Rock with Me (Rock-star A Love Story, 2) @RubyIyer

About the Book:

The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer
By: Laxmi Hariharan
Pages: 300
Release Date: November 13, 2014
Publisher: Books@Jacaranda

A YA action thriller, with strong dystopian undertones and a kick-ass protagonist, taking you on a white knuckle ride through a disintegrating Bombay City.

A terrifying encounter propels Ruby Iyer from her everyday commute into a battle for her own survival. Trusting her instincts, she fights for the things she believes in, led on a mysterious path between life and death on the crowded roads of Bombay; and when her best friend is kidnapped by the despotic Dr Braganza, she will do anything to rescue him. Anything, including taking the help of the sexy Vikram Roy, a cop-turned-rogue, on a mission to save Bombay. The city needs all the help it can get, and these two are the only thing standing between its total destruction by Dr Braganza's teen army. As Bombay falls apart, will Ruby be able to save her friend and the city?

Will she finally discover her place in a city where she has never managed to fit in? And what about her growing feelings for Vikram?

  Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon India | Paperback

Guest Post:

From the time this rock-star stepped on stage, he drew every eye in the house including hers. He paused, the light reflecting off his dark black-blue skin, cocooning him in a cobalt glow, growing in size, larger and larger to encompass the entire audience—till he and them were united in destiny.  And he hadn’t even begun. 

With the first thwang of the guitar he had them hooked, drawing them into the music, in between the threads of notes, interweaving them into the moment, the final pattern—a mosaic of a wild ride of astounding rock, soft as silk, yet hard as steel. That dark, inaccessible part of him that had repelled her so much in real life was—she realized—attractive in a macabre fashion, under the spotlight.

  Fueled by his instincts, it was a form of chaos, which danced with the collective will of the audience. Despite herself she was hypnotized, and before she knew it, everything else drowned out so she was nodding rhythmically to the beat, arms folded, resisting the impulse to fling them out as if to hold onto that feeling of well-being which music always infused her with.

 "What a rush!" she hadn’t noticed Neil come up to stand behind her. She looked at him noticing the shine of sweat on his forehead, running down in rivulets down his cheeks, he put his right hand into the pocket of his ridiculously long shirt which came up to mid-thigh—this time a shade of lighter purple than what he would normally wear. "This has gotta be the greatest feeling in the galaxy." 

“For once I agree with you,” she smiled at him only to realize that he was looking at her with a strange look on his face. “Are you alright?” He didn’t answer her, continuing to stare as if seeing her for the first, making her uncomfortable. She pushed at him then “Neil…”

“You have no idea do you?” he asked.

“No, what?” she stuttered.

He bent down and brought his lips to hers, a soft touch of surprise, which was almost not there. She looked straight into his wide unblinking eyes. The hair on her forearms stood on end, and when her eyes shuttered down, she could feel the tension in him communicate to her. No other part of their bodies touched, except their lips,  their lives in parallel for just a millisecond.  

She didn’t need to stand on tiptoe for he bent down to her. She could feel his heart speed up, the drumming of his pulse syncing with hers, which thudded in response, remixed with the beats that echoed around the room at first, until that faded too leaving behind a strange calm, as if she was back on the moonlit beach, and in the distance she saw a figure walk towards her, except it wasn’t her father anymore, it was Neil looking at her with that same incomprehensible expression from a few minutes ago. Her eyes sprung open, “no!” it was torn out of her, and pushing him back she stepped onto the stage, turning away from him. So intent on getting away from him was she that she did not realize she was halfway across the stage, until the rock-star turned to her. 

As if anticipating her entrance he held out his arm. The tears streaming down her cheek blinded her to everything and she did not remember reaching out, till he held up their intertwined palms as if displaying a trophy. “Give it up, don’t hold anything back…” he screamed, and the crowd roared in response, sensing a climax of a kind, gratefully taking the curve of passion that they had been thrown, a relief from the straight line they had been on. Desire whipped through them, hitting her like a wall of heat. She stumbled and he held her upright, bending to whisper in her ear, “Rock with me.”

