Velvet Undercover
by Teri Brown
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: October 20th 2015
Synopsis:
Samantha Donaldson’s family has always done its duty for the British Crown. In the midst of World War I, seventeen-year-old Sam follows in their footsteps, serving her country from the homefront as a Girl Guide and messenger for the intelligence organization MI5. After her father disappears on a diplomatic mission, she continues their studies of languages, high-level mathematics, and complex puzzles and codes, hoping to make him proud.
When Sam is asked to join the famed women’s spy group La Dame Blanche she’s torn—this could be the adventure she’s dreamed of, but how can she abandon her mother, who has already lost a husband to the war? But when her handlers reveal shocking news, Sam realizes there’s no way she can refuse the exciting and dangerous opportunity.
Her acceptance leads her straight into the heart of enemy territory on a mission to extract the most valuable British spy embedded in Germany, known to the members of LDB only as Velvet. Deep undercover within the court of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Samantha must navigate the labyrinthine palace and its many glamorous—and secretive—residents to complete her assignment. To make matters worse she finds herself forming a forbidden attraction to the enemy-a dangerously handsome German guard. In a place where personal politics are treacherously entangled in wartime policy, can Samantha discover the truth and find Velvet before it’s too late…for them both?
From author Teri Brown comes the thrilling story of one girl’s journey into a deadly world of spycraft and betrayal—with unforgettable consequences.
Well behaved women rarely make history. Teri Brown lived that quote way before she ever even heard it. The two things she is most proud of, (besides her children), is that she jumped out of an airplane once and beat the original Legend of Zelda video game. She's a novel writer, head banger, pet keeper, math hater, cocktail drinker, booty shaker, book reader, city slicker, food fixer, rule breaker, wine sipper and word scribbler. She loves her husband, children, puppies and chocolate.
Velvet
by Temple West
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Release Date: May 12th 2015
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Vampires
Synopsis:
First rule of dealing with hot vampire bodyguards? Don't fall in love.
After losing both her parents before age seventeen, aspiring designer Caitlin Holte feels like her whole world has been turned upside down, and that was before the terrifying encounter with a supernatural force. Then, she learns that her hot bad-boy neighbor, Adrian—who might have just saved her life—is actually a half-demon vampire.
Suddenly Caitlin is stuck with a vampire bodyguard who feels that the best way to protect her is to become her pretend boyfriend. Trouble is, Caitlin is starting to fall in love for real, while Adrian can never love a human. Caitlin trusts Adrian to keep her safe from his demon father, but will he be able to protect her heart?
“Sorry I dragged
you away from dinner,” I said, realizing the time. “You want to eat with us?”
He seemed to
consider it, then shook his head. “I’d better get back. Gotta take my
medication.”
I arched a brow
questioningly. “I thought your immune system kicked ass?”
He laughed.
“Sorry, ‘medication’ is what we call it when we need to drink blood. It’s kind
of an inside joke.”
“Oh.” I said,
blushing for some reason. I should have kept my mouth shut, but curiosity got
the better of me. “Does it…taste good?”
He stared at me
for a long moment, before his gaze drifted down to my neck.
“You can’t
imagine.”
My pulse jumped,
half in fear and half in…something else. His voice had gone low and liquid, his
eyes were burning silver.
“Hey Cait?” he
murmured, and though he hadn’t moved an inch, it felt as though he were leaning
towards me.
“Yeah?” I
whispered.
He wasn’t
looking at me in the eye anymore, just staring somewhere above my chest and
below my jaw. The sound of my own heart seemed loud in my ears, and if I could
hear it, so could Adrian.
His eyes flicked
to my face. “You should really get out now.”
I blinked.
“Yeah.”
I scrambled to undo my seatbelt and
almost fell out of the truck. I could hear the click of the automatic locks
snapping into place the moment the door was closed. Adrian peeled out of the
driveway, back into darkness.
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. It's insane. I've read it like five times.
Oooh, of all time? Probably Battlestar; Galactica (the remake, not the original). Or maybe 3rd Rock From the Sun. Right now though, it's a toss-up between Game of Thrones andThe Good Wife. Two very, very different shows but both are incredible.
