Category: Harmony Ink YA Press

An Aurora YA Review: Angel Radio by A.M. Blaushield

Rating: 5 out of 5     .★★★★★

angel RadioIt is on the cusp of summer that strange angels of eyes and wings appear throughout the world, and a week later all of humanity is dead. Except one girl. Months later, Erika Cantor continues to wander her desolate hometown without purpose or answers—until a strange radio broadcast sends her into the dangerous world outside—a world past civilization, whose only inhabitants are monsters and demons.

There, Erika meets Midori, a naïve girl with a cryptic connection to the angels, and Gav, a boy who seems to have knowledge he refuses to share with Erika. The appearance of the mysterious Fex raises even more questions. Can he be trusted?

 As Erika travels across Vermont searching for some remnant of society, she learns that there’s a reason she survived—that the angels, horrid creatures that they are—have a plan for her.

The action in this book starts right off the bat, which is a good thing in some ways and a not-so-good thing in others. I was really intrigued by the concept of the book, and the things that did happen within the first chapter really interested me, so I was compelled to keep reading. However, the nature of the book is that it starts out pretty directly with our main character alone in the world, or thinking that she is, at least. This definitely bolsters the stakes and makes it interesting to find out what’s going to happen next. However, there is very limited character interaction because of it. While I did understand this, I would have liked to have seen some more interaction between Erika and her parents, or even with some of her friends at school who were panicking, before we got to at least a whole chapter where I didn’t get to see Erika interact with anyone but herself.

 
For me, I was interested in Erika, I was intrigued by the way she thought about things, and her narration was interesting enough that I wanted to read if only to see what would happen to her. This is master characterization on the part of the author, because it wasn’t too overt, Erika didn’t just tell the readers exactly what her personality was. There were little comments here and there, little shifts in attitude from what would have been perceived as normal, that hinted as to Erika’s eccentricities. And it was enough to keep me interested through her journey until she met up with some other characters. Really, the whole book contained really strong characters. No one seemed one dimensional, apart, perhaps, from the people who were introduced in the first chapter and dead before it was over. The characters who were still alive were interesting within a paragraph of being introduced, sometimes in as much as a sentence.
 
And the plot wasn’t lacking either. Once it got on its feet and got past the set up for the book, the angels coming, Erika leaving home, it was captivating until the end of the book. An original idea is good, but keeping the plot engaging beyond that initial idea can be challenging. This book didn’t struggle with that at all, and definitely kept me interested beyond just the tagline of ‘angels destroy humanity.’ 
 
This book wasn’t your typical YA dystopian novel. It flourished with engaging characters, a stellar plot throughout, and lots of imagery to help the movie in my head.
 
The cover for this book is so beautiful. It definitely caught my eye from the moment I saw it, and drew me to the book really effectively. Some people have problems with a main character being pictured on the cover, but I actually liked having that drawing to flip back to and put an already constructed face to the name. It is really well done and shows great artistic ability, as well as being paired up just perfectly with the tone and plot of the book. It looks like a cover the main character could have chosen for herself.
Sales Links:  Dreamspinner Press | ARe | Amazon
Book Details:
ebook, 250 pages
Published December 31st 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634762800 (ISBN13: 9781634762809)
Edition LanguageEnglish

In Our YA Spotlight: Poz ( The Lives of Remy and Michael #2) by Christopher Koehler ( exclusive excerpt and giveaway)

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 Poz ( The Lives of Remy and Michael #2) by Christopher Koehler
Publisher: Harmony Ink Press
Publication Date: 8 Jan 2015
Cover Artist: Paul Richmond

Blurb

The Lives of Remy and Michael: Book Two

A CalPac Crew Story

I thought life after high school would be easier. I’d go to California Pacific for a year while I got a handle on my HIV, then after Michael graduated from high school, we’d blast out of here for colleges—and life—on the East Coast. Then I visited Boston and everything changed. I realized I like CalPac. Turns out, Boston didn’t have anything for me beyond one of the biggest regattas in North America.

Life grew more complicated when I got home. I couldn’t find a way to tell Michael that I’d just blown our plan for our lives out of the water. Then my CalPac coaches dropped a bomb on me. Those rowing officials who’d been watching me? They were recruiters for the national team, and my coaches wanted me to try out. They’d even let Lodestone coach me. Now I have to choose, school or crew, CalPac or Michael, and I still haven’t told Michael I can’t transfer. Is there even a place for Michael in my life? Somehow we have to withstand training at the highest levels and having different goals. Will love hold us together… or tear us apart?

