T4T Blitz: Shadows Fall Away & Last Siege of Haven

 

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:

Shadows Fall Away by Kit Forbes and Last Siege of Haven (The Undertakers #4) by Ty Drago

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

 

Mark Stewart is one incident away from becoming a juvenile delinquent, and his parents have had enough. They ship Mark off to London, England, to stay with his eccentric aunt Agatha who is obsessed with all things Jack the Ripper. After a strange twist of luck, Mark is struck by lightning, and he wakes to find himself in 1888 Victorian London. His interest in a string of murders Scotland Yard has yet to solve make him a likely suspect. After all, why would a young boy like Mark know so much about the murders? Could he be the ripper they've been searching for? Convinced the only way to get back home is to solve the murders, Mark dives headfirst into uncovering the truth. Mark's only distraction comes in the form of the beautiful Genie Trembly, a girl who is totally out of his league and who may have already caught the attention of the infamous ripper. To save her, he'll endanger both their lives, and risk being trapped in the past forever.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | TBD | iBooks | Google Play | BAM | Chapters | IndieBound

 

WHAT READER’S ARE SAYING:

 

“If you enjoy YA time-travel mysteries, I think you'll like this fast-paced novel.” – Kimber Leigh Wheaton, Author

 

“I found Shadows Fall Away to be extremely engrossing. It's the type of book you want to start and finish in one day because you can't put it down.” – Jennifer Bardsley, Author

 

“'Shadows Fall Away' is a gripping and imaginative young adult novel that mixes time travel, historical fiction, and mystery to keep readers on the edge of their seats.” – Stephanie, A Dream Within A Dream

 

Kit Forbes has been a lover of books, history, and all things paranormal for as long as she can remember. She lives in Western Pennsylvania with her youngest daughter and an assortment of cats who give new meaning to the world bizarre.

Author Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest

 

While away on an undercover mission, Undertaker Will Ritter has made an unthinkable alliance...with a Corpse! But though Robert Dillin (aka 'The Zombie Prince') is indeed one of those alien invaders who animate and possess the bodies of the dead -- unlike the rest of his kind, Dillin isn't evil. In fact, he wants to help. And Will needs that help, because the Queen of the Dead has learned the location of Haven, the Undertakers' secret HQ, and is planning a massive and deadly assault.

With the last day of the Corpse War finally upon them, Will and his friends find themselves in a desperate race to close the Rift between worlds and forever kill the Corpses. But can they do before Haven is overrun?

For that matter, can they do it at all?

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

 

WHAT READER’S ARE SAYING:

 

“Over all I really liked the book. It was literally nonstop action and I read most of it on one night because it was so great.” – Monomaniacal Middle Grade Reviewer

 

“Ty Drago, an extremely talented author, has once again proven the adult mind can be as creative and intuitive as a child's.” – Ryan – Amazon Reviewer

 

“Fantastic conclusion to the series! Has us on the edge of our seats, and by the end, cheering and crying at the same time.” – Felicia, Amazon Reviewer

 

Ty Drago does his writing just across the river from Philadelphia, where the Undertakers novels take place. In addition to The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses,The Undertakers: Queen of the Dead, and The Undertakers: Secret of the Corpse Eater, he is the author of The Franklin Affair and Phobos, as well as short stories and articles that have appeared in numerous publications, including Writer’s Digest. He currently lives in southern New Jersey with his wife and best friend, the real Helene Drago née Boettcher.

Author Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

 

Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

T4T: Secret of the Corpse Eater and Shadows Fall Away

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:

Secret of the Corpse Eater (Undertakers 3)by Ty Drago and
Shadows Fall Away by Kit Forbes

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

The Corpses are up to something. 

U.S. Senator Lindsay Micha has been kidnapped and replaced with a “dead” ringer, the sister to Lilith Cavanaugh, the Queen of the Dead. Now Will Ritter must go undercover in our nation’s capitol to ferret out the truth and try to stop this ambitious deader. But his mission becomes even more dangerous when he learns of a mysterious ten-legged monster that prowls the halls of the Capitol Building — a lethal monster with a taste for Corpse flesh. 

The Undertakers: Secret of the Corpse Eater is book three in the wildly popular The Undertakers series from Ty Drago. 

