, who really is trying to get back on the right track when everything goes wrong. And Ivy, who was the queen bee, starts genuinely questioning her decisions morally and who she has been as a person. Then there’s Kinley, who prides herself on being perfect and wants to make her father proud. But last we have Mattie, who I saved because he’s the moral compass of the book. There’s no way to choose. I can’t do it.
What would you do if you were one of the characters in your story? (We’d probably freak out a lot!).
Oh, I’d call 9-1-1 immediately. And I’d probably cry. It would be the shortest story ever.
How did you come up with the story? Did you find inspiration in any other story/movie/show and how has this affected your writing?
I absolutely adored the Lois Duncan books in middle school. They were so fast-paced and scary and appealing and wonderful! I can’t imagine honestly ever being as awesome as Lois Duncan was, but she was an influence for sure. As for the story, I like storylines that are fast-paced, fun and appealing to teens (I hope)!
Tell us your favorite quote from Secrets, Lies & Scandals.
“His left eye was partially open, revealing a half-moon of jelly-white eyeball.” There are others that I love too, but they don’t make as much sense out of context—and that quote is from the back of the book! J
Is there a specific scene that you had the most fun to write?
I love the scene where the entire crew is in the car on the dirt road. It’s raining, the road is wet, and the car is fishtailing.
If you had to pick one song to be the Theme Song for Secrets, Lies & Scandals – Which one would you pick?
I would LOVE to use “Secret” by the Pierces, but Pretty Little Liars already did….
I also found this song, which I think works too….
“Best Kept Secret” by Hattie Keane
Imagine that we get to see your book on the big screen (how awesome would that be?). Who would you pick to play your characters?
That would be SO AWESOME. It’s super hard to choose a good cast, but here are some fun options! However, if a real casting director wanted a shot at it, I mean, I would be totally cool with that.
Ivy: Lily Collins
Mattie: Dylan O’Brien
Kinley: Aeriel Miranda
Tyler: Nicholas Hoult
Cade: Takayuki Yamada
Is there any recommendations you could give your readers to be in the “perfect mood” to read Secrets, Lies & Scandals (specific music, snacks…)?
Go on vacation and slip it in your beach tote! Add flip-flops, water, and sand!
What’s next for you?
My next book from Simon Pulse is called Such a Good Girl and I’m ridiculously excited about it. One of the taglines we’re considering is “Even good girls do bad things.”
Amanda K. Morgan is a freelance writer living in Nashville, TN. She covers events and works as a technical writer when she isn't working on her YA novels.
At age 15, Amanda finished her first novel and continued to write in college, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in English and an emphasis in Creative Writing.
Amanda is an avid volleyball player and spends time playing both indoors and out. When Amanda isn't writing, she enjoys being entirely too busy and trying new things. Endeavors as of late include appearances in music videos, TV, and movies, rock climbing, and attending as many concerts and shows as her schedule allows.
Amanda headed up the Do The Write Thing for Nashville Project (with co-organizers/authors Victoria Schwab and Myra McEntire), which tapped some of the biggest authors, editors, and agents in the industry for an online auction that raised over $70,000 for Midsouth flood relief.
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I'm thrilled to be taking part in Brenda Drake's Release Day Launch (hosted by Jen Halligan PR) for THIEF OF LIES (Library Jumpers #1)! Check out the book and excerpt below, and be sure to enter the amazing giveaways!
Gia Kearns would rather fight with boys than kiss them. That is, until Arik, a leather clad hottie in the Boston Athenaeum, suddenly disappears. While examining the book of world libraries he abandoned, Gia unwittingly speaks the key that sucks her and her friends into a photograph and transports them into a Paris library, where Arik and his Sentinels—magical knights charged with protecting humans from the creatures traveling across the gateway books—rescue them from a demonic hound.
Jumping into some of the world's most beautiful libraries would be a dream come true for Gia, if she weren’t busy resisting her heart or dodging an exiled wizard seeking revenge on both the Mystik and human worlds. Add a French flirt obsessed with Arik and a fling with a young wizard, and Gia must choose between her heart and her head, between Arik's world and her own, before both are destroyed.
We stepped into the Children’s Library and stopped in the
center of the room. A massive light fixture designed to resemble the solar
system dominated the ceiling. The hushed rumble of two male voices came from
one of the reading nooks. I crossed the room, paused at the built-in aquarium,
and inspected the fish. Afton halted beside me.
“This is great,” I whispered, not wanting to disturb
whoever was in there with us. “Fish and books. What’s not to love?” Spotting a
sign referencing classic books, I searched the shelves for my all-time favorite
novel.
The male voices stopped and there was movement on the
other side of the bookcase. I paused to listen, and when the voices started up
again, I continued my hunt.
Warmth rushed over me when I found The Secret Garden. With its aged green cover, it was
the same edition I remembered reading as a young girl. The illustrations inside
were beautiful, and I just had to show them to Afton. Coming around the corner
of the case, a little too fast for being in a library, I bumped into a guy
dressed in leather biker gear. My book and notebook fell and slapped against
the floor.
“Oh, I’m so sorry—” I lost all train of thought at the
sight of him. He was gorgeous with tousled brown hair and dark eyes. Tall. He
flashed me a crooked smile, a hint of dimples forming in his cheeks, before
bending over and picking up my forgotten book.
He held the book out to me. “Mistress Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?” He’d quoted a verse from The Secret Garden with a sexy accent that tickled my
ears.
I stood there like an idiot, my heart pounding hard
against my chest, unable to think of a response. The fact that he had read the
book and could recite a line from it stunned me. And impressed me.
Say something. Anything.
“Good read there,” he said when it was obvious I wasn’t
going to speak. He winked and nodded to a guy behind him before ambling off.
When he reached the end of the row, he paused and glanced back at me, flashing
me another killer smile, and then he disappeared around the bookcase.
Tingles rose in my stomach. He looked back at me. The guy following his Royal Hotness gave me a final
appraisal before departing. His stringy blond hair hung over his large
forehead. It looked like he hadn’t washed it in weeks, and there was probably
an acne breeding ground under it. He grinned, and I broke eye contact with him,
making for the nearest window.
Oh God, you’re so lame, Gia. You
could have finished the quote or anything less tragic than not speaking at all.
The response I would have said played
in my head. With
silver bells, and cockleshells, and marigolds all in a row. Why? Why hadn’t I said that?
Brenda Drake grew up the youngest of three children, an Air Force brat, and the continual new kid at school. Her fondest memories growing up are of her eccentric, Irish grandmother’s animated tales, which gave her a strong love for storytelling. So it was only fitting that she would choose to write stories with a bend toward the fantastical. When she’s not writing or hanging out with her family, she haunts libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops, or reads someplace quiet and not at all exotic (much to her disappointment).
Originally from the Rocky Mountains, Lauren Sabel has returned to the cool mountain air of Boulder, Colorado after living in several wonderful cities that she will always love and continue to visit year after year.
