M9B Two for Thursday Book Blitz – Shannon Duffy's Gabriel Stone Series with Giveaway #T4T

Welcome to this week’s Two for Thursday Book Blitz #T4T
presented by Month9books/Tantrum Books!

Today, we will be showcasing two titles that may tickle your fancy,
and we’ll share what readers have to say about these titles!

You just might find your next read!

This week, #T4T presents to you:

The Gabriel Stone Series by Shannon Duffy!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Gabriel Stone is a twelve-year-old boy still reeling from the unsolved disappearance of his mother. With a dad who’s hard to relate to, and mounting pressures at school, Gabriel lets off steam by hiking in the place where his mother was last seen. There, Gabe and friends find a crystal that proves not only beautiful, but magical beyond their wildest dreams. Only, magic and beauty come with a price: in order to return home, they must save the dying world of Valta.

Google Play | BAM | IndieBound | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Chapters | TBD | iBooks

WHAT READER’S ARE SAYING:

“Gabriel Stone and the Divinity of Valta is a fun-filled adventure filled with talking monkeys, flying tigers, magical powers, and three best friends who are smart, funny, loyal, and above all, authentic.” –Rachel Harris, New York Times bestselling author.

“…this is a book that triggers the love for reading books.” – Alexander – Book Reviewer

“A truly magical and entertaining read!” – Lauren Hammond – Author

Gabriel Stone is back from Valta, but the adventure is just beginning! His friend Tahlita is trapped in Willow Creek with no memory of Valta. Gabe, Piper, and Brent are determined to reunite Tahlita with her father. Yet even as they do, Prince Oliver arrives asking for their help. Menacing forces known as the Solarians have kidnapped the Empress and Princess and are threatening the lives of humans everywhere. Along with talking tracker monkey, Finley, the friends battle vampire mermaids and a living, blood-filled lake in their quest to save the Empress and Princess. Even with cool new powers, Gabe discovers their strongest weapon is their friendship as they battle the Solarians and rescue a cursed white witch—who may be the only one who can save Valta.

Google Play | BAM | IndieBound | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Chapters | TBD | iBooks

WHAT READER’S ARE SAYING:

“Reading this book brought me back to a time when magic and zero worries filled my life.” – Reviewer from A Leisure Moment

Shannon Duffy grew up on the beautiful east coast of Canada, and now lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and son, Gabriel. She’s mom to one boy, and several pets. Shannon loves writing, reading, working out, soccer, and the sport of champions: shopping.

Author Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

T4T Blitz: Gabriel Stone Series by Shannon Duffy

Hello and welcome to this week’s Two for Thursday Book Blitz #T4T
presented by Month9books/Tantrum Books!

Today, we will be showcasing two titles that may tickle your fancy,
and we’ll share what readers have to say about these titles!

You just might find your next read!

This week, #T4T presents to you:

Gabriel Stone and the Divinity of Valta (Gabriel Stone #1)
and
Gabriel Stone and the Wrath of the Solarians (Gabriel Stone #2)
by Shannon Duffy

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Gabriel Stone is a twelve-year-old boy still reeling from the unsolved disappearance of his mother. With a dad who’s hard to relate to, and mounting pressures at school, Gabriel lets off steam by hiking in the place where his mother was last seen. There, Gabe and friends find a crystal that proves not only beautiful, but magical beyond their wildest dreams. Only, magic and beauty come with a price: in order to return home, they must save the dying world of Valta.

Available for Purchase:

What Readers are Saying:

“Gabriel Stone and the Divinity of Valta is a fun-filled adventure filled with talking monkeys, flying tigers, magical powers, and three best friends who are smart, funny, loyal, and above all, authentic.” –Rachel Harris, New York Times bestselling author.

“…this is a book that triggers the love for reading books.” – Alexander – Book Reviewer

“A truly magical and entertaining read!” – Lauren Hammond – Author

Gabriel Stone is back from Valta, but the adventure is just beginning! His friend Tahlita is trapped in Willow Creek with no memory of Valta. Gabe, Piper, and Brent are determined to reunite Tahlita with her father. Yet even as they do, Prince Oliver arrives asking for their help. Menacing forces known as the Solarians have kidnapped the Empress and Princess and are threatening the lives of humans everywhere. Along with talking tracker monkey, Finley, the friends battle vampire mermaids and a living, blood-filled lake in their quest to save the Empress and Princess. Even with cool new powers, Gabe discovers their strongest weapon is their friendship as they battle the Solarians and rescue a cursed white witch—who may be the only one who can save Valta.

