Posts Categorized: Uncategorized

1500 Follower Contest

01 Mar, 2011 by in Uncategorized 134 comments

We are thrilled to have so many of you following us at Fire and Ice and we want to make it worth your while. So, in honor of all of our new friends we are giving away…

  • A Paperback of Masquerade by Melissa De La Cruz
  • A Paperback of LA Candy by Lauren Conrad
  • One of our Exclusive Twilight inspired CD’s by Eternal Conflict
  • and a mini badge button

To two winners. Open internationally this giveaway will end April 1, 2011. Simply follow us here, on twitter, tubmlr or facebook, then comment below to enter…

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Contest Winners

23 Feb, 2011 by in Uncategorized 3 comments

Congrats to Asenath who won Once was Lost by Sara Zarr http://fireandicereads.com/2011/01/interview-with-ya-author-sara-zarr.html

Cynthia Hatfiled-Garcia, Kimberly Meza, Amanda Miller,@oasis1317 @Nalazul @KissesForUsAll @MRLOFT @emmacella @MityDad, and Carina Olsen who all won Twilight inspired CD’s composed by Daniel Jackson. http://www.etsy.com/listing/35277088/origins-twilight-musical-cd-charity-for?ga_search_query=twilight&ga_search_type=user_shop_ttt_id_5456594

Stay tuned for a big giveaway coming this Friday in collaboration with author Michelle Zink http://www.michellezink.com/

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Author Interview With Jon S Lewis

15 Feb, 2011 by in Uncategorized Leave a comment

About Jon: Born early enough to remember rotary phones, typewriters, and the glory years of Atari, J.S. Lewis has lived a rather obscure life in the shadows of many nearly famous people.

A member of the Grey Griffins (a secret club of courageous children who have vowed to save the world from evil overlords, alien invasions and Brussels sprouts), Lewis grew up in the heartland of America. Yearning to become a marine biologist, but perplexed by the lack of exotic saltwater marine life in both Iowa and Minnesota (perch don’t count), he headed west. Sadly, his quest for the sea ended too soon, stranding him in the blustering desert of Arizona, where dreams of discovering new breeds of ferocious sharks were all but destroyed.

So it was, dejected and wandering like a drifting vagabond, that Lewis explored an eclectic career that would include news reporting, radio producing, animation, multi-media design, mural painting, speech writing, video game development and marketing.

Ever searching for new forms of creative expression, Lewis and boyhood friend Derek Benz sought to make their indelible mark through the written word. Thus from that collaboration was penned the Grey Griffins series by Scholastic, Inc.

Lewis is currently working on a variety of projects that include feature films, comic books, graphic novels, animated series, and a variety of philanthropic endeavors. You can learn more about his most recent adventures by visiting http://www.myspace.com/jonslewis.

Jon was kind enough to join us at Fire and Ice today to answer some exclusive questions about his newest series.

Tell us a little bit about the CHAOS series
The series is about how an alien invasion affects the life of sixteen year old Colt McAlister and his friends. It turns his life upside down, and forces him to make critical choices that will not only affect his life, but the lives of the people around him. It’s fast-paced from beginning to end, and will (hopefully) make it hard for readers to put down without having to read at least one more chapter . . . then one more chapter . . . then one more chapter. .

Have you started on book 2 yet? Any other books in the works? I’m working on it right now. This first story has a three book arc and then we’ll see from there . . . but you never know. It could end up like Star Wars will all kinds of spin-offs investigating fun worlds and interesting characters.

Invasion has large comic book influences. What are your favorite comics? I grew up on comic books and still love them today. I really appreciate the visual storytelling as well as the limited space for text — it’s not easy to write a story that’s only about 2000 words long and have a compelling beginning, middle and end. My favorite comic book is Fantastic Four, but I tend to follow particular writers or artists, like Phil Hester, Jonathan Hickman, Rick Remender, and many others.

And, why did you incorporate the Phantom Flyer into the book?
I thought it would be interesting if one of the pulp heroes, like The Spirit or Doc Savage was actually real. So I came up with a war hero from that same era that flew around on a jet pack.

What book has been the biggest influence on your life and why? I’d say the novel that had the biggest effect on me was The Hobbit. I first read the picture book when I was six and I was hooked on the idea of other exciting worlds just waiting to be explored.

What are you reading right now? Right now I’m reading Water Wars by Cameron Stracher, and I recently finished Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi, which was incredible. I really dig dystopian stories. There’s something about that who end of the world scenario that I really enjoy, which doesn’t make a lot of sense since it’s such a dark, sad subject.

