Iris, the Unlikely Hero! Shadow Eyes Re-Release Blog Tour and $50 Amazon Card Giveaway with Dusty Crabtree

Welcome to Dusty Crabtree as she visits Eleni's Taverna as part of her Shadow Eyes Re-Release Blog Tour

Thank you for hosting me! It’s been a long time coming, but I’m so thrilled to finally be re-releasing my young adult, urban fantasy, Shadow Eyes! It was first released in 2012 by Musa Publishing. Musa closed in 2015, and since Shadow Eyes was my first novel, I took the opportunity to revise and change a few minor things before self-publishing it this time. I am very happy with this second version and I hope you will love it too!


(Everyone, don’t forget to enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win a print copy of Shadow Eyes and a $50 gift card to Amazon!)

Let’s check out the synopsis for Shadow Eyes first…

Iris thought she could ignore the shadows…until they came after everyone she loved.

Seventeen-year- old Iris Kohl has been able to see both dark and light figures ever since a tragic incident three years ago. The problem is, no one else seems to see them, and even worse…the dark figures terrorize humans, but Iris is powerless to stop them.

Although she’s learned to deal with watching shadows harass everyone around her, Iris is soon forced to question everything she thinks she knows about her world and herself. Her sanity, strength, and will power are tested to the limits by not only the shadows, but also a handsome new teacher whose presence scares away shadows, a new friend with an awe-inspiriting aura, and a mysterious, alluring new student whom Iris has a hard time resisting despite already having a boyfriend. As the shadows invade and terrorize her own life and family, Iris must ultimately accept the guidance of an angel to revisit the most horrific event of her life and become the hero she was meant to be.

So Why is Iris an Unlikely Hero?

I’ve always been a fan of strong female characters. Take Katniss Everdeen for example. She is, beyond a doubt, the hero of her story. She doesn’t need a male to save her or take care of her, although she has a few who would and sometimes try. In fact, she takes care of them a few different times. She’s independent and isn’t afraid to rebel against the corrupt culture she lives in. Aside from that, Katniss is also hard-working, protective, loyal, loving, and genuine.

Strong female characters are so popular because they become heroes to the girls, young and old, who read about them. As readers of their stories, we then try to emulate and strive to be like them some day.

The reason why Iris is an unlikely hero is because she doesn’t come across as a strong female character right away. To put it gently, she has some issues. But I think that makes her relatable. We all have issues we need to work through, right? We all have a past we must overcome. We most likely don’t have the same issues or the same past, but when we see Iris eventually work through all of her mess and end up on top, it gives us hope for our own struggles. It gives us hope that we’ll eventually turn our mess around for good, too.

So, I guess what I want to say is, don’t give up on Iris. She may at first seem weak and ineffective, and you may feel sorry for her at times and frustrated with her at other times for not stepping up. But be patient and remember she’s not perfect just like we’re not perfect. And if you stick with her to the end, you’ll be so glad you did as you’ll get to see a huge transformation where Iris is empowered beyond what she ever thought possible. 

And that’s just the beginning of Iris’s story…



Author Bio 

Dusty Crabtree loves a good story, but she also loves young people. These two loves are evident in all parts of her life. She has been a high school English teacher since 2006 and a creative writing teacher since 2014. She's also been a youth sponsor at her local church for as long as she’s been teaching. She feels very blessed with the amazing opportunities she has to develop meaningful relationships with teens on a daily basis. With her love of reading in the mix, becoming an author of young adult books was just a natural development of those two passions in her life. She lives with her husband, Clayton, in Yukon, Oklahoma, where they often serve their community as foster parents.


Check out Dusty’s blog
Find her on Facebook 
Follow her on Twitter
Follow her on Instagram – dustycrabtree12
Check out Shadow Eyes on Goodreads

View the book trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7UP9A0Fm78

Buy Shadow Eyes on Amazon or other major online bookstores like Barnes&Noble and Apple (Print is also available on Amazon)

Amazon | Apple | Barnes&Noble | Smashwords




a Rafflecopter giveaway


Rafflecopter Link - http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/aa7efb191/


To see other posts on this tour and to increase your chances of winning, visit Dusty’s blog for the schedule with links as they are posted. 

Thanks for dropping by Dusty!

~Eleni

Special Guest: Shona Husk

Today, I have Shona Husk as special guest on my blog. A fellow DarkSider, Shona has done an amazing job in publishing via various publishers in novels and novellas alike. Take it away, Shona...

Switching POV

Most of my stories have been written in third person, aside from a couple of short stories. I’d never considered writing a whole novel in first person. One POV for 60,000 plus words?

But that means either the hero or the heroine will miss out, and I want both sides. And while I’ve read a couple of books where one character was in 1st and the other in 3rd it never quiet worked for me. I’ve also read one where both hero and heroine were in first—that worked but each change in POV was noted with the character’s name at the start of the scene.

So I was very surprised when I started writing Dark Vow and I realised after a couple of paragraphs that it in first person in the heroine’s POV. I was surprised because I plot, so I knew where my story was going, I had arcs for both characters…and yet it looked like my hero was going to miss out.

I stopped writing and considered switching to third, after all there is a very big difference between a short story and a novel and I wasn’t sure I could do the whole story from one POV. Then it became a challenge. I’d see how far I could get.

Once I’d given myself permission to just write it flowed. Dark Vow was, and still is, the easiest story I have ever written.