Genre: Contemporary, Gay, Young Adult

Exclusive Excerpt

All That Is Solid Melts Into Air blog tour exclusive excerpt (edited for clarity)

Christopher Koehler

The junior varsity boats appeared to be in front, and I’m sure Michael would have something to say about that. That the JV were in front doubtlessly meant they had won a scrimmage, and if there was one thing varsity hated, it was losing to junior varsity. I’d have to gauge Michael’s mood before I said anything snarky.

In the meantime Coach Lodestone drove his launch toward its berth at the dock. A huge grin split his face as he called out, “Remy!”

“Coach Lodestone!”

I waved as I loped over to his boat. This man had been responsible for some of the greatest triumphs of my young life, as well as helping me through some of my most challenging times. He was a mentor, a father figure, a friend. So it wasn’t like he was important to me or anything. I rowed varsity under him for three years—okay, maybe not under him in the way some of my more overheated fantasies might have had it—so in many ways he helped to shape the man I was becoming.

I helped pull Lodestone’s launch the rest of the way in. Cap City forbade coaches driving their launches all the way into their berths. Apparently the club’s board frowned on ripping the bottom out of the boat by forcing it up onto the dock with the engines.

As important as Lodestone had been to me, and as much as I was doing a member of his gentlemen’s crew—being done by?—I’d been somewhat shy about showing my face around here, at least since I stopped helping with the learn-to-row camps at the end of summer. I lived inside my head, but sometimes I didn’t like to examine my motives too closely. I didn’t want to think about making a break from the most important four years of my life to date. My father’s a therapist. I learned a snoutful growing up about the stages of childhood development, and when Geoff and I were in high school, we couldn’t turn around without hearing about how it was another step in the separation process. If therapists’ kids were nuts, it’s because their parents made them that way. I didn’t want to think about separating from a place in which I had learned so many lessons about life. I didn’t want to think about making a break from a place where I had grown up.

Then something else occurred to me. What if I had avoided the Cap City boathouse up until now because I was pulling away from Michael? It had occurred to me before, and I had discussed the matter with my own therapist, but I sure as hell wasn’t going there right then.

I faked a smile as Lodestone jumped out of his launch. He grabbed my hand to pull me into a bear hug. Guess I wasn’t the only one with familial feelings. “Remy, it’s great to see you! Where’ve you been?”

“Oof. You might consider leaving a rib or two intact, Coach Lodestone.” Seriously, dude, ease up.

Lodestone shook his head. “You could call me by my name. You know, since you don’t row for me.”

“I thought I did.” I pretended to be puzzled. “Your name’s Coach, right?”

I blinked at him in innocence, an innocence no one on that dock believed for a shred of a second.

Lodestone stared at me. “Angels and ministers of grace, was that a joke?”

“No.” I held my face expressionless, even though it about killed me.

“How I’ve missed you.” Lodestone laughed hard. “Do you know none of these boys have the stones to bust my chops?”

“Shocking. I see Michael’s rowing varsity.”

We both lost it at that point. Lodestone, seeing some potential in me, had encouraged me to ride along in his launch so he could show me rowing from another perspective. I learned an incredible amount from those ride alongs, including that a certain now-varsity rower wouldn’t be stuck in JV for long. When I pointed this out to Lodestone at the San Diego Crew Classic one year, he grew rather testy. I stood my ground, and I think he respected that. It helped that I’d been right, because Michael now rowed at seven seat in the gentlemen’s varsity A boat, a boat that was most definitely not going to be first back to the dock.

I could’ve watched Michael row all day, although he was obviously tired. We might’ve met when we were both in high school, but we had both grown. My own maturation barely registered when I looked in the mirror. I mean, who observed himself on a daily basis, right? But Michael—Mikey—I paid attention to. Two years of puberty had been very good to him. He was now taller than I was and far heavier of build, and I fucking loved it. Let’s be honest, I’m subby, and our physical differences worked very well together.

By the time Michael’s boat landed, I stared openly. He looked up and smiled, so yeah, I’d been caught. Neither of us cared. I guess a few of the other guys noticed. I had only graduated the year before, and some of them recognized me, acknowledging my existence with a nod or a wave, but they had other things to do, like carry the oars to the oar racks and otherwise prepare to get the boat back into the boathouse and wipe the water off it. I didn’t recognize one or two faces. They ignored me, and I returned the favor.

