Month9Books Holiday Gift Blitz

Welcome to Month9Books’ gift blitz for our amazing winter titles: CROWN OF ICE by Vicki L. Weavil, PRAEFATIO by Georgia McBride, ENDLESS by Amanda Gray, A MURDER OF MAGPIES by Sarah Bromley, DEAD JED (1 & 2) by Scott Craven, and TRACY TAM by Krystalyn Drown! Are you looking for the perfect winter/holiday read? Then these are the titles for you! Oh and as a thank you to our readers we have an amazing giveaway for you!

Crown of Ice

by Vicki L. Weavil

Publisher: Month9Books

Release Date: December 16th 2014

Synopsis:

Thyra Winther's seventeen, the Snow Queen, and immortal, but if she can't reassemble a shattered enchanted mirror by her eighteenth birthday she's doomed to spend eternity as a wraith.

Armed with magic granted by a ruthless wizard, Thyra schemes to survive with her mind and body intact. Unencumbered by kindness, she kidnaps local boy Kai Thorsen, whose mathematical skills rival her own. Two logical minds, Thyra calculates, are better than one. With time rapidly melting away she needs all the help she can steal.

A cruel lie ensnares Kai in her plan, but three missing mirror shards and Kai's childhood friend, Gerda, present more formidable obstacles. Thyra's willing to do anything – venture into uncharted lands, outwit sorcerers, or battle enchanted beasts -- to reconstruct the mirror, yet her most dangerous adversary lies within her breast. Touched by the warmth of a wolf pup's devotion and the fire of a young man's desire, the thawing of Thyra's frozen heart could be her ultimate undoing.

CROWN OF ICE is a YA Fantasy that reinvents Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen" from the perspective of a young woman who discovers that the greatest threat to her survival may be her own humanity.

Praefatio (Praefatio #1)

by Georgia McBride

Publisher: Month9Books, LLC

Release Date: May 21st 2013

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Grace Ann Miller is no ordinary runaway. After having been missing for weeks, Grace is found on the estate of international rock star Gavin Vault, half-dressed and yelling for help. Over the course of twenty-four hours Grace holds an entire police force captive with incredulous tales of angels, demons, and war; intent on saving Gavin from lockup and her family from worry over her safety. Authorities believe that Grace is ill, suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, the victim of assault and a severely fractured mind. Undeterred, Grace reveals the secret existence of dark angels on earth, an ancient prophecy and a wretched curse steeped in Biblical myth. Grace’s claims set into motion an ages-old war, resulting in blood, death and the loss of everything that matters. But are these the delusions of an immensely sick girl, or could Grace’s story actually be true? Praefatio is Grace’s account of weeks on the run, falling in love and losing everything but her faith. When it’s sister against brother, light versus darkness, corrupt police officers, eager doctors and accusing journalists, against one girl with nothing but her word as proof: who do you believe?

Endless

by Amanda Gray

Publisher: Month9Books, LLC

Release Date: September 10th 2013

Synopsis:

Jenny Kramer knows she isn’t normal. After all, not everybody can see the past lives of people around them. When she befriends Ben Daulton, resident new boy, the pair stumble onto an old music box with instructions for "mesmerization" and discover they may have more in common than they thought—like a past life! Using the instructions in the music box, Ben and Jenny share a dream that transports them to Romanov Russia and leads them to believe they have been there together before. But Nikolai, the mysterious young man Jenny has been seeing in her dreams who has now appeared next door, was there, too. Jenny is forced to acknowledge that Nikolai has traveled through time and space to find her. Doing so means he has defied the laws of time, and the Order, an ominous organization tasked with keeping people in the correct time, is determined to send him back. While Ben, Jenny, and Nikolai race against the clock—and the Order—Jenny and Nikolai discover a link that joins them in life and beyond death.

A Murder of Magpies

by Sarah Bromley

Publisher: Month9Books, LLC

Release Date: October 28th 2014

Synopsis:

Winter in Black Orchard, Wisconsin, is long and dark, and sixteen-year-old Vayda Silver prays the snow will keep the truth and secrecy of the last two years buried. Hiding from the past with her father and twin brother, Vayda knows the rules: never return to the town of her mother’s murder, and never work a Mind Game where someone might see.

No one can know the toll emotions take on Vayda, how emotion becomes energy in her hands, or how she can’t control the destruction she causes. But it's not long before her powers can no longer be contained. The truth is dangerously close to being exposed, placing Vadya and her family at risk. 

Until someone quiets the chaos inside her.

Unwanted. That's all Ward Ravenscroft has ever been. To cope, he numbs the pain of rejection by denying himself emotions of any kind. Yet Vayda stirs something in him. He can't explain the hold she has on him--inspiring him with both hope and fear. He claims not to scare easily, except he doesn't know what her powers can do. Yet.

Just as Vadya and Ward draw closer, she finds the past isn't so easily buried. And when it follows the Silvers to Black Orchard, it has murder in mind.