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | TBD | iBooks

WHAT READER’S ARE SAYING:

“Ty Drago has done it again. This series gets better and better!” – Jackie Morse Kessler, Author


“I would highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys reading "exotic" zombie stories!” – Erika, WS Momma Reader's Nook

“Percy Jackson-caliber middle grade with a new twist on zombie/aliens. Excellent world-building!” – Katrina, Goodreads Reviewer

Ty Drago does his writing just across the river from Philadelphia, where the Undertakers novels take place. In addition to The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses,The Undertakers: Queen of the Dead, and The Undertakers: Secret of the Corpse Eater, he is the author of The Franklin Affair and Phobos, as well as short stories and articles that have appeared in numerous publications, including Writer’s Digest. He currently lives in southern New Jersey with his wife and best friend, the real Helene Drago née Boettcher.

Author Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Mark Stewart is one incident away from becoming a juvenile delinquent, and his parents have had enough. They ship Mark off to London, England, to stay with his eccentric aunt Agatha who is obsessed with all things Jack the Ripper. After a strange twist of luck, Mark is struck by lightning, and he wakes to find himself in 1888 Victorian London. His interest in a string of murders Scotland Yard has yet to solve make him a likely suspect. After all, why would a young boy like Mark know so much about the murders? Could he be the ripper they've been searching for? Convinced the only way to get back home is to solve the murders, Mark dives headfirst into uncovering the truth. Mark's only distraction comes in the form of the beautiful Genie Trembly, a girl who is totally out of his league and who may have already caught the attention of the infamous ripper. To save her, he'll endanger both their lives, and risk being trapped in the past forever.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | TBD | iBooks

WHAT READER’S ARE SAYING:

“If you enjoy YA time-travel mysteries, I think you'll like this fast-paced novel.” – Kimber Leigh Wheaton, Author



“I found Shadows Fall Away to be extremely engrossing. It's the type of book you want to start and finish in one day because you can't put it down.” – Jennifer Bardsley, Author

“'Shadows Fall Away' is a gripping and imaginative young adult novel that mixes time travel, historical fiction, and mystery to keep readers on the edge of their seats.” – Stephanie, A Dream Within A Dream

Kit Forbes has been a lover of books, history, and all things paranormal for as long as she can remember. She lives in Western Pennsylvania with her youngest daughter and an assortment of cats who give new meaning to the world bizarre.

Author Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest

Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Undertakers Last Siege of Haven Blog Tour: Guest Post by @TyDrago @month9books

Good morning, everyone. Hope you all enjoyed the long weekend. Today we're taking part in the UNDERTAKERS: LAST SIEGE OF HAVEN blog tour by indulging in a guest post from author Ty Drago. I've had the privilege of meeting Ty in person on more than one occasion, and believe me when I say he's very entertaining to talk to. That said, let's take a look at the fourth book in his UNDERTAKERS series before we dive into Ty's guest post, shall we?

Title: Last Siege of Haven (Undertakers #4)
Publication date: May 2015
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Ty Drago

While away on an undercover mission, Undertaker Will Ritter has made an unthinkable alliance...with a Corpse! But though Robert Dillin (aka 'The Zombie Prince') is indeed one of those alien invaders who animate and possess the bodies of the dead -- unlike the rest of his kind, Dillin isn't evil. In fact, he wants to help. And Will needs that help, because the Queen of the Dead has learned the location of Haven, the Undertakers' secret HQ, and is planning a massive and deadly assault.

With the last day of the Corpse War finally upon them, Will and his friends find themselves in a desperate race to close the Rift between worlds and forever kill the Corpses. But can they do it before Haven is overrun?

For that matter, can they do it at all?

And now, let's hear what Ty has to say about writing for a middle grade audience.

Challenges of Writing for an MG Audience

I like to tell people that I scare children for a living.

I’m the author of the Undertakers series, five middle-grade horror novels (plus one novelette), all centering around a desperate struggle between a rag-tag group of runaway teens and an invasion of “Corpses,” alien invaders who possess and occupy the bodies of the recently dead.  My stories are full of intelligent, evil, rotting cadavers, and heroic kids doing their best to fight them in a war that only they know is happening.  My goal in my novels is, of course, to entertain.  But I’ve chosen to do so, in no small part, by pushing the envelope of what is considered “too scary” for middle schoolers.

