Blood and Guitars by Heather Jensen Blog Tour, Review, Guest Post and Giveaway!!

Blood and Guitars

Book One

By Heather Jensen

 Blurb: 

When Aurora meets Trey, a famous singer and musician, she’s only hoping to get her fill of human blood for the week. The last thing Aurora expects is for Trey to make her feel alive for the first time since she was, well, alive. 

It begins with a casual painting lesson at her art studio, The Waking Moon, and quickly turns into a forbidden romance. Aurora is forced to hide her true identity from Trey, while keeping her relationship with the human a secret from other vampires in her Brood. Trey’s band is recording a new album and with Aurora as his muse, Trey is writing songs like never before. 

After being hired by their record label to paint the album cover, Aurora has a legitimate reason for spending so much time with Trey and his band mates. Aurora can’t deny the unexpected connection she has with Trey, which is fueled by glimpses into his emotions every time they share a kiss. 

Caught between two worlds, Aurora must attend celebrity award shows and vampire rituals, find time to feed, and protect Trey from the dangers of the night, all while preserving her secrets.

Amazon

Immortals And Melodies 

Blood And Guitars #2 

Book Blurb: 

 "I found myself wishing for the power and whimsy of fairy tales. If only things were as simple as we’re led to believe as children. I remembered the story of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. Both were saved by the power of a kiss, drawn out of their lifeless state to live happily ever after. Desperately, I bent and left a soft kiss on Trey’s lips. It was foolish. I knew that, but even that knowledge couldn’t prepare me for the agony that ripped at my heart when he didn’t respond." -Aurora 

Catalyst frontman Trey is no stranger to chaos, but even the life of a rock star couldn’t prepare him for the consequences of loving a vampire. Trey’s life is in danger; threatened by the very group he must join to stay alive. 

His struggle to continue his career and release a new album is marred bye vents that force him to go to a powerful Synod Elder for help. Aurora has to keep Trey alive until she can make him a vampire, but her own kind will stop at nothing to prevent it. 

The head of the Emissary is having her followed, and if she can’t figure out who is behind the violent attacks, Trey might not make it to the full moon. As Aurora battles her own kind, she’s also plagued by the risk she’s taking by changing Trey. 

Will her moon-given power be enough to carry Trey through the change, or will he be left floating in the wake of destruction?

Author Bio: 

Heather Jensen writes paranormal fantasy for teens and adults. She began writing her first book at the age of 16. She is an avid reader and loves anything vampire-related, but likes all kinds of fantasy. When she’s not writing she enjoys traveling, listening to music, going to concerts, playing guitar and spending time with friends and family. 

She is addicted to Oreos and White Knight drinks from Perks. Her favorite color is green and the uglier the shade the better. 

Heather lives in Southern Utah with her husband and son where she continues to write the Blood And Guitars series. 

The second book in the series, Immortals And Melodies has just been released on Kindle. 

Website www.heatherjensen.info

To purchase the first book in the Blood And Guitars series in e-book or paperback, visit http://heatherjensen.info/about-the-book/shop/ 

Facebook www.facebook.com/BloodAndGuitars 

Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/theedgeofwords 

Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/112920558824411082148/112920558824411082148/posts 

Book Trailer playlist on Youtube 

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6188671C464951F2&feature=plcp 

Goodreads Author Page

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2870615.Heather_Jensen

Excerpt Blood and Guitars: 

The clock on the wall in the loft of The Waking Moon read ten after midnight. I was standing at the easel, a brush in my hand, while Trey worked out a new song on his acoustic guitar. He sat on the floor with his back against the half-wall while his voice echoed around the loft.

“I lie awake

These sleepless nights can last forever

I try to take you in.

“I can’t believe …

You’re in my arms- and here with me

I pinch myself again.

“Cause I know … it’s worth it

You’re worth- whatever it takes

To make you stay.

“And I’ll show … you over and over

Every day- as long as you’ll stay

With me….”

