Celebrating Best First Books

The Get Lost in a Story crew sends our CONGRATULATIONS to the

THE ANATOMIST'S WIFE
Anna Lee Huber
Scotland, 1830. Following the death of her husband, Lady Darby has taken refuge at her sister's estate, finding solace in her passion for painting. But when her hosts throw a house party for the cream of London society, Kiera is unable to hide from the ire of those who believe her to be as unnatural as her husband, an anatomist who used her artistic talents to suit his own macabre purposes.

Penguin Group USA, Berkley Publishing Group 
Michelle Vega, editor

Kiera wants to put her past aside, but when one of the house guests is murdered, her brother-in-law asks her to utilize her knowledge of human anatomy to aid the insufferable Sebastian Gage-a fellow guest with some experience as an inquiry agent. While Gage is clearly more competent than she first assumed, Kiera isn't about to let her guard down as accusations and rumors swirl.

When Kiera and Gage's search leads them to even more gruesome discoveries, a series of disturbing notes urges Lady Darby to give up the inquiry. But Kiera is determined to both protect her family and prove her innocence, even as she risks becoming the next victim...

Anna is also a finalist in the Novel with Strong Romantic Elements category.

MULTIPLE CHANCES through Rafflecopter to win an autographed copy of Anna Lee Huber's THE ANATOMIST'S WIFE. Start by leaving a comment.
Previously on GLIAS
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CRAZY LITTLE THING
Tracy Brogan

If Sadie Turner is good at anything, it’s putting stuff in order. So when she finds her “perfect” life in disarray, she hopes a summer vacation at her aunt’s lake house will help her piece it back together. She wants to relax, reboot, and heal the wounds left by her cheating ex-husband. And that requires time away from men. All men.

Or so she thinks.

Amazon Publishing, Montlake Romance 

Kelli Martin, editor

With two slobbering dogs and two cousins living there—one a flamboyant decorator intent on making over Sadie—it’s hard to get a moment’s peace at eccentric Aunt Dody’s house, especially with everyone so determined to set her up with Desmond, the sexy new neighbor.

Desmond is Sadie’s worst nightmare. Tall, tanned, muscular…and to top it off, he’s great with her kids. But he must have a flaw—he’s a man—so Sadie vows to keep her distance.

As summer blazes on, the life Sadie is trying so hard to simplify only becomes more complicated—a new career presents itself, her evil ex haunts her, and Aunt Dody reveals a tragic secret—but maybe a little chaos is just what Sadie needs to get her life back in order.

MULTIPLE CHANCES through Rafflecopter to win autographed copies of Tracy Brogan's CRAZY LITTLE THING, HIGHLAND SURRENDER, & HOLD ON MY HEART. (north America) Start by leaving a comment.

*Please note, the delivery of Tracy's giveaway will take a couple of weeks. Thanks.

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FIRELIGHT
Kristen Callihan
London, 1881
Once the flames are ignited . . . 
Miranda Ellis is a woman tormented. Plagued since birth by a strange and powerful gift, she has spent her entire life struggling to control her exceptional abilities. Yet one innocent but irreversible mistake has left her family's fortune decimated and forced her to wed London's most nefarious nobleman.

Grand Central Publishing, Forever
Alex Logan, editor

They will burn for eternity . . . 
Lord Benjamin Archer is no ordinary man. Doomed to hide his disfigured face behind masks, Archer knows it's selfish to take Miranda as his bride. Yet he can't help being drawn to the flame-haired beauty whose touch sparks a passion he hasn't felt in a lifetime. When Archer is accused of a series of gruesome murders, he gives in to the beastly nature he has fought so hard to hide from the world. But the curse that haunts him cannot be denied. Now, to save his soul, Miranda will enter a world of dark magic and darker intrigue. For only she can see the man hiding behind the mask.

Kristen is also a finalist in the Paranormal category.
Previously on GLIAS
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FORGED IN FIRE
Trish McCallan
Beth Brown doesn't believe in premonitions. But her recent dream feels too real to ignore: a commercial airliner is hijacked, and a handsome passenger is shot dead. Beth hasn't met the mystery man in her dream; she would never forget a gorgeous face like his. But she can’t deny the bizarre connection she feels. Now awake, and unable to allow for the violence she’s convinced is impending, she races to the airport…and comes face to face with the man of her dreams.

Amazon Publishing, Montlake Romance
Lindsay Guzzardo, editor

Zane Winters lives for his job, using his uncanny psychic powers to carry out missions for elite SEAL Team 7. Yet the constant adrenaline highs can’t drown out the numbness seeping into his life as he yearns to find a woman he can trust. All that changes when he meets a beautiful stranger who sets his soul on fire—and somehow knows he’s about to die.

To thwart the global crisis the hijacking will unleash, Beth and Zane join forces. But even amid the danger, they can’t deny the powerful force drawing them together. Is it merely attraction…or destiny?

Trish is also a finalist in the Romantic Suspense category.

Website


GHOST PLANET
Sharon Lynn Fisher
A world in peril. A bond deeper than love.

