Book Blitz - Awakening by Laura Greenwood

About the Book: 

Cursed before she was even born, Keira is destined to either be the greatest Queen that the Kingdom has ever known...or the Worst. On her 18th birthday she falls into a deep sleep, if she awakens naturally after 100 years then she will be as human as she was before, but if she was awoken before then the consequences will be vastly different...

When her destiny is one of two opposites, which path will Keira's life take her down. And what choice will she have in the direction.

Sleeping Beauty with a paranormal twist!

Goodreads - Amazon US -Amazon UK

About the Author: 

Laura is a self confessed book and tea addict, you will rarely find her without one or the other (and often times both) even when she should be doing work towards her degree! Laura's been reading from a young age, and has been writing for years, though Awakening is the first thing she has had the courage to publish! 

You can follow Laura on her blog trips down imagination road, Facebook or Twitter

Short Story

The Dark Queen Rises

Avangrey, my domain, my home. I can see its expanse for miles from this tower. This is my sanctuary, my haven, where I find peace from the burdens of my crown. Rising more than sixty feet, it is the tallest of the six towers connecting the inner walls of my castle, giving me a clear view of all that is mine. From here I can cast a watchful eye on the servants scurrying about their duties within the inner ward, the soldiers training in the outer ward, and those patrolling the battlements of the thick walls that protected me from outside dangers.

Further past the dark water of the murky moat that surrounds those walls lie the rolling fields and village of Avangrey. The land stretches for miles pass mountains, lakes and cliffs before it finally meets the northern border and the Kingdom of Tou beyond. My eyes scan the western horizon and the thick tall trees of MonRok Forest in the distance pass which is the Kingdom of Kraig. To the east was the never ending desserts of the Wastelands, a dry and deadly barrier between my kingdom and the Kingdom Sim Ra. The monster infested waters of Argon Sea to my back separate Raule from Avengrey. The five kingdoms of Talvan, Avangrey my home, Tou, Kraig, Sim Ra and Raule. Soon they would all be mine. 

"My Queen we have found it." 

My thoughts are interrupted by the grizzly voice of Lord Rowan, my captain of the guards. I take a breath and one last look at my kingdom before turning my full attention to him. With a hurried gait I approach, eager to see that he hasn't failed me. I wouldn't be happy if he did, nor forgiving. The expression on his face said little, always stoic. The small wooden box he held out to me was nondescript, except for the small golden latch that sealed its contents from the outside world. I recognize the ruin symbols carved into the cold metal, placed there by a very powerful but long dead witch to prevent it from being opened by mortal hands.  I could feel my heart rate spike and a small smile curves my lips. I can barely contain my elation. 

At last. 

I reach for the box and savoury the feel of the wood against my skin. The force of the ancient power radiating from every grain of the timber makes my flesh tingle. I am so close to my goal. Perched in the palms of my hands, I lift the container close to my lips and whisper a few ancient words to the latch. A spell just for this lock, to demand it to release its contents to me. The small click of the latch freeing itself echoes though the silent chamber and I realized I had been holding my breath, not at all sure the spell would work, and even more uncertain that my prize was inside. Slowly I flip the lid open, and I feel that small smile widen to near jubilation. 

"Bring her to me." 

I hear my captain retreating from the chamber, but my attention is fixated on the object before me. I reach in and pull out the gem within. It's beautiful. Even more than I'd imagined. It was no bigger than my fist, fitting comfortably within the palm of my hand. The smooth edges of stone caught the light, and the blood red colour contrast sharply with the paleness of my skin. I stare spellbound at this treasure that I'd worked so tirelessly to obtain, that I'd sacrificed so much for. Soon it will all be mine. The box, it's worthless and I toss it to the floor. It ignites before it can hit the cool marble bursting into flames at my silent command.

My Naughty Thoughts : Love at First.....Second Sight

Do you believe in love at first sight? I read about it enough. Personally, I'm a bit of a cynic when it comes to falling in love quickly. Well "a bit" may be an understatement to describe my view on it. Can you really fall in love with someone you've only known for a while?

In my post Five Minutes to Sex, I asked about the heroines who sleep with the heroes after knowing each other for all of five minutes. I wondered aloud if that style of writing was meant to tap into some hidden fantasy of the reader. That fantasy of throwing caution to wind and having unbridled sex with a hot stranger. Who knows....(side note: something happened and I finally get it)

In the end, having sex with someone you barely know is still just physical. Love....now we're into the emotional. How realistic are the heroines who go cuckoo for coco puff from the first instance they lay eyes on the hero?

I've read books where the characters don't confess their love for each other until the last page, some where they do it mid book and it feels like you're along for the happily ever after, you know...the what happens next feeling. Then they're the ones that do it so early I'm like...what..did I miss something? ? How'd they go from hello to I love you in the span of fifty pages?

Maybe it's the idea of love. That heart pounding, breath stealing feeling that can be like a drug that allows us to fall and maybe even overlook the fact that the main characters don't even know each other, how can they be in love already. How well do you even have to know someone to be in love?

And why is it if your best girl pal came to you and said she was in love with a guy she met last week you'd wonder if she was crazy, but it's ok for the heroine in your romance novel? Yes it's make believe, candy for the heart, but still, I like a little reality in my novels. I relate better.

Personally I don't like books that drones on for chapter after chapter about all the tedious and useless to the plot things the lead characters do before they finally find love, (get to the point right) but I also can't relate to characters who say they're in love one chapter into the book. Lust I understand, but love....