I’d been painting him for half an hour, although of course, he had no idea that’s what I was doing. He just looked so incredible sitting there barefoot in his jeans and t-shirt, cradling his guitar, that I couldn’t help myself. The song was getting to me, too. It was poetic, the way words flowed from him effortlessly. Who knew I was a sucker for musicians? I’d already finished painting Trey, capturing every aspect of him from the carefree spirit in his azure eyes to the fashionably worn holes in his jeans. As I switched to a silver metallic paint to work on the details of Trey’s instrument, I struggled to shake off memories of the night before.

After hours of playing Guitar Hero two nights ago, I’d spent all day yesterday sleeping and had gone hunting after dark. Finding someone to feed from had been the easy part, but when I got close enough to get a good look at his face, I’d been surprised to discover that he had a remarkable resemblance to Trey. It wasn’t as if I’d thought it was Trey at any point. I could definitely tell the difference. But the similarities were shocking. He’d had hair just like Trey’s, and his eyes … they were the same crystal clear blue. Instead of using whatever lie of a story I had in my mind to distract him like I’d planned, I’d found myself staring at him in astonishment until he was asking if I was okay. In the end I’d mumbled something about how he might consider a career as a celebrity impersonator as I walked away.

Not exactly the ending I’d had in mind. I’d gone out for drinks with Mark afterward, trying to forget about the incident. He’d known something was bothering me, but I hadn’t explained myself and he’d been smart enough not to push the issue.

Even if Mark had been clued in to just how much time I’d been spending with Trey, which he wasn’t, I could never have explained what was running through my mind. It wasn’t the lack of feeding that was bothering me. It was the fact that I’d been so repulsed by the idea of feeding from someone who could have been Trey’s double. I’d clearly been in denial about my feelings for Trey. I just hadn’t expected those feelings to manifest in a way that would literally stop me in my tracks and cost me a meal.

The vampire in me could point out with ease all of the logical reasons why I should never see Trey again. He was only human, after all. What did he really have to offer me? The answer to that was simple, if I looked deep enough.

Freedom.

Trey was all of the things I liked to pretend I was, but could never be again. Admittedly I was getting good at going through the motions of being free spirited and adventurous but in my moonlit reality I felt trapped. A spirit like Trey’s was something I’d admired as a human, envied even. I’d tried to live like that myself, never quite managing to do it. Aden had been the free spirited one. I’d loved that about him, too.  As an immortal creature, I’d hoped to finally grasp the independence I’d always strived for. I’d made the age-old mistake many of my kind make, assuming that being free from age and free of death would give me freedom in life. I’d since learned that things didn’t exactly work out that way.

The only taste of that freedom I experienced was with Trey. It was as if his innate ability to live so carefree was contagious and rubbed off on me more and more with each second we spent together. It was a powerful feeling, and not one I was ready to give up.

The blood-laced drinks Mark and I consumed had curbed my appetite but only temporarily. I’d gone out tonight and managed to feed from someone who in no way resembled Trey, or anyone else I know for that matter. One thing was certain; I seriously needed to get a grip.

Trey set his guitar down on the ground and gave an exaggerated old man groan as he got to his feet, stretching his limbs. With a few tiny strokes of a brush I finished adding the metallic paint to the likeness of Trey’s guitar on my canvas. I stepped back to admire my work as Trey sauntered over and stood next to me. I watched his face out of the corner of my eye, anxious to see his reaction.

Guest Post!

Your Wish Is My Command: The Magic Lamp Musings of a Stay-at-home Mom/Author

by Heather Jensen

I’m honored to be posting here today at My Guilty Obsession. I recently had the pleasure of previewing Disney’s Aladdin as a musical production at Tuacahn, a local outdoor amphitheater that draws in an insane crowd with visitors from all over the world each year. Aladdin was always one of my favorite Disney movies growing up, and not just because Aladdin was cute and Jasmine had that great natural tan. The idea of having a magic lamp that produces a genie that can make all your wildest dreams come true is fascinating. Admit it, at least once in your life, you’ve daydreamed about what you would use those three wishes for. If that magic lamp suddenly appeared in my office, I know exactly what kind of writing-related wishes I’d want fulfilled.