Meet the Author:

A near life experience told Laxmi Hariharan to write. She never stopped.

Laxmi is the creator of Ruby Iyer, and the Amazon bestselling, eLit Gold winner The Destiny of Shaitan (Bombay Chronicles, 1). She has been a journalist with the Independent, and a global marketer with NBCU and MTV. Laxmi also blogs for Huffington Post, among others.

London is where she writes. Bombay is what fires her imagination. 

 Twitter - Laxmi | Facebook | blog | Twitter - Ruby 

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Giveaway:

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Tour hosted by:

Dear Teen Laxmi #YA #DearTeenMe #RubyIyer @RubyIyer

Dear Teen Me:

Dear Teen Me,

Laxmi, I am here to tell you, it’s perfectly okay to be called by a name no one other than Indians can pronounce. (No, I lie … even Indians outside India stumble over your name … but actually it’s not as bad as you think it is right now).

You tell your parents, lips pursed, that you want to change your name. “I am not Laxmi, I am Teeka you say” and they look at you marveling at the confidence of your five year old self.

You hate your name… you don’t why. You just do.

If only you could be called something like a Tania or Reena or Shama … anything, anything except this horrid, old-fashioned, very traditional Indian name. Laxmi.

But I am here to tell you its okay.

It’s okay that in some cultures the letter ‘x’ doesn’t exist and so you get called Lami, or Lama or Lasmi or “uh?”

It’s really okay, because you will learn to be proud of your name. You will learn to look people in the eye and tell them that you are named after your grandmother, and that you share your name with the Indian Goddess of Wealth & Fortune, and that normally you bring luck to people and places you associate yourself with. At least that’s what people you meet tell you.

And, when you get learn numerology you’ll find out, that actually your full complete unpronounceable name Laxmi Hariharan, which incorporates the blessings two Indian Gods, is actually very, very auspicious, for you. So you know what Laxmi? Fuck ’em.

Fuck those who made fun of your name when you were little.

Fuck those who did not make the effort to pronounce your name correctly.

Fuck especially those who despite being of Indian origin around the world insist on mispronouncing it. It is they who have disowned their culture. Not you.

You—?

You will go onto writing novels using your real name. You will put your name with pride to the stories you weave—many of which feature that particular breed of angry young girl heroes you specialize in.

You will stamp your name with defiance to genre bending, YA dystopian novels set in your home city of Bombay.

You will tap into all that angst from your early years to spin white-knuckle ride thrillers.

Along the way you will meet people who love your name. Who recognize, that it is a door to the unique in you.

And you will marry a man who shares his name with one of the thousand that Lord Vishnu—the husband of Goddess Laxmi in Indian mythology—bears.

So you know what? Someone up there knew what she was doing all along.

Now, just take the path the Goddess herself has shown you and empower other young girls. Show them they can break stereotypes every day, just by being themselves.

Article originated on the 'DEAR TEEN ME' website - http://dearteenme.com/?p=9586

About The Author:

A near life incident told Laxmi Hariharan to write. She never stopped. Laxmi is the author of THE MANY LIVES OF RUBY IYER, which debuted #1 Hot New Release Amazon Asian Lit. You can also download the prequel, THE RUBY IYER DIARIES, FREE on Amazon US. She has been a journalist, and a global marketer. Now she is the creator of Ruby Iyer. Find her Twitter | Facebook

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Hosted by:

Rock-star - A Love Story (1) @RubyIyer

About the Book:

The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer
By: Laxmi Hariharan
Pages: 300
Release Date: November 13, 2014
Publisher: Books@Jacaranda

A YA action thriller, with strong dystopian undertones and a kick-ass protagonist, taking you on a white knuckle ride through a disintegrating Bombay City.

A terrifying encounter propels Ruby Iyer from her everyday commute into a battle for her own survival. Trusting her instincts, she fights for the things she believes in, led on a mysterious path between life and death on the crowded roads of Bombay; and when her best friend is kidnapped by the despotic Dr Braganza, she will do anything to rescue him. Anything, including taking the help of the sexy Vikram Roy, a cop-turned-rogue, on a mission to save Bombay. The city needs all the help it can get, and these two are the only thing standing between its total destruction by Dr Braganza's teen army. As Bombay falls apart, will Ruby be able to save her friend and the city?

