Blogger Book Fair Kickoff! - NA Authors Isabelle Santiago and Christie Rich!

Hi, all!  Jaycee here, and today is the kickoff of the All's Fair in Blogs and War!  Book Fair!  And we're kicking things off here with a bang today by featuring two awesome New Adult authors and a generous giveaway where 7 lucky readers will walk away with titles from these two lovely ladies! 

First up is an awesome chica I’ve known for the last decade:   Isabelle Santiago

Name of your books: 

The Guardian's Mark, Book 1 of The Guardian Circle Series

Tales From the Hollow Tree, Volume 1: Stories of Enchantment and Desolation

Genre: Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy

Blurbs:
  

THE GUARDIAN'S MARK: 

In Zerah, Guardians of Water, Fire, Air, Earth, Life and Death are chosen by The Beings to serve their people. Able to feel emotions The Beings cannot, the six keep their world, and each other, balanced.

Guardians live and die together, but when Kieran is born with marks that prove he is the Guardian of Death, his mother risks her life to conceal him instead of giving him up to the Temple. When an attempt to heal him of the burdens of the Guardianship goes horribly wrong, Kieran is suddenly brought to the attention of the High Priests and forced into servitude to a people who have shunned his very existence. 

He resents his position and all that it entails. It has cost him everything: his freedom, his family. Expected to live and study with the other Guardians, learn the right ways to use his power, Kieran is an outsider among his own kind until he finds the one person who can see the man beneath Death's mask.

Amaya, the embodiment of Water, breaks through his bitter shell and helps him to see that all of life is not bleak. But they've sworn a vow and love for one another isn't part of it. 

TALES FROM THE HOLLOW TREE, VOL 1:

Ghosts, faeries, sirens, and masters of illusion dance through these pages. There's a fine line between enchantment and desolation.

Lavender Dawn by Isabelle Santiago:  She should have never let him kiss her. That first day, when she’d first laid eyes on him at the far end of the lavender fields– she’d known he wasn’t like anything else in this world. 

Trickster by Lisa Asanuma: He traveled far from his home, wandering the desert, and finally found a rock that had fallen from the sky. He walked to the vast sea, which would not be carried with him however he tried, and found a dying stone creature in the shape of a star.

Siren Song by Isabelle Santiago: He stood upon the lake’s edge. His eyes became large, obsidian pools within the looking glass. “Let me see what lies beneath.” Persuasive kisses brushed across tense shoulder blades. His Delilah tempted him, again and again, with the searing electricity of her touch. “Change for me. I am not afraid.”

Lilly’s Bridge by Lisa Asanuma: I’d always known there was something strange about Lilly of course, how she never aged or went home or got dirty, but I’d thought she was magic, some kind of fairy, maybe.
I’d never thought she might be dead.

Driftwood by Isabelle Santiago: Her song ripped tears from my eyes. My fingers clutched the sand. But it would not save me. Even if the ground opened and swallowed me whole.

Procession by Lisa Asanuma: I dreamed about the music after that. Not every night, but sometimes. I was sure it had been a fever-induced invention. Music like that wasn’t possible—or at least wasn’t anything I’d ever experienced before.

The Final Sacrifice by Isabelle Santiago: He wanted so badly to hold that hand. To rest that palm in his. He reached for it, grateful for the barrier. The moment his fingers touched the paper, it hardened into gold.

127 by Lisa Asanuma: When I saw the ship, it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. A large, wooden vessel with a savagely beautiful mermaid carved into the bow, and a glimmer of gold, making the very wood gleam. 

Lucid by Isabelle Santiago: He walked toward me with strong, purposeful steps that looked… felt… solid. Despite his non-existence.

Secret Cove by Lisa Asanuma: And for a moment he wanted to—to take her skin and hide it, like the men did in the old stories, make her his in every way he could.

Tales From the Hollow Tree is a free fiction blog by Isabelle Santiago and Lisa Asanuma, who switch off every Friday and share a free short story. This is a collection of ten Hollow Tree Tales, eight previously published on the blog, and two that are exclusive to this collection. 

 

Tell us a bit about yourself:

Isabelle is a multi-published author who dabbles in 1950s romance, speculative science fiction, and more recently fantasy and YA. A twenty something dreamer who loves chocolate, romance novels, and heart wrenching movies, Isabelle is most comfortable on stage behind a microphone belting out her favorite karaoke tunes, or curled up in bed with a book and a cup of cocoa on a rainy night.

What about the NA Genre appeals to you? 

There's something exciting about the time in your life that the New Adult genre represents. The sense that your entire future rests on the next choice, that happily ever after is just a breath away, knowing you'll have to fight for it and being willing to because its your life and your happiness on the line. Nothing worth having comes easy, and I don't think anyone really 'gets' that until after high school. 