And, to my pride – and considerable relief – it works!

The trick, I’ve found, to writing for an age group that’s frankly forty years younger than myself lies in understanding them.  Not that doing so was easy.  When I penned the first Undertakers novel, my son Andy, thirteen-years-old at the time, read it and told me I’d missed the mark completely!  Apparently, kids don’t talk the way they did when I was a preteen.  Everything about them, from their social structure to their manner of dress has changed.  So, I had to start over.

Andy helped.  Over the next year or so, he became my teacher and guide, enlightening me to the realities of his world.  Frankly, the Undertakers series wouldn’t have happened without him, which is why the first book, Rise of the Corpses, is dedicated to my son.

So, in the spirit of spreading education, it seems only fitting that I should pass-on some of what I learned to help my fellow MG authors.  Here then, are Ty Drago’s “Simple Rules for Writing MG Horror”:

1. Don’t “write down” – I’ve made it a point not to skimp on the vocabulary just because my audience are sixth, seventh, and eighth graders.  I write pretty much as I would for an adult reader, except that when I use a “big” word, I’ll often have Will add a quick “Dear Reader” comment like “Look it up!”  Teachers in six states have thanked me for it!
2. Don’t underestimate your readership – We live in an age when electronic information moves around the globe at the speed of light.  Thanks to smart phones, kids today have the answer to every question literally at their fingertips.  So watch your literary licenses.  If you make some technical or historical statement, make certain it’s accurate.  Because, if it isn’t, you’ll hear about it.  Trust me…
3. Don’t make your characters seem too “young” – One of the central themes in the Undertakers series is the empowerment of children.  Too often, adults underestimate a child’s innate courage and resourcefulness.  My hero, Will Ritter, may start out as a confused and frightened twelve-year-old, suddenly faced with a deadly enemy he doesn’t understand.  But, by the end of the first book, he’s become a capable soldier in the Corpse War, and by the time Book 4, the upcoming “Last Siege of Haven” comes around, he’s a force to be reckoned with, by anyone’s standards.  In good MG, the kids are the problem-solvers, and adults, if they’re present at all, never … ever … save the day.
4. Don’t pull punches – There’s some pretty gross stuff going on in the Undertakers’ world.  The Corpses are all dead and in various states of decay.  I take a weirdly gleeful joy is describing a particular “deader” with maggots crawling under his skin or one eye dangling from its socket.  Instead of recoiling for that kind of graphic detail, my fans seem to love it.  Today’s kids are surrounded by visual stimuli.  Don’t imagine for a moment that some words on a page, however graphic, can compete with the likes of The Walking Dead or Resident Evil.

I guess the bottom line is this: Middle grade readers want what all readers want.  They want to be told an engaging story that captures their imagination and holds their interest.  They want characters they can relate to, root for – and, if necessary, grieve for.  They don’t want the writer to tell them what he or she thinks they can “handle.”   Trust me, they can handle more than you think.

Just tell your story with honesty and truth, and the kids will love it!


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ABOUT TY DRAGO:

Ty Drago does his writing just across the river from Philadelphia, where the Undertakers novels take place. In addition to The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses,The Undertakers: Queen of the Dead, and The Undertakers: Secret of the Corpse Eater, he is the author of The Franklin Affair and Phobos, as well as short stories and articles that have appeared in numerous publications, including Writer’s Digest. He currently lives in southern New Jersey with his wife and best friend, the real Helene Drago née Boettcher.

Author Links:  Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

M9B Friday Reveal: Cover Reveal for Last Siege Of Haven (The Undertakers #4) by Ty Drago with Giveaway #M9BFridayReveals

Welcome to this week’s M9B Friday Reveal!

This week, we are revealing the cover for

Last Siege Of Haven (The Undertakers #4) by Ty Drago

presented by Month9Books!

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

While away on an undercover mission, Undertaker Will Ritter has made an unthinkable alliance…with a Corpse! But though Robert Dillin (aka ‘The Zombie Prince’) is indeed one of those alien invaders who animate and possess the bodies of the dead — unlike the rest of his kind, Dillin isn’t evil. In fact, he wants to help. And Will needs that help, because the Queen of the Dead has learned the location of Haven, the Undertakers’ secret HQ, and is planning a massive and deadly assault.

