Five Corners: The Marked Ones- Giveaway

Five Corners: The Marked Ones

By

Cathi Shaw 

BLURB

Growing up in a sleepy village untouched by distant wars and political conflicts, it was easy for Thia, Mina and Kiara to forget such horrors existed in the Five Corners. That is until the dead child is found; a child that bears the same strange birthmark that all three sisters possess. A Mark their mother had always told them was unique to the girls.

Kiara’s suspicions grow as their Inn is soon overrun with outsiders from all walks of life. Strangers, soldiers and Elders who all seem to know more about what is happening than the girls do.

After Mina barely survives an attack in the forest, the sisters are faced with a shattering secret their mother has kept from them for years. As danger closes in around them, the sisters are forced from their home and must put their trust in the hands of strangers. With more questions than answers, Kiara finds herself separated from everyone she loves and reliant on an Outlander who has spent too much time in army. She doesn’t trust Caedmon but she needs him if she has any hope of being reunited with her sisters and learning what the Mark might mean.

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EXCERPT

"It's not a dream this time, Thia."

"I know," she admitted in a whisper. "But how is this happening?"

Teague shook his head at her, his hair falling forward over his forehead. "I know you're shocked. I was, too, when I first saw you. Then I realized that what we thought were only dreams, were just forays into a different reality." Excitement lit up his features. "A reality that, at times, feels more real than this one, don't you agree?"

Thia opened her mouth to deny what he was saying, even as a dozen memories burst to life in her head.

For the first time Thia noticed he was taller than in her dreams. Not as tall as her sisters but certainly taller than she.

He looked down at her, his eyes unreadable in the fading afternoon light.

And yet the essence of him was so familiar. Before she could stop herself Thia instinctively reached out to touch his forearm, wanted to feel the warm muscles above his gloves, to reassure herself that he was real.

Teague jerked away before she could reach him and Thia felt an inexplicable sense of hurt flood through her.

"I'm real, Thia," he whispered aloud, his breath stirring the hair on her forehead. "But you can't touch me. I can't explain right now but please don't try."

INTERVIEW

1. What is your favorite Joke? 
I don’t have one but I am addicted to fi
nding funny memes on Tumblr.

2. Where do you get your best ideas?
I really don’t know where my ideas come from. They just come. But I think I’m definitely inspired by all the great books I read and by all the awesome teens that are in my life. I’m lucky to be exposed to some pretty amazing people.

3. What do you do to relax?
Cook and bake. And soak in bubbly baths. Not all at once, of course.

4. Do you write about what turns you on?
Nope. I tried to write romance for a bit and I’m horrible at erotic scenes.

5. If we were to come to your house for a meal, what would you give us to eat?
An awesome vegan meal – I can’t say what I’d have to see what was fresh at the market and then get inspired.

6. Are you a romantic?
Definitely!

7. Do you listen to music when you're writing?
Sometimes I listen to music but it has to be playing very low and be relaxing music. Otherwise I get distracted.

AUTHOR BIO

Cathi Shaw lives in Summerland, BC with her husband and three children. She is often found wandering around her home, muttering in a seemingly incoherent manner, particularly when her characters have embarked on new adventure. In addition to writing fiction, she teaches rhetoric and professional writing in the Department of Communications at Okanagan College and is the co-author of the textbook Writing Today.

Twitter  *  Facebook  *  Tumblr

*** Giveaway***

One lucky winner will receive their choice between a $50 Amazon or B&N GC. All you have to do is claim your entries by using the Rafflecopter form below! You can even follow along the rest of the tour to increase your chances of winning. You can find the rest of the tour dates here.

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Doctor How and the Illegal Aliens by Mark Speed: Interview and Giveaway!

Please welcome Mark Speed here on Living As We for the Doctor How and the Illegal Aliens book tour! Mark will be giving away a $50 Amazon Gift Card to one lucky commenter, so be sure to follow along the rest of the tour stops for more chances to win!

Doctor How and the Illegal Aliens

by Mark Speed 

BLURB 

Doctor How’s famous megalomaniac brother Doctor Who sold his fictional life story to the BBC half a century ago, painting himself as a lone hero. Disillusioned, their four cousins dropped out. For fifty years, Doctor How has held the line against the forces of darkness and stupidity. And he’s not that happy, since you ask.

