Giving Thanks/Black Friday HUGE Giveaway Event!!

Well it's that time of year again and everyone is needing extra cash, gifts for Christmas, and more.  Well here is your chance to score some goodies for yourself or for others!!  This giveaway will have 4 winners chosen randomly on Rafflecopter.  The Grand Prize Pack and Prize Pack 2 are only open to US/Canada residents.  The other two are open worldwide.  Please read all terms and conditions before entering.  You must be 18 to enter and have a valid email address.  All winning entries will be validated!  Giveaway starts at MIDNIGHT on November 14th and will run until midnight November 29th!!

*This time there will be a surprise sent out as well!  Out of the 4 winners, another drawing will be held to see who wins a surprise! *

A big thank you to all of the authors and anyone else who has helped to make this giveaway possible!  You are all awesome!!  Help your authors out by leaving reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, etc. if you win an ebook or paperback!

Go enter to win one of these HUGE PRIZE PACKS and HAVE FUN!!!!!  Good luck to you all!!

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Dragon's Bride: The Dragon and the Scholar book 4 by H.L. Burke

   In the last installment of the series, Ewan, the Dragon Prince, leaves his new bride, Shannon, in Regone to go in search of answers to become a man for good.  Since being married to Shannon, he realizes she is far more important to him than anything else and he will find a way to be the man she needs him to be.  He and Martin set out to find a dragon, Queen Harviss, who might have answers for him.  They might know something about the wild magic that has bound Ewan.  But when they meet her, things just get more complicated.  Turns out that Ewan has Fey blood running in his veins and the magic worked by Adonna awakened it.  Now he and Martin must travel back in time and find his Fey ancestor to help with the curse.  But when they go back, they run into unexpected trouble with the powerful Queen Idriss.  Now they aren't sure if they will be able to make it back to their own time, and Idriss wants to send herself and many other Fey into the future where they are pretty much non-existent.  If she succeeds, who knows what would happen?


   Shannon and Ewan find themselves in a bit of an unconventional spot in this book.  A dragon is married to a scholar.  They are very much in love, but his dragon form is a problem for their current state.  They had one night together in the end of the third book, but all it did was make them both want more.  Shannon will do her best to be content with him as a dragon as long as he is around.  But not Ewan.  He wants very badly to return to a human state to be able to touch and hold Shannon.
   While Ewan is gone, Shannon finds herself with child and starts getting very lonely without Ewan.  She tries to keep herself busy, waiting on his return.  She did give him a year, but hadn't actually thought it would take that long.  She holds the secret of her pregnancy for as long as possible, but can't forever.  People notice when she hasn't eaten and isn't feeling well so often.  She is doing her best to go on without Ewan there.
   Martin finds himself particularly drawn to Idriss's daughter, Rega.  She is only half Fey and an accomplished hunter.  Her father had long since been turned into a stag and let loose to live out the rest of his days after Idriss was tired of him.  She did this often with her lovers.  They were all disposable to her.  But Rega wasn't like her or even the other Fey.  She had a soft spot for the humans.  But things could never work out between Martin and Rega for an astounding reason you find out later on in the book.
   The ending was absolutely fantastic!  It was just as it should be with some surprise to it as well.  Things never quite end like you expect them to.  And let's just say that Ewan must pay a price to regain his human form.  It is a price that affects everyone around him.  Should he choose to take the risk anyway?

Cover Reveal for The Dragon and the Scholar: Dragon's Rival Book Three by H.L. Burke- Coming August 4th!!

Here is the cover reveal and blurb for the next book in The Dragon and the Scholar Series by H.L. Burke!!  It comes out August 4th and I can't wait!!

Having abandoned his friends and family and taken to the skies, Ewan hides himself in the Wilderlands, away from humans.  However, an unexpected attempt on his life and a warning from another dragon lead him to suspect that not all is right in Regone.

Ewan returns to his homeland to attend his brother's wedding and discover the source of the bounty on his head.  Once there the dragon prince finds that Ryan of Westshire has been using his absence to court the Lady Shannon.

With unknown forces working to undermine his brother's throne and his own heart torn between his love for Shannon and the desire to see her happy, Ewan must choose once and for all.  Is he a dragon or a man?

                                    http://www.hlburkeauthor.com/

Spring Giveaway!! Win ebooks and a print copy!!

In honor of wonderful spring time coming, I am doing a giveaway with H.L.Burke and Caroline Swart!  There are a few reviews of their works on my blog, which I will provide links for, should you want to check out their work!  The prizes will be a signed print copy of The Dragon and the Scholar: Dragon's Debt (H.L. Burke's latest book which came out very recently), an Amazon ebook of The Dragon and the Scholar: Dragon's Curse (H.L. Burke, the first book in the series), and an Aspen and the Dream Walkers (Caroline Swart) Amazon ebook.  This giveaway is open to the US and Canada!  And their are several ways for you to enter!

