Astrid Amara : Blog Tour
I am so happy to welcome Astrid Amara to LYLBTB again *frantically dusting down the table, cleaning the wineglasses (I mean teacups!!) and setting out some nibbles* it’s been a looong time since I did any kind of blog hop or tour on the site, and Astrid is a great place to start up again!
She has a new book out next week to tell us about, and she has brought some wonderful gifts to share ❤ so pull up a chair and settle down to read what is, as usual, a fun and funny post by Astrid!
It’s so great to be back on Live Your Life Buy the Book! I couldn’t think of any place I’d rather kick off this week’s blog tour than here. Big big thanks to Barb for welcoming me back to LYLBTB.
WHAT I SHOULD BE DOING RIGHT NOW INSTEAD OF THIS:
The problem with taking time out to have fun on blogs and promote books is that it only makes my to-do list longer. Right now, here’s what I should be doing today:
But none of that sounds like nearly as much fun as I would have here. So screw it. I’ll do those boring things tomorrow! And instead I’ll be here today because…
I’ve come to give away prezzies! I’ve got three awesome gifts with me, and will be giving away stuff all week so if you don’t win anything here, pop by my website to see where I’ll be next.
First, a housewarming gift to celebrate Barb’s return to blogging-her-way: The Devil Lancer’s Annotated Cliffnotes Version, drawn by me. It’s so awful its funny. That’s basically all I can say about it. So maybe this isn’t a gift. It could very well be a punishment… especially if you have any sense of artistic integrity. In which case, look away! Do not look at pornographic stick figures! Run! (the link to the full comic book is at the bottom of the post….)
Secondly, I’ve got a sweet mug that starts off black, until you drink from it… and then it turns into a Song of the Navigator mug! And you can put coffee and tea in it instead of horrible space drinks from the future. To win this fun prize, you need to leave a comment below and I’ll enter you in the drawing.
And THEN I’m also giving away a digital copy of The Devil Lancer to one lucky commenter! The two drawings will be separate. I’ll email the winners after today to get the info I need to deliver your prizes.
This week I’m celebrating the May 26 release of my science fiction title, Song of the Navigator, it wouldn’t be complete without some information about the book, would it?
It’s about the Worst Possible Birthday: Being sold into slavery by none other than your lover.
Tover Duke’s rare ability to move anything instantly across light-years of space makes him a powerful, valuable asset to the Harmony Corporation, and a rock star among the people of the colonies. His life is luxurious. Safe. Routine.
He has his pick of casual hookups passing through Dadelus-Kaku Station. His one brush with danger of any kind — the only bright spot in his otherwise boring life — is Cruz Arcadio, a dark-haired, hard-bodied engineer whose physical prowess hints he’s something much more.
When a terrorist abducts Tover, hurling him into a world of torture, exploitation and betrayal, it’s with shattering disbelief that he realizes his kidnapper is none other than Cruz. As Tover struggles to find the courage to escape his bondage, he begins to understand the only way to free his body, his mind—and his heart—is to trust the one man who showed him that everything about his once-perfect life was a lie.
You can read an excerpt HERE and some early reviews HERE.
224 pages I Published by Samhain Publishing I May 26th, 2015.
I’m really excited because I loved writing this book. I kind of think of novels like children – you’re not supposed to have favorites. But I do. There are books I’m really proud of when they’re done, and others I hope I never have to read again. Song of the Navigator is definitely in the former group of books, mostly because it fulfills my favorite romantic trope – a good old fashioned hurt/comfort story.
I hope you get a chance to read it, and if you do, let me know what you think. I love hearing from readers. Oh! And if you’ve seen my missing slipper, or know what’s growing in that mug, send me a note…. Cuz I for one have no clue.
XOXO
Astrid Amara lives in Bellingham, Washington. She’s a former Peace Corps Volunteer, an advocate for animal rights, and a bureaucrat by day. After work she can usually be found writing, riding horses, hiking, or else sleeping. Her novel The Archer’s Heart was a finalist for the 2008 Lambda Literary Award.