Available for Purchase:

What Readers are Saying:

“Reading this book brought me back to a time when magic and zero worries filled my life.” – Reviewer from A Leisure Moment

Shannon Duffy grew up on the beautiful east coast of Canada, and now lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and son, Gabriel. She’s mom to one boy, and several pets. Shannon loves writing, reading, working out, soccer, and the sport of champions: shopping.

Author Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Complete the Rafflecopter for a chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Interview with Shannon Duffy + GIVEAWAY!

Wow! What an amazing weekend! I'm almost sad it's Monday. Thankfully, Shannon Duffy has dropped by for an interview. Shannon has joined us before (here and here), but today she's promoting the release of her newest novel in the Gabriel Stone Series, Gabriel Stone and the Wrath of the Solarians.

Title: GABRIEL STONE AND THE WRATH OF THE SOLARIANS

Series: GABRIEL STONE

Publication date: April 15, 2014

Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.

Author: Shannon Duffy

Gabriel Stone is back from Valta, but the adventure is just beginning! His friend Tahlita is trapped in Willow Creek with no memory of Valta. Gabe, Piper, and Brent are determined to reunite Tahlita with her father. Yet even as they do, Prince Oliver arrives asking for their help. Menacing forces known as the Solarians have kidnapped the Empress and Princess and are threatening the lives of humans everywhere. Along with talking tracker monkey, Finley, the friends battle vampire mermaids and a living, blood-filled lake in their quest to save the Empress and Princess. Even with cool new powers, Gabe discovers their strongest weapon is their friendship as they battle the Solarians and rescue a cursed white witch—who may be the only one who can save Valta.

        

Kobo | The Book Depository | IndieBound

Welcome back to We Do Write, Shannon! So excited to have you again!

Thanks for having me! I really do appreciate it.

Tell us a bit about Gabriel Stone and the Wrath of the Solarians.

Well, with Tahlita being in Willow Creek, Gabe, Brent, and Piper need to find Dane and get the two of them re-united and back to Valta. But when Prince Oliver shows up and tells them about the princess and empress being kidnapped by other planetary creeps, they need to go back to Valta and help out—this time equipped with new and awesome magic powers.

Sounds exciting! How did you get the idea for your story?

All in my crazy, over-active brain. =)

Ah, yes. I know about over-active brain syndrome. :-) 

Your MC is a middle-grade boy. What challenges did you face writing from that POV and how did you solve them?

Being the mom of a boy definitely helped. And I’d read it aloud to him chapter by chapter as I finished them. Gabe (my son) isn’t afraid to tell me if something doesn’t work—and he did tell me to change some things.


Isn't it great to have a representative of your intended audience in your house? And even better if they are willing to give constructive feedback. 

The Gabriel Stone series is chock full of world building. Do you have any advice for writers who struggle with world building?

I think you really need to think things through and ask yourself a lot of questions about this world you’ve created. For example, what are the rules of physics there? Is there magic? Is the landscape the same as Earth or different? If different, how so? Weave these details in but whatever they are, be consistent throughout.

Tell us something about yourself that most people don't know.

I’m really into fashion and decorating. I guess it’s all looped in with creativity, but I love it.

And finally, if you could ask any person, real or fictional, one question, who would it be and what would you ask?

Wow, that’s a tough one. Let’s go with fictional. Damon from the Vampire Diaries. My question: Will you marry me? ;)

Ha! Thanks again for joining us! I can't wait to read the next installment of the Gabriel Stone series!

Thanks so much!

ABOUT SHANNON DUFFY:

Shannon Duffy grew up on the beautiful east coast of Canada, and now lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and son, Gabriel. She’s mom to one boy, and several pets. Shannon loves writing, reading, working out, soccer, and the sport of champions: shopping.