Psychologist Elizabeth Cole prepared for the worst when she accepted a job on a newly discovered world - a world where every colonist is tethered to an alien who manifests in the form of a dead loved one. But she never expected she'd struggle with the requirement to shun these “ghosts.” She never expected to be so attracted to the charming Irishman assigned as her supervisor. And she certainly never expected to discover she died in a transport crash en route to the planet.

Tom Doherty Associates, Tor Books
Whitney Ross, editor

Reincarnated as a ghost, Elizabeth is symbiotically linked to her supervisor, Murphy - creator of the Ghost Protocol, which forbids him to acknowledge or interact with her. Confused and alone - oppressed by her ghost status and tormented by forbidden love - Elizabeth works to unlock the secrets of her own existence.

But her quest for answers lands her in a tug-of-war between powerful interests, and she soon finds herself a pawn in the struggle for control of the planet…a struggle that could separate her forever from the man she loves.


Previously on GLIAS
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THE HAUNTING OF MADDY CLARE
Simone St. James

Sarah Piper’s lonely, threadbare existence changes when her temporary agency sends her to assist a ghost hunter. Alistair Gellis – rich, handsome, scarred by World War I, and obsessed with ghosts – has been summoned to investigate the spirit of nineteen-year-old Maddy Clare, who is haunting the barn where she committed suicide. Since Maddy hated men in life, it is Sarah’s task to confront her in death.

Penguin Group USA, New American Library
Ellen Edwards, editor

Soon Sarah is caught up in a desperate struggle. For Maddy’s ghost is real, she’s angry, and she has powers that defy all reason. Can Sarah and Alistair’s assistant, the rough, unsettling Matthew Ryder, discover who Maddy was, where she came from, and what is driving her desire for vengeance – before she destroys them all?

Simone is also a finalist in the Novel with Strong Romantic Elements category.

Previously on GLIAS
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MY LIFE NEXT DOOR
Huntley Fitzpatrick

“One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts.  All the time.”

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them…until one summer evening Jase Garrett climbs her trellis and changes everything. 

Penguin Group USA, Dial Books for Young Readers
Jessica Garrison, editor

As the two fall fiercely in love and stumble through the awkwardness and awesomeness of first romance, Jase’s family makes Samantha one of their own—even as she keeps him a secret from her disapproving mother and critical best friend. Then the unthinkable happens, and the bottom drops out of Samantha’s world. She’s suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

Website

PUSHING THE LIMITS 

Katie McGarry

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.

Harlequin, Harlequin Teen

Margo Lipschultz, editor

But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible. 

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

Katie is also a finalist in the Young Adult category.

Previously on GLIAS

Website

Congratulations to all the nominees for the RITA® in the

BEST FIRST BOOK category!

~ ~ ~

JOIN US tomorrow as RITA® week 
continues with the WINNERS of each category. 

Don’t forget to FOLLOW us on Twitter #GetLostStories or LIKE us on Facebook.

MULTIPLE CHANCES through Rafflecopter to win
*autographed copy of Anna Lee Huber's THE ANATOMIST'S WIFE
*autographed copies of Tracy Brogan's CRAZY LITTLE THING, HIGHLAND SURRENDER, & HOLD ON MY HEART

Start by leaving a comment.
WHO'S A NEW ACTOR ON YOUR MUST WATCH LIST?
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Celebrating Young Adult

The Get Lost in a Story crew sends our CONGRATULATIONS to the

BOUND 

Erica O'Rourke

Choose your fate.

"I beat you. Twice. No magic, and I still beat you. And that was when I didn't know what I was doing." I smiled, cold as the winter sky outside. "Imagine what I'm capable of now."

Kensington Publishing Corp, KTeen
Alicia Condon, editor

Mo Fitzgerald has made her choice: A life in Chicago. A future with Colin. To leave behind the enigmatic Luc and the world of the Arcs. But every decision she's made, from avenging her best friend's death to protecting the people she loves, has come at a terrible price.

As her father returns from prison and the Seraphim regroup, war breaks out in both her worlds. And Mo isn't the only one with secrets to hide and choices to make. The more she struggles to keep her magic and mortal lives separate, the deadlier the consequences. In the end, Mo must risk everything—her life, her heart, her future—or lose it all.

Previously on GLIAS

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THE FARM 

Emily McKay

Life was different in the Before: before the Ticks began devouring humans in a deadly swarm across America; before the surviving young people were rounded up and quarantined “for their own protection.” These days, we know what those quarantines are—holding pens where human blood is turned into more food for the Ticks. Surrounded by electrical fences, most kids try to survive the Farms by turning on each other…

And when trust is a thing of the past, escape is nearly impossible.

