Friday, August 18, 2017







Title:
LOCKDOWN

Author: Samie Sands

Publisher: Limitless Publishing

Pages: 232

Genre: Horror/Scifi


Leah Watton’s
practical joke has spiralled way out of control—all to impress a crush…



With a prank online video, Leah hopes to catch the attention of Jake Colton, a
cute, blond-haired, blue-eyed co-worker she’s had a crush on for months. But
instead of sending it to Jake, she manages to forward the clip to her boss—who
buys every gory second.



When mass panic ensues, Leah learns the video is more than a staged act…



The government is calling the virus AM13. As the outbreak spreads, citizens are
forced to stay indoors while they assess the gravity of the illness. Most
people are quarantined in their homes, but Leah, Jake, and Leah’s best friend
Michelle are some of the unlucky few who are stuck at work when the Lockdown
occurs.



That’s where she first encounters one of the infected…



Aside from a contaminated woman devouring one of her co-workers, Leah has
another problem. Does she do as she’s ordered and stay at work? Or should she
disobey government orders and break free to reunite with her family?



She can’t go it alone—after all, Leah has none of the skills needed to
survive—but with Michelle and Jake by her side, not even a contagious virus and
a sea of the dead can keep her from…



Breaking out of the Lockdown…

Order your copy
at Amazon.
 
He’s disgusting. I’ve never seen one this close
before, heading towards me with such vigour. I’ve always done my best to avert
my eyes from the infected, but now time seems to freeze as I can’t drag my gaze
away. What I thought was him shuffling, was actually him dragging his broken,
bloodied leg behind him. This wound is so deep I can see bone poking through. I
can’t help but retch.

The bite on his shoulder is absolutely huge and
rancid—all blackened from the infection. His arm is hanging down by his side,
completely useless. He’ll never be able to move that again, no matter what
happens. His face is also in a terrible state. His skin is a deep grey, much
murkier than the others I’ve seen. He must have been infected for a very long
time. The bags under his eyes droop incredibly low, causing his face to look
deformed. The blood running down his skin, staining all his clothes, looks
really old. Scratch marks cover his torso; he looks as if he’s been brutally
beaten in some awful fight. I would never
have thought someone could survive these injuries, they’re just so severe.
People have died over much less, and yet here he is, still moving towards us,
baring his teeth, ready and waiting to eat.
Jake pulls me hard and I stumble backwards, tripping
over a box. I hit the ground hard and suddenly find myself unable to move, as
if I’m physically paralysed by fear. It’s almost as if I’m having an out of
body experience, looking down at myself, screaming run. Something is
pulling me upwards, but my body is too sluggish to comply. It just won’t do
what I want it to, I’m too panicked. Now I understand how Tim was feeling when
he was attacked and unable to scale the fence. Limp and useless. I know an
assault is imminent, but I can’t do anything to stop it. I’m utterly screwed,
and I’m just sitting here, waiting for it to happen.
I’m shaking, sobs rising up in my chest. I’m going to
die if I don’t get up now, so why can’t I? All I need to do is make my way over
to the door, but it feels a million miles away. I don’t even know where Jake
is. I can hear him hissing at me, encouraging me to move, but I can’t see him
anywhere. He might have even made it outside already. If so, he should probably
run before he has to witness my death.
Thud. The
loud noise shocks me into looking up. Thud.
There it is again. This time it’s following by a sloshing sound, like a wet mop
hitting the ground. I need to locate the source of the noise. I need to know
what’s happening, how long I have left. Can I escape? Can I really survive
this? My heart leaps into my dry, panicked mouth and my slick palms slide
across the ground.
It’s Jake, I can finally see him. He’s absolutely
covered in blood. His axe is discarded on the ground next to him. He’s offering
me a hand. I reach up tentatively to grab it, still trying to piece together
the scene around me.
“He’s…?”I can’t finish my sentence. I can’t vocalise
all the hundreds of questions that are swirling around in my mind.
“Yes, Leah, he’s gone. ”Jake blows out some air, as
if all the stress is seeping out of his body.
Relief floods my chest, pushing away some of the numb
sensation. I’ve never had a near death experience before, so I’m not sure how
you’re supposed to feel. We sit silent for a while, just the sounds of our heavy
breathing to keep us company. The shop owner doesn’t move again, so I can feel
myself starting to relax in his presence. I wonder what happened to him, how he
managed to get into that state, when he got bitten—all of these questions that
we’ll never get the answer to now that he’s gone forever.