“I said,” Lodestone repeated, snapping his fingers in front of my eyes, “are you rowing at Head of the Charles in Boston?”

I blinked. “I’m sorry, I heard some annoying, buzzing sound. Did you ask a serious question?”

“And the ego has landed.” Lodestone shook his head.

I blushed. “It’s not ego if it’s true.” I looked at my former coach. “You didn’t train me to row a novice boat. Junior varsity, freshman walk-in.”

“Damn straight,” Lodestone said.

“As it were.”

Lodestone gave me a shove toward the boathouse. “Go help your boyfriend wipe his boat down, and you’ll be out of here faster. And out of my hair sooner.”

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Author Bio:

Christopher Koehler learned to read late (or so his teachers thought) but never looked back. It was not, however, until he was nearly done with grad school in the history of science that he realized that he needed to spend his life writing and not on the publish-or-perish treadmill. At risk of being thought frivolous, he found that academic writing sucked all the fun out of putting pen to paper.

Christopher is also something of a hothouse flower. Inside of almost unreal conditions he thrives to set the results of his imagination free, and for most of his life he has been lucky enough to be surrounded by people who encouraged both that tendency and the writing. Chief among them is his long-suffering husband of twenty-two years and counting.

When it comes to writing, Christopher follows Anne Lamott’s advice: “You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.” So while he writes fiction, at times he ruthlessly mines his past for character traits and situations. Reality is far stranger than fiction.

Christopher loves many genres of fiction and nonfiction, but he’s especially fond of romances, because it is in them that human emotions and relations, at least most of the ones fit to be discussed publicly, are laid bare.

Writing is his passion and his life, but when Christopher is not doing that, he’s an at-home dad and oarsman with a slightly disturbing interest in manners and other ways people behave badly.

Visit him at  http://christopherkoehler.net/blog or follow him on Twitter   @christopherink.

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Tour links:

21 Jan –  Hearts on Fire Reviews

22 Jan –  Dreamspinner Press Blog

23 Jan –  Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

26 Jan –  BFD Book Blog

28 Jan –  The Land of Make Believe

30 Jan –   Prism Book Alliance

1 Feb –   MM Good Book Reviews

3 Feb –  JP Barnaby

6 Feb –   The Novel Approach

9 Feb –   The Purple Rose Teahouse

10 Feb –  Diverse Reader

Buy links:

Dreamspinner eBook |Dreamspinner Print | Amazon US  | Amazon UK | All Romance eBooks

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Jump Back Into The Fantasy World of Jay Jordan Hawk’s Onwaachige the Dreamer (The Two-spirit Chronicles #3) (excerpt and giveaway)

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Onwaachige the Dreamer (The Two-spirit Chronicles #3) by Jay Jordan Hawke
 Release Date: December 17, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Harmony Ink Press
Cover Artist: Anne Cain

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Blurb

What would you do for the boy you loved? What if to save him you had to abandon him forever?

Fourteen-year-old Joshua Ishkoday faces an impossible decision as a terrifying dream sets him upon a thrilling and treacherous journey of self-exploration through the dangerous vastness of the Wisconsin northwoods. There, along with his best friends, Mokwa and Little Deer, Joshua summons the power to confront his greatest fears. To do so, all he has to do is trust in his dreams. Unfortunately, Joshua discovers that his dreams have been deceiving him thanks to the intrusion of strange creatures. For out in the middle of the forest dwell the enigmatic Memegwesi, bizarre manitous who have a special plan for Joshua. Joshua soon realizes that he has three monsters to battle: the extraordinary creatures haunting his dreams, the dangerous torrential storm brewing in the northwoods, and finally, the greatest demon of all—his homophobic mother.

 

Pages or Words: 200 pages/57,547 words
Series is best read in order.
 Categories: Fantasy, Fiction, Gay Fiction, Paranormal, Young Adult

Excerpt

A Scout is Brave – Excerpt #9 (197 Words)

            Cody realized he had made a big mistake. But somehow it just seemed easier to talk about homosexuality now that he had already spent a few hours discussing it with Joshua. Taboo subjects rarely seemed forbidden once shared. And frankly Cody didn’t think he had said anything that was out of line, but the sight of his father coming toward him with a fierce and determined expression, dramatically illustrated otherwise.

