Enter for a chance to win one of two copies of this fun book of challenges! How many bucket list items have you done? Find out with this book!
This giveaway is in honor of For the Love of Donuts Books and Book 2’s release on June 2nd! Check out Seize the Donut and pre-order now.
Friday June 2nd, 2017 I plan to publish For the Love of Donuts Book 2 – Seize the Donut! This book will feature the stories of both Nichole and Vanessa as they start their lives beyond high school! This book will be a New Adult Contemporary Fiction book with POV from both Nichole and Vanessa and so much drama! Haven’t read the first book? No problem! This book is standalone, but if you want to read the first book (get it here)- it will be on sale for $2.99 until June 2nd.
This story, unlike the first book, follows the two girls as two dueling POV characters and how their stories intersect and diverge. They are part of each other’s stories, but not the main focus.
Vanessa wants to be independent from her friend. She wants to make new friends and fit in and leave her past behind, but it still comes back to her in the form of her PTSD. Hiding behind her new self will cause issues with her new friends, her family, and her new boyfriend.
Nichole wants to go back in time to when she was best friends with Vanessa and life wasn’t so hard! She ends up losing her housing, her car, her job, and some of her sanity. After meeting some good people she is able to start picking herself back up again (without Vanessa!) Nichole is the independent one, until she gets in over her head again.
Other major characters – Bruce from book one is back as the hot senior at the college Vanessa attends. He works at the local Starbucks and is studying psychology. He takes an interest in Nichole. Jax is the hot bad boy who has a thing for Vanessa, but he’s no good for her. Vanessa’s two new friends – Hazel and Zelda are the embodiment of New College (a real public liberal arts college in Florida). New College features prominently, as do some other local businesses in the Sarasota area.
Underwest Donuts
New York, New York
638 W 47TH ST, New York , NY 10036
212 317 2359
What I tried:
Carwash, raspberry yogurt, and maple waffle.
~$9.75.
What to expect:
The raspberry is sour and sweet. The Carwash is classic vanilla. Heavy fresh cake base on all the donuts. The Carwash is most popular. Get your donuts, literally, in the car wash building, where you’d normally use the restroom or sit and watch your car get freshened up.
My favorite:
The location is fabulously unique (if you don’t mind the smell of carwash chemicals). The donuts are also normal sized and much like Dunkin Donuts in that they have heavier cake filling and aren’t bigger than your hand!
Friday June 2nd, 2017 I plan to publish For the Love of Donuts Book 2 – Seize the Donut! This book will feature the stories of both Nichole and Vanessa as they start their lives beyond high school! This book will be a New Adult Contemporary Fiction book with POV from both Nichole and Vanessa and so much drama!
Here’s a little tease into book 2!
Seize the Donut is a young adult/new adult novel about two best friends, life after high school, and dealing with adult responsibilities. The more that Vanessa and Nichole leave behind their friendship, the more that their lives seem to fall apart because friendships shouldn’t be taken for granted.
Pre-order will be available soon!
I’m very excited about this book and to share it with you!
Happy donuting! Stay tuned for National Donut Day Events near you!
I had fun dressing up for this event. Hope to see you next year!
Serenade
Heather McKenzie
(The Nightmusic Trilogy #1)
Published by: Clean Teen Publishing
Publication date: April 17th 2017
Genres: Mystery, Romance, Suspense, Young Adult
Kidnapped and held hostage in the Rockies, a teenage heiress falls for her abductor while her corrupt father and devoted bodyguard fight to get her back. The discovery of true love and dark family secrets turns deadly in this epic coming of age adventure.
Kaya Lowen dreams of living like a normal eighteen-year old, but being heiress to a billion-dollar company has put her life in constant danger. Fiercely guarded by her powerful and corrupt father, she develops close bonds with those who protect her, especially Oliver – a bodyguard who has proven his devotion to her time and again. He wins her heart – until a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger has her questioning everything she believes in. Haunted by true love and reeling from a guilty conscience, Kaya’s world unravels when she’s kidnapped.
Held captive in a rugged wilderness fraught with raging storms, mystical caves and deadly predators, Kaya’s father scours the forest and her bodyguard fights to get her back. But, the discovery of a dark family secret makes Kaya wonder if staying in the arms of her blue-eyed abductor—a captivating stranger with dark secrets of his own – is a safer place to be. At least, that’s what her heart is telling her, her head is saying run…
An epic adventure centered on a smoldering love-triangle, Serenade sings a timeless tale of courage, self-discovery, and life-or-death love that will leave you breathless.
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo
—
EXCERPT:
This was it, now or never.
I gathered every single ounce of energy I had and steadied my mind to ignore the pain in my foot and the dizziness in my head. Then, with everything I had, I turned and bolted toward the dense forest. The darkness instantly enveloped me. I could see well enough not to run into tree trunks, but branches caught me at every turn. My head felt as if it was spinning like a top, but I forced my legs to keep going. I could hear the men’s voices yelling at each other in an organized manner.