Samie Sands is giving away a $25
Amazon Gift Card & an autographed copy of her book!

Terms & Conditions:
  • By entering
    the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
  • One winner
    will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one $25 Amazon Gift Card and an
    autographed copy of her book.
  • This
    giveaway ends midnight August 31.
  • Winner will
    be contacted via email on September 1.
  • Winner has
    48 hours to reply.
Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!



a Rafflecopter giveaway





About the Author

Samie Sands is the author of the AM13 Outbreak series – Lockdown, Forgotten, and Extinct. She’s also had a number of short
stories published in very successful short story anthologies.

To find out more about her and her work, check out her website at http://samiesands.com or visit her on Twitter and Facebook.



http://www.pumpupyourbook.com

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Title:  From Hot Mess to Blessed: Hope to Propel Your Sould and the Promises That Change Everything
Author: Julie K. Gillies
Publisher: Harvest House
Available:  Now
Genre: Inspirational Non Fiction
Rating: 4 stars



Synopsis:
Dare to Believe

Every woman struggles to believe she is who God says she is and to believe the stunning promises He whispers to her heart. But when you're a hot mess (and we all are to one degree or another), it's hard to imagine things can be different—that you can be different. 

Author Julie Gillies has experienced broken dreams, trauma, and plenty of drama, but she has also encountered the holy hope and promises of God. She longs to help you...
understand your identity in Christ instead of believing "I'll always be this way"
embrace your true significance instead of feeling less-than
hold on to peace instead of freaking out when hard things keep happening
grasp your God-given destiny and begin walking in it
It's not that God doesn't bless hot messes. (If that were the case, where would any of us be?) But you don't have to remain a hot mess. It's time to receive and experience God's hope and promises in a fresh way!



Review:
From Hot Mess to Blessed it a much needed book in this time of our lives.  Learning how to see past our mistakes and circumstances with maybe a new look on our identity with Christ.  Her own shattered life experiences can help us learn to grow from our own messes, whether handed to us or self made.  This is good to be used as a uplifting read in the time or stress or maybe a daily devotional to work through.  I liked this book and the encouragement received from this book is just the right amount to help through those difficult times.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a sneak peak at this book in return for an honest review.

Thursday, August 3, 2017

Title: Unfiction
Author: Gene Doucette
Publisher: Orbit
Available:  Now
Genre:  Fantasy
Source: Netgalley
Rating: 4 stars



Synopsis:
When Oliver Naughton joins the Tenth Avenue Writers Underground, headed by literary wunderkind Wilson Knight, Oliver figures he’ll finally get some of his wild imaginings out of his head and onto paper. 
But when Wilson takes an intense interest in Oliver's writing and his genre stories of dragons, aliens, and spies, things get weird. Oliver’s stories don’t just need to be finished: they insist on it. 
With the help of Minerva, Wilson’s girlfriend, Oliver has to find the connection between reality, fiction, the mythical Cydonian Kingdom, and the non-mythical nightclub called M Pallas. That is, if he can survive the alien invasion, the ghosts, and the fact that he thinks he might be in love with Minerva. 
Unfiction is a wild ride through the collision of science fiction, fantasy, thriller, horror and romance. It's what happens when one writer's fiction interferes with everyone's reality. 
Unfiction is the latest novel from Gene Doucette, the bestselling author of The Spaceship Next Door.



Review:
What a wonderfully weird quirky book.  I was intrigued with the first chapter and then got sucked into every single story!  I didn't see the end coming as it did and was greatly overjoyed at that fact as so many books now you can see through from beginning to end.  It also taxes the memory a little, there was a lot of minute details that I needed to go back and check.  I wouldn't think it would be possible to fit 6 genre's in one novel  but here it is, in black and white.Never having read Mr. Doucette's books before I'm now looking forward to reading more.  If you are looking for something a little more than your one genre book or looking for something to get you out of that reading slump, I'd pick this up and probably forego all afternoon plans!  And that cover!