• My first wish is boring, but at least I’m not in denial about it. I’d love to skip all the tiresome editing and formatting. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to revise and re-write. I actually enjoy doing those, and I usually do it as I go rather than waiting to do it all at the end of a first draft. I’m weird that way. The kind of editing I’m taking about is fixing words that Microsoft Word has autocorrected into something else, or realizing that spell-check didn’t read my mind exactly the way I thought it had. It’s those mind-numbing, fine-toothed comb edits that drive me crazy. Then comes the tedious formatting – different versions for print and e-books – that I’d hire someone else to do if I wasn’t such a control freak. If a genie could take care of those things for me, I’d gladly use up a wish!
• My second wish would be to give me my dream office. I have this habit of walking through ridiculously fancy mansions every year at the Parade of Homes where I live. Because of that, I know exactly what the perfect writing space looks like. It has a beautiful dark wood desk with plenty of book shelves lining the walls. It has immaculate wood floors and a super soft rug for my bare feet. It also has an amazing sound system, since music is a must-have for a good writing session. It even has have a secret reading space that appears when you pull on a hardback copy of Harry Potter and the entire wall/shelf moves inward on a hinge to reveal another room. Okay, so I might have added the Harry Potter bit, but I’ve seen these secret rooms in those mansions and I want one. Wish number 2 … check.
• My third wish is simple. I wish I could steal away whatever time I need for writing and be able to return back to my normal day afterward as if no time had passed at all. It would be like a secret bubble of time that I could steal into whenever I want. That way I could stay up all night writing and still get the sleep I need to be a full-time mom the next day. I could also write the entire time my son is at school during the day, and still get the dishes done and the laundry washed and folded before it’s time to run out the door to do my share of the carpool. I would still have time to make big dinners for the family without worrying that the next scene, which I concocted on the drive back from school, will be gone out of my mind before I have time to type it up.

There you have it. It might not seem like much, but a genie who could grant me these three wishes would be my new bff! What wishes would you ask for if you suddenly had your own magic lamp with a wish-fulfilling genie inside?

My Thoughts and Reviews on Blood and Guitars:

 

This book managed to grab my attention after only the first couple of chapters. I could tell that it was going to be something different in the world of vampires and I was pretty excited about that. Sometimes it is hard to find something different and unique than what is already out there.

Then to see that this book would be alternating between point of views between Aurora and Trey was just even better. I love it when books do that because it is always nice to be able to tell what both main characters are thinking and feeling about one another.

But then after those first few chapters, something happened. The book seemed to slow down. For quite a few chapters we only got Trey's point of view and it seemed to mainly be about song writing, which, okay, this is a book that does involve a musician so it was somewhat understandable but unfortunately it caused the book to drag a little and I found myself wanting to scan the pages more than actually read them, something that is never a good sign. But, I hung in there in the hopes that it would get better.

I am so glad I stuck with it because it did indeed get better. The romance picked up and the action picked up as well.

I found myself once again being drawn into the storyline and into the lives of the characters.

I really started to feel more for Aurora and Trey and by the time I was done with the story I wanted more of it.

I really look forward to reading the next installment to find out what happens and how everything is handled.

I think this is a promising series that will turn out to be quite addicting. 

I give this one 3.5 Stars!


Right now you can also enter to win your very own e-book copy of Blood and Guitars.
The winner will be getting a coupon code for Smashwords where they can download a copy of Heather's book. Remember Smashwords offers lots of e-books options, mobi, pdf, e-pub, you name it.

The giveaway will run today through tomorrow night and the winner will be contacted via email Wednesday afternoon and will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.

Good luck to everyone who enters!

a Rafflecopter giveaway