Are there any authors that you would name as influences? Well, I’m not sure anyone has influenced my writing directly — more my imagination. That would be George Lucas, Stan Lee, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Maurice Sendak.

What songs do you envision playing through out Invasion? I actually had a mix of songs for different characters and different scenes, but here are a few of the songs: Wake Up by Arcadia Fire, Intergalactic by the Beastie Boys, My Last Days On Earth by Bill Monroe, Life in Fast Forward by CATCHpenny, Find Me Tonight by Everyday Sunday, Ooh Aah by Grits, Stars by Switchfoot, Graveyard Girl by M83, and Last Night on Earth by U2.

As a child were you drawn to fantasy or mythical creatures like bigfoot? Which creature do you hope to meet? Yes. Very much so. If I could meet anyone, it would be Chewbacca. And I’m happy to say that I have — I had dinner with Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) and his wife. In fact, I dedicated an upcoming book called The Relic Hunters to him.

What can we expect to see in book 2, without spoiling anything of course!
Colt is off to the CHAOS Academy where he is going to be trained to save the world against the coming Invasion, but things go sideways — and not just at the academy. Colt has relationship problems of the worst kind! And there will be lots of interesting conspiracies, tons of action, and most of all, it will be fun to read.

Do you have any photos of the setting? I don’t have photos, but I do have some amazing concept art (beyond what’s in the back of the book). The artists are off the charts amazing! http://www.jonslewis.com/art/invasion/

Your main character Colt loses both of his parents. What advice would you give to teens in a similar circumstance or who have lost a parent? Wow. The closest thing in my life to that was a very close friend of mine passed away. He was a mentor, and his children were in high school at the time. As close as I am to their family, I still can’t imagine what it would be like. I feel completely unqualified to give advice, but I would say that remembering the good times is critical — as are the life lessons. When people leave us, they often leave behind an amazing legacy.

Thanks so much to Jon for taking time out of his busy schedule to be with us. Read our review of Invasion here and be sure to watch for it at your nearest bookstore!

Guest Author Post with Danielle Thorne

02 Feb, 2011 by in Uncategorized 11 comments

Fire and Ice would like to welcome author Danielle Thorne to our site. She has written a wonderful post called ” Why Imperfect is Perfect” plus she’s donated a copy of her most recent book Josette as a giveaway.

About her: Danielle Thorne is the author of Historical and Contemporary romance with such titles as THE PRIVATEER, TURTLE SOUP, and BY HEART AND COMPASS. Other work has appeared with Espresso Fiction, Every Day Fiction, Arts and Prose Magazine, Mississippi Crow, The Nantahala Review, StorySouth, Bookideas, The Mid-West Review, and more. She won an Honorable Mention in Writer’s Digest’s 2006 annual writing competition and the 2008 Awe-Struck Short Novel Contest.

Danielle writes from south of Atlanta, Georgia. She was the 2009-2010 co-chair for the New Voices Competition for young writers, is active with online author groups such as Classic Romance Revival and moderates for The Sweetest Romance Authors at the Coffee Time Romance forum boards. She lives with four sons and her husband, who is an air traffic controller. Together they enjoy travel and the outdoors, High School marching band music competition and BSA Scouting.

Why Imperfect is Perfect
Most people don’t enjoy blemishes. We throw away moldy bread, agonize over pimples and rub those little smears on the mirror. Why then, do we prefer our heroes with a few defects?

This isn’t a new idea. Jane Austen created one of the most memorable and complicated heroes in 1813 when she penned PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Our first few encounters with Fitzwilliam Darcy do not fare well in the opening pages. How could anyone fall for such a rude snob? But in a matter of chapters and exchanges of the heart, it isn’t just Elizabeth Bennet who falls for the gentleman. Readers do, too.

Most of us started out with Prince Charming, while toddling around in our mother’s heels, but by the time reality sank its teeth into our innocent little hearts, things were changing. Suddenly there was the “bad boy.” He was the cute but always-in-trouble boy on the playground with the cool tee-shirt and sweaty hair. You know the one…he yanked your ponytail hard enough to make you cry and lured you under the monkey bars for a sloppy first kiss. We all ran from boys like that. But it was kind of fun.

