Not for the fate of heart…or young ears for that matter, Elizabeth J. M. Walker’s newest book made me shoot coffee out of my nostrils (painful) with this laugh-out-loud young adult vampire read. Too funny and too short, with a dash of ‘Did she just drop the F-Bomb again?’ Filled with diverse characters and a different take on those shiny and oh-so-sexy vampires, it was a refreshing read and a great escape from the real world, which lately has been filled with bad news, chaos, and tragedies.
So what’s my take on a story that’s all about the horrors of high school and surviving vampire attacks? This is what I posted on Amazon and Goodreads…
4 Star Fangs and Fun! Elizabeth J. M. Walker had me at the first bite!
“This Night Sucks” is a gut-splitting, laugh-out-loud YA vampire read, sans the shiny, sexy ones. And that’s so refreshing. Walker’s tough-in-cheek dialogue and cast of eclectic characters made for one hilarious story. From the dynamics of high school cliques to what you think you know about vampires (and what you don’t), the reader is led on a merry chase to hunt down, and hopefully kill any bloodsucker that dares enter Lana and her high school friends’ world.
If you’re ready for something completely different in the vampire literary circuit, then “This Night Sucks” is a too funny, too short book that will keep you reading till the wee hours of the morning. Just don’t forget to pack your wooden stake and garlic spray…
About the Book:
Lana is a high school senior enrolled in Vampire Education – a class to teach students about the very real presence of vampires in the world. Lana and her classmates don’t really expect to meet up with any undead bloodsuckers. Vampires are a lot like other scary things that supposedly exist but you hope you’ll never come across: nudist colonies, mad cow disease, and your parents’ sex life.
What is part of Lana’s everyday reality is navigating through one last year of high school while desperately trying to be less nerdy. She still loves spaceships, fantasy novels, and cat stickers, but she also recently got her braces removed, grew boobs, and is working on the makeup thing. She never expected her crush-of-a-lifetime Pete to even notice her – let alone ask her out on a date.
The date is going great until Pete’s ex-girlfriend Katy shows up, all bloody and pissed off. Lana quickly realizes that Katy is not just her ordinary bitchy self – she has been turned into a vampire. After a near death experience, Lana learns that she is changing into a vampire too.
Lana needs answers, and the only way to get them is to find the vampire who started the chain of events – and to find him before sunrise...
Purchase Links:
Mirror World Publishing Link:
Amazon Link:
Meet the Author:
Elizabeth J. M. Walker lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She has always loved books and writing. As a teen she discovered zines, which inspired her to publish her own litzine of odd fairy tales for over a decade.
She Dreamed of Dragons is her first novel.
Connect with Elizabeth J.M. Walker:
Facebook:
Amazon US:
Goodreads Author Page:
Publisher Website:
Author Website:
www.elizabethjmwalker.com
Welcome to the Book Tour for Elizabeth J.M. Walker's new novella, This Night Sucks!
Follow the tour each day to read reviews, guest posts, and exclusive excerpts.
Book Details:
From the author of She Dreamed of Dragons
Title: This Night Sucks
Author Name: Elizabeth J.M. Walker
Genre(s): Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy, Vampires, Comedy
Release Date: June 17, 2016
Publisher: Mirror World Publishing
Mirror World Publishing Link:
Amazon Link:
Link to the Tour Schedule:
About the Book:
Lana is a high school senior enrolled in Vampire Education – a class to teach students about the very real presence of vampires in the world. Lana and her classmates don’t really expect to meet up with any undead bloodsuckers. Vampires are a lot like other scary things that supposedly exist but you hope you’ll never come across: nudist colonies, mad cow disease, and your parents’ sex life.
What is part of Lana’s everyday reality is navigating through one last year of high school while desperately trying to be less nerdy. She still loves spaceships, fantasy novels, and cat stickers, but she also recently got her braces removed, grew boobs, and is working on the makeup thing. She never expected her crush-of-a-lifetime Pete to even notice her – let alone ask her out on a date.
The date is going great until Pete’s ex-girlfriend Katy shows up, all bloody and pissed off. Lana quickly realizes that Katy is not just her ordinary bitchy self – she has been turned into a vampire. After a near death experience, Lana learns that she is changing into a vampire too.