              

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Interview with Shannon Duffy

Today I'm happy to host fabulous author and fellow pub sister Shannon Duffy. Shannon's here to chat about her middle grade adventure novel, GABRIEL STONE AND THE DIVINITY OF VALTA, as well as give us some insight into her writing.


Welcome to We Do Write, Shannon. Tell us a bit about yourself.

Thanks for having me. Well, I live in Ontario with my husband, son, and three dogs. I have two German Shepherds and a tiny Yorkshire terrier. I love writing as you know, reading, traveling, and shopping. What girl doesn't like shopping? And not the grocery kind. =)

I'm totally with you there. And I used to have a German Shepherd and a Yorkie too! Just not at the same time. ;) How long have you been writing?

Seriously writing? About 5 years.

Tell us about GABRIEL STONE AND THE DIVINITY OF VALTA. What’s the story about?

This story is about three best friends who find a magical crystal, get sucked into a dying parallel world, and who are given magic powers and sent on a dangerous quest to save this world--Valta. Add in a pain in the butt nemesis, talking creatures, some viral produced evil ones, a dark duke, evil shadows, ghosts, and Death Mongers and you get a fantasy story that I'm hoping kids will like.

Sounds amazing! How did the idea of the story come to you?

It's kind of weird when I think of it because at the time the idea was just there. As in, I didn't really think about it. It was the story that was in my mind that I wanted to tell. I wanted to write a story for my son, Gabe and it was like, BAM! And well, I changed some things after I was done, and the words edit, edit, edit, comes to mind, but overall it was just the story that had been laid in my overactive brain.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Mostly a pantser. I kind of think of the story in my mind and run it through like a movie, think about the characters, then go with it. Along the way, I take notes re what questions I may need to answer, or ideas for a point further ahead in the book etc. I'd love to plot out a book sometime and I know this works amazingly for many people, I'm just not sure I could do it with the way my thoughts bounce around.

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

Well, I have to admit I have an internal editor living in my brain, and it's hard for me to write more than a paragraph without wanting to go back and edit. A little obsessive I know. Some people can fast draft books and plow through them, but that would make me crazy thinking about how many errors there would be. haha. So shutting that off is hard. I try to not edit until I'm done a chapter though.

What's the weirdest thing you've googled?

Hmm well I remember googling the distance from an airport in Russia to the one in Venice for my book Spectral. Not overly weird, but it felt kind of strange at the time.

Quick writing test! Use the following words in a sentence: divinity, decimal, and dingy.

Gabriel wished Piper would help inflate the dingy so he could snatch the floating Divinity, but instead she rambled on about stupid decimals.

Finish this sentence: If I'm not writing, I'm probably ...

With my family, or reading.

Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you. Let's hear your shout outs.

Georgia McBride first for loving this story from the beginning. She's an amazing person and pioneer for other writers. To Kelly Simmon for setting up the blog tour and pimping me--thanks! Of course my critique partners, who for this story were, Rachel Harris, Trisha Wolfe, and Brenda Drake-- and the rocking editors at Month9Books who edited, too! Thank you! And my husband for finding the first few pages that I'd abandoned of this story and encouraging me to finish it, and my son, Gabriel who is the hero of this story and the reason I wrote it in the first place.

And finally, where can people find you and your book online?

Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Chapters/Indigo.

Shannon, thanks so much for chatting with us. I can't wait to get my hands on this book. First I'm going to read it, then I'm going to give it to my son. :)

Print Launch: Gabriel Stone and the Divinity of Valta by Shannon Duffy

Today marks the print launch of Gabriel Stone and the Divinity of Valta by Shannon Duffy, released by Month9Books. Congratulations, Shannon!

The first of a new fantasy series, this novel surrounds 12-year-old Gabriel Stone, who, still reeling from the disappearance of his mother, discovers a magical crystal that unlocks a portal into a parallel world—and a secret that will change his life forever. Before unraveling the secret, he will face the school bully, have his friendships tested, and meet evil creatures and not-so-nice humans, all on his quest to save the dying land of Valta. A magical, fast-paced story filled with mystery, intrigue, and wonder, it will take readers on an unforgettable journey and keep them up, lamp lit, reading well into the night.

Amazon
Barnes and Noble