Will she finally discover her place in a city where she has never managed to fit in? And what about her growing feelings for Vikram?

  Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon India | Paperback

Guest Post:

He smashed the Stratocaster on the wooden floor of the stage, the sound of the breaking chords echoing around the empty auditorium, circling once, twice, thrice before it penetrated the darkness inside his soul lighting it up like the Fourth-of-July fireworks. He raised his head to the heavens above and screamed, his vocal chords standing out green and blue, almost but not quite blending in with his blue-brown skin. 

The peacock feather he wore around his neck a reminder of all he had loved and lost swayed, tickling him, gently reminding him that he still belonged to this world. But she did not. She was gone, and there was nothing that would bring her back. But Mishaal was not one who would take no for an answer. Not now, not ever. 

He cringed as the word forever ricocheted around the corners of his mind before settling in a hard lump behind his eyes. He blinked as the tears gathered at the corner of his eyes, feeling the lump grow like a meteor from outer space, looming in size, larger, darker, till it encompassed his heart. Shaking his head—his waist-length-dirty-brown hair shivering as if it were a lion’s mane—he angrily shoved it back from his face and lifting the broken one-piece maple neck of the electric guitar he stretched his left arm back till the wood almost touched the curve of his back, and putting the weight of his six-feet-two-inch lean body behind it he flung it with all his might into the empty audience ranks.

Not caring where it landed he sank to his knees the tears now running down his cheeks unchecked and touched his forehead to the sawdust ridden floor. “Hey! Watch where you throw your broken pieces okay?” The indignant female voice had him jerking to his feet in a reflex action.

The unexpectedness of being caught in an intensely private moment of grief made him forget his misery for just a moment as he peered through the darkness of the spotlight which shone in his eyes. Squinting he held the palm of his hand over his eyes shielding them from the overhead glare, trying to make out who was out there.

The figure walked towards him, stepping out of the darkness slowly, giving his eyes ample time to travel up from her converse clad feet, over the long bronzed legs clad in blue jeans-shorts, up over the tantalizing peek of her midriff then the simple black T-shirt which formed a V shaped chain around her neck which held up a strong square jaw framing a delicate nose and almond shaped brown eyes which currently threw sparks of anger at him. She held the broken neck of the Stratocaster in her right arm. His left arm automatically rose again, this time to catch the piece of wood which she had angrily flung back at him.

 “You are not the only one on this planet you know?” She continued her tirade as if not having noticed what she had interrupted.

 “I believe you” he replied softly “I know I am not alone now.”

Meet the Author:

A near life experience told Laxmi Hariharan to write. She never stopped.

Laxmi is the creator of Ruby Iyer, and the Amazon bestselling, eLit Gold winner The Destiny of Shaitan (Bombay Chronicles, 1). She has been a journalist with the Independent, and a global marketer with NBCU and MTV. Laxmi also blogs for Huffington Post, among others.

London is where she writes. Bombay is what fires her imagination. 

 Twitter - Laxmi | Facebook | blog | Twitter - Ruby 

Watch the Trailer:

Giveaway:

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What Remains by Helene Dunbar (Review)

About the Book:

WHAT REMAINS by Helene Dunbar Release Date: May 8, 2015 Publisher: Flux Books Pages: 288

In less than a second... ... two of the things Cal Ryan cares most about--a promising baseball career and Lizzie, one of his best friends--are gone forever. In the hours that follow... ...Cal's damaged heart is replaced. But his life will never be the same. Everyone expects him to pick up the pieces and move on. But Lizzie is gone, and all that remains for Cal is an overwhelming sense that her death was his fault. And a voice in his head that just...won't...stop. Cal thought he and his friends could overcome any obstacle. But grief might be the one exception. And that might take a lifetime to accept...

Purchase the Book:

Amazon | B&N | IndieBound | Goodreads

Quotes

  She looks at me, vaguely curious, but obviously unsure what I'm getting at.  "Everything changes," I whisper into her hair, which smells a little like paint thinner.  "It wont always be this hard."