Dead Jed: Adventures of A Middle School Zombie (Dead Jed Series #1)

by Scott Craven

Publisher: Month9Books, LLC

Release Date: October 1st 2013

Synopsis:

The first part of seventh grade was rough on Jed, but things are looking up now that Christmas is almost here. As with past Christmases, Jed asks for the one thing he's always wanted--a dog--and again, his parents tell him they're not ready. But fate has a different plan when Jed sees a dog get run over by a car. Then, it happens. Jed suddenly has a pet, Tread, a zombie dog bearing his namesake--a tire tread down his back. Jed may have gained a dog, but he loses his best friend Luke, who fears the way Jed created his undead pet. When Jed returns to school, he finds a mysterious group called the No Zombies Now Network spreading rumors of the dangers the undead pose to normal people. Forced to disprove Hollywood stereotypes, Jed has his work cut out for him as stories of a zombie dog begin to circulate. Jed could be expelled if he can't expose the NZN Network as a fraud. Jed needs help from his kind of girlfriend Anna, especially after he discovers Luke has joined the shadowy group. Once again navigating the treacherous waters of middle school, Jed does his best to stay in one piece. Only this time he'll need even more duct tape and staples than usual.

Dawn Of The Jed (Dead Jed Series #2)

by Scott Craven

Publisher: Month9Books, LLC

Release Date: October 1st 2013

Synopsis:

As the fall semester ends and kids head home for winter break, Jed and his parents gather for the annual exchanging of gift lists. Once again, Jed asks for a dog, leading to a heated argument and a firm "no." But when Jed spots a stray, he chases it until the dog darts into the street where it is struck and killed by a car. Grief stricken by what he's done, Jed cradles the dead dog in his arms. Soon, ooze from the dog mixes with teardrops from Jed, creating Tread the zombie dog. Finally getting his wish, Jed must convince his parents to let him keep the undead dog. But a zombie dog turns out to be the least of Jed's issues. It seems some parents don't want Jed attending school with their kids. Enter the mysterious NZN Network. They've been distributing anti-zombie propaganda in an effort to get Jed expelled. But Jed wonders if the creation of Tread has caused his relationship with Luke to sour. And why, just as he seems to need them the most, have his best friends abandoned him? Could they have bought in to the anti-zombie way of thinking? Was creating Tread a mistake Jed will live to regret? 

When Tread goes missing, and with his very existence at stake, Jed must rely on his instincts, team up with an old nemesis, and fight for his right to have just as miserable a middle school existence as any other student—undead or alive.

Tracy Tam: Santa Command

by Krystalyn Drown

Publisher: Month9Books, LLC

Release Date: October 1st 2013

Synopsis:

Tracy Tam doesn't really believe in Santa Claus, at least not like the rest of us do. She also doesn't believe that Santa can possibly deliver all of those presents in one night, to children around the world, without a little help from science. A flying sleigh can only be powered by jet engines, after all, and Santa's magical abilities can only be the result of altered DNA. How else could he know what every little girl and boy wants for Christmas and who has been naughty or nice? In order to test her theories, Tracy sneaks onto Santa's sleigh then ends up at Santa Command, where a team of (gasp!) humans monitor Santa's big night. When Tracy attempts to hack into their computers, she accidentally introduces a virus into the system. As a result, three states get knocked out of sync with the rest of the world (oops!). Santa won't be able to deliver all the presents in time! Now, Tracy must fix time and help Santa, but she has no idea how. How can a girl who doesn't believe help Santa and save Christmas before it's too late? With a little Christmas magic, of course!

(1) Winner will receive A Taste of Christmas Gift Basket (US Only)

(3) Winners will receive eBook bundles of 5 Month9Books (INT)

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That One Summer (Summer #3) by C.J. Duggan

That One Summer (Summer #3)
by C.J. Duggan
Release Date: December 17th 2013

Synopsis:

Loving Chris Henderson would be wrong. Diabolically disastrous. I mean, what is there about him to love? He’s moody, bossy, brooding, a control freak, and that’s on a good day … but there was one achingly obvious fact that haunted my every thought, every minute of every day …

He sure could kiss.

As the countdown to the new millennium begins, there is one thing everyone agrees on: no one wants to be in Onslow for New Year’s Eve.

So that can only mean one thing: road trip!

No longer the mousey, invisible, shy girl from years ago, Tammy Maskala is finally making up for all those lost summers. A new year with new friends, which astoundingly includes the bossy boy behind the bar, Chris Henderson.

She likes her new friends (at least most of them), so why does she secretly feel so out of place?

After chickening out on the trip, a last-minute change of heart sees Tammy racing to the Onslow Hotel, fearing she’s missed her chance for a ride. The last thing she expected to meet was a less-than-happy Onslow Boy leaning against his black panel van.

Now the countdown begins to reach the others at Point Shank before the party is over and the new year has begun. Alone in a car with only the infuriating Chris Henderson, Tammy can’t help but feel this is a disastrous start to what could have been a great adventure. But when the awkward road trip takes an unexpected turn, Tammy soon discovers that the way her traitorous heart feels about Chris is the biggest disaster of all.