The characters are old enough to have true depth, true heartbreak, true love, while still being young enough to have a sense of naivete, optimism, or stubborn resolve! :)  It makes for great heroes/heroines and for truly passionate journeys with potential for lots of growth. I love those stories. 

What are some of your favorite NA Reads?

I really enjoyed Diana Peterfreund's Secret Society girl books. Actually, it was Diana's post on New Adult that first made me aware of the possibilities of the genre. I didn't like the idea of having to force a storyline into YA or adult territory if the story itself didn't call for it, and many people have had to do that in order to accommodate a market. I'm hoping her new book For Darkness Shows the Stars falls in the NA category (though categorized YA), as it caters to readers of Classic literature, being a retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion, one of my favorite and most emotionally mature of Austen's books, though the lesser known/popular. 

While my list of NA Reads is growing, some I'm desperate to get to are Tempest by Julie Cross and The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight (that title rocks) by Jennifer E. Smith. 

Where to find Isabelle Santiago on the web:

 Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/Author.Isabelle.Santiago

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/iz_santiago

GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1958345.Isabelle_Santiago

Website: http://twistedfairytale.net/

Lucky winners will be able to win a copies of:

Tales From the Hollow Tree Vol 1

The Guardian's Mark, Book 1.

Our next author is one whose books I've been hearing a lot about:  

Christie Rich!

Name of your book(s)

Five (Elemental Enmity Book I)

Dark Matter (Elemental Enmity Book II)

Genesis (Elemental Enmity Book III)—Will be released during the fair.

Genre

New Adult

Brief blurb of book(s)

Five:  Rayla Tate was just a child when her mother disappeared. Raised by her aunt Grace in a small town, she has been hidden from the fae who live secretly among us. When she flees her hometown hoping for the freedom of a new life, she is pulled into a world full of stunning men who are all trying to woo her. Unfortunately these men are not college students. It will take all her will to discover the truth behind their ardor, and give her the strength to overcome the dark power each one holds over her?

Dark Matter: Rayla Tate’s dreams for the future shattered when she discovered she was an Elemental capable of manipulating matter. Thrust into the age-old battle for dominance between human and fae, Rayla will face more than compulsion in the fae realms. She must risk all to save those she loves, but will she lose herself in the process? Or worse, be forever haunted by the choices only she can make?

Genesis: Having just escaped the nefarious plans of the Order, Rayla Tate thinks all she has to do now is rescue her family and sort through her feelings. Unfortunately Tabitha informs Rayla she must choose a bondmate before she will be allowed to venture into the mortal realm to save those she loves most. However, her world crumbles when she discovers following her heart’s desire might just mean the destruction of the world.  Will Rayla have the courage to choose the man who has risked everything to win her, or will she succumb to the manipulations of the fae council and those who would use her power for evil? One choice:  five men.  The stakes have never been higher, but which one will prevail?

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I grew up daydreaming about fairytales, and my love for discovering new worlds has never died. I am not one of those writers who always knew I would write. I thought that was what other people did until one day a few years ago, I took a challenge from a friend and typed my first words. My journey has been wonderful, and I cannot imagine a day where I would ever give up writing now. My love for reading is what fueled my imagination in the first place and still does. When I am not writing or reading, I am enjoying family time with my husband and two children. We live in a quiet community under the Wellsville mountains in Utah, and I am so thankful for the rich life I have been blessed with.

What about the NA Genre appeals to you?

Oh, I was so excited to discover the NA Genre actually existed.  Rayla, them MC of the Elemental Enmity series is just becoming a woman.  I love this time of life, where the whole world is open for you.  Every decision you make will lead to your future as an adult, and it is so important to make the right choices, to push yourself into becoming what you are truly meant to be.  Everyone says how hard the teenage years are, and I agree; but it is when you have to branch away from your family that you can discover who you are and what you are made of.  I love writing in this Genre, and I plan to continue because I feel this is a vastly overlooked market.

I’d love to hear from you.

Reach me at my blog: http://christierich.blogspot.com/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/authorchristier
 Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5147170.Christie_Rich
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/christie.rich.9

What are some of your favorite NA Reads?

The Forever Girl by Rebecca Hamilton is one I can highly recommend

Also, Lichgates (The Grimoire) by S.M. Boyce

I’m actually looking for other NA titles because what I have read lately have mostly been YA.  That’s why I was so pumped to find NA Alley.  I have quite a few new books on my too-read shelf, and I can’t wait to get to them.

Some lucky winners will be taking him these great giveaways!:

Five: 2 winners

Dark Matter: 2 winners

All three books (Five, Dark Matter, and Genesis): 1 winner

We're going to be featuring New Adult authors and giveaways during the entire book fair, so be sure to return tomorrow, and enter the giveaway below! 

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