What do you think? Do you believe in love at first sight?

And that's my naughty thoughts on love at first sight.

Later Loveys

P.S. Don't forget to share/google+ this post if you liked it

My Naughty Thoughts : So Much Sex

Wow! Can a book have too much sex? Yes...um...No...hum...Is there even such a thing as too much sex? In my post Is it the Sex or the Story I said that I didn't read romance novels for the sex (scout's honour). Well, I just stepped out of that zone. I admitted in my last post Fifty Shades of WTF that I finally read a romance novel purely for the sex. My curiosity got the better of me. I'd heard the hype surrounding Fifty Shades of Grey, my cousin was reading it (and she never reads) so I thought, what the hell.

Boy was I blown away, and that I think is an understatement. I've never read an erotica before, my romance genre being historical, regency and paranormal, so I really have nothing to compare my experience to. Do all eroticas have this much sex? It wasn't graphic in the least, thankfully, but every other page had a sex scene. Anastasia and Christian did it every day, sometimes four times a day, every which way. Who has the time for all that? I was tired just reading about it, didn't they get tired doing it? Jeez.... I mean

Those two did it here and there, those two did it everywhere.
Yes they did it on a bar, they even did it in a car.
They didn't do it on a train, but they did it on a plane.
They went out sailing on The Grace, and on the sea they did embrace.
You'd think by now their ardour would douse, but alas, they did it in his parent's boathouse. 

The elevator ride, need I say more, definitely deserves another, encore.
He has no pool up in his tower, so they steamed up his grand shower.
On the bed, the wall, the door, they even did it on the floor.
He really really tried his best, and got her flat on his desk.

You want to know where else you say, they did it in his room of play.
There he tied her up with cable, and they did it on a table.
Speaking of being tied up, he used leather, rope, chains and cuffs.
Lordy lord the things they've done, would make an innocent maiden run.
For she lets him do real naughty things, why not when she got the ring.

Do I now feel like I've OD'ed on sex (the reading part - wink)? Hum...honestly, I got bored reading it. It was a little too much for me. The rest of the story was great. I enjoyed the emotional ups and downs. But OMG enough already....so I guess for me...a book can have too much sex.

And that's my naughty thoughts on sex, sex, and more sex in romance novels.

Later Loveys

P.S. Don't forget to share/google+ this post if you liked it

My Naughty Thoughts : Fifty Shades of WTF

A few days ago I locked myself out of my apartment and of course as luck would have it, that day my landlords were out and my cell was dead. For two and a half hours I sat outside my door on the cold, hard concrete and waited for my landlords to return and relieve me from my self inflicted hell. Let me just say that days later my ass still hurts.

Anyway, though I'm in the habit of carrying my tablet, I am not in the habit of leaving my WiFi on. So there I was, stuck outside with no cell phone and no internet to pass the time. Then I remembered, I have one book on my tablet that I haven't read yet. It's been there for weeks and I've been debating whether or not I really want to read it.

So now I had two choices, I could stare at the slowly darkening sky, or I could read the book. (Oh I don't socialize with my neighbours). So I fired up my tablet and opened my reader and a grey cover with a silk tie flashes across my screen. The title Fifty Shades of Grey captures my attention and I dive in.

Yes its been a few years since the book came out and I'm only now reading it. (I didn't start reading the Twilight series til after I watched the first movie). Let me be honest, I'm reading it for the sex. Pure and simple, no other reason. I've wondered for a while what all the hoopla was about. I actually thought it would be a little more graphic, or maybe I just haven't gotten there yet. I am only on chapter twenty-four. But I must say, I can't remember the last time I read a book with so much sex.

The weirdest thing I find about reading this book is how it uncovered a part of me that I didn't know existed. I am an extremely dominating person, type A personality. Christian ain't got nothing on me. Everything is always my way or no way. And I'm quick to anger when I don't get my way. I couldn't be submissive even if you paid me. Yet I find myself gravitating more towards the Anastasia role. I'm a little like her where I tend to over-think everything and it gets so tiring sometimes, my mind always running. Thinking about outcomes and perception. The idea of simplifying something in my life by giving over control to someone else has some appeal.

So I said I started this book for the sex, and now I've shifted gears.  I've become wrapped up in Christian's psychological problems. Now all I want to know is why doesn't he like to be touched? What's his hang up about food? And did his birth mother or Mrs Robinson make him "crazy"? I love a male lead with problems. It always gives him so much more depth than a Mr. Perfect. The Christian character has got me more hooked than the sex.

I've already cheated and read pages from book three because I had to know if Christian and Anastasia make it to the end. I'm exerting massive amounts of control not to read the last few pages of book one. I'm dying to know what happens already. (That's a nasty habit of mine, reading the end of books before I even start it).

Anyway, so on I read, 50 pages left.

And that's my naughty thoughts on fifty shades.

Later Loveys

P.S. Don't forget to share/google+ this post if you liked it

Sample Review

I'm looking for a few readers to critique the first two chapters of my paranormal romance novel. I'm open to honest and constructive reviews. If you're interested, send me an email at illyannafox@gmail.com and I'll email you the sample.

For 2014

So I've been offline for a while. Been dealing with some personal shit that has consumed my life. It's put me in a place so dark that not even my writing pulls me from it. I didn't want to infect my writing with my darkness, so I put it to the side. Although I'm still in that place, I think I'm ready to write again. So I'll talk to you'll later.