Lana needs answers, and the only way to get them is to find the vampire who started the chain of events – and to find him before sunrise...
Fun Vampire Facts – Book Edition!
1. One of the first recorded accounts of a vampire dates back to an ancient Sumerian and Babylonian myth dating to 4,000 B.C.
2. Over 1,000 vampire novels have been published, most within the past 25 years.
3. The first full work of fiction about a vampire in English was John Polidori’s The Vampyre. The Vampyre was a short work of fiction published in 1819.
4. Bram Stoker’s Dracula, published in 1897, remains an enduring influence on vampire mythology and has never gone out of print.
5. A key inspiration for Dracula was said to have been Vlad the Impaler, the 15th-century Transylvanian-born prince.
6. The character Dracula has been featured in over 200 films.
7. Popular vampire writer Anne Rice has sold over 100 million books.
8. Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire Mysteries have been published in several countries, including: Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Spain, Greece, Germany, Czech Republic, Swden, Denmark, and many more.
9. The children’s book Bunnicula, by James and Deborah Howe, has won more than ten Children’s Choice awards, including the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award and the Nene Award.
10. The Twilightbooks are the only vampire related book series to have sold over 100 million copies.
Meet the Author:
Elizabeth J. M. Walker lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She has always loved books and writing. As a teen she discovered zines, which inspired her to publish her own litzine of odd fairy tales for over a decade.
She Dreamed of Dragons is her first novel.
Connect with Elizabeth J.M. Walker:
Facebook:
Amazon US:
Publisher Website:
Author Website:
The beginning of September proved to be a busy start for myself and 5 other authors who celebrated our summer of new releases through Mirror World Publishing. I also got a chance to meet long time author peep, Rita Monette who came all the way from Tennessee. Even the Nordic god Thor showed up via the brilliant flashes of light behind the authors as they read from their most recent book. When all was said and done, the night was quite profitable for all the authors, so a big thank you to all those who braved the traffic and the thunder storm to attend our special night!
Throughout the evening, I noticed a few glitches during the readings, plus listened to some good advice from the people in attendance. So I compiled a list of dos and don’ts from what I gleaned during our author reading event...
Do speak up. I know this is a no-brainer. The venue we were reading in had poor acoustics, so that made it even harder for a soft spoken person. Perhaps having a microphone or
Karaoke machine on hand would eliminate this problem in the future for similar venues.
Do introduce yourself. Tell your readers (or future readers) a little about your past and how you got into writing. Keep it short and simple and interesting.
Do thank everyone for coming. Again, a no-brainer. Practice the attitude of gratitude.
Do pick an excerpt that will hook your audience. I did not, according to a few comments, and now thinking about it, I must agree. *Head desk* Make your reading exciting, not boring. I did manage to change my voice and mannerisms for certain characters, so I get a thumbs up for my performance.
Don’t forget to shut off your cell phone, or turn off the ringer. Um…should be a no-brainer, but obviously a couple of people did not do this. One person actually answered his phone DURING A READING. Not cool. Please be respectful to the authors and audience.
Don’t forget to acknowledge your publisher. After all, you wouldn’t be there without them!
Don’t forget to mingle and mix with the audience. You want them coming back to your next book reading event!
So there you have it, my dos and don’ts based on my first experience participating in a group author reading event. Whether you’re an author or a reader, do you have anything else you could add to this list? Would love to read your comments! Cheers!
Welcome to the Blog Tour for Elizabeth J.M. Walker's
Young Adult Fantasy Novel ~
She Dreamed of Dragons!!
Follow the tour to read exclusive excerpts, guest posts, reviews, and spotlights.
Could a dragon mage be the next ruler of the magical kingdom of Dorlith?
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Title: She Dreamed of Dragons
Author Name: Elizabeth J.M. Walker
Genre(s): Young Adult, Fantasy
Length: Approx. 234 pages
Ebook ISBN: 978-0-9947490-6-2
Print ISBN: 978-0-9947490-5-5
Release Date: July 17, 2015
Publisher: Mirror World Publishing
This is a re-release tour. Book previously published through a different publishing company.
