Animate Me Blog Tour Artwork: Brooke Tobin

Ruth Clampett, daughter of legendary animation director Bob Clampett, grew up surrounded by artists and animators. A graduate of Art Center College of Design, she has been VP of Design for Warner Brothers Studio Stores and taught photography at UCLA. Today she runs her own studio and as the Fine Art publisher for Warner Brothers Studios has come to know and work with some of the world’s greatest artists in the fields of animation and comics.

From this colorful background comes Ruth’s first novel, Animate Me, a fun and sexy, unique and engaging contemporary romance.

Ruth lives and works in Los Angeles, strictly supervised by her teenage daughter, who helps plan their summer around their yearly pilgrimage to the San Diego Comic Con.

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She seemed far beyond his reach…could love draw them together?
For years shy animator Nathan has carried a torch for Brooke, the beautiful and dynamic Director of Development at their animation studio, even creating B-Girl, a comic-book heroine in her likeness. When a new project throws the two of them together, lovestruck Nathan finally seizes his moment – only to find Arnauld, head of the animation studio, claiming exclusive rights to Brooke’s affections.

But Nathan, it turns out, is not giving up on his dreams so easily. With inspired determination, he sets out to be the super hero of wooing his girl. Threatened by his persistence, Arnauld plays dirty – only to spark an uprising at the studio that unleashes the sort of havoc only a building full of frustrated animators can create. While Nathan pulls out all the stops to win his B-girl, Brooke has to choose. Should she pursue the sparkling career that has taken her years to build…or follow her heart?

You can purchase Animate Me at the following Retailer:

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And now, Brooke Tobin

The Giveaways.

Thank you Ruth for making this giveaway possible.

2 Winners will receive a Signed Copy of Animate Me & a Signed Illustrated Print by Ruth Clampett.

5 Winners will receive an E-Copy of Animate Me by Ruth Clampett.

1 Winner will receive a $10.00 Amazon Gift Card by Ruth Clampett.

1 Winner will receive One poster, and Bookmark of a Surprise Art by James Vallesteros.

10 Winners will receive One bookmark of a Surprise Art by James Vallesteros.

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Back Before Dark Blog Tour Artwork: Cooper MacKinnon

The Quick Bio

Happily married for more than thirty years to Cheryl, the love of my life.
Dad to three grown sons and two daughter-in-laws
Elder Chairman in my church and high school small group leader
Full time speaker and author since 2004
Living in the greater Chicago area
Grateful for God’s incredible grace and mercy to me in countless ways

My Passions
To be a man of integrity, who loves God and others with all my heart.
To be an extraordinary husband to Cheryl, the wife of my youth.
To love my sons, daughters-in-law, grandkids and extended family with everything in me.
To impact kids and youth in ways that cause them to become true men and women of God.
To help parents teach their kids about God and the principles He’s given us to live by.
To help couples experience the richness that comes from a marriage guided by God.
To help men see what a Christian man should be in all the various facets of life.

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'Praise for Code of Silence: 'Deliberate, plausible, and gritty whodunit.' --Booklist Starred Review 

Taken! A detour through the park leads Cooper, Gordy, Hiro, and Lunk straight into a trap, and Gordy is abducted! For the kidnapper, it's all a game, a way to settle an old score, with no one getting hurt. But evil has a way of escalating, and once his identity is discovered, the rules change. Despite the best of police efforts, the hours tick by without a clue or a ransom call, leaving everyone to their own fears. Gordy is gone. Cooper descends deeper into a living nightmare, imagining the worst for his best friend and cousin. Hours stretch into days, and talks of a memorial service begin to surface. But Cooper still feels his cousin is alive and develops a reckless plan, changing all the rules. Now the one who set out to rescue his friend needs to be rescued himself. Sometimes rescuing a friend from darkness means going in after them.

You can purchase Back Before Dark at the following Retailers:

    

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And now, Cooper MacKinnon

The Giveaways.

Thank you Tim for making this giveaway possible.

 2 Winners will receive a Signed Copy of Back Before Dark by Tim Shoemaker.

1 Winner will receive One poster, One Bookmark, and One button of a Surprise Art by James Vallesteros.

10 Winners will receive One bookmark of a Surprise Art by James Vallesteros.

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Clear Your Shelf Giveaway Hop

Clear Your Shelf Giveaway Hop

Hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer

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Centuries after wars nearly destroyed civilization, the two islands of New Pacifica stand alone, a terraformed paradise where even the Reduction—the devastating brain disorder that sparked the wars—is a distant memory. Yet on the isle of Galatea, an uprising against the ruling aristocrats has turned deadly. The revolutionaries’ weapon is a drug that damages their enemies’ brains, and the only hope is rescue by a mysterious spy known as the Wild Poppy.

On the neighboring island of Albion, no one suspects that the Wild Poppy is actually famously frivolous aristocrat Persis Blake. The teenager uses her shallow, socialite trappings to hide her true purpose: her gossipy flutternotes are encrypted plans, her pampered sea mink is genetically engineered for spying, and her well-publicized new romance with handsome Galatean medic Justen Helo… is her most dangerous mission ever.

Though Persis is falling for Justen, she can’t risk showing him her true self, especially once she learns he’s hiding far more than simply his disenchantment with his country’s revolution and his undeniable attraction to the silly socialite he’s pretending to love. His darkest secret could plunge both islands into a new dark age, and Persis realizes that when it comes to Justen Helo, she’s not only risking her heart, she’s risking the world she’s sworn to protect.