Nobody wants to reach for something they don’t believe they can ever have and let’s face it–none of us are the perfect size with perfect features. Our scars from reality’s bite marks make it hard for us to buy that some perfect hero is going to sweep us off our feet and love us for eternity. And if it can’t happen for us, we have a hard time buying it can happen for a heroine, even one that we love. We need a hero with a few flaws. Whether they are physical, emotional, or just a personality quirk, flaws make our heroes more human. They give us something to forgive. (So we can forgive ourselves?) And don’t forget, there’s also the flattering idea that a woman can make a man love hard enough to actually change!

The perfect hero is imperfect. We love him despite his flaws. He loves us back, and he changes for the better. I believe this principle gives us hope, not just for our heroine’s Happily Ever After, but for our own. There are still a few good gentlemen out there. I should know, I married one!

A good romance story can be so much more than a Cinderella story. It can make us believe that despite all our blemishes we can be loved; and despite his, he’s still the next best thing to Mr. Darcy!

Find out a little more about my moody hero in JOSETTE. Inspired by Jane Austen’s work, it’s my interpretation of romance in the Regency era of elegance and manners.

Josette Price sees her future in Beddingfield Park. While her brother, George, needlessly pursues a naval career, she promises to watch over their beloved parents and the park estate. Nothing would make Josette happier than to see her sister and her self settled within the palings of Beddingfield. But dark, brooding Captain Carter rides into their lives with news that ruins everything: George has been lost at sea.

Learning the Park is entailed to their cousin, Edward, Josette must decide between marrying her fickle relation or helping her besotted sister trap him in her stead. Only Captain Carter and his delightfully spinsterish relatives can stop the Price girls from making a choice that would be the greatest tragedy of all.

Here’s to heroes!

More about JOSETTE?
http://www.daniellethorne.com/josette/

Danielle Thorne

http://www.daniellethorne.com/

www.thebalancewriter/blogspot.com

Bumpy Landings Blog Tour

21 Jan, 2011 by in Uncategorized 4 comments

Bumpy Landings
by Donald J Carey
Paperback, 256 pages
Published January 8th 2011

by Cedar Fort, Incorporated
ISBN 1599554135

4 stars

When Jordan MacDonald goes behind his mother’s back to get his pilot’s license, he soon finds out that a life full of dishonesty attracts more turbulence than he’s ever faced in the air. Set against the majestic backdrop of the Hawaiian islands, this heartwarming story of romance and self-discovery will take you to new heights with each turn of the page.

At 21 years old Jordan McDonald has decided he’s ready to be an adult and take on his dreams. Never mind the fact that he still lives at home with an overbearing mother who is out to control him every step of the way. Or the fact that he’s painfully stuck in socially awkward situations. He dreams of completing his pilot’s license, his deceased father’s wish for him. But he’s experiencing turbulence while navigating the paths of his life.

Set in Lai’e, Hawaii , Bumpy Landings will sweep you away with the smell of tropical flowers, Polynesian culture and mouth watering foods. Donald Carey takes you through the setting with the ease of a native. I found the book to be a wonderful break form the winter we’re having on the main land. (What I really want to know Donald…is how to you pronounce main love interest Kehau’s name?)

Bumpy Landings is a coming of age tale with just a dash of romance. The themes are ones all of us stuck between youth and adulthood experience: staying financially afloat, discovering independence, and following one’s heart. Bumpy Landings is an island gem, complete with lots of laugh out loud moments. And it’s a squeaky clean read I would recommend for all. Thanks to Donald Carey for leading me to greener pastures.

Fire and Ice is honored to be a part of the Blog Tour. Be sure to swing by Donald’s blog at http://donaldjcarey.com/ to see his own photos of Hawaii and a schedule of all the other stops.

Blog Hop Winner

18 Jan, 2011 by in Uncategorized 3 comments

Congratulations to Crystal Fulcher! You won an author signed ARC of The Lost Saint as part of the Dreaming of Books Blog Hop. Thanks to those of you who entered. Stay tuned for lots more giveaways!
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Teaser Tuesday-Bumpy Landings

11 Jan, 2011 by in Uncategorized 2 comments


Teaser Tuesday is weekly meme hosted by Mizb at Should be Reading. Grab your current read. Open to a random page. Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page, be careful not to include spoilers. Share the title & author, too, so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser Tuesday is Bumpy Landings by Donald J. Carey

“When her grip finally slackened, Jordan started to pull away, but Malia quickly caught him by his head and kissed him full on the mouth. “There. Did She see that?” p.148

Bumpy Landings was just released January 8, 2011 by Cedar Fort Books. Watch for our post and review as a part of his blog tour coming January 21st. And, if you are close by stop in on Don’s launch party!