Goddess Fish Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway for Five Corners: The Marked Ones by Cathi Shaw

Welcome to my stop on author Cathi Shaw’s Virtual Book Tour for Five Corners: The Marked Ones, presented by Goddess Fish Promotions.  Please leave a comment or question for Cathi to let her know you stopped by.  You can enter her tour wide giveaway for a $50 Amazon GC by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  You can also follow the rest of Cathi’s tour here, the more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.

Ten Secrets by Cathi Shaw

          I’m absolutely horrible at keeping secrets. I’m more of an open book kind of person so thinking of 10 things people don’t know about me is pretty difficult. This blog entry will focus on 10 things most people don’t know about me.

• I sometimes practice my Academy Awards acceptance speech in the bathtub. I’m not an actress, director or producer so the chances of me ever making such a speech are pretty slim. And if the author writes the screenplay for a movie and then wins an Oscar, she will never be given the same length of time as the ‘real’ stars of the awards show (and believe me, my speeches are long and flowery). But I still like to practice. One can never be too prepared.

• I am more annoying than a 3 year old on a long flight. We live on the West coast of Canada and sometimes we go for a holiday in Hawaii. It is a six-hour flight to Hawaii. I’m always super excited. I get all my stuff organized and I am all ready to go. The flight starts and I get a little glass of wine and a snack. And then about 45 minutes in I start asking how much longer the flight will be. It drives my kids nuts. They finally say, “Mum, just put a movie on and stop whining.”

• I used to be super shy. In high school I was that quiet shy kid who never said much except when she was with her friends (and then I would talk their ears off). This actually spilled over into university for me and during my entire under graduate courses I was that quiet student who never contributed anything to the discussion. It wasn’t until after I had kids and then went back to school that I started sharing my thoughts in a classroom (then I became that annoying student who has something to say about everything!).

• I hate skiing. I’ve tried skiing multiple times and found it to be cold, wet and painful. I love the idea of skiing but the actual physical act of doing it is just icky.

• I used to surf. Well, mostly boogie board, actually. In my early 20s I would travel up and down the West Coast (BC, Washington & Oregon) and go surfing. Booties and wetsuit needed.

• I hate olives. I’ve tried so many times to like olives but I just don’t.

• I’ve never been to Europe. I want to go but the opportunity hasn’t presented itself yet.

• I’m scared to travel to places where I don’t speak the official language. This includes Canada. A few years ago I was at a conference in Montreal, Quebec. I took my daughter, Caitie, because she speaks French pretty well. The entire time we were in the city, people would come up to me and start spontaneously speaking in French. I would get a “deer in the headlights” look on my face and most of them switched immediately to Anglais.  But one girl kept saying this phrase over and over to me and I had no idea what she was saying. My translator (a.k.a., Caitie) was laughting so hard she didn’t help me out. Finally the girl rolled her eyes and said, “What time is it?” Agh! I’m such a fail at languages.

• I think the avocado is the most perfect food on the planet.

• My house usually looks like a bomb went off in it but I spend a crazy, panicked amount of time cleaning and organizing before I have people over (so it looks like I’m neat and organized).  Oh now everyone knows – maybe I’ll stop doing that, it’s way too stressful!

 

Five Corners: The Marked Ones

By Cathi Shaw

Publisher: Ink Smith Publishing

Release Date: January 30, 2014

Genre: YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Length: 258 Pages (76,290 Words)

ISBN: 978-1-939156-25-9

ASIN: B00I511UQY

Buy Links: Ink Smith  Amazon  B&N  Smashwords

About the story: 

Growing up in a sleepy village untouched by distant wars and political conflicts, it was easy for Thia, Mina and Kiara to forget such horrors existed in the Five Corners. That is until the dead child is found; a child that bears the same strange birthmark that all three sisters possess. A Mark their mother had always told them was unique to the girls.

Kiara’s suspicions grow as their Inn is soon overrun with outsiders from all walks of life. Strangers, soldiers and Elders who all seem to know more about what is happening than the girls do.  After Mina barely survives an attack in the forest, the sisters are faced with a shattering secret their mother has kept from them for years.

As danger closes in around them, the sisters are forced from their home and must put their trust in the hands of strangers.  With more questions than answers, Kiara finds herself separated from everyone she loves and reliant on an Outlander who has spent too much time in army. She doesn’t trust Caedmon but she needs him if she has any hope of being reunited with her sisters and learning what the Mark might mean.

 

Excerpt

"It's not a dream this time, Thia."

"I know," she admitted in a whisper. "But how is this happening?"

Teague shook his head at her, his hair falling forward over his forehead. "I know you're shocked. I was, too, when I first saw you. Then I realized that what we thought were only dreams, were just forays into a different reality." Excitement lit up his features. "A reality that, at times, feels more real than this one, don't you agree?"

Thia opened her mouth to deny what he was saying, even as a dozen memories burst to life in her head.

For the first time Thia noticed he was taller than in her dreams. Not as tall as her sisters but certainly taller than she.

He looked down at her, his eyes unreadable in the fading afternoon light.

And yet the essence of him was so familiar. Before she could stop herself Thia instinctively reached out to touch his forearm, wanted to feel the warm muscles above his gloves, to reassure herself that he was real.

Teague jerked away before she could reach him and Thia felt an inexplicable sense of hurt flood through her.

"I'm real, Thia," he whispered aloud, his breath stirring the hair on her forehead. "But you can't touch me. I can't explain right now but please don't try."

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Cathi Shaw lives in Summerland, BC with her husband and three children.  She is often found wandering around her home, muttering in a seemingly incoherent manner, particularly when her characters have embarked on new adventure. In addition to writing fiction, she teaches rhetoric and professional writing in the Department of Communications at Okanagan College and is the co-author of the textbook Writing Today.

Twitter: @CathiShaw

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMarkedOnesSeries

Tumblr: http://themarkedones.tumblr.com/

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