Here is my review of H.L. Burke's The Dragon and the Scholar: Dragon's Curse: 

http://claricesbooknook.blogspot.com/2014/03/dragons-curse-dragon-and-scholar-volume.html

Here is my review of Caroline Swart's Aspen and the Dream Walkers:

http://claricesbooknook.blogspot.com/2014/01/aspen-and-dream-walkers-by-caroline.html

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Dragon's Debt (The Dragon and the Scholar: Volume 2) by H.L. Burke

  In the second volume of The Dragon and the Scholar Ewan and Shannon are called back from their traveling to Ewan's brother's(Edmond) side.  Edmond is having woman trouble, you could say.  He has fallen deeply in love with the princess of a neighboring kingdom.  The only problem?  Her father.  King Riley is a harsh king and rules not only his subjects with an iron fist, but his family as well.  He always has an ulterior motive for things and won't hesitate to do what he feels is necessary to keep his children from marrying someone he doesn't want them to.  As if Edmond's troubles weren't enough, there is a strange creature kidnapping girls and bringing them back weeks later with no memories of their past.  Ewan and Shannon come back to help Prince Ryan after his sister and Edmond's love, is kidnapped by the creature.  While they try to find out what is going on, Ewan is increasingly aware of the things he cannot give Shannon.  He couldn't give her children, play cards with her, or even hold her if she needed it.  Being a dragon made this impossible.  Prince Ryan could give her all of these things and seems to be increasingly attached to Shannon.  So Ewan is stuck wondering if he should give her up while Edmond, who is also aware of how unable he is to even protect Brighid, is trying to keep his own country from war with King Riley.


   This book should have been called Battle of the Egos!  It seems that most of the men in this book have rather inflated egos and ideas about how everything should be.  King Riley's ego is only puffed up more because he is king and he does what he wants.  King Edmond has his pride, but being somewhat crippled causes it to get hurt easily when people question whether he can take care of Brighid, and because he is willing to go to any length to prove himself, it puts him in a difficult position.  Prince Ryan's ego seems to be a bit of a front for the pain of his past.  Ryan convinces himself he is better for Shannon and his attentions only make it more obvious what he can give her while Ewan can't.  And Ewan's ego just won't let him explain to Shannon how he really feels.  It causes him to make some decisions that end up hurting Shannon, but only the next book will answer who she will decide to love and be with.


Don't forget to enter the Spring Giveaway to win a signed copy of this book along with some ebooks!  Go to the link below!  There are only a few days left!
http://claricesbooknook.blogspot.com/2014/04/spring-giveaway-win-ebooks-and-print.html

Author Interview with H.L. Burke

Here is a recent email interview I did with H.L. Burke, author of Dragon's Curse (The Dragon and the Scholar Volume 1)!  If you haven't read the book, you should check it out!  Also, look down under this post and you should see a review I did on it if you want to know more about Dragon's Curse!

1. How long have you been writing?

This depends on your definition of writing. If dictating stories to my mom because I was too young to write them down counts, probably five or six. My daughter now does the same thing with me. She literally draws pictures on the backs of my old rejection letters. I had a file of the dang things, and one day I took them out and said, "Huh, still blank on one side," and put them in the drawing paper bin. She wrote at least two "books" on the back of these. 

2.  When did you publish your first book?

2013, so very recently. I made a rookie mistake of rushing my first book, The Ordinary Knight and the Invisible Princess: A Tale in Two Parts, to publication because I didn't know where to get help with editing and the like. It is still a good book, just looking back with what I  know now, it could be a lot more polished. Someday I'll probably put up a "special edition" with some edits, but for now I'm focused on future endeavors. 

3. Who/what is your biggest inspiration?

The funny thing is that I do not write like my favorite authors. I adore Tolkien, Dostoevsky, and Kate DiCamillo. Those are my big three, authors who have always been able to touch me, but my style is nothing like theirs, and I'm okay with that. I compare my work to Shannon Hale's and Gail Carson Levine's, but probably the best compliment I ever got was when a reader likened my style to C. S. Lewis's, who is an undeniable influence. I'm very schooled in classics, not so much on modern books (though I'm trying to expand my horizons a bit). 

4. What was your inspiration for Dragon's Curse?

Dragons are sexy. That's basically it. I've had an idea for something like Dragon's Curse in my head for almost ten years. I remember reading The Reluctant Dragon and loving the idea of a dragon working with a knight. I also love any sort of "Beauty and the Beast" story. It took awhile to work out the details in my head, but I've wanted to write this particular story for a long time.

5. How many books will be in the series The Dragon and the Scholar? 

Four, all written, just in various stages of editing. Dragon's Debt should be out in May, and I'm aiming for a new release every four to six months following that. 

6. How did you decide to make Shannon, the heroine, such a strong and independent character?

It's funny because I know Shannon's foibles so well that I probably wouldn't describe her that way, not right off. I know what she's afraid of, and I have seen her when she's vulnerable (I put her through the wringer in later books.). I didn't, however, want her to be a shrinking violet because she needed to be able to stand up for herself, and her dragon. Basically Shannon rises to the occasion and grows due to hardship. Also, I wanted people to cheer for her. No one likes a whiner. 

