Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for The Hotel Series by Michael James. This book tour was organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. On my stop, I have an excerpt from the first book as well as a guest post about fear from the author. There's also the tour wide giveaway for a chance to win a $50 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card. Be sure to visit the other stops on the tour for more content. Enjoy!
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ABOUT THE SERIES:
No one has ever escaped from the Hotel at the End of Time. Until now.
Vain only wants to be left alone, but the Hotel has other plans. Forces will align against her: a group of multi-dimensional felons collectively named The Wyatts; and their leader, Trick, a mild-to-medium psychopath with a fondness for impractical jokes.
The only way forward is to go back. Back to the one place in the world she swore she'd never return.
Back to the Hotel.
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Series: The Hotel #1
Author: Michael James
Publication Date: February 4th 2021
Print Length: 236 pages
Genre: Urban Fantasy
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Vain is the only person to ever escape from the Hotel at the end of time. On her way out, she took their prized possession: A Padlock that grants immortality.
They will do anything to get it back.
The forces of the Hotel are aligned against her: mundane items turned into weapons; a group of multi-dimensional felons collectively named The Wyatts; and their leader, Trick, a mild-to-medium psychopath with a fondness for impractical jokes.
Everything changes when Vain meets Emma, a timid grad student with impossible and terrifying powers. Together, they are propelled into an adventure that will see them battle the Wyatts, blow up several objects of significant value, and quite by accident, discover a way to stop the Hotel.
Even with Emma, Vain has a lot of problems to deal with.
She’s exhausted from being hunted.
Stopping the Hotel might kill them.
She has a hangnail.
But Vain is resourceful. Vain is clever.
And she always has a plan.
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EXCERPT:
“How is it for you?” Emma stood up and dusted herself off. “How do you do it?”
Vain tilted her head. “You know how when everyone tells you what to do, tries to get you to act in a certain way, but when their head is turned, you punch their d*ck into slush?”
“I do not. Not at all. I’m not even sure you’ve described a real thing.”
“Well, that’s what using the power is like to me. I channel that emotion.”
“If I ever encountered a culture where the emotion associated with genital-punching as a response to be being told what to do was so commonplace they needed a word for it, I would never, ever visit them.”
“Sweden must have a word for that. Aren’t they constantly incoherent with rage?”
Emma shook her head. “Without knowing one word of Swedish, I’m positive they do not have a specific word for that.”
“Meatball.”
“How is this helping me? You said you’d teach me how to use these powers.”
“I will,” said Vain. “Think of me as your own personal Yoda.”
“The tree frog from the Star Wars movies?
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Series: The Hotel #2
Publication Date: August 3rd 2021
Print Length: 252 pages
Genre: Urban Fantasy
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Vain thought destroying the Portal to the Hotel at the End of Time would mean freedom for her and Roman, but her happy ever after is coming to an end.
A horrible mistake and a stray bullet force her to infiltrate the Hotel and contend with a new and terrible power: The Well at the Bottom of Everything.
Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broken.
The Hotel will have its revenge.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Michael James spent his formative years writing, and when he wasn't writing, he was writing. A mistaken belief that a "real" job would be more satisfying led him down a dark path that did not involve writing but did involve meetings. Fortunately, he has since course-corrected and is back on the right (write? Ha!) path. The Hotel at the End of Time is not his first book, but it is the one with the most Hotels in it.
He lives in Canada with his family. When he's not writing, he does Canadian things - saying sorry a lot, being polite, talking about the weather, you know how it goes.
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GUEST POST:
This isn't exactly the scariest thing that's ever happened to me, but let me share my five greatest fears.
1. Diving into a pool, only to emerge in the middle of an unfamiliar ocean.
I should probably take the word "unfamiliar" out of this one, because I'm not actually sure it would be that comforting even if you could identify which major body of water you had emerged in. "Oh thank god, the Pacific." What's the implication here? That you dove into a magic time portal? This is the single reason I don't use diving boards.
2. The pile of leaves in the corner of your backyard resolves into human form and points at you
We all have a giant leaf pile in our backyard, but normally it's harmless. But oh no, what if it's not? Why does the leaf pile take shape? What does it want? Why does it point? Logically, you'd think the leaf monster would be your friend. After all, if it wasn’t for you thoughtfully raking his disparate parts into one pile, he would have never been able to spring to life.