With the last day of the Corpse War finally upon them, Will and his friends find themselves in a desperate race to close the Rift between worlds and forever kill the Corpses. But can they do before Haven is overrun?

For that matter, can they do it at all?

Last Siege of Haven (The Undertakers #4)
by Ty Drago
Publication Date: May 11, 2015
Publisher: Month9Books

Available for Pre-order:

Ty Drago does his writing just across the river from Philadelphia, where the Undertakers novels take place. In addition to The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses,The Undertakers: Queen of the Dead, and The Undertakers: Secret of the Corpse Eater, he is the author of The Franklin Affair and Phobos, as well as short stories and articles that have appeared in numerous publications, including Writer’s Digest. He currently lives in southern New Jersey with his wife and best friend, the real Helene Drago née Boettcher.

Author Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!
Title will be sent upon its release.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Secret of the Corpse Eater Blog Tour: Interview with Ty Drago @tydrago @month9books @chapterxchapter

Today we're taking part in the UNDERTAKERS: SECRET OF THE CORPSE EATER Blog Tour. We're chatting with author Ty Drago and getting the low down on this third installment of the UNDERTAKERS series. Give a warm welcome to Ty, and don't forget to enter the rafflecopter below!

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

Well, I'm 53 years old, I've been married to my best friend for almost 23 years, I have two grown kids, a dog and two cats, and I make my home in southern New Jersey, about a mile from where I grew up. Oh, and I'm a full-time writer! :)

That's awesome. (I grew up in New Jersey too!) How long have you been writing?

I've been writing all my life. In fact, I started storytelling at the age of four, before I knew how to read. I've even seen the photos to prove it! Apparently, I was a fat little kid with no shirt on who liked to scribble things with a crayon on pieces of paper and then hold them up and shout out “Cow!” or some such thing. But, you see, in my MIND, I was telling a story!

Honestly, I'm a natural storyteller. A thousand years ago, I'd probably have been the weird old man who showed up at the village at sunset and, for the price of a hot meal and a warm bed, would sit at the hearth and regale the local children with stories of Robin Hood and King Arthur. Then, the next morning, I would take my walking stick and head off to the next village to do it all over again.

Sadly, you can't do that in modern America because it's “creepy.” LOL!

Bottom Line? I was born a writer.

Tell us about SECRET OF THE CORPSE EATER. What’s the story about?

The world is at war; it just doesn't know it. Beings from “somewhere” have invaded the Earth. But, since they arrive here with no bodies of their own, they animate and occupy the bodies of the recently dead. These they “wear” until they literally rot out around them, then they transfer to another, all the while telepathically projecting a false persona of normalcy that fools everyone. Well, almost everyone. Their plan: the gradual corruption and ultimate destruction of the human race.

The only glitch in their plot are the Undertakers. This group of teens and preteens is somehow able to penetrate the Corpses' carefully crafted illusions. Having had to abandon their families and hide from the invaders who relentlessly hunt them, the Undertakers have formed a resistance movement to fight the war that only they know is waging.

In Secret of the Corpse Eater, Book Three in the Undertakers Series, the invasion is spreading. What originally began and was largely limited to Philadelphia is now reaching down to Washington D.C., where a U.S. senator has somehow been replaced with a Corpse look-alike! Now Undertakers Will Ritter and Sharyn Jefferson have gone undercover as Senate pages to ferret out this impostor's plan. But their already dangerous mission is made doubly so by reports of a mysterious ten-legged monster who haunts the hallowed halls of the Capitol Building, a creature with a taste for Corpse Flesh!

But can such an alien “enemy of my enemy” truly be the Undertakers' friend?

  

Amazing! I read an excerpt and it was so cool. How did the idea of the story come to you?

The Undertakers came out of my childhood. As a kid, I authored a lot of badly drawn comic books that I shared with my friends. These centered around a group of child superheros that I called the “Kid Kidets.” I was eight year old, you see, and didn't know how to spell “cadets.” Anyway, the Kid Kidets had all the typical superhero powers. Some could fly. Others were super strong. Others could control the weather, move things with their mind, etc. They were captained by a brother and sister team named Tom and Sharyn Jefferson, and their secret HQ was a huge installation located deep below the ice in Antarctica (don't ask me why!). Whenever trouble brewed anywhere in the world, this entire installation would rise up out of the ice and the Kid Kidets would head off into the world to write some wrong.

