Asphodel Book Birthday!

Yay!!!!!!

So I'm super duper excited that Asphodel releases today! Yay!

You can buy you eBook copy at either Amazon, B&N, or Smashwords and the paperback will be available for pre-order starting Thurs. :)

I also have some more good news!

My lovely client Kelly Hashway's book, Touch of Death sold in a two book deal to Spencer Hill Press for publication in Jan 2013. Yay!

I have got two more deals to announce, but have to wait a little while longer before I announce them. *sighs*

That's all for now, I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Cheers!

Hopefully there's more awesomeness to come in 2012!

<3 Lauren

Above The Earth Is Heaven...Below It's Core Is...The Everneath...

Gobble! Gobble! Readers!

Who's ready for Turkey Day? And what are you thankful for?

Me, I'm thankful for my family and my health because I wouldn't be here without either one. <3

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's... (summary from goodreads)

Who loves Greek myth re-tellings? (I do! I do!)

Seriously this book rocked.... Rocked hard... I'm talking like a Lynard Skynard eight minute guitar solo hard. And all in all its like a mishmash of several mythological re-tellings in one--which I thought was awesome.

But... it mainly focuses on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. And I don't believe until the Everneath it has been touched on.

What I loved most about this book was the relationship between Jack and Nikki. Loved the way the author brought out bits and pieces of it at a time and by the end of the book, you're weeping.

Trust me when I say this; Buy this book...Read this book... And love this book!

You won't be disappointed. <3

Cheers!

Happy Turkey Day!

The Great Asphodel Cover Reveal!!

Hi everyone!

So I have something super exciting to share with you today! The cover reveal of Asphodel, the first book in the Underworld Trilogy.

The designers are Jeremy & Jeff West... They are seriously geniuses! <3 YAY!

Persephone has been running for her entire life. Running from the humans to keep her immortality a secret. And running from a man who haunts her dreams. Not a man but a god, who will stop at nothing until he gets what he wants. And what he wants most, is her.

Trapped in the realm of the dead, Persephone plans to return to the land of the living. The underworld is a terrifying place where ghosts roam freely, three headed dogs patrol the gates, and it’s a living grave where the rules of earth and the warmth of the sun no longer apply. But then, something unexpected happens. Persephone finds herself falling for the god who abducted her, the god who has chased her for five thousand years, a god who is none other than death himself, Hades.

Ripped out of the underworld by Zeus, Persephone must find a pomegranate to return to the realm of the dead and to her beloved. Consuming only a seed of the fruit of the dead would bind Persephone to spend her life beneath the earth’s core with Hades. But Zeus has reduced every pomegranate tree in the world to ash. Except one. Persephone must locate that one remaining pomegranate tree, a quest that could ignite a war between the two mightiest of the god’s. A war that could cause Persephone to lose the only family she’s ever known or give up a love that comes only once every five thousand years. (Summary from goodreads)

And here's a teaser from the novel!!! Hope you enjoy it!  

Persephone - There’s an awkward moment of silence. I hug my knees tighter as my legs start trembling. Tears swell in my eyes and I swallow hard, exhaling, rolling my head back, doing everything I can to keep my tears from spilling. Across the Styx? If I cross the Styx I know I can kiss the sunshine goodbye, I can forget the smell of wildflowers, I can forget the earth in its beauty and the living things that inhabited it. Goddess or not, I do know this; if you become one with the realm of the dead, you might as well consider yourself dead because there is a high probability that you’ll never come back.

Hades - The boy rose from his seat, trying desperately to lock his trembling knees in place. Hades placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder and the young teen blanched, turning away. “Do not fear me,” Hades said boldly. Slowly, the boy turned toward Hades, peaking up at him from the corner of his eye. Then the God of the Dead closed his eyes and recited the same thing he’d recited for the last five-thousand years. “The realm of the dead welcomes you. Go forth and find your home in the Field of Asphodel so that you may live out your eternity in peace.”

Demeter - Demeter had even tried using transformation magic to shield her appearance and her child’s from death himself, but not even some of her powers were of any use because he was that much more powerful. One time, on a off year Hades had visited Demeter while her child was at school. She had been at the kitchen sink, washing dishes and she didn’t even need to look up to know he was behind her. The moment he entered the room a slight chill whipped through the lavender curtains right above the kitchen sink. Demeter tensed up, gripping onto the tan ceramic plate in her left hand and let go of the dish sponge. “What do you want, Hades?”

He crept closer to her, the sound of his footsteps pounded into the hardwood floor. “I think you know what I want, Demeter,” he stated calmly. “I think you’ve always known what I want.”

And you can add Asphodel on goodreads here.

Have an awesome Tuesday everyone!

Cheers!

Art Thou, Destined?

When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear.

As she feels herself slipping closer into the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she's come to expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined.


TGIF!!!!

Who's excited for the weekend? Me me me!!! Is anybody dressing up?

I have special treat for you today! My book review of Destined, by Jessie Harrell.

For those of you that follow or read this blog, you know me, I'm Greek Myth fanatic and Greek myth re-telling fanatic. And as far as re-tellings go, Destined, is God-like and fantastic!

Destined is a re-telling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche. In the myth, Psyche is a beautiful maiden, who knows that she's beautiful and even claims to be more beautiful than Aphrodite herself. Enraged, Aphrodite persuades Cupid to shoot Psyche with one of his golden arrows, cursing her to fall in love with a creature so vile, so repulsive, and so horrifying, that no mortal would even think about loving it.

But what the Goddess of Love doesn't expect is for Cupid to accidentally prick himself with his own arrow and fall in love with Psyche himself. With every passing second, Cupid falls deeper and deeper in love with the beautiful mortal and he knows he cannot carry out his mission.

Aphrodite is furious that Cupid failed to follow through with her plan.So she places a curse on Psyche, so that all of her gentleman callers will still find her beautiful, but none of them will desire her as a wife.

In this romantic tale of love and jealousy, despite all the drama, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

What I liked more than anything in Harrell's version of the myth is that you actually feel like you're there. In Ancient Greece. The time is very vividly depicted.

And the interactions between Cupid and Psyche are sensationally-swoon worthy! (most of the time)

This book was magnificent! If you love Greek myths and re-tellings as much as I do... DO NOT HESITATE to pick this up! I promise.... you will not be disappointed.

So what are you waiting for? Add it on goodreads!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Cheers!

Love & Immortality... Book Review of The Goddess Test.

Hi Everyone!!! Today I'm super excited to share with you my book review of The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter!

It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess. (Summary from goodreads.)

I'm very picky when it comes to mythological re-tellings. Maybe it's because I'm obsessed with it and sort of a mythology buff. And in my opinion, only a few books have really done The Immortal Olympians justice. Destined by Jessie Harrell, The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordian, and now I can add The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter to that list.

At the beginning, I didn't think I was going to like this book. Now, I can honestly say, I am sooooo glad that I kept on reading. Because it was awesome.

My favorite part. The way Carter depicted Hades. (Hades is my favorite God out of the Olympians BTW.)He has evolved over the years and no longer goes by Hades, and he goes by Henry instead. And Henry has this mysterious, yet haunting appeal to his persona. Inside, he is just and genuine and cares for Kate deeply.

Every time I turned the page, I felt like I was receiving a gift. Carter did an excellent job of unraveling Henry's layers. There is so much more to a character than what they appear to be on the outside. I was deeply engrossed from chapter two on and I mentally pulled for Kate and Henry the whole way through.

The Goddess Test was a fascinating, thrilling, and romantic re-telling of the Hades and Persephone myth. In the end, I adored it.

If you are a mythology lover, like me. You NEED to read this. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

Cheers!