There is something about getting into the skin of one character, you only know what they know, there is nothing hidden in other POV and there is never any doubt about which POV to be in. And while I never got to be in the hero’s head I think I put enough of him on the page in action and dialogue, which was also fun, as it meant I could keep what he knew about the Arcane Union secret until he was ready to tell Jaines…and that also meant the reader didn’t find out.

There’s the saying change is as a good as a holiday. For me writing something in a totally different style was refreshing, and while not every story would work in first person it is something I will do again.

Have you challenged yourself as a writer to try something different?

~~~

Thanks, Shona!

Her upcoming release, Dark Vow, will be available on 14 November from Carina Press. 

You can pre-order now.

However, I will be giving away a copy of this ebook away to one lucky commenter.

~yia~

Special Guest: Nicole Murphy ~ Rogue Gadda

With a blog title of Eleni’s Taverna, there was only one thing I could write for you all about – food and drink in the Dream of Asarlai trilogy.

I love reading about food and drink. I love seeing characters interacting in real social environments, or celebrating or commiserating in a way that seems real to me.

Food is something that’s really important in every culture. Even here in Australia, where at times it can be hard to see what is our culture, the one thing that shines through is food.

Major holidays. Celebrations. Australia Day has now become one of the major food moments of our year, with picnics and barbecues. Anzac Day has become synonymous with the biscuit. And at Christmas, we’ve moved from the traditional meals that came with us from England – roast and pudding – and we’re into barbecues and salads. Prawn consumption is higher on Christmas day than any other.

Drinking, of course, has been part of Australia’s culture from the moment the first fleet came into the cove. At one point, our entire economy ran on rum. Watching a sporting event doesn’t seem RIGHT without a beer on hand – at least for me.

So when it came time to write about the gadda, to write about people and relationships, food and drink automatically become an important part of it all.

At the very beginning of Secret Ones, we see Maggie shopping for sparkling wine and nibbles to celebrate receiving her master’s degree. I purposely mirrored this in the first time we meet Lucas – he’s also celebrating a career achievement. It didn’t seem right to be having these celebrations without food.

As the story goes on, we learn that Lucas doesn’t drink much – he’s not comfortable with losing control. Stephen as well, in Power Unbound, states that he only drinks occasionally – his focus has been on reaching sixth order, and he doesn’t want anything to interact with that.

On the other side, both Maggie and Ione are quite comfortable drinking. It showcases the easy attitude both these women have to life – an attitude that their respective partners come to need and appreciate.

Then there’s the famous Hammond Stew – the family secret that only marriage to a Hammond can reveal. I’ve always loved the idea of a family recipe. My family has one – all seven of us Dunkley kids cook our spaghetti bolognaise in pretty much the same way – Mum’s way. We’ve all got variations (I for example add canned tomatoes to mine) but the basis is the same.

So when I realised that Ione was a bit of a gourmet, it made sense to have her be the owner of the secret recipe. It also made sense that Maggie would forever be after her for it. But Ione will remain firm, because family and tradition is important.

And when Hampton and Charlotte are getting to know each other in Rogue Gadda, food is an important part of the courtship – it’s incredible how in the act of sharing a meal, you often end up sharing yourself as well.

I like food – a little too much, my waistline would say. I also like drink – again, much to my waistline’s dismay. But my favourite food and drink nearly always corresponds with people – sharing beers with my brothers, cracking a bottle of champagne with my friends, the first meal I cooked for my husband.

Magical moments, for me and for the gadda.

To win a copy of Rogue Gadda, tell me – what is your favourite meal memory?

Rogue Gadda cookie:

“I can’t cook, I’m afraid,” Hampton said as he brought two dishes out. “I got this from a restaurant in town. I hope it’s suitable.”

 He put the dishes down and the aroma of coq au vin rose to Charlotte’s nose. “Perfect. Although I would have been more impressed if you said you’d cooked it yourself.”

 He sat down and for a moment his eyes were so clear she thought he was looking deep into her soul. “No lies between us, Charlotte.”

~~~

Thanks Nicole for joining me on my blog, and for the giveaway.

So what are you waiting for everyone? 

Comment for you chance to win a copy of Rogue Gadda.

~yia~

Harpies and writing update

I'm talking harpies today over at the Dark Side DownUnder blog.

This was an interesting topic to research. I knew some but it's amazing how much more there is behind the myths, and the changes too. I have to consider what the next mythical creature will be on the next free Magic Thursday. 

I had a really productive week last week - managed to get my goal of 2.5K words. This week hasn't been productive in the writing, but I have been catching up (very slowly) on other projects. The tiredness is still there, and I'm adjusting to it slowly.

I've submitted short stories, and in some cases, resubmitted to another market. That has kept me busy.

Claytons planning is taking its time - I'm Games Master (hee hee) and organising with my sidekick, Mel Teshco,  the fun and games which is turning out really well, so I think. We shall see on the actual weekend. I am also running two of the writing challenges, and will be doing a blogging workshop. So there's still more work to go through.

The SARA girls had a special meeting last night, with special guest speaker, David Griggs. David gave a talk on presenting oneself, which will come in handy in pitching and presentations. A great evening.

Also coming up on my blog on Saturday is Special Guest Nicole Murphy, author of the Dream of the Asarlai series. Yay.

So busy, busy, busy.

How have you all been?

~yia~

Breaking news....Christina Phillips as a guest on Eleni's Taverna

Mark the 15th September down as the lovely Christina Phillips will be my guest with her Forbidden Book Tour.

Christina's book hits the shelves this week!!!

Don't forget to go have a look at her blog for your chance to win a copy of Forbidden!



~yia~