 Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for the Exit Stage Right by Jennifer Wilcock, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours! About the Book Title: Exit Stage Right Author: Jennifer Wilcock Publisher: Word Alive Press Genre: Young Adult Release Date: November 30, 2019 She wants to dance, and she’s willing to sacrifice everything, everyone, to get it. Coco Bradley is a talented ballet dancer, and when an opportunity arises for her to audition for the prestigious Spencer School of the Performing Arts, she’s not about to let anyone stop her— including her parents, her friends, and any of the prima donnas of the art school. A pastor’s kid, Coco has grown up serving God and people, but gaining entry to Spencer means leaving behind all the expectations that come with growing up in the pastorate, as well as the dead-end town of Wyattsville. Coco lives by the creed “Ballet First,” but she’s about to find out in a painful way that there’s more to life than dancing. Opportunities, fame, and love all come calling as Coco chases her dream. But in going after what she wants, will she lose the things that matter most? About the Author Jennifer Willcock grew up telling herself stories in the middle of the night to keep away the monsters that lurked in the dark. Once she realized there weren’t any real monsters, she kept telling stories. A voracious reader, Jennifer reads many different genres, but she never outgrew young adult fiction. A degree in English Literature enabled her to keep her love affair with reading and writing alive. A blogger, speaker, and writer, she belongs to the MOPS Network of Speakers and the Word Guild of Canada. Jennifer studied ballet through the Royal Academy of Dance during her teen years and into adulthood. She has taught in private and community settings and choreographed productions for her church over the years. In 2017, Jennifer decided she was brave enough to try and write fiction and joined NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in November. She “won” it, writing 50,000 words in thirty days. The result is Exit Stage Right, a dream she thought was impossible to achieve. In 2019, the novel made the shortlist of the Word Alive Press fiction writing contest. Besides being a mom to two sons, she is married to Mark, a pastor. She works part-time in the local library, where she’s inspired every day to write a book that will one day be on the shelves. The family’s pet dwarf rabbit, Whiskers, is her muse as he sits at her feet while she writes. She’d love for you to connect with her online. ExcerptExcerpts from Exit Stage Right by Jennifer Willcock Copyright 2019, Word Alive Press Mike flopped down on his double bed, his face sinking into the soft quilt his grandmother had made for him a couple of years ago. He closed his eyes, hoping to block out reality. Coco was leaving. He turned over onto his back and flung his arms over his eyes. He couldn’t believe Pastor Dan and Mrs. Bradley had said yes. He groaned as he thought back to that day on the bus. He should never have told her about that stupid audition. What had he been thinking? She was leaving, and it was all his fault. He’d been dreaming about their last year of high school together. He had hoped ... for what? That maybe she felt something more than friendship for him? That she’d go to prom with him? He pressed his palms against his eyes. Suddenly the dreams he’d been holding on to for so long had tanked. He felt like someone had sucker-punched him. The yearbook on the nightstand caught his eye and he reached for it. Flipping through the pages, he found what he was looking for—a black and white image of Coco and him at a football game in grade ten. He remembered that day like it was yesterday. They had stuffed themselves on hot dogs and popcorn, cheering on the senior football team. And they had laughed and joked. She had looked so pretty with her cheeks flushed from the crisp air, hair flying in the breeze. That was the day he’d noticed Coco as a girl. As someone he’d like to know as more than a friend. He gently outlined her form with his finger. He’d been afraid at first to admit to himself that he had a crush on her. He’d played it cool, telling himself they were just friends and those feelings would go away. But a year and a half later, the feelings had bloomed into something more than a crush. He no longer wanted to date other girls. He’d been working up his courage to say something to Coco, but now it was too late. Wasn’t it? Abruptly, he snapped the book shut and threw it on the bed. His gut churned again. He’d had months to tell Coco how he felt, and he’d blown it. She’d never go out with him. Coco had been offered the opportunity to leave Wyattsville and everyone in it behind, and she obviously couldn’t wait to take it. Giveaway(1) winner will receive a copy of Exit Stage Right and a $25 Amazon gift card!  Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway will begin at midnight January 16, 2020 and last through 11:59 PM EST on January 23, 2020. US/CAN only. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. Tour ScheduleFollow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
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 About the Book Jason is an expert at running from his past. When it catches up, he finds himself hiding in a peculiar inn listening to a tale from centuries past. The story is Anargen's, a teen who is pulled from all he loves to follow his oaths of loyalty to the fabled King of the Realms. Together with his mentor, Cinaed, he rides north on a special quest to mediate peace talks between ancient foes--the men of Ecthelowall and the dwarfs of Ordumair. Nothing goes as planned. Many on both sides of the dispute despise Anargen's Order. Worse, an arcane evil has returned to the North. This "Grey Scourge" seeks to ruin the peace talks and ensure a lost treasure held by the dwarfs is never found by those for whom it is meant. As Anargen's story unfolds, Jason begins to wonder whether it is truly just a fable. He soon finds himself drawn into the conflict Anargen faced--a battle which has shaped and can destroy his world. About the Author From an early age, Brett Armstrong had a love for literature and history. At age nine, he combined the two for his first time in a short story set in the last days of the Aztec Empire. After that, writing's role in his life waxed and waned periodically, always a dream on the horizon, till he reached college. At West Virginia University, he entered the Computer Engineering program and spent two years pursuing that degree before an opportunity to take a creative writing class, for fun, came along. It was so enjoyable, he took another and in that course he discovered two things. The first was the plot for a short story called Destitutio Quod Remissio, which the others students really seemed to love. The second, he realized he absolutely loved writing. For him, it was like the proverbial light bulb coming on. In the years since, describing that epiphany has been difficult for him, but he found the words of 1924 Olympian Eric Liddell are the most eloquent expression for it: "God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure." God gave Brett a passion for writing, and so feels His pleasure when writing. After a few years passed, Brett got his Computer Engineering degree, but also completed a minor in each of his real passions: history and creative writing. In 2013, he began graduate school to earn an MA in Creative Writing. During that time he completed the novelization of Destitutio Quod Remissio and entered the 2013-2014 CrossBooks Writing Contest, which won the contest's grand prize. As of March 2015, Brett completed his MA and is presently employed in the West Virginia Division of Infectious Disease Epidemiology as a programmer analyst. Brett lives in Saint Albans, West Virginia, with his beautiful wife, Shelly. In the summer the pair gardens together, and each day Brett continues writing his next novel. ReviewFrom the turn of the first page, The Gathering Dark is a story of adventure and mystery and has plenty of action all the way until the turn of the last page. The characters come to life as they have banters and squabbles with one another. At times the story is hard to get into and follow because there is a lot going on and it is unclear what exactly is taking place. This is a story that fans of epic fantasy, especially teens will enjoy.
Series: Quest of Fire Genre: epic fantasy, young adult, coming of age Publisher: Mantle Rock Publishing Publication date: April 23, 2019 Number of pages: 420 Disclosure statement: A complimentary review copy of this book was provided from tour groups, publishers, publicists, and authors, including NetGalley, OR was borrowed from the library, including OverDrive, OR pre-ordered/purchased for review. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own. |
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