            Pastor Bob grabbed and pinched his son’s ear as he caught up with him.

            “Come with me,” he grunted, pulling his son forward.

            “Ouch,” Cody whimpered as his dad pulled him down the trail. “Dad, that hurts!” he cried out.

            “Don’t you ever embarrass me like that again in front of anyone!” Pastor Bob shouted. He didn’t let go of his son’s ear as he continued his tirade. “What’s the matter with you anyway? Do you want people to think you are some sort of queer!” Pastor Bob got a sick look on his face as he said that hated word. “Now get back to camp!” he yelled, letting go of Cody’s ear.

            Cody ran down the trail to the campsite. He cried all the way back.

Pukawiss the Outcast – Excerpt #9

 

“Okay, so I wasn’t supposed to tell you any of this,” Mokwa said. “That’s why I’ve been reluctant to talk about it.”

“What do you mean?” Joshua asked.

“Gentle Eagle asked me not to say anything. And when he asks you not to do something, you listen. He’s an elder, and he’s my friend.”

“Okay, so why doesn’t he want me to know? What are the Midewin exactly?”

“They are sort of a secret society of—” Mokwa paused for a second. “—of medicine men,” he finally said. “Their job is to preserve the old ways. They are powerful shamans.”

“Why is that a secret?” Joshua asked.

“Well, when the Christians tried to stomp out Ojibwe religion, they saw the Midewin as a threat. Many were persecuted. That sort of forced them underground, so to speak.” 

“What does any of this have to do with me?” Joshua asked. “Why did Pastor Martin want to know if I heard about them?”

“He is just paranoid,” Little Deer said. “If we are telling you about the Midewin, it means to him that we are ‘converting’ you.”

“Yeah,” said Jenny. “To Pastor Martin that’s like the dark side.”

 “But I still don’t know what my father, or my grandfather, has to do with all of this,” Joshua said, confused. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“I told you that I’d tell you about the Midewin,” Mokwa said to Joshua. “But you’ll have to get the rest from your grandfather.”

Onwaachige the Dreamer – Excerpt 9

“Pukawiss, maybe when we get to Manitou River you can take a nap or something. You probably just need to dream for the manitous to talk to you.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Joshua said, finding the suggestion agreeable. “I’ll try.” But he was increasingly convinced that this whole thing had been a bad idea. He had dragged his best friends into the Northwoods based solely on a dream. Granted, his dreams had been miraculously accurate so far, but this dream was different. He was putting his life on the line for it. Even worse, he was putting the lives of his friends on the line. It was an awesome responsibility to bear.

But next to the self-doubts and the anxiety was a powerful and exhilarating sense of liberation. Certainly being away from civilization, out in the dark forest, could be quite terrifying. They were, after all, relying solely on their own resourcefulness and what little supplies they had brought with them. But Joshua felt increasingly confident that he had learned enough to survive out here, for a few days at least. And he had his friends with him to help. Their faith in Joshua helped him to find his own confidence. Maybe his dreams really were messages from the manitous….There was something very comforting about knowing that above and beyond the trials and tribulations of life, there was in fact a larger meaning and purpose to it all. So what if he didn’t know the entire plan? That simple cry for help he heard in his dreams hinted at a much larger world than people normally perceived, one that reached out to Joshua and noticed him. It was frightening and comforting at the same time. And with those contradictory thoughts, Joshua believed everything was going to be all right. The manitous were with him, watching over him, determined to keep him and his friends safe. That, he finally understood.

A sudden burst of light filled the sky, releasing a violent rumble that shook the ground below them. It had quickly grown ominously dark, and any moment now, they would all be soaked.

“Thanks so very much, manitous! Appreciate it! Really, I do.”

 

Buy the book: Harmony Ink

 

Meet the Author:

Jay Jordan Hawke holds a bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. in history, as well as a second master’s in Outdoor Education. He loves everything sci-fi, especially Star Trek! He teaches high school history and anxiously awaits the day when he can write full time. His hobbies include camping, movies, reading, running, and writing. His first book, Pukawiss the Outcast, was a Lambda Literary Award finalist for Best Young Adult Gay Fiction. He resides in one of the Great Lakes states.

Where to find the author:

 

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Giveaway

Enter to win a Two e-books to two different winners from any of the three books in the series (Pukawiss the Outcast, A Scout is Brave, or Onwaachige the Dreamer).  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
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