Keep up to date with all that is happening with Astrid and her books – news, extras, shorts, alternate covers – loads of interesting tidbits!!! Just follow this LINK to her gorgeous website.
You can contact her the following ways:

For a chance to win a wonderful prezzie (as listed above) all we want to know is…. what “pets” do YOU need to clean up after? 😉
Good luck! and thanks for commenting ❤
And now that you have gotten all the way to the very bottom of the post, here is your treat!! Thank you so much Astrid – as per usual, your post is unique, fun, funny and just plain brilliant!! Click on the link below …
what fun that comic is!!! and now to my menagerie of pets …. we have a bunny called Thumper, 2 cats – Sooty and Simba, 2 dogs – Rocky and Lucy, and 2 teenagers who actually OWN the animals but “sweetly” leave the day to day care all up to yours truly…. just as well I don’t mind!! I love all our animals xxx
Thanks so much for a great post Astrid ❤
LikeLike
Thanks for having me! OMG I LOVE how you made my to do list! Ha! Well, with five pets and two teenagers you definitely have me beat..*officially stops complaining*. 🙂
LikeLike
Ah, I feel like Song has been on my pre-orders spreadsheet for ages now (yes, I have a pre-orders spreadsheet, and a designated Google Calendar alerts colour, that tells you a lot about the amount of books I consume, I suppose ;)). Can’t wait to read it!
As for cleaning up after pets, it’s usually cat hairballs times two in my case, although I think that Lola is much more often to blame than Mora 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
SO glad I don’t have to deal with hairballs… although since I just had two dogs’ butts explode from ruptured anal sacs, I don’t know if that was a smart trade-off….
Hope you enjoy SOTN when it comes out! I like your pre-order spreadsheet and calendar idea… I’ll have to do that for the titles I’ve been anxiously awaiting the release of.
XOXO
LikeLike
Enjoyed the comic. Loved the post. Sounds like you have to go on poo detail. Loved your other books and can’t wait to read this one. At this time I have three cats. I would have more but too many allergies.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think three cats is JUST PERFECT. As I always remind myself when it comes to animals, you can’t hug every cat. And you can’t save every goat. <– My current problem, working with a goat rescue.
Thanks for commenting! XOXO
LikeLike
Congrats Debby!! You won the e-book ❤ just send Astrid your email address and ebook preference :
"astrid at astridamara dot com" thanks for commenting!!
LikeLike
Loved the comic! Thank you!! The mug looks really cool, also.
I have a cat who sheds enough for 10 cats and likes to upchuck when I am on a work conference call. And do two kids count?
Thanks for the post! I have had Song of the Navigator on my TBR lis for a while now.
LikeLike
Oh two kids DEFINITELY count. Even if they are old enough to clean up their own poo, there’s the fact that you had diapers to deal with for YEARS.
Ha, the image of a cat barfing while on conference call makes me laugh. I was on a tech support call the other night and all four of my dogs (I have three and am fostering one I should clarify) saw a leaf or a feather or something and started barking insanely. It sounded like I lived in a kennel. *embarrassed*
Thanks for swinging by! XOXO
LikeLike
LOL Astrid…. I do live in a kennel. Well, sort of, as I run a dog boarding/training operation! 😉 We have 2 lovely German Shepherd boys – Lago is 10 months and Solo is 13 months, so the past several months here have been puppyhood city.
Enjoyed your post…loved The Devil Lancer immensely, looking forward to Song of the Navigator.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ooh, how fun! I always wanted to run a training school for dogs… until I realized I would have to work with people (not my strong suit). You have TWO puppies? Brave, brave woman. German Shepherds are so awesome.
Hope you enjoy the book! And good luck in the contest. XOXO
LikeLike
Congrats Dianne!! You won the mug ❤ just send Astrid your snail mail address :
"astrid at astridamara dot com" thanks for commenting!!
LikeLike
New book out! Super excited. As for picking up after an animal… I have a new kitten called Badger. She’s a British Blue and very purry and furry. So now cleaning up after her. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
a British Blue? THE prettiest kitties!!
LikeLike