Illegal aliens try to hack How’s Spectrel (TARDIS is a very rude word where he comes from), just as he suspects his estranged cousin Where has been compromised. When reports come in of mysterious attacks by alien creatures, Doctor How has to rely on his new companion Kevin, a petty criminal from south London, and Trinity, a morphing super-predator, as he counters this threat to humanity’s existence. Bungling agents from MI16, long desperate to capture the Time Keeper’s technology, hamper How’s efforts to combat the alien menace. Can Doctor How keep ahead of MI16, save Where and combat the alien threat?

Check out this fun interview and learn a little about what makes Mark tick. Then, read through the excerpt for a peek into the book

Interview with Mark Speed

1. What is the sweetest thing someone has done for you? 

A surprise dawn hot air balloon flight was stunning.

2. What kind of music you like?

I was into heavy rock when I was younger. Oddly, I used to play classical guitar, and not electric. I like music that moves me, and beautiful voices. There’s evidence that we sang before we could talk – singing is incredibly powerful, which is why it’s either co-opted by dictators, or banned by religious extremists.

3. Do you like to dance? 

I seldom get a chance, but love to strut my stuff. I used to have set routine with a friend when Jump by Van Halen came on.

4. Can you describe your dream home? 

I think I might be living in it. It’s a terraced (row) house in inner London. It’s quiet and roomy, and I managed to preserve the original features. I’ve grown a ten-foot palm tree in the back garden. It even flowers in late spring. Sadly it has no other palm trees to pollinate with, or insects that are attracted to its flowers. I might track down one of the same species one year and do it myself with a feather.

5. If you could be any character, from any literary work, who would you choose to be? Why?

Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison. A criminal mastermind with a dazzling range of skills, but a strong moral code and some great one-liners. He just has such a wild life, unencumbered by twin demons of responsibility and routine.

Excerpt

“So is that your –”

“No it’s not my TARDIS, Kevin!” hissed Doctor How. “That’s a misnomer.”

“A?”

“A misnomer.” Kevin looked at him blankly. “It means wrong name. It’s a misnomer put out by the BBC. TARDIS is actually a very rude word in my native language and nearly one in yours if you changed the ‘a’ for a ‘u’. A certain someone who will remain nameless thought it would be terribly amusing. According to the BBC, TARDIS is supposed to mean Time And Relative Dimension In Space.” The Doctor was now ranting wildly. “Can you believe the sheer gall of these people? Like they actually know, like they understand how the physics works?” The Doctor glared at Kevin, who shook his head.

“Let me tell you what it’s like. It’s like a troop of monkeys – and I mean monkeys, like baboons; not chimpanzees, not even apes – coming up to your very sophisticated saloon car with individual climate-control for each passenger, and a hi-fi system that would fool a bat. As you drive your state-of-the-art car through a safari park this troop of purple-bottomed baboons comes up to your car and calls it “Oog”. And then – and then – then they have the cheek to first of all capitalise the entire thing, so it’s not Tardis, it’s T-A-R-D-I-S, just to spell out the first letters of exactly what these monkeys think the physics is that they can’t even begin to comprehend. And after that they march down to another baboon who calls himself a lawyer and they register it as a trademark. So if I wanted to write my own biography, my autobiography, and I wanted the boneheaded human reader to understand the concept by way of using the word TARDIS, some baboon with a Technicolor™ bottom specialising in intellectual property law could demand money with menaces through the good courts of baboon society. And this,” spluttered the Doctor, “And all this after I saved your – forgive my crude colloquialism here – after I have saved your sorry collective Technicolor™ asses on more occasions than I can care to remember.”

Silence hung in the air. The Doctor was breathing deeply.

“You has got issues, innit?” said Kevin.

Meet the Author

Mark Speed has been writing novels since he was fifteen. His comedy writing has appeared in newspapers as diverse as the London Evening Standard and The Sun, and been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra. He performed his solo comedy, The End of the World Show, at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2011 and 2012. He is currently working on the five-volume Doctor How series.

Amongst other postgraduate and professional qualifications, he has a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from City University, London. In 1995 a chiropractor told him he’d never run again. Sensibly, he gave up chiropractors, runs every day and has completed several marathons and a couple of Olympic-length triathlons.

NLP founder Dr.Richard Bandler called him a ‘polarity responder’.

Connect with Mark: 

Website  *  Facebook  *  Goodreads  *  Twitter

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