Beauty and the Beast. Hands down. And then, in no particular order, The Goonies, Hook, Bridesmaids, and Star Wars (the original trilogy).
I'm pretty partial to Alone, by Braverhalf. That song prompted me to move 2500 miles across America.
Pizza. Or home-made gyoza. Or bacon.
Rivendell, the TARDIS (that totally counts as a place), and Hogwarts. Actually, that list says pretty much everything about me you need to know.
I can't even begin to choose. This is basically an impossible question.
"My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
Doctor Who, GoT, Vampire Diaries, Laini Taylor (and her books), Leigh Bardugo (and her books), anything with any of the Avengers cast, and, of course, my fellow Swoon authors' books.
Oh wow, that's hard. I mean, not to be cliche, but I think it would be fascinating to sit down with Tolkien. He was multi-lingual, did advanced studies in ancient mythologies, and created one of the most detailed, globally known worlds in literary history. I think he'd probably have some pretty good thought nuggets to pass along.
Hello, sexy people.
Hello Temple! We are super excited to have you in our FFBC tours.
Sure! Basically, I'm hoping to bring something to the YA vampire landscape that hasn't quite been done before, so if you read Velvet, stick around for books 2 and 3!
I'm not sure if this is cliche or anti-cliche, but what makes them the perfect couple is that they're not perfect. They fight, they withdraw, they don't know how to communicate all the time, and they struggle with their relationship. And throughout books 2 and 3, they are going to continue to struggle, not just with these outside forces, but with each other. They aren't star-crossed lovers, they're emotional teenagers who are trying to figure out what it means to love someone.
Are you looking for a hot, mysterious bad-boy moonlighting as a nerd? Then try out Adrian de la Mara, on sale now! At least, the book is!
I read a lot of vampire novels, was dissatisfied with some of the finer points of the mythology (and biology) and decided, "What the heck, I might as well give this a shot." And then I wrote a book, and the book was Velvet.
Absolutely. Everything from Interview with a Vampire to Twilight to Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Plus years of binge-reading YA fantasy novels.
It would probably have to be the Caitlin / Adrian exchange in chapter 13:
"Caitlin," he murmured. "If you tell anyone I was the little spoon, there will be consequences."
Well, yes, but I can't be too specific. Let's just say I giggled a lot while writing it.
This is such a fun question, but so hard! I keep wavering back and forth between actors, but I would definitely love to see these guys!
Caitlin Holte // Kat Graham (I know she plays a college-age student on Vampire Diaries now but she's got this fierceness that completely reminds me of Caitlin)
Adrian de la Mara // Logan Lerman (He's got the right mix of being really attractive and really sincere and emotionally intelligent)
Trish Fields // Mae Whitman (loved her in The DUFF)
Lucian de la Mara // Pierce Gagnon (the adorable and incredibly talented kid from Looper)
Julian de la Mara // Colton Haynes (swarthy rogue!)
Rachel Master // Rachel McAdams
Mmm, I would always recommend chocolate while reading, or pretty much anything covered in chocolate. Velvet has kind of a moody feel, so reading at night or by candlelight / cool low light would be fun!
Book two! (and three)
Follow the Velvet by Temple West Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.
Temple West, debut author of the YA paranormal romance Velvet, is as nerdy in real life as she is on the Twitter. Armed with a very shiny English degree, she spent four months in Oxford holed up at the Radcliffe Camera amongst the hush of ancient books and the rich musk of academia. Returning to Los Angeles, she acquired a concurrent degree in film, mostly as an excuse to write essays about The Princess Bride and Hook. She can sew (poorly), drive stick (please fasten your seatbelt), and mostly lift her feet off the ground while stuttering into first gear on a very small motorcycle. She currently lives in Seattle and is the proud mother to a one-year-old laptop and a vintage Remington typewriter.
Well behaved women rarely make history. Teri Brown lived that quote way before she ever even heard it. The two things she is most proud of, (besides her children), is that she jumped out of an airplane once and beat the original Legend of Zelda video game. She's a novel writer, head banger, pet keeper, math hater, cocktail drinker, booty shaker, book reader, city slicker, food fixer, rule breaker, wine sipper and word scribbler. She loves her husband, children, puppies and chocolate.