And I know, from sitting behind her at an assembly last year, that her hair smells like vanilla cookies.  That smell doesn't make me hungry, though; it makes me feel a lot of other things that make it difficult for me to eat cookies in public.

How I'm feeling?  Is this douchebag serious?  How the hell does he expect me to be feeling?

Review

  Helen Dunbar captured me last year with her stunning novel These Gentle Wounds.  What Remains was no less of a novel and captured my heart in a completely different way.  This author captures moments and emotions in a way that has now made her books a must have for me.  What captures me the most is exactly how well written these novels are, and how much emotion is poured between the pages.  What Remains is a heart wrenching story that shows us what loss can do, and how our minds some times do the unexpected in order to cope.

  To be honest the first turn in plot comes early on in this novel, but I didn't really see it coming.  In hind site I know that I should have but it was so drastic, so fast.  There was a brief moment that I hoped it was some sort of weird dream, but it just kept going.  Not only did it keep going but it had so many unique points that the plot never really dragged.  This was only made better by the fact that there were so many little details that made the bigger things pull you in further.  The little things also never become overwhelming, they are just enough to give you a better picture and make the picture more vivid.  Having said that, there was not a moment that I actually wanted to put this book down.  I stayed awake to read it and don't regret my lack of sleep for one moment.

  Cal was an interesting character.  He was a baseball player and a damn good one, and yet he didn't care to be a part of the popular crowd.  Cal was happy with having his two best friends and living life as it has always been.  Except nothing stays the same, and Cals world is rocked when everything that he thought was set changes.  Change is not Cal's strong suit to start with but loosing two of the most important things to him does something to him.  Dunbar did an amazing job portraying both feelings and reactions, making Cal a character that was easy to relate to and someone that you can truly feel for him.  He also grows so much from the start, realizing that it's okay not to have control over everything and that sometimes the chances we take later are better than the options that we had to start.

  What Remains was more about friendship and moving on, than it was about romance and finding your other half.  Though Cal had liked Ally before all of the change started, but was just too afraid to take a chance and speak to her.  What I didn't realize is just how significant his not saying anything was and just how much can change by one little path changing.  There was so many things that came up because of questions raised when Ally came into the picture.  There was also the fact that Ally carried her own baggage, had her own burden to carry.  I picture these two as the ones that can complete each other, be a support for where the gaps are.

  What Remains pulled at my heart in so many ways and there is no way to truly express all of the things that I felt.  Helen Dunbar is spectacular and created something unique, while still keeping it interesting and realistic.  I loved the characters right from the start and have no doubt that I will go back to this book just to revisit everyone.  I highly recommend this book to anyone that is a fan of comtemporary reads, or someone that is looking for something that is both light and heavy at the same time.

Follow The Tour:

May 11^th ~ Ramblings of a Perpetual New Girl – Review

May 11^th ~ Radical Reads Book Blog – Guest Post

May 12^th ~ Reads All The Books – Review

May 13^th ~ J & J Book Bangers – Guest Post

May 13^th ~ The Reader and The Chef – Review 

May 13^th ~ Heather Ann's Book Reviews – Review

May 14^th ~ Bookish – Review

May 14^th ~ Book Chic Club – Review

May 15^th ~ Books and Bling – Review 

May 15^th ~ Lady Reader - Tiffany – Review 

About the Author:

Helene Dunbar usually writes features about fiddles and accordions for an Irish Music Magazine, but she’s also been known to write about court cases, theater, and Native American Indian tribes. She’s amazed that she has a day job that pays her to spend time on Facebook and Twitter, and that, on a good day, gives her time to let the voices in her head out into the world to tell a story.   If she had to put money on it, she’d bet that if music didn’t exist, she wouldn’t be able to write.  She’s lived in two countries, six states, and is currently holed up in Nashville with her husband, daughter, two cats, and the world’s friendliest golden retriever.