In this thrilling adventure inspired by The Scarlet Pimpernel, Diana Peterfreund creates an exquisitely rendered world where nothing is as it seems and two teens with very different pasts fight for a future only they dare to imagine.

You can purchase Across a Star-Swept Sea at the following Retailers:

    

And now, The Giveaways.

1 Winner will receive an ARC Copy of Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund.

Hop your way to the other Blogs Here!

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How I Lost You Blog Tour Artwork: Grace Anderson

Like all of us, I am different things to different people. Mom. Sister. Auntie. Wife. Daughter. Cousin. Friend. And I love all of my roles especially Mom, but at the end of the day, when I am all alone with myself drifting off to sleep, I am Writer.

My road to author was a little windy. While in college, I worked as a DJ in a night club. I like to tell people that because it makes me sound cooler than I am. After college I worked as an advertising copywriter for radio and then TV and eventually was lured over to sales and marketing. I missed writing though and years later (always a late bloomer was I) after having my son, I started my first book. I've been writing books ever since and once I started writing YA, found like I'd found my way home.

I can block out almost anything when I'm deep inside a story. Writing one or reading one. Books continue to be something I turn to when I'm happy or sad or tired or wide awake. You get the picture right :-)

Two Random Janet Gurtler facts.
1. I wear socks to bed.
2. I hate talking on the phone. Don't like it. Never have.

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There are a few things Grace Anderson knows for sure. One is that nothing will ever come between her and her best friend, Kya Kessler. They have a pact. Buds Before Studs. Sisters Before Misters. But in the summer before senior year, life throws out challenges they never expected. And suddenly the person who's always been there starts to need the favor returned. Grace and Kya are forced to question how much a best friend can forgive. And the answer is not what they expected.

You can purchase How I Lost You at the following Retailers:

    

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And now, Grace Anderson

The Giveaways.

Thank you Janet for making this giveaway possible.

 2 Winners will receive a Signed Copy of How I Lost You & Swag by Janet Gurtler.

1 Winner will receive One poster, One Bookmark, and One button of a Surprise Art by James Vallesteros.

10 Winners will receive One bookmark of a Surprise Art by James Vallesteros.

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WonderCon 2013 - Cosplay and Celebrities

The annual WonderCon event concluded over March 29-31, 2013. This annual event has been a staple in the San Francisco Bay Area as its biggest convention of its kind. The ongoing renovation of the Moscone Center in San Francisco has caused the event to be relocated to Anaheim in 2012. The hope to return to San Francisco in 2013 was shadowed by the ongoing renovation at the Moscone Center and the overwhelming outcome of WonderCon's first Anaheim visit. 2013 saw the second year in a row that Disneyland's backyard of Anaheim hosting this extravagant. 

The event was held at the Anaheim Convention Center, right across the street from Disneyland. As with any convention, Saturday seemed to be the premiere day for panels and cosplays and it was certainly the case. Saturday badges immediately sold-out with limited number of tickets for Friday and Sunday were still available on Friday.

The first day is usually our "looking around-checking out-scoping out" the place unless we have attended it before. Saturday's panels were headlined by The Mortal Instruments, CW's Arrow, Evil Dead, Pacific Rim, and others from the entertainment world. The premiere artist for this year was DC's Jim Lee, who also inked the artwork for the program book.

Of course, my favorite part of any convention is the amazing cosplays roaming around. As an on-going trend lately, there were an abundance of Finn's (Adventure Time) and Deadpools. However, there were many awesome cosplays that caught the lens of my camera.

The tiny Mandalorian warrior (Boba Fett) and Mini Darth Vader is my son who is quickly learning that cosplaying is a form of art. He enjoyed the photo-ops with the wonderful cosplayers of WonderCon.

The cool part of any con are the exclusive giveaways and things that you can only buy or get from cons.

I managed to get a whole bunch of comics signed by the artist or writer. During the CW Beauty and the Beast Panel, I managed to get Kristin Kreuk's scribbled autograph. And perhaps the coolest haul of that weekend is having Jim Lee sign my X-Men Volume 2 Issue #1 (Exclusive pull-out cover) that I've held on since 1991.

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Here are some celebrity sightings at WonderCon 2013.

Lilly Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Keving Zegers, Cassandra Clare. Cassie with my Boba Fett.

Author Frank Beddor. Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca)

CW's Arrow: Stephen Amell, Paul Blackthorne, & Willa Holland.

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As if this weekend couldn't get any better, the cast of Arrow just made it just that sweeter. After a cast signing at the DC booth on Sunday, the talented Willa Holland eyed my son, who was in his Darth Vader costume and was totally blown by the appearance of a tiny Sith Lord. This prompted Stephen Amell to pick up Mini Darth onto the signing table while the cast proceeding the press and onlookers to take pictures. Willa even posted a picture of herself carrying Mini Darth on her Instragram feed (@willaaaahhh). EEK!! They even gave his an Arrow poster signed by the whole cast in attendance (Stephen Amell, Colin Donnell, Willa Holland, and Paul Blackthorne).

Willa's Instagram Photo (@willaaaahh)

http://instagram.com/p/XidGimJG6A/

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Here are more picture of Tiny Boba Fett at the WonderCon Press Photoshoot.

HappeningNow

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