I tripped and found myself on all fours. Get up, girl. There’s nothing wrong with you—get up…
I made it a few more steps before my head connected with a blue spruce, and then I collapsed in a pathetic heap. My arms were so wobbly I could barely wipe at the gash across my forehead. My body was completely failing me. I prayed to God that the dog would just snap my neck and get it over with quickly…
Human footsteps approached. I gulped in some air and tried to push myself up, but the world tipped on its side and I fell with it. Within moments, large hands had my wrists pinned to the ground. I struggled and fought with everything I had left, which wasn’t much.
“Stop fighting,” he said.
His voice created such confusion inside me. I kicked harder.
“Stop… please,” he begged.
His body pinned mine to the ground. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes.
“Please, Kaya, trust me. I won’t let anyone hurt you, I promise.” He leaned forward and pressed his sleeve to my bleeding forehead, dabbing and inspecting it closely while I had no choice but to gaze up him. How could this beautiful man be a kidnapper? It just didn’t fit.
“It’s just a scratch; no stitches required,” he said, voice trailing off as his eyes met mine.
We stayed like that for a while: me on the ground, him kneeling over me, and our line of sight only on each other—until an unmistakable sound broke through the tree tops.
“They’ll find me,” I said softly, wondering if Oliver was in the helicopter circling over our heads.
He positioned his arms under my body, and, in one graceful motion, he picked me up and into his arms. “Just don’t run. Promise me that, please. I’ll keep you safe. You have my word. Okay?”
He held me tightly—protectively—waiting eagerly for my reply with turmoil in his blue eyes. My whole body hurt, and admittedly, I couldn’t have walked another inch. The wolves or that beast would have got to me long before Oliver would have. I was at my kidnapper’s mercy, laying helplessly in his arms and falling harder for him by the second.
“I promise,” I said.
Author Bio:
Heather McKenzie is a Canadian author and Serenade is her first novel. A professional singer/songwriter with five albums to date, she has been telling stories through music for years and pulls from her extraordinary experiences as a musician to fuel her passion for creating Young Adult fiction. A rocker at heart, a mom of three, an aspiring painter, and a lover of animals, she is kept grounded by her husband at their home in Edmonton.
GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Dough Donuts
New York, New York
230 Park Avenue (at 45th St) New York, NY 10169
646-747-0806
What I tried:
passionfruit and horchata blood orange (the daily special)
~$6.50.
What to expect:
More than just fun looking and fun flavored donuts, this is a space you can chill (which apparently in NYC is difficult to find).
My favorite:
The view. These donuts were not worth the calories, but the glazes were worth a lick.
After a visit to Georgia’s Bakery – where I snacked on the delicious cronut – I went upstairs to the Village Theatre to see the Superior Donuts production!
My last experience with community theater wasn’t that great, so I didn’t have high expectations going in, however, just seeing the set I could tell that this show was going to be good. Care and detail had been put into the set. The walls of the donut ‘shop’ were made to look old and outdated. They even had a fake view to the outside with an open sign and everything!
If you get a chance, I would highly recommend this play!
Full of laughs and catch you by surprise contemporary phrasing (aka adult language), Superior Donuts was highly entertaining. The play itself contained great dialogue and character interaction and while some scenes were a bit unusual, the play as a whole was very well written. The Valley Center Stage was a delightful little theater. No seat was a bad seat and the actors’ voices carried all the way to the back. The actors themselves carried the play from delightful to amazing. Their delivery and timing were impeccable. They even ate donuts and drank coffee during the scenes! My favorite parts of the play were the fast quips making fun of everything from Starbucks to donuts to the way the main character, Arthur, dresses. Grab yourself a donut from the concession stand (courtesy of Georgia’s) and settle in for a night (or afternoon) of laughs and entertainment with this comedy drama.
Description from the website: Superior Donuts takes place in the historic Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, one of Chicago’s most racially diverse communities. Arthur Przybyszewski, a despondent, aging 1960s radical owns a run-down, dated donut shop that has been in his family for sixty years. New employee Franco Wicks, a young, enthusiastic black man, inspires to infuse new energy into the shop while Arthur remains detached from investing in his business and life. Arthur grapples with his past while Franco, trying to find footing in his own life, has his own serious challenges. This provocative comedy drama explores the challenges of embracing the past while celebrating the redemptive power of friendship.
Happy April Fools!
I decided not to eat 50 donuts, but to film myself attempting to do 50 push-ups! More or less I’ve accomplished this goal! I will also be releasing Nichole’s Book of Practical Things later today as a print book and the latest accompaniment book in the For the Love of Donuts Series.
Doughnuttery
New York, New York
1000S Eighth Avenue, (Columbus Circle Subway Station), Suite #22, New York, NY 10019
212-633-4359
What I tried:
6 for $6 (plain and lemon)
~$6 and tax
What to expect:
Grab and go donuts smothered in a multitude of sugars.
My favorite:
This donut shop is located in the subway! Underground donuts!
Rachel Author Barnard 