Find The Author: 

Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Website

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Event Hosted By:

The Good and the Bad - 1st Annual Chicago YA Book Fest 2015 #CYABookFest

I spent last weekend in Chicago, in the cold and rainy Chicago to attend the First Annual Chicago Young Adult Book Festival. There were five panels and seventeen authors. The themes were very eclectic and the authors were given questions and topics that really made them think about their answers. I can't touch on every topic on the panels but there are a couple that I would like to discuss in depth. If anyone has any questions about things aren't discussed please email me and I will be happy to discuss any part of the event(s). 

External Voices influencing writing:

This topic touched on fan fiction, social media, bloggers, and other writing influences.

Some of the authors thought that fan fiction is basically taking their ideas and writing them but with slightly different situations, characters, etc. Then, there were other authors that said they would be flattered if someone wrote fan fiction based on their novels. 

[Please note that EVERY author had their own opinion and it cannot be assumed that they all felt the same way.]

Social Media pretty much was a 50/50. Some of the authors don't even use it and some use it regularly, not necessarily to promote themselves but for the fun of it.

Now, we're getting to the Blogger topic. This is a touchy topic because many things were said and not specifically explained so one could have taken things one way or another. The problem with that is if it's taken the wrong way - out of context it seems to be negative. Very negative. So, I am going to shed some light on the subject. 

ARC's - Advanced Reading Copies = Free books released to bloggers early for honest reviews. Completely used for the intentions of early promotion and buzz for a new release.

One author was against the ARC program. The author had nothing but bad experiences and felt as if the program was being abused as the free books went out but reviews did not come in. 

Some had no opinion at all, they didn't mind the program and hadn't had these same negative experiences. 

Then there were the authors that were absolutely fine with bloggers receiving ARC's because they knew that the reviews and power that bloggers have in the reading community help them tremendously.

[Please be aware that there were authors that had never had direct contact with bloggers and some that had, good and bad. Not all answers can be assumed for all of the authors.]

Of course the subject came up of the different types of reviews that received these ARC's. The authors said that there were "professional reviewers" and then there were "bloggers". This was not meant to belittle bloggers in any way, this was a fact stating that there is a difference between the two. And there is. Professional reviewers work for companies specifically for reviewing and get paid. Bloggers do not. They instead spend their own time and money. Bottom line is both are opinions of the individual. No review can be "right" or "wrong" they can definitely heavily influence people but again, it's just an opinion. 

[I would like to add here that reviews written by bloggers are NOT meant for authors. They are meant for other bloggers and readers. An author really shouldn't be reading reviews written by bloggers, there is nothing that can be done at that point as the book is already written. Hence, the blogger review is only an opinion, a valid one but still an opinion.]

Glamorous/Not glamorous truths:

This panel was last and in my opinion the best.

Several things were discussed during this hour and it was all about the authors and their lives. 

"What did you do with your advance?" Oh, the answers we got from this!

Terra Elan McVoy - Paid off Student Loans

Andrew Smith - Saved and bought daughter a special sweet 16 gift

Ted Goeglein - Purchased a bootie. For reals.

Christa Desir - Donated to help rape victims.  - ALL 3 Advances!

Carrie Mesrobian - Bought rad boots and paid bills

M. Molly Backes - Bought a car, not so glamorous but one that still keeps her going today.

Another question was 'How do you deal with bad reviews' and again, we have a mix of answers. One author just blows it off, another really takes it personally and questions the ability of her writing. One doesn't necessarily read them, one consults close friends for advice and another does crafty projects to make light of it and feel better. Basically to "own" the review. Obviously none of them particularly like or want negative reviews but they know that it's inevitable. One thing that all of them did agree with is that if someone wrote a negative review and hated the book, they shouldn't send the author the review or tag them on social media. Really that's only hurtful. 

I think that sometimes bloggers forget that authors are just people and that they have feelings too. I also think that the same goes for some authors, they don't take into consideration the feelings of a blogger when it comes to reviews. I think that we all need to come to a common ground and stick together because we're all in it for the same thing. We love the books, and our love of books sell books. It's that simple. 

Bottom line, it was a fun and informative day and I am looking forward to going back next year.