This went on for years, until one day the Kid Kidets faced an enemy they couldn't defeat: I grew up. I grew up and I forgot about them for about thirty years. Then one day, back when my son Andy was twelve years old, we were strolling through the mall when he asked me, “Dad, why don't you write a book for me?”

So I started trying to come up with an idea, and I suddenly remembered the Kid Kidets. Not the superhero/Antarctic installation nonsense, but the idea of a child army. A army of just kids, fighting a war that only they can fight because only they know about it.

The Undertakers are pretty much the Kid Kidets grown up, so to speak. They can't fly worth a darn, and their hidden HQ is a crumbling sub-basement beneath Philadelphia gargantuan City Hall. But the same theme carries through: children make the best heroes. And they're STILL captained by Tom and Sharyn Jefferson!


That is so awesome. Give Andy a big thanks from us! Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Not sure if I like the term “pantser!” LOL! But I know what you mean, and that's definitely me. I don't work from outlines. When I write a book, I pretty much sit down with an idea and start typing and just let the story take me where it will. I'm often surprised and almost always pleased with the results. I hope my readers are, too.

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

The waiting. There's a lot of waiting in this business. Once you've poured your heart and soul into a story, edited it, polished it, and sent it off for someone to read, the rest is just twiddling your thumbs and hoping for a positive response. I fill the time, which can often be months, the only way I know how: by writing something else!

Excellent tip! What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

Really, nothing. I do all my writing on my iPad, and I can do it pretty much anywhere. I've written on buses, trains, airplanes, even in the car during lengthy traffic jams. I have a home office and I certainly do a lot of work there, but I also move around the house, trying different spots. This can be helpful when you're stuck on a plot point and need a fresh perspective. That may sound weird to a non-writer, but it truly does work.

I agree. What are you reading right now?

“True Blue” by David Baldacci and “American Gods” by Neil Gaiman.

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

I'd lean toward to subtler superpower. I'd like the “push” that Stephen King created for “Firestarter.” It would be a way to get inside someone's head and plant a powerful suggestion that they simply have to obey. In the book, the heroic father, Andy McGee, can turn to one of the killers hunting them and say “You're Blind” or “That gun is much too hot to hold.” And his words have power. That would be an amazing ability to possess.

Of course, I'd only use it for niceness and never evil! :)


Wow, I'd love that power! I'd choose that too. What's the weirdest thing you've googled?

Wow. That's a hole with no bottom. You're talking to a man who did a tremendous amount of research on how human bodies decompose! But the weirdest thing? I'd have to say the blueprints on how to make a steampunk pistol. That was for a YA novel I've been writing!

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

Dead.

LOL, I probably shouldn't laugh, but that's a perfect answer. And finally, where can people find you and your books online?

The books are EVERYWHERE! Amazon.com. Barnesandnoble.com. Powells.com. Pretty much any website that sells books will have Ty Drago titles. By the way, the titles to date are: “The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses” (Book 1); “The Undertakers: Queen of the Dead” (Book 2); and the newly released “The Undertakers: Secret of the Corpse Eater” (Book 3). The next one, just for grins and giggles, is called “Last Siege of Haven!”

Go get 'em! :)

As for me, you can reach me on by blog site at www.tydrago.com. I love fan mail!

Or, if you want to keep up to date with all things Undertaker, you can check out www.jointheundertakers.com. The book trailers are there, as is my calendar of speaking engagements, character bios, special news, etc.


Ty, thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us today. I hear your book sold out on Amazon on launch day, so here's to your continued success!

ABOUT Ty Drago:

In addition to the first two books in UNDERTAKERS series, RISE OF THE CORSPES and QUEEN OF THE DEAD, Ty Drago is the author of PHOBOS, a Science Fiction whodunit and THE FRANKLIN AFFAIR, an historical/mystery about Benjamin Franklin. His short fiction has appeared in numerous venues, including the 2009 anthology YESTERDAY, I WILL ..., and he has written articles for WRITERS DIGEST. His first UNDERTAKERS novelette, NIGHT OF MONSTERS, is currently available for FREE on Smashwords.com and barnesandnoble.com.

  

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