Blog Tour: Fifteen Minutes

Title: 15 Minutes

Author: Jill Cooper

Release date: June 15, 2013

Age Group: Young Adult

Genre: Thriller, Scifi

Tour organized by: AToMR Tours

Find the Book: Goodreads | Amazon | Kobo | Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:

I have 15 minutes to save my mother’s life….

15 minutes is all the Rewind Agency gives you in the past, but for Lara Crane it’s enough time to race through the city, find her mother, and stop her from being killed in a mugging that happened over ten years ago.

But that’s not how it happened. The story she’s been told all her life is a lie and when Lara takes a bullet meant for her mother, her future changes forever.

The love of her life acts like a stranger. Her simple life is replaced with a giant house, glamorous clothes and a new boyfriend.

Except someone knows her secret. And he will try to stop her at every turn as she races against the clock to unravel a dangerous conspiracy.

15 Minutes is an edgy high octane YA thriller that can be described as Back to the Future meets Inception where the people Lara trusts change in an instant. She is in a timeline she doesn't understand, and is about to make one fatal mistake as she faces an enemy so familiar, he’s family.

Excerpt:

My breath echoes in my ear. Mom is there, taking me by the shoulder. Her lips are moving, but I hear nothing. There are tears in her eyes and mine, too. I fall forward, my head cushioned by her lap. Unable to blink, I can only stare ahead at a red fire hydrant on the sidewalk. Everything grows dim, and my breath rumbles.

I swear I see a shadow leaping over my body, but when I turn my head, no one is there. I don’t understand. There was no mugging, so why was I shot? Mom was supposed to be mugged.

Beep.

Time’s up. Everything goes dark as when a curtain closes on a stage, but I don’t think it’s from time travel.

            I think I’m dead.   

About the Author

I could write this in the third person. I could tell you what I like, where I was born, and what my favorite things are.

But instead, I'll say I don't want to write like everyone else. I don't want to craft stories you've read a thousand times before. I want my novels to be a cinematic experience, blending themes, genres, and situations unlike any you've ever read. 

I want to break the rules. I want you to break out in a cold sweat as you read my books out of fear, love, and excitement. I want my books to be an experience. When you finish, I want you to feel something. Good or bad. 

If you do, then I'll have succeeded. If not, I'll keep trying.

Trailer:

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To see other stops on the tour for reviews, guest posts, and excerpts click here or the tour button below.

 

Blog Tour: The Bone Knife

 I'm excited to be showcasing the short story The Bone Knife by Intisar Khanani. I loved Thorn by Intisar, so I have high hopes for The Bone Knife.

 Title: The Bone Knife

Author: Intisar Khanani

Genre: YA Fantasy, Short Story

Blurb: Rae knows how to look out for family. Born with a deformed foot, she feigns indifference to the pity and insults that come her way. Wary of all things beautiful, Rae instantly distrusts their latest visitor: an appallingly attractive faerie. Further, his presence imperils the secret her sister guards. But when the local townspeople show up demanding his blood, Rae must find a way to protect both her sister’s secret and their guest. Even if that means risking herself.

 Excerpt:

I drop the eggs and run as fast as my turned foot will take me, barreling through the kitchen and down the short hall to the front door. I shove the bolt home just in time. On the other side of the door, a fist hammers against the wood and a chorus of voices rise up, shouting for my father. I turn back to see Stonemane at the top of the steps.

                “I must close the back door,” I tell him. “Please fetch my father.” Thankfully, he does not argue but turns back towards the rooms. I return to the kitchen, barring the back door and closing up the shutters as well. The rest of the windows on the ground level remain barred from the night; we will be safe now till Baba can calm the villagers.

                As I reach the hallway again, I hear Baba and Stonemane descending the stairs.

                “If it is me they want, I will be happy to show them what a Faerie is,” Stonemane says, his voice amused.

                “I’ll not have it,” Baba says, his deep baritone gruff with anger. “No guest of mine will be threatened—certainly not by my own neighbors!”

                As Baba takes the final steps he spots me. “Rae, my dear, you’re all right?” I nod. He looks back towards the door, which rattles beneath a hammering fist.               “Would you accompany Lord Stonemane to the business room upstairs?”

                I glance at the faerie, astonished. A lord?

                His eyes flash with annoyance. “I see no need to hide. I am not afraid of these fellows with their sticks.”

                “Some of them carry iron,” Baba points out. The battering on the door has increased, and now I hear voices coming from further along the wall as a group of men begin to make their way around, pounding on the shutters. Suppose they break in? We cannot stand about arguing in the hallway until they do.

                “Please, my lord,” I say, taking a step forward. “If the townspeople see you, they will know we shelter magic here.” When we should not.