7. When will the next book in the series be out? 

(I accidentally answered this above. That's what I get for not reading ahead)

8. What will the major point of conflict be in the next book?

A mysterious creature is carrying off young women and draining their memories, returning them as empty shells. My heroes are drawn in when the monster targets the beloved of someone close to them (trying not to give away too much.). However, the emotional impetus involves whether or not the relationship between Shannon and (spoilers, sweetie) Ewan is sustainable. 

9. Have your life experiences impacted your writing?

Majorly. Especially some of the events in the later books of this series. I fell in love with a man who for the longest time kept me at arm's length, and I draw from that longing a lot. Also, there is a certain amount of faith that has to come along with being  a military wife. You can't hold too tight, and you have to accept things as they come. Probably one of the hardest moments in my life was going into labor with my first child with her daddy overseas in Iraq. I remember putting his picture on the hospital bedside table and just bursting into tears, wailing, "I want Matt!" But that wasn't going to happen and that baby was coming no matter what. When that time comes you  just have to draw on God and what strength He gave you and push through. So yeah, there is a lot in my stories about love and fidelity in the face of hardship because I understand that. 

10. what hobbies do you enjoy in your free time?

Oh gosh, writing used to be my hobby and now it feels like a "job." I love computer games. I had to give up World of Warcraft when I started writing "seriously" but I still indulge in occasional Myst binges or a Nancy Drew mystery game. I crochet and I have kids, but it works out because my six-year-old leveled up my Paladin in World of Warcraft for me and does dailies from time to time. (Nobody probably understands what I'm talking about. . .I'm such a geek)


Both ebooks Dragon's Curse and The Ordinary Knight and the Invisible Princess: A Tale in Two Parts will be free on Amazon March 15-16!!  Make sure to check them out and don't forget to leave the author a review on Amazon!

Dragon's Curse (The Dragon and the Scholar Volume 1) by H. L. Burke

   Shannon is a young lady who wants adventure.  She has never been far from where she grew up and wishes to see more of the world.  She wants excitement.  When her friend Martin is asked to send a healer to Regone for King Edmond, she knows this could be her chance.  But Martin warns her that Regone is a cursed place.  I don't think even he knew just how true that actually was.
   On reaching Regone, Shannon is immediately introduced to Roderick, a knight who thinks well of himself and happens to take a keen interest in Shannon.  Being a free woman though, Shannon has the ability to choose who she wants to be with.  Edmond, on the other hand, is a young king, but is sullen and hate driven after the death of his brother at the hand of a dragon.  Edmond is bent on killing any dragon that comes around.  However, dragons are very hard to kill and the king is in no shape to be out slaying dragons.  He was severely burned by one after he went out seeking revenge for his brother, Ewan.  But it had not ended well and only a handful of knights came back alive.  Shannon was here to try and help the suffering king.  But she has a way of saying what she thinks and feels about things that are not exactly suitable for the times, and especially not suited for a king.  She begins to get curious about Ewan and the circumstances surrounding his death.
   Unfortunately life in Regone is rather lonely for Shannon.  She doesn't really have any friends and constantly has to fend off Roderick and his unwanted advances.  To make things worse, the king's distant cousin, Adonna, constantly hovers over Edmond and interferes often with her treatments.  Adonna seems kind of like a creepy woman; one that Shannon wants to stay far away from.  One day though, a dragon is seen in Regone and it stays.  Edmond is crazy over it being there and wants to get rid of it.  Roderick decides he will go slay this dragon and if he does he wants Shannon to marry him.  Shannon protests wildly about it and decides to do something drastic.  She goes to see the dragon herself.  It turns out that he is much better company than anyone else she has met in Regone so far and starts visiting him on a regular basis.  The dragon tends to like her company as well.  Shannon isn't like other women.
   A large twist comes in the story when it is revealed who that dragon really is and what happened to this man to turn him into a dragon.  The circumstances are very strange and lots of things don't add up to Shannon.  The deeper she digs though, the more her life is in danger.  The one that she, the dragon, and her friend Martin are looking for is right under their noses and they have no idea.

   This book is very clean and would be safe for your younger teens to read.  It was a really enjoyable read about castles and knights, magic and curses.  And to top it off you have a heroine that falls in love with a cursed dragon!  However strange it may seem, she sees something else within this dragon that later on in the book reveals itself.  Shannon is a great heroine too.  She is very forward for the times.  She likes to speak her mind and have intelligent conversations.  Brutish men are not her thing and she is in no hurry to settle down with the first knight to ask for her hand.  She is willing to believe in the good in all people and dragons while not being fooled by them either.  Funny enough, she is the only one to be able to win the heart of a cursed prince who doesn't like the normal silly women around him.  I enjoyed this book so much I sat down and read it in one night!  You should check it out!  The next in the series will be coming out in May!