Diane’s Book Blog: SHINE: The Knowing Ones by Amy Freeman Blog Tour: Review, Interview & Giveaway

Shine: The Knowing Ones

by Amy Freeman

Blurb:

We walk among you. Wherever your lives take you within this world, we are there, and we are many. We are not superior, we simply know more... far more... and none of you are safe.

Sam has always had the gift of reading auras and seeing future events. But since beginning college, her gifts are strengthening - becoming more foreboding. Dark visions she can't explain haunt her daily. She senses danger but doesn't know why. Meeting gorgeous Olympic swimming star Trin Kosolov, who shares her extra sensory abilities, only seems to intensify the imminent peril.

Sam soon discovers she was born with an identity she never knew she had and finds herself fighting for her life as she and Trin struggle to save humanity from an evil that could ultimately destroy them all.

Available for purchase at

Excerpt

Sam climbed out of the shower and dried off. She was confused, even angry. Never before had she sensed such conflicted energy in another person. What was wrong with him? Wrapped in a towel, she raced over to her dresser and began digging for clothes. Bra, underwear, jeans—she tossed it all onto her bed and made a beeline for her closet. Should she be offended? And that intensity…that wasn’t normal.

Sam had never been in love before, but this surpassed anything she had ever even heard of. Opening the closet door she found a shirt, pulled it from the hanger, and tossed it on the bed with everything else. She reached in the back, grabbing a jacket and threw it on the bed as well. Tossing the towel aside she began dressing with lightning speed, confusion and unanswered questions running through her head the entire time.

She didn’t know how much longer she could take this. She pulled her underwear on, then grabbed her bra. She let out an exasperated breath as she slipped her arms through the straps and reached back to fasten the hook. If something didn’t give soon—she stopped. Lifting her head toward her bedroom door, she focused. A familiar security swept through the room. Eyes still on the door, she grabbed for her robe and pulled it on. The short hemline and thin satin material didn’t conceal much, but her thoughts lay elsewhere, captivated by the glorious energy filling the room. Why was he back?

She crossed her room, following the energy to its source, the dormitory hall. Tying the sash, she moved to the front door, stopping in front of it. Heart hammering in her chest, she placed her hand on the doorknob and turned it. As the lock disengaged she cracked the door.

He stood, beautiful, frustrated, and still wet. One arm rested on the door jamb, head bowed as if he had been arguing with himself. His shirt clung to his muscled body, sun streaked hair damp and shaggy around his tanned face. At the sound of the door his thick black lashes lifted. He froze. His conflicted energy swept through her as his electric blue eyes scanned her body. Sam’s fist tightened around her sash, biting down on her bottom lip, barely able to breathe as his eyes traced every curve, revealing angst of unexpected erotic desire—and he found her eyes.

He had nothing left. Caught completely off guard, his strength broke, conflict won out. In all the moments leading up to this one…when she thought she needed him, he now realized how much he truly needed her.

Self-preservation flooded through him. His restraint, will power, every device he had ever used to control or extinguish his own needs and desires came crashing down around him before he even had a chance to engage them.

His initial reason for coming back vanished. Shoving the door open, he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her to him. He slammed the door shut. His lips pressed against hers, ravenous, taking what he needed. Nothing else mattered to him. Nothing.

Drawing him in, Sam’s fingers pushed through his hair, repressed desire set free, building with every touch, every caress. She molded to him as he lifted her against the wall. Liberating release flooded his veins, as if he were experiencing sunlight or truly breathing for the first time. Decadent power flowed unlike anything he had ever experienced. His lips left hers as he hungrily searched every aspect of her neck, his labored breath hot against her skin as he crushed her to him. She gasped, trying to find air—the way this felt—indescribable.

Energy in the room spiked as their auras merged, his energy fusing with hers.

Sam grabbed his dampened shirt, pushing it up his sculpted back, his powerful muscles moving beneath her hands as he helped her pull it over his head. Wanting more, hearts racing, blood pumping, her craving fingers explored his powerful chest, pushing past his naked shoulders, caressing his neck and lacing her fingers into his hair—she pulled.

Trin gasped, responding to the erotic pain, arousal flooding his body. He found her lips again, pursuing, pushing. Reason and reality had disappeared. Trin was taken, lost in the seduction of the woman he loved. Wherever her ravenous fingers went the tension, stress, and pressure melted away beneath them, erasing the pain, the doubt, and the crushing fear of defeat. He welcomed it.

A few broad strides to her room, back to the bed he had forced himself to leave only ten minutes earlier. His powerful body covered her, his soft lips moving passionately against hers.

A measurable physical science erupted within the room, elements working together in a feeding frenzy as preparation set in to ignite a power that had not been alive for a century.

