Hi
lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Gwendolyn Druyor and her new
book, “Shifter School”! For other stops
on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or
any of the images in this post – except the Available at Amazon picture.
Be
sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $50 Amazon or Barnes
and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back
daily to interact with Gwendolyn and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks
for stopping by! Wishing you lots of
luck in this fabulous giveaway!
Shifter School
by Gwendolyn Druyor
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GENRE: Urban Fantasy
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BLURB:
She’s
gonna get them all killed.
So they
locked her away.
Laylea
has been hiding her entire life. She’s never been to school. She’s never had a
friend her own age. She’s never known anyone else like her.
All
that is about to change.
In a
world hidden from wyrdos and humans alike, shifters are still recovering from a
vicious plot to destroy them all. They have two laws they live by now:
1) Hide
2) Protect
the children at all costs.
Laylea
has just broken rule number one. But she’s only fourteen. So they’re sending
her to school. Where she’s going to learn . . .
Anyplace
can be a prison.
The
Lincoln Park Shifter School is not your grandma’s uber-secret, underground
academy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT TWO:
A
long, shrill scream drew Laylea back into the zoo. The guard who didn’t want to
be called Beta was backing away from a tall black man in jeans, a button-down,
and Fox sandals.
“Kyle!”
Laylea screamed his name even as she heard KC screaming hers. “Kyle! You’re a
good man! Think of Jeannie and KJ!”
The
vampire looked her way. His familiar, affable smile appeared and he waved at
her. “We’re just gonna have a talk. Get back to school, you reprobate.”
Then
the smile melted away as though it had never been and Kyle stalked out of
sight.
“Lee,
come on.” KC yanked her out the entrance.
“No,”
She tried to pull away but KC was strong. “I have to help him.”
“No
one can help that guy now.”
Tears
poured down Laylea’s face. KC was right. If Kyle had already killed a pack of
werewolves, Laylea wasn’t going to be able to stop him from killing one guard.
But she had to try. She hadn’t spent the last seven months hiding him from Dee
and Morioka and everyone else just to give up on Kyle now. “I can.”
She
yanked her arm out of KC’s grip and they both fell on the uneven steps of the
plinth.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GUEST POST:
Who Inspired my Love for Books, You Ask?
Let
me ask you, do you know what it’s like to have a wombmate?
Everyone
thinks that having a twin is the most marvelous stroke of gestational luck.
Except my mother. A: It nearly killed her. B: She spent the first decade of our
lives terrified that we were going to be the same person.
Personally,
I don’t see what the problem is with that as long as she raised us to be a good
person. But, she read a book that said you should make every effort to treat
your twins like individuals. I think she then amended that in her mind to read
“wildly different individuals.”
When
people bought us matching gifts, she exchanged one. When my sister, Meg, and I
picked out the same gift for each other, she convinced one of us to pick
something else. She never let us wear the same clothes.
But
books were a different matter. Books were revered in my house. Books were meant
to be read by everyone. They were the one thing that Meg and I could share.
Except, an actual, true difference between us foiled this meeting of the minds.
Meg
has dyslexia. She got tested. She got extra tutoring. Phonics came into our
lives. Well, hers. I learned Phonics by hiding behind furniture or listening in
from the next room.
Our
love of reading was ingrained from the get go. But she had to work harder at
it. For me, reading is like breathing. I turn a page and all the words flash
into my brain. Meg turns a page and the words scamper like flies attacking a
bug zapper.
She’s
kind of a genius. And because of her challenged brain, she became an incredibly
disciplined and hard-working genius.
Me.
I’m a bit of slacker.
But
when I think something is too hard or would take too much work, I think of Meg.
And I think of books. If you love something, it’s absolutely worth the extra
effort. I don’t pick up choreography very quickly. I’m way more cerebral than
physical. But man, do I love dancing and stage fighting. So, when I decided I
wanted to do it, I followed my sister’s example. I studied longer and harder. I
searched for techniques that would work for me. I stuck to it because she
taught me some things are worth the effort.
Nobody
needed to inspire my love for books. I was smitten right from the start. One
reading of P.D. Eastman’s Are You My
Mother? and I was a goner.
But
Meg inspires me to respect books and appreciate them and never take their magic
for granted.
Which
is why I put up with it when she calls to scream at me for killing her favorite
character (Hardt’s Tale) or removing
the coffee from a fictional break room (WereHuman:
The Witch’s Daughter) or keeping secrets from my readers about certain
characters’ brothers. (Shifter School)
I
thought of Meg a lot when I was working on Shifter
School. Our mother sent us to different schools (shocked, aren’t you?) so I
got to draw inspiration from all of her friends and their issues as well as
from my own galaxy of drama. Plus, there’s one character in particular who I
thought was going to struggle through the whole series and never really get
noticed or appreciated until they’re all more grown up. But he always showed up
carrying books. Nearly every time Laylea went to the library, I’d see him
there. Don’t worry. He gets a moment in Shifter
School. And I think he’s going to get some bigger moments in the future
books because I’m pretty sure my muse decided that he’s going be Laylea’s Meg.
He may not sit her down and tell her the value of hard work. No, he definitely
won’t be doing that. But Meg never did that. I learned from watching her. And
Laylea’s going to be a better shifter because of her Meg.
I get a lot of texts from
Meg when she’s reading my books. And it means more than all the 5-star reviews
in the world to know that she thinks my books are worth the effort.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
Gwendolyn Druyor was
born at the Quonset Point Naval Air Station Hospital, North Kingston, RI. The
ID bracelet wrapped three times around her little wrist. She could swim before
she could walk and read before she started school.