Fogged up windows, moonlight swimming, bad karaoke and unearthed secrets; after this one summer nothing will ever be the same again.

That One Summer

by C. J. Duggan

“Guess we better not muck around then.” Even in the night-time shadows I could tell that amusement lined his face; I could tell simply by the way the words had fallen off his tongue. They were tauntingly suggestive. If he thought it was funny to make me squirm under his penetrating stare, well, I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

I lifted my chin. “Keep dreaming, Henderson. I’m not skinny dipping,” I said proudly. “I don’t care how secluded this place is.”

The light of the moon illuminated the brilliant flash of Chris’s toothy smile. “More’s the pity,” he said. “To be honest, I’ll be amazed if you even get in.” He walked right up to the edge of the pool.

“Why wouldn’t I?” I said quickly.

Chris stretched his arms to the sky. “You just don’t strike me as a girl who gets out of her comfort zone much.” 

Comfort zone?

My entire summer had been spent out of my comfort zone. This whole trip had been massively out of my comfort zone. But I had done it. Against all my better instincts, here I was. I had even been prepared to potentially do something last night with Chris that was completely out of character. I had wanted him to kiss me – everything in my body language had screamed as much at him. He would have to have been blind not to have understood that much last night, but he had known. Of course he had. Why else would he have spun around so fast other than to avoid me?

I felt not so much the burning of humiliation rising in me, but more the burning of anger.

He didn’t know anything about me. So what if I didn’t want to go skinny dipping? Just because I had some safety-related questions over the creepy, poorly lit, abandoned pool, I was a girl who never pushed the boundaries? That never went against the grain?

Fuck you, Chris Henderson.

My brows narrowed and all of a sudden I hoped that I was illuminated well enough that he’d see just how angry his statement had made me.

I pushed past Chris, my feet slapping angrily against the cool, wet concrete as I glanced out toward the massive pool.

“You don’t have to, you know,” Chris said, looking uncomfortable. “I just thought that it was kind of a cool place to bring you after a long trip.”

Oh, now he was trying to be nice and supportive?

Underneath the glow of the pool light, I stood close enough to count all the different shades of brown in his eyes, eyes that ticked across my face as if trying to solve the mysteries of the universe through me. Then they lit up, as if at that very moment he had realised what my determined, serious gaze meant.

“Tammy, wait …”

It was too late. In an act of defiance, as he reached out toward me, without a second thought I dived into the water.

What is your writing process like, what comes first, characters or story?

Definitely the characters, they are first and foremost in my thoughts, they’re the ones that dictate how the story is to be told. Just when I think I have it mapped out one way to write the story a character will usually throw me for a loop and take me in a completely different direction. Although I am very organised in my office in my surroundings in the dead of night I write mainly by the seat of my pants with only a vague outline in my head on where I want to the story to go, that’s the bit I love about writing, the discovery.

What sparked the idea for the series ?

It was something that has been churning in my mind since I was a little girl, even if it was something no more mapped out than a group of friends hanging lakeside over a summer. It was an idea that has manifested into an entire world and I felt that I owed it to that eleven-year-old little me to develop it into a story. I know I was eleven because I had found an old exercise book with the story plotted out in my child-like handwriting and I could seldom believe it was something that had been swimming

Are there any parallels that could be drawn from your life and the Summer Series?

I grew up in a small country town in Australia so I am well aware of what it’s like to have to make your own fun. Unfortunately our town wasn’t set on the banks of Lake Onslow but it was still a nice place to live. My first job was working as a barmaid at the local hotel and I remember the fear of my first shift and learning the ropes.

If you had to pick your favorite scene from ‘An Endless Summer ’?

There are so many scenes I love. Chris and Tammy are so dynamic together but without giving too much away there is a late night swimming session that was quite fun to write.

Which two things do you think readers might not know about you ?

I am addicted to Pepsi Max and buying handbags, lots and lots of handbags.

Music is hugely inspirational for my writing process, listed are some novel specific music and songs that drove my husband mad as I played them over and over again while penning ‘An Endless Summer.’

1. The Summer – Josh Pyke

2. I’m on fire – Bruce Springsteen

3. One Thousand Suns - Chicane

4. No Ordinary Morning - Chicane

5. Young Blood – We Come Running 

6. The Eurythmics – When Tomorrow Comes

7. Waiting for a Girl Like You – Foreigner 

8. True Colors – Cyndi Lauper 

10. You Make Lovin Fun – Fleetwood Mac

C.J Duggan is the number one bestselling Australian author of the Summer Series! C.J lives with her husband in a rural border town of New South Wales, Australia. When she isn’t writing books about swoony boys and 90’s pop culture you will find her renovating her hundred-year-old Victorian homestead or annoying her local travel agent for a quote to escape the chaos.

Novels in the Summer Series includes: The Boys of Summer (2012), An Endless Summer (2013) and the highly anticipated, soon to be released That One Summer (2013).

For more on C.J and ‘The Summer Series’, visit www.cjdugganbooks.com

Win the complete Summer series by C. J. Duggan in ebook (INT)

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