3. An infant that speaks perfect English, except with a deep, terrifying voice.
Every parent on the planet is in perpetual competition with every other parent on the planet, and speaking is one of the key milestones. Can your kid speak yet? Does he have words? Mine reads the thesaurus. Oh, yours only says "gaa"? Don't worry, I think Taco Bell still hires as long as they can learn where to point the meat tube. Imagine you are holding your precious bundle of baby joy, perhaps cooing some vapid kids song at it when it turns to you and with complete awareness in its little eyes says "I honestly despise mushed peas."
4. Turning on the TV and having a face just stare at you
This also leads into another lesser fear I have, namely that I won't be able to turn off appliances, even after I unplug them. There's nothing inherently menacing about that, except maybe that some entity is forcing me to consume electricity. I'm not clear how that would show up on my hydro bill. When the appliances are unplugged are they still using my electricity? They better not be, the bastards.
Anyway, the face doesn't really do anything, it just kind of stares at you. And you can't turn the channel either, which means you miss the last season of Game of Thrones.
5. Not being able to think of a fifth thing for this list
Apparently this is my biggest fear.
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GIVEAWAY:
Michael James will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. Good luck!
(All the Ups and Downs is not responsible for this giveaway, its entries, or the prize. Goddess Fish Promotions assumes all responsibility.)
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThis book looks great. I can start at the beginning of a series that will really entertain.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a really good read, but a little spooky.
ReplyDeleteI liked the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteThe books look and sounds awesome
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an awesome book!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a good book. Cheers on your tour.
ReplyDeletecongrats on the release, this sounds awesome
ReplyDeleteSounds like great books. I like both of the covers.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an interesting book and I also like the cover.
ReplyDeleteabfantom at yahoo dot com
This book looks amazing!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fascinating book. Looking forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteThe Well At The Bottom of Everything sounds like a book that would keep you up reading all night long!
ReplyDeleteNancy
allibrary (at) aol (dot) com
Like this cover & sounds super interesting!
ReplyDeletethe book sounds interesting. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun read.
ReplyDeleteI love the cover, and can't wait to read it.
ReplyDeleteYou are a new author for me,this definately is a book I would like to read.
ReplyDeleteI love a great fantasy. Good work!
ReplyDeleteThe excerpt is interesting. Thank you for sharing it.
ReplyDeletereally interesting title - makes me want to know more. thanks
ReplyDeleteIts a bit of a Sci fi story, I like that.
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds really great.
ReplyDeleteFascinating cover
ReplyDeleteHow long was the writing process?
ReplyDeleteDid you always want to be a writer?
ReplyDeleteOr did you consider other occupations?
Do you make an outline before you start writing?
ReplyDeleteThese books sound super scary! How many books do you plan to include in the series?
ReplyDeleteWhat do enjoy about writing fantasy books?
ReplyDeleteWhere has been your favorite place to travel to?
ReplyDeleteWhat's the best aspect of being a writer?
ReplyDeleteLooks like a good read
ReplyDeleteHow many books have you published?
ReplyDeleteDo you prefer ebooks or solid books?
ReplyDeleteDo you believe in ghosts/
ReplyDeleteHow many books have you written?
ReplyDeleteDo you do a lot of people watching?
ReplyDeleteHave you always wanted to be a writer?
ReplyDeleteWhat happens when an idea for a book doesn't work?
ReplyDeleteCover looks awesome! Excerpt is intriguing. Great work!
ReplyDeleteDo you take holidays as time off from writing?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you do, as a writer, when someone has a negative reaction to your book?
ReplyDeleteDo you prefer writing in the cooler weather months?
ReplyDeleteDo you carry a notebook with you when you are out to jot down thoughts about the book you're writing?
ReplyDeleteSounds like a really interesting book. I look forward to checking it out.
ReplyDeleteWhere do you get inspiration from?
ReplyDeletesounds like a fun one
ReplyDeleteThis cover is everything! Love it! Totatlly reading this asap
ReplyDeleteI am all for a suspenseful book like this!
ReplyDeleteI would love to win your book! Sounds very interesting!
ReplyDeleteSounds like great books. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds exciting and fun to read.
ReplyDeleteHow often do you write books?
ReplyDeleteI don't know which I like better: Your five greatest fears list or your excerpt.
ReplyDeleteNot you typical fears haha I think the entities can still get electricity
ReplyDeleteHave you always wanted to be a writer & what helped you to decide on it?
ReplyDelete