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Favourite Familiars in Books and Movies
As an animal lover I’ve always enjoyed when familiars pop up in fantasy books and movies. In She Dreamed of Dragons all of the witches and wizards have cat familiars. One of the cats in the book, Fenton’s cat Smokey, is modeled after my own cat Smokey, who I enjoyed the company of for eighteen years.
1. Lyra’s Daemon Pan from His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
The daemons in His Dark Materials are one of the most interesting familiars I’ve come across. I love that since Lyra is a child, her daemon has not yet chosen its true form and can change into different animals, ranging from a moth to an eagle.
2. Alanna’s Cat Faithful from The Song of the Lioness Quartet byTamora Pierce
Alanna doesn’t meet Faithful the cat until the second book in this quartet, but they quickly form a tight bond. Alanna and Faithful can communicate to each other, but to outsiders Faithful’s speech just sounds like the common meows an ordinary cat would make.
3. Fire’s Horse Small from Fire by Kristin Cashore
Fire is a young woman with extreme beauty because of her exotic heritage of being half-human and half-“monster” – which in Cashore’s novel are beautiful, terrifying creatures who can control minds. For these reasons Fire finds it difficult to have normal relationships with humans, but finds a special friendship with a very ordinary horse named Small.
4. Rapunzel’s Chameleon Pascal from Tangled(movie)
Rapunzel’s little chameleon is both cute and comedic. I love little reptiles, so thoroughly enjoyed this interesting take on the companion animal.
5. Nausicaa’s Fox-Squirrel Teto from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (movie)
I love both squirrels and foxes and this is a little cartoon version of a fox-squirrel! Teto is tiny, often tucked into Nausicaa’s shirt, but a great little companion that sticks with Nausicaa during her adventures.
About She Dreamed of Dragons:Trina is a fifteen-year-old dragon mage in a kingdom ruled by witches and wizards – the same people who have brought dragons and other magical creatures near extinction. Trina can barely control her fire powers and is desperate for an apprenticeship, but finding a fellow dragon mage to be her teacher is proving more difficult than coming across an actual dragon.
Then there’s the Royal Tourney – a competition presented by the Queen to find a successor to the throne. Trina heads to the competition in the hopes of sparking some interest in the mage society and earning herself an apprenticeship.
She never intended to be a frontrunner in the competition.
She never meant to catch the attention of the evil witch trying to take over the throne.
She never expected to fall for a wizard.
Now Trina must face tough decisions about who she is and who she could become. Trina must ask herself: Can she really win the Royal Tourney?
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Purchase Links:Amazon Kindle - US -
http://amzn.to/1M1CtatAmazon Paperback - US -
http://amzn.to/1dVVRYGMirror World Publishing -
http://mirror-world-publishing.myshopify.com/products/she-dreamed-of-dragons-e-bookBarnes & Noble -
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/she-dreamed-of-dragons-elizabeth-j-m-walker/1120223680?ean=9780994749055~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meet the Author:
Elizabeth J. M. Walker lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She has always loved books and writing. As a teen she discovered zines, which inspired her to publish her own litzine of odd fairy tales for over a decade.
She Dreamed of Dragons is her first novel.
Connect with her on her website:
www.elizabethjmwalker.com~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Follow the Tour - Schedule Posted at the Following Link: http://saphsbookblog.blogspot.com/2015/07/tour-schedule-re-release-of-she-dreamed.html
Not for the fate of heart…or young ears for that matter, Elizabeth J. M. Walker’s newest book made me shoot coffee out of my nostrils (painful) with this laugh-out-loud young adult vampire read. Too funny and too short, with a dash of ‘Did she just drop the F-Bomb again?’ Filled with diverse characters and a different take on those shiny and oh-so-sexy vampires, it was a refreshing read and a great escape from the real world, which lately has been filled with bad news, chaos, and tragedies.
Elizabeth J. M. Walker lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She has always loved books and writing. As a teen she discovered zines, which inspired her to publish her own litzine of odd fairy tales for over a decade.