 Lily and her twin sister Mel have a plan. Though Mel can barely communicate, her autism helps her notice things no one else notices—like the portion of electrical fence that gets turned off every night. Getting across won’t be easy, but as Lily gathers what they need to escape, a familiar face appears out of nowhere, offering to help…

Penguin Group / Berkley Publishing
Michelle Vega, editor

Carter was a schoolmate of Lily’s in the Before. Managing to evade capture until now, he has valuable knowledge of the outside world. But like everyone on the Farm, Carter has his own agenda, and he knows that behind the Ticks is an even more dangerous threat to the human race…

MULTIPLE CHANCES through Rafflecopter to win an autographed copy of Emily McKay's THE FARM and a "Farm" backpack.  Start by leaving a comment.

Join us again at GLIAS on August 4th for another new release from Emily.

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GRAVE MERCY 

Robin LaFevers

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Kate O'Sullivan, editor

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart.

Website

PUSHING THE LIMITS 

Katie McGarry

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.

Harlequin, Harlequin Teen

Margo Lipschultz, editor

But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

Previously on GLIAS

Website

Congratulations to all the nominees for the RITA® in the

Young Adult Romance category!

~ ~ ~

JOIN US tomorrow as RITA® week continues 
with the SHORT CONTEMPORARY SERIES ROMANCE category. 

Don’t forget to FOLLOW us on Twitter #GetLostStories or LIKE us on Facebook.

MULTIPLE CHANCES through Rafflecopter to win
*an autographed copy of Emily McKay's THE FARM 
& a FARM backpack. 
(north America only)
Start by leaving a comment.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE YOUNG ADULT MOVIE?

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Discover Katie McGarry

PUSHING THE LIMITS

Harlequin Teen

ISBN: 978-0373210497

"I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise."

Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins?

His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?"

No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.

DEBUT AUTHOR
KATIE McGARRY

Katie was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan. Her YA novel, Pushing the Limits, will debut with Harlequin Teen on July 31, 2012.

GETTING TO KNOW KATIE

ANGI: How often to you get lost in a story?
KATIE: Not nearly as much as I’d like. I do try to read every day after I tuck my kiddos into bed. Sometimes my deadlines don’t always let me have as much time as I’d like. I love it though when I come across a story that sweeps me up and makes me forget that I have work to do.

ANGI: What’s the first book you remember reading? 

KATIE: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. I obsessively carried that book around with me all the time. Even in third grade I was hoping that Calvin would kiss Meg.

ANGI: What’s your favorite fairy tale?

KATIE: Sleeping Beauty. It’s such an epic story. The heroine is cursed at birth, she’s hidden until she turns sixteen, and in the one moment everyone lets their guard down she succumbs to the curse. The love story is amazing. A prince who would fight a dragon for the girl he loves? That’s definitely swoon worthy.

ANGI: What’s your favorite cartoon character?

KATIE: Perry the Platypus from Phineas and Ferb. Mild manner pet platypus at home; crime fighting platypus the moment he escapes to his secret lair. 

ANGI: Is there a playlist you’d recommend for reading your latest release?
KATIE:  Available on my website.    

ANGI: What sound or noise do you love?

KATIE: I’m addicted to the sound of my children laughing. Even if I’m in the foulest mood on the planet, their laughter causes me to become calm and eventually smile.

ANGI: What was the first story you remember writing?

KATIE: I wrote a story in elementary school about how I hid the fact that I had chicken pox from my mother for an entire afternoon/evening because I knew as soon as she found out that she’d put me in bed. The story was quite autobiographical.

ANGI: What’s your favorite movie of all time?
KATIE: Casablanca. I adore Humphrey Bogart’s tough façade when underneath he is a man hurting because he lost the woman he loved. As much as he denies his love for Elsie, he continues to make decisions that will ensure her happiness.

ANGI: Who’s your favorite villain?
KATIE: Dr. Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb. I know, I know. I answered already using that show, but it seriously cracks me up. Occasionally Dr. Doofenshmirtz talks about his horribly tragic backstory that has caused him to become the villain. How can you not love a villain who uses the phrase horribly tragic backstory?

ANGI’S GOTTA ASK: On your website it states: “I hope one day someone will read my book so much that the cover falls off.” What’s the first scene in PUSHING THE LIMITS (without spoilers) that you think readers will dogear?
KATIE’S GOTTA ANSWER: The scene at a party where Echo and Noah end up outside alone. The two share a short exchange and right as Noah is about to leave he backs Echo up against a wall in order to wish her a happy birthday. He leans in to kiss her and…well…you’ll need to read the book to find out the rest.

FINDING KATIE:
Contact   Website   Facebook   Twitter @KatieMcGarry   
Goodreads   YA Fusion    The Apocaplypsies   

UP NEXT: My next story, Dare You To, is scheduled to be released in 2013. The story follows Beth, a secondary character from Pushing the Limits.

DON’T FORGET to FOLLOW us on Twitter #GetLostStories or LIKE us on Facebook to keep up with all our guest authors and their prizes. Join us tomorrow as Maureen hosts Molly O'Keefe and then Friday when Jillian hosts Kira Brady. Our own Heather Snow debuts  her second release, SWEET DECEPTION next week. ~Angi

GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?

Was your first kiss in high school from the good or bad boy?