Trin’s strong hand slid down the side of Sam’s body, his large fingers wrapped around her thigh pulling it up around his torso.

A voice—buried deep within the euphoria of the moment—nagging him.

Annoyed by the distraction he pushed it out, driven by his aching need for her. Never having experienced such power, he was unprepared to fight it, and in this moment he was unwilling to fight it.

Sam’s fingers pressed into his back, her breath sweet and inviting on his neck, the exhilarating warmth of her mouth tracing the length from his collar bone to his jaw line, then pulling his face back to hers, erotic softness of her lips molding to his over and over again.

Stop. Not yet.

His hand moved to the sash on her robe, pulling at the knot, loosening the tie.

You have not earned her yet!

Trin flinched—pausing, the words rattled him. His pumping heart forced labored breath as conflict and truth wrestled for his attention. She was his Goddess, his sacred prize, yet he had given her nothing.

Sam’s hand slid beneath the waistband of his jeans, pulling at the buttons. The sensation of her fingers yanked him back to her. A throaty groan escaped him as his lips covered hers. He pulled the sash loose, the warmth of her skin flooding him like a drug and he followed its beckoning pull.

Searing gold hummed around her, energy of living intelligence full of life and light—all elements positioned and ready to accomplish their reason for being: to ignite the Oracle power.

You will lose her!

“Sam, wait—” Trin stopped, catching her hand in an iron fist at his lower torso.

About the Author

Amy Freeman grew up in Salt Lake City in a family of five siblings, one of which is an identical twin. She spent most of her time as a child daydreaming and creating stories. She wrote a stellar screen play at ten, her first full length book at age thirteen, and her second and third at age nineteen. She has been published in Meridian magazine, Moab Adventures magazine and has just released her debut novel SHINE the Knowing Ones —the award-winning first edition in the SHINE series. She is active in several writing and critique groups and maintains an online page for writers.

Book Two SHINE: Domination is in the works with an anticipated release next year. Amy lives in St. Augustine Florida with her husband and youngest son, Jackson.

You can find Amy at the following

Interview:

What inspired you to write your first book?

My first book was inspired by an old paper mill in a canyon near the house I grew up in. It’s abandoned, condemned and purportedly haunted. Right up my alley. My twin sister and I are always trying to figure out a way to get in.

Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

This is a tough question. I love Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I will go with Dean Koontz because I have read his work the longest and my writing style is probably modeled most after his. He is so eloquent in his horror! I read one paragraph and yearn for his talent. He is who I aspire to be.

What is your typical day like?

I get my son to school and then I park in front of the computer. Once email and social media are addressed, I get down to business and write. I plan to stay parked with the laptop until school ends for my son, but life usually happens and I get called away. Most of Shine was written in the wee hours of the morning. Sometimes this is what it takes to get a book done. Zero sleep!

How do you overcome writer’s block?

Depends on what’s causing it. If it’s a story line issue I write out a detailed arc for my characters looking at what motivates them and what they are trying to achieve or overcome. I make sure I understand my own story. If my head just isn’t in the right place I get in my car and drive while playing music that inspires my story and characters. It’s a testament to my ADD how this small act can spawn an entire character conflict or resolution.

Can you share a little of your current work with us?

I have two projects going right now—the second book in the Shine series and a completely unrelated southern plantation ghost story. Believe it or not, going back and forth keeps my head clear for each one.

What book are you reading now?

I am reading The Book of Shade by K.C. Finn. A fantastic paranormal romance. Very unique and so creative.

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

Yes. I love you all! Without readers, writers go nowhere. Writing a book is a one sided romance without readers to share it with! Thank you for sharing my journey with me!

My Review:

Shine: The Knowing Ones by Amy Freeman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sam knew she was different, being able to read auras and see the future. While going out to a club she meets, Olympic swimming champion, Trin Kosolos. He is the first person Sam ever meets that shares her gift of reading auras and other abilities. She finds herself drawn to him hoping he can teach her how to strengthen her powers.

Discovering she is part of a race called the Veduny or Knowing Ones, Sam and Trin need to help defend the human race from a malevolent-being that is seeking to cross a portal to Earth.

I really enjoyed Shine: The Knowing Ones. This book is unique and mesmerizing. It flows well and is thought-provoking.

The characters are well-defined and believable. I really appreciated the chemistry between Sam and Trin. They complement each other well.

Amy Freeman proved to be a gifted writer of great talent. I look forward to reading her future books.

ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review.

Paperback, 370 pages
Published July 17th 2013 by Createspace (first published July 1st 2013)
ISBN 1481158287 (ISBN13: 9781481158282)