She
has traveled the world telling stories. After a year in Amsterdam writing and
performing sketch comedy at Boom Chicago, she toured North America with
Shenandoah Shakespeare and with the incredible educational show Sex Signals.
From Paris, FR to William’s Bay, WI, you’ll find her gypsy life reflected in
her books. If you met her on the road, read her closely, you may find yourself
in there.
For
now, Gwendolyn lives in Hollywood with her Irish Jack Russell, Josh Lyman
Zyrga, who is still pouting over the fact that she didn’t put him on the cover
of WereHuman.
For
more information on Gwendolyn and her projects sign up for her newsletter at
the links below.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONNECT WITH GWENDOLYN:
Website & Newsletter:
Website:
Facebook:
Twitter:
Instagram:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AMAZON BOOK BUY LINK:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFO:
Gwendolyn will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N
GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just
helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Prizes are given away by the
sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish
Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
I enjoyed getting to know your book; congrats on the tour and I hope it is a fun one for you :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by, Lisa. I'm having a lot of fun. Ally has a great site. [I'm a little nervous about when my sister reads this post.]
DeleteCongrats on the tour and thank you for the excerpt and giveaway. I appreciate the opportunity to win.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading the excerpt, James. If you win, I hope you'll grab a copy of Shifter School with some of your prize! If you ever get to Universal Studios Hollywood, come by the Tour and you might win an ice cream from me!
DeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteGreat to be here today, Ally! It's a bit of a holiday here in Hollywood. Nobody will be working early today. Oscar parties are the best parties of the year. I'm still riding high on my fellow Boom Chicago alum Jordan Peele won for best screenplay! And Allison Janney deserves every acting award ever molded.
ReplyDeleteI
Another new-to-me author. Nice to meet you and I look forward to following your tour and getting to know more about you and your book.
ReplyDeleteVery nice to meet you, too, Karen. I think it's gonna be a really fun tour. It feel special to be starting just as awards season ends here in Hollywood.
DeleteThe Shape of Water win is very exciting for future fantasy films! If only Daniel Kaluuya were much younger. He'd be a great Oscar in Shifter School!
Sounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteI hope you love it and let me know. This has been a great week for reading in California. Rain is so magical.
DeleteI was always partial to Eastman's GO, DOG. GO!, so I need to read ARE YOU MY MOTHER?
ReplyDelete--Trix
Oh My Goodness, YES! Yes, yes, yes, Trix.
DeleteGo read it and then read this story:
I recorded a stack of books onto a tape when my first nephew was born. He lived very far away so we didn't meet until he was a couple of years old. When we met, he was scared. He didn't know this strange lady. Then his Mom whispered to him, "This is the Snort lady." His face lit up. He yelled, "SNOOOOOOOOOORT" in the middle of a crowded church and RAN down the aisle for a hug.
Are You My Mother is the book that keeps on giving love.
Sounds great
ReplyDeleteThanks! It's so nice to meet another Gwendolyn. We are rare, are we not? My Dad wanted to name me Wendy but thought it wouldn't be formal enough if I became president. How'd you come by the best name?
DeleteThanks for the giveaway; I like the excerpt. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading! I hope you'll pick up a copy of Shifter School.
DeleteSounds great.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Ha, your handle. I just got back from doing a tour of the Universal Studios Backlot. We have Vin Diesel's FnF car out there and I haven't gotten confirmation of whether it's a '69 or a '70 Dodge Charger. Would you know?
DeleteThank you, Victoria. I appreciate you taking the time.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the chance at winning this great giveaway. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading the guest post, thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by, Nikolina. I hope you'll give Shifter School a read!
DeleteHappy Hump Day! I'm here to say thanks again and to let you know I appreciate the chance at winning.
ReplyDeleteHello! It's snowy day here at home. Hope your day is much better than ours. Have a good one and thanotheranks again for the chance at winning.
ReplyDeleteThe day so many of us look forward to...Happy Friday! Make it a great one and thanks for the awesome giveaway.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy this beautiful Saturday and I want you to know I appreciate all you do bringing us this great giveaway to enter.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting the giveaway. I hope that I win. This looks like a fun read. Bernie Wallace BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
ReplyDeleteHave a beautiful Sunday and thank you for the opportunity to win this giveaway. I sure appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting the giveaway. This looks like a fun read. I hope that I win. Bernie Wallace BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
ReplyDeleteGood Monday Morning! Hope your weekend was terrific. As always, I am here to thank you for the chance at winning.
ReplyDeleteHappy Tuesday and thank you so much for the opportunity to win this great giveaway.
ReplyDeleteWe made it....it' s Friday! Have a great one and enjoy your weekend also. Thanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteI am stopping by to do my daily entry and thanking you again for the opportunity to win. Enjoy your Sunday!
ReplyDeleteHello! Stopping by to enter again today and to thank you once again. Please don't get tired of hearing from me :)
ReplyDeleteI am running late today to stop by. Been busy painting but want to take a minute to say thanks for the chance to win.
ReplyDeleteHello! I am back to thank you again. Been pretty busy lately and missing many entries but I appreciate the chance at winning.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the opportunity to win this giveaway and all the difficult work you put into bringing it to us.
ReplyDeleteGood Friday Blessings and thank